Church of the Resurrection of Christ at the former Semenovsky cemetery

District History

Sokolinaya Gora is an old district of Moscow with a history of more than 300 years. Here was the courtyard of Alexei Mikhailovich , where they taught the imperial hunting of falcons and gyrfalcons . However, the area was most often called “Semenovskoe” - in the time of Peter I , the Semenovskaya soldier’s settlement appeared here. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, the possessions of the military were supplanted by the yards of merchants and burghers, the first brick factories , weaving mills and slaughterhouses began to appear.

The area had its own cemetery. Most likely, it was the same age as the Semenovsky village . Semenovskoye cemetery was the only "plague" in the ring of cemeteries behind the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft . Perhaps the earliest known dead here were the parents of A.D. Menshikov , the closest associate of Peter I. Despite the fact that there were several graves of fairly well-known and high-ranking people, the Semenov cemetery was never considered a prestigious resting place. In 1916, the historian A. T. Saladin wrote about him like this: "The monuments of the Semenov cemetery are more than simple, almost poor, the inscriptions on them do not wake up any memories." ^[one]

Temple Construction

In 1855, the Church of the Resurrection was built at the Semenovskaya outpost. Most of the funds for the construction were donated by the merchant M.N. Mushnikov. The consecration of the temple was performed on July 17, 1855 by Metropolitan Filaret himself. It is a two- tier quadruple with one head and with a low tent bell . Unusual in the temple is that the bell tower is not moved outside the temple itself as an independent architectural volume, but is located from the west above the four itself and resembles a second, asymmetric chapter rather than a bell tower. ^[2]

The first rector of the church, Archpriest Alexander Sergievsky (1802-1877), was buried in 1877. Here was buried his son, Protopresbyter of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, Honored Professor of Theology of Moscow University Nikolai Sergievsky .

Following about. Alexander Sergievsky rector of the temple was about. Konstantin Ostroumov (1827-1899). This father became famous as the founder of the first sobriety society in Moscow.

In 1899, the rector of the church was a Russian Orthodox theologian, publicist, church historian Sergei Dmitrievich Muretov . In 1917, Sergei Dmitrievich was mentioned as the rector of the church. The son of Sergey Dmitriyevich, archpriest Sergey Sergeyevich Muretov, served in the same church. He lived in the same house with his father, at 60 Bolshaya Semenovskaya Street .

Towards the end of the 19th century, the population of Falcon Mountain increased significantly. In 1905, residents of Blagushi (neighboring region) filed a petition with His Eminence Vladimir , the Metropolitan of Moscow , for the appointment of a special clergyman to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Semenovsky Cemetery , which could nourish the congregation of Blagushinsky. After reviewing the situation in this area, Metropolitan Vladimir decided to build another church. On June 29, 1911, the Temple of Demetrius of Solunsky was blessed on Blushushka . ^{[3] A} Sunday school for children and adults operates at the church, catechetical discussions are held, the Orthodox Crisis Center (Center for Crisis Psychology) conducts its activities, providing qualified psychological assistance to children and adults suffering from grief due to the loss of loved ones, a crisis in family relations , loss of the meaning of life, etc. In addition, the Youth Center in the name of St. Catherine the Great Martyr operates in the church, as part of which many events are held: joint pilgrimage trips and celebrations, meetings with psychologists, which have already become traditional meetings with the rector, Archimandrite Augustine (Pidanov). The parish of the temple is active in social activities. Church services are held daily. Prayers for health and memorial services for the deceased for repose are regularly served. With the blessing of the rector, Fr. Augustine, the ancient pious tradition was revived, which came to us from apostolic times - the singing of the Divine Liturgy by the whole people (the common choir of parishioners). Special shrines of the temple:

• an icon of St. Augustine, Bishop of Ipponius with a particle of holy relics (written from a 14th-century mosaic image located in the Cathedral of Cefalu on the island of Sicily (Italy);
• the icon of the blessed Matrona of Moscow with a particle of relics;
• an icon with a particle of the relics of the holy Prince Peter and the holy Princess Fevronia of Murom wonderworkers.

Clergy Rector, Archimandrite Augustine (Pidanov)

Soviet period

In 1929, the temple was closed, where until 1941 the office of the Semenovsky cemetery functioned, and then the mechanical repair plant. The building has been rebuilt several times. The dome and the bell tower were dismantled. Since the temple was a two-tier, this allowed its new owners to arrange a second floor. By a resolution of the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet in 1935, the Semenov cemetery was closed for burial. The liquidation of the cemetery was carried out in stages. In 1936-1937, the military necropolis in the southern part of the cemetery was liquidated. In 1938-1941, during the expansion of the Salut factory and the formation of the Semenovsky passage, tombstones of the central part of the cemetery were demolished. In 1966, on the site of graves in the northern part of the cemetery, where the temple is located, a square was destroyed.

Current status

In 1993, the church building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1998, services have been held in it.

On February 26, 2017, during the week of the Syrup, Patriarch Cyril celebrated the great consecration of the restored Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church. Two thrones were consecrated by a great rank: the main one - in honor of the Resurrection of Christ , the southern one - in honor of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir . The service was broadcast live on the Soyuz television channel. “This is one of the famous churches in the city of Moscow,” the patriarch noted. - It was built here at the Semenovsky cemetery, one of the most famous cemeteries in Moscow. But in the post-revolutionary years, the cemetery was barbarously insanely destroyed. A factory and some institutions were built on the territory of the cemetery, and in the 1960s, at the height of Khrushchev’s persecution, the remaining graves were demolished with a bulldozer. Sometimes we ask: why do we need all the bad things that sometimes happen in our lives, and not just in our personal lives, but also in the life of our country? And the question arises: who is punished for this crime - the destruction of the tombs of our ancestors? And if those crazy people, obsessed with ideology and godlessness, did not understand anything, then you and I understand, and for us this should be a very important lesson in how to cross the line of the Divine Law. We cannot restore these graves, but we can pray for those people who are buried here and whose names are known only to the Lord. So today we have performed such commemoration here during the Divine Liturgy. I would ask that such commemoration be performed every day, because it is necessary to atone for the sins of our ancestors and pray for the dead who are in this Semenov cemetery. ”

The Primate of the Russian Church blessed to call the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Semenovsky cemetery without using the word "former": "There are no former cemeteries ... Here people lie in the ground. ... And let the name itself help us realize the whole tragedy of the story that happened on this place. Delete the word “former” from the names. ” As a gift to the newly consecrated church, the patriarch handed over the list of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God .

• Semenovskoe cemetery
• The disappeared and destroyed cemeteries of Moscow

• The official website of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ at Semenovsky Cemetery
• Church of the Resurrection of Christ on sobory.ru
• Church of the Resurrection of Christ on russian-church.ru
• Bugrov A.V. Yauz Moscow. Essays on the history of the area on both banks of the "small" Moscow river. - M.: Lingua-F, 2011 .-- 336 p. - ISBN 978-5-91477-013-3