Moscow diocesan house

Before the Revolution

The construction of the house began in 1901 with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Moscow Vladimir (Epiphany) on a land owned by the Society of Lovers of Spiritual Education . The Moscow Diocesan House was created as a center for religious education, enlightenment, publishing and missionary activity. 355,000 rubles were spent on the construction ^[2] . On November 5, 1902, the consecration of the house took place, and on December 30, the church was consecrated in the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir. Archpriest John Mansvetov said in a sermon ^[2] :

This temple in its ideological significance stands out from a number of other similar ones. It is not just assigned for spiritual needs, like parish temples. Its meaning and purpose is higher and wider. He is the temple of enlightenment - there is a stronghold of the Orthodox Faith. Under the fall of this holy temple and its patron - the holy noble prince Vladimir - the first enlightener of the Russian land - in this temple all possible enlightening means are collected - as a spiritual weapon for the upcoming educational and missionary activities of this house.

During the liturgy, the Governor-General of Moscow Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna arrived in the Diocesan House, who, after the liturgy, accompanied by the bishop of Mozhaisky Parfeny (Levitsky) examined the house, examined all the institutions and societies housed in it and expressed their approval by its device ^[2] .

The building was a two-story stone building with a semi-basement , a bell tower (from the side of the alley) and a church in the name of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in the “Two Lights”. The building was built in the forms of the "New Byzantine" style with elements of Russian church architecture . The painting of the house church was carried out by the painters V. V. Guryanov , M. I. Dikarev , O. S. Chirikov and V. M. Tyulin ^[3]

The Moscow Diocesan House housed the Moscow Society of Lovers of Spiritual Education , the Orthodox Missionary Society, the Moscow branch of the Palestinian Society , the Cyril and Methodius Society , and the Mary Magdalene Society. The building was publishing. The diocesan house, according to historian Vladimir Kozlov, has become the "cradle of public church organizations" ^[4] .

Until 1918, the Moscow Diocesan House lived an unusually active life. Every week several events took place here: Orthodox theological readings for workers (Christmas and Easter), courses - Pastoral, Psalm, Missionary, Women's theological. Congresses and meetings were held, anniversaries were celebrated, not only church, but also secular ^[4] .

Local Cathedral

In August 1917, the Local Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church began work in the building of the Diocesan House, which in the autumn of 1917 made a historic decision to restore the Patriarchate. The work of the Council lasted 13 months ^[2] . The majority of plenary sessions of the Local Council took place in the Moscow Diocesan House. In 1918, the first requiem for the murdered royal family was committed here ^[5] .

September 20, 1918 the work of the Local Council was completed ^[2] .

Soviet period

In 1918, classes at the Orthodox People’s Academy, a higher educational institution that combined theological education with secular, began in the Diocesan House ^[6] . However, it lasted only two months ^[4] .

On June 15, 1922, the Diocesan House was finally closed. Looted his museum collections, libraries; the decoration of the Vladimir temple was destroyed ^[7] . The building is requisitioned by the Church ^[8] .

In 1924, the former Diocesan House was occupied by Glavpolitprosvet, the reconstruction of the building began ^[6] . Then the building housed the Academy of Communist Education . Krupskaya, the cinema "Artes".

In July 1929, the building was transferred to the Institute of Chemical Technology. D. I. Mendeleev , who used for his needs only part of the premises, and rented the rest to various institutions.

In April 1930, the building was bought by the Mezhrabpomfilm joint-stock company for the construction of a “film production factory”. The former Diocesan House was again rebuilt and adapted to the needs of the Central Documentary Film Studio . In 1931-1932, the largest changes were made in the style of constructivism . The bell tower and the golden dome are demolished, 4 floors are built over the right wing, the internal volume is divided by ceilings into six floors, the facade is rebuilt ^[8] .

The successor to the film factory was the Central Documentary Film Studio that arose on its basis. Here was created the first sound picture in the USSR “A ticket to life ”. In the early days of World War II , a newsreel was mounted in this building ^[2] .

