The Temple in honor of the Epiphany is the only building that remains from ancient monastery Moscow, founded back in 1296. The temple, located in the center of the capital, still attracts many believers and tourists.
Story
The Epiphany Monastery was founded in Kitai-Gorod back in the 19th century. The youngest son of the faithful, having received Moscow into his possession, tried to decorate it with churches and monasteries, one of which was the Epiphany monastery.
Church of the Epiphany of the former Epiphany Monastery, Moscow
In this monastery, currently located on Revolution Square, the main thing was the Church of the Epiphany. Originally made of wood, after the fires of 1340 it was built in stone and became one of the first stone structures built outside the Kremlin.
According to legend, the first abbot of the monastery was brother Abbot Stefan. The name of St. Alexis of Moscow, very revered in Russia, who took monastic vows here and led a monastic life, is also associated with the temple.
The Temple of the Epiphany was severely damaged several times, but was restored:
- in 1451, during the invasion of the Tatar prince, Mazovsha was mostly burned out, but was soon restored;
- after the Great Moscow Fire of 1547 and the invasion of Devlet-Girey in 1571, the monastery and temple had to be rebuilt again;
- After the Time of Troubles, the entire monastery suffered greatly, and the central monastery of Moscow had to be rebuilt by the new Russian sovereigns.
After all the events Epiphany Church was built from scratch in 1624. Having become the main temple of Moscow and the tomb of representatives of the Romanov family, it underwent a complete restructuring in the “Naryshkin Baroque” style in the period from 1686 to 1694. It was then that he acquired the appearance that he has now.
Other Orthodox churches in honor of Epiphany:
The monastery housed a large necropolis, where representatives of such noble families as the Sheremetyevs, Golitsyns, Menshikovs, and Repnins were buried. Among the burials was the grave of the father of St. Alexy of Moