The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki is a historical monument of our state. In order to understand what this structure is, you need to know its history, to understand when, by whom and why it was built.
Boorish settlement
Khamovniki is a historical settlement on the outskirts of Moscow of weavers who came from the Tver region in the 17th century on the orders of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. The settlement was named after the “boor” fabric produced here, which was a linen of good quality.
The population of the settlement enjoyed certain privileges. In particular, they paid low taxes and were exempted from work compulsory for other Muscovites.
It was in Khamovniki a little later, under Tsar Peter I, that the first linen factory appeared, which was conceived by him to provide military needs and which then grew into the largest enterprise in Moscow.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Our ancestors knew that "with God even beyond the sea, and without God, not to the threshold." Therefore, any history of relocation is associated with the construction of a new temple site. The mention of the Khamovnaya settlement dates back to 1624. The first church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki was built wooden in 1625. But already in 1657 a stone temple was erected by means of the population of the settlement.
The current church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki was built in 1682 a little away from the original church. The crown on the cross of the dome suggests that the funds of the imperial family were used in the construction of the building. This temple was built and consecrated in the reign of Fedor Alekseevich.
Architecture in the XVII century is a transition from ancient Russian architecture to the order system in Russian temple building, which brought the subsequent reign of Peter I. The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki carries many elements of the Naryshkin Baroque, but in general the ancient Russian traditions of construction still convey the appearance of the temple. This is a magnificent and elegant building.
The Naryshkin Baroque style actively used contrasting colors in the materials of the facade. It is noteworthy that the bright brick tiles of the church in Khamovniki now have the same colors as in the distant XVII century.
The fire in the war of 1812 destroyed the interior of the church. Wall paintings, icons, documents of that time were not preserved. In 1849, the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was restored. True, in the style of that time.
In Soviet times, which is surprising, the church in Khamovniki did not close and was the refuge of believers in the difficult time of the atheism and atheism. And the bell tower of the temple has kept its bell.
Shrines of the temple in Khamovniki
Each church has its own especially revered shrines, especially a temple with more than three hundred years of history.
In the temple, the following are especially revered:
- The icon of the Mother of God, called the "Female Hand of the Sinners" is a list of the miraculous icon dating from 1848;
- Icon of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, the image was painted by isographer Ivan Maximov in 1688;
- A list of the icon of Bogoroyitsa, called "Smolenskaya", dating from the 17th century;
- Icon of the holy martyr John the Warrior, dating from the XVIII century.
The icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called the "Sister of the Sinners"
The image of the Mother of God "The Sister of Sinners" became famous for miracles in the Odrinsky Monastery of the Oryol Province in 1844. A moleben was served in front of the icon, faded and dusty, forgotten in a dilapidated chapel among other shabby icons, at the request of a merchant's wife. After the service, the woman’s son, subject to seizures, recovered. The icon was transferred to the temple, and other miracles followed from it.
In 1846, Odrinsky hieromonk was sent to the capital to make a robe for the miraculous icon. Staying in Moscow, the hieromonk stopped at Lieutenant Colonel D.N. Boncheskul. And over time, the brothers of the monastery, in gratitude for the hospitality, sent the lieutenant colonel a list with a miraculous image. This list was also famous for miraculous healings, and in 1848, D. Boncheskul donated the icon to Khamovniki, to the St. Nicholas Church, of which he was a parishioner.
Soon, an unusual glow in a high place began to appear in the altar of the temple, which was noticed through a window in the altar. The icon was streamed and glorified by numerous miracles.
This list from the icon has been preserved, and today you can also venerate it and pray to the Mother of God in Khamovniki, in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.