Litigation and Return of the Russian Orthodox Church

In 1992, the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute began to seek the return of this church building in order to accommodate classrooms here. According to the rector of PSTU Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov:

The appearance of the Diocesan House was known to us from photographs, but that house, which was at number 6, was absolutely not like any photo. It was some kind of Soviet, rather ugly, grayish, stuccoed building, with a superstructure of 3 floors on one side.

We went inside, and only there they began to distinguish some signs of an old building. And when we went up to the second floor, we found a huge Cathedral Chamber. Everything else was distorted beyond recognition. The arch that separates the Cathedral Chamber from the temple was bricked, the temple itself was divided into 6 floors by cast ceilings, there were some small utility rooms, various workshops. At the altar were locksmiths. We were completely horrified by what we saw ^[9] .

At the presentation of the PSTBI on December 8, 1992, the question was raised about the return of the former Diocesan House and its transfer to a new educational institution, which would completely return the former Diocesan House to its original purpose. However, there was no response from the Moscow authorities ^[6] .

At the request of Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, Patriarch Alexy II sent a letter to President Boris Yeltsin with a request to return the building of the Church. In response, a refusal was signed by the head of the State Property Committee, Anatoly Chubais . After some time, it became known that the documentary studio, which was located in the house, started a false bankruptcy procedure with the aim of selling the building in private hands ^[9] : “After the sale, it became clear to us that the house would be demolished and built in its place - within Garden Ring - an office or a hotel ” ^[10] .

The house was sold, and we began to sue. At first, 20 courts lost, not understanding why, - we had a very obvious lawsuit: the house was church property, built by the Church with church money, originally belonged to the Church, inside the house there was a temple. Finally, they found a lawyer, a specialist in false bankruptcies, and he explained to us the reason for the court losses. Before each meeting, our lawsuit was a little changed without our knowledge, and it became a losing one. Now our lawyer formulated the claim in such a way that it could no longer be imperceptibly changed. “Now you win,” he claimed. The day before this 21st court, our lawyer was shot. He left a family, children. But we won the court ^[9] .

The former owner began to appeal. Another 9 ships passed, but all of them were winning for PSTBI ^[9] . The last trial took place in 2004. The building was in disrepair by that time ^[9]

On July 29, 2005, the Government of Russia decided: “To accept the proposal of the local religious organization - the Orthodox parish of the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra in Moscow, the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the free transfer to the ownership of this organization to support the activities of the educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church located federal property of religious property - buildings of the Moscow Diocesan House, located dix in Moscow, Likhov lane d 6, structure 1 -.. 3 ' ^{[7], [11]} .

Restoration and discovery

The first construction and restoration work to recreate the historical appearance of the Diocesan House began in 2006 ^[13] with funds raised by the St. Tikhon Foundation for the Support of Orthodox Education ^[14] .

On October 18, 2006, by the decision of the expert commission on immovable heritage sites and their territories at the Moscow Heritage Committee , the status of the identified cultural heritage object (OKN) was confirmed in its status, the subject of protection of the monument was determined. On June 19, 2007, security obligation No. 16-11 / 007-12 / 7 of the owner of the OKN was formalized and on July 10, a planning and restoration assignment was issued for the development of scientific and design documentation for the conservation of the identified cultural heritage object ^[3] .

During the overhaul, the demolished extension with a bell tower, on which nine bells were installed, was rebuilt anew. The area of ​​the third floor was increased due to the side wings of the building, the attic floor was erected. Upon completion of the reconstruction, the total area of ​​the building will be 9.5 thousand m²

The foundations of the building being restored were very wet. Work was carried out to strengthen them. The basement was littered with many years of film production waste. CSDF left a huge variety of chemicals, including large tanks with unknown reagents. A specialized company was engaged in their removal and disposal. The sewage system was practically destroyed due to the long-term drain of reagents into it ^[15] .

On November 17, 2008, the vicar of the Moscow diocese, Archbishop Istra of Arseny (Epifanov) consecrated the dome cross, which was then erected to a height of 41 m, on the dome of the Prince Vladimir Church ^[16] .

February 19, 2010 Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov and clergy of the PSTU served the first liturgy in the erected lower church in the name of St. Patriarch Tikhon and the new martyrs - participants in the Local Council ^[7]

On February 20, 2010, the restored building was visited by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill ^[17] . He blessed to recreate the house in accordance with the approved project and headed the Board of Trustees of PSTU ^[8] .

The premises of the Cathedral Chamber, which is included in the unified state register of OKN of regional significance, has been prepared for fine and artistic decoration. Work is also underway in other rooms of the Diocesan House - lost elements of the interior decor and stucco moldings of the ceiling are being restored.

In the temple of St. Vladimir, artists proceeded to wall painting, which is carried out according to approved designs ^[18] .

With the direct participation of the prefecture of the Central administrative district, city ​​organizations carried out the improvement of the territory adjacent to the building (paving with paving slabs, the installation of a public garden, landscaping) ^[7] .

In July 2014, Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov noted: “After the decision of state bodies to transfer the Diocesan House to the Church, we spent about nine million years recovering a strongly rebuilt building in disrepair, through the St. Tikhon Foundation for the Support of Orthodox Education and with the support of philanthropists dollars. But the full-scale reconstruction began only last year, when, at the suggestion of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, this object was included in the program of commemorative events for the 1000th anniversary of the repose of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Now the brickwork of the historical facades has been restored, work is underway on the bell tower, preparation of the temple walls for painting is being completed ” ^[19] .

By the summer of 2014, work was completed on the preparation of the walls of the upper temple for artistic painting, after which work began on the painting. All artwork was carried out by teachers and graduates of PSTGU. The author of the painting project of the Vladimir Church and the head of the team of artists was the deputy head of the monumental department of the faculty of church arts of PSTU, associate professor Igor Samolygo . The body of the iconostasis was performed by the workshops of Andrei Fechner “Glitika-L”. The icons were painted in the PSTGU art workshop ^[20] .

By the end of 2014, the roof was mounted on the building. On December 17, 2014, the cross and dome were consecrated and raised to the bell tower of the house church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir ^[21] . The raising of the cross was accompanied by the chime of bells, which sounded for the first time since the restoration of the temple ^[12] .

After that, external and internal networks were laid, the heat supply and energy supply of the facility are carried out according to a permanent scheme. The installation of technological equipment, elevators, lifts. The commissioning of engineering systems is being carried out, their comprehensive testing is being carried out.

According to the statement of the curator of the city program for the construction of Orthodox churches, Vladimir Resin, on June 16, 2015, the restoration of the Moscow Diocesan House with a church in honor of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in Likhovy Lane was completed.

On July 26, 2015, Patriarch Kirill ordained the great consecration of the upper house church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in the Moscow Diocesan House and the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church. The service was broadcast live by Soyuz TV channel ^[22] .

July 27, 2015 the complex was visited by Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ^[23] .

On November 20, 2015, at a conference at the Historical Archive Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University , a more than 700-page monograph “Diocesan House in Moscow. Chronicle of the life of the house and the Prince Vladimir Church of 1902-1918 ”, written by Professor Vladimir Kozlov ^[4] .

On November 26, 2015, a press screening was held following the results of restoration work at the identified cultural heritage site “Moscow Diocesan House, 1901-1903” ^[4] .

The building of the Moscow Diocesan House has 3 floors; after reconstruction, its area is 9.4 thousand square meters. m. The building has an attic and ground floor ^[24] .

Upper Temple in Honor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir

A service was held daily in the temple. Sunday and holiday liturgy was sung by the choir of workers of Moscow factories under the direction of Sergey Solntsev and the choir of the Society of Church Singing Lovers. On Sundays, Vespers was performed with common folk singing, after which conversations of religious and moral content were held ^[6] .

By 1949, the extensive house temple was divided by ceilings into five floors ^{[20] [25]} .

According to Larisa Gacheva, senior lecturer at the faculty of church arts and the head of the PSTU art workshop: “There were no serious images of the original decoration. Therefore, a new painting project was developed, and the monumentalists were tasked with linking the new mural with the interior of the Cathedral Chamber, whose arch will be decorated with paintings in the spirit of the beginning of the 20th century. The iconostasis of the St. Vladimir Church we are reconstructing from old photographs. The central composition at the altar is Ascension , below is Christ the Great Bishop , this image will be viewed through the Royal Doors . The Savior will be faced by ancient saints , and behind them - the holy Patriarch Tikhon , the holy martyr Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and Tsar Constantine the Great . In the arches, in gold medallions , are depicted the participants of the Cathedral, glorified in the faces of the saints - and they, by the way, were more than fifty. Since the temple was originally painted in the Art Nouveau style , the team of monumental painters focuses on both Byzantine and Russian murals — on what models guided the artists of the beginning of the 20th century ” ^[20] .

Lower Church of the Fathers of the Local Council of 1917-1918

On February 20, 2010, the first liturgy was celebrated in the church after the return of the Church building. On the same day, Patriarch Cyril visited the church ^[26] .

According to priest Pavel Khondzinsky , “this is a new temple located in the lower part of the building, where before the revolution there was no temple. This temple is dedicated to the glorified New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Fathers of the Local Council of the seventeenth year. As far as I know, this is the only temple with such a dedication. It often happens that new temples take some more time to grace, so to speak, to settle in them. No wonder they say the “prayed temple” about the temple in which the presence of grace is clearly palpable to everyone. But, perhaps, because this church is closely connected with the events that once took place in the Diocesan House, and in many respects determined the fate of the Russian Church in the 20th century, it seemed to become “prayed” right away. All the priests who served in it say how wonderful it is to pray here, what blessed services are here, how the presence of saints to whom the temple is dedicated is felt in it ” ^[27] .

The iconostasis of the temple was created by the PSTGU art workshop in conjunction with the workshop of Andrei Fechner ^[20] . In 2012, PSTGU specialists created the icon “Fathers of the Local Cathedral of 1917-1918” especially for the church. The list of icons was presented to Patriarch Kirill ^[28] .

Cathedral Chamber

The largest room in the Moscow Diocesan House. Height - 9 m, width - 17 m and length - 35 m. High salt and an extensive arch provide a good perception of sound by all the people who are in the hall ^[4] .

After the redevelopment of the 30-40s and as a result of the replacement of the ceilings, the ceiling was completely lost. In the 40s, window openings were laid, their decorative decoration was shot down. As the architect Sergei Kupriyanov noted, “it was fortunate that in the 40s, when the chamber was rebuilt for a cinema hall, all the protruding parts were knocked down, but they did not touch the architectonics of the wall” ^[4] .

For many years, the former Cathedral Chamber housed a tone hall for recording orchestras, recordings were going on there until the early 2000s. According to Larisa Gacheva, at the beginning of the 90s the room on the second floor was “a huge recording room with the decor of the Stalin era” ^[20] . According to a number of Moscow sound engineers, the TSSDF tone hall was one of the best in terms of the quality of acoustics in Moscow studio rooms, surpassing the famous London studio Abbey Road in volume and only slightly inferior to the Big Studio Mosfilm.

In 2007-2008, comprehensive research was conducted on materials and photographs ^[4] .

In 2010, the Cathedral Chamber was registered, having received the status of “identified object of cultural heritage”, which enabled the Moscow City Heritage to organize its full-scale restoration ^[25] . The restoration took place “as close as possible” to the original appearance, although much of what was lost cannot be fully restored. Used archival data, photographs. In addition, when opening the plaster on the walls, fragments of decor, paint, markings of cornices, marking of panels of the first and second tiers were found ^[4] .

The color scheme was also reproduced from the old fragments. Chandeliers are made in Sofrin , the sizes do not differ from the original. The iconostasis is also restored from photographs. The icon-painting series was made by graduates of PSTGU. The restoration was performed by Pyrite-99 LLC ^[4] .

On November 17, 2015, an act of acceptance of the work performed to preserve the identified OKN “The Cathedral Chamber, in which on September 28, 1917 a decision was made to restore the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church” ^[29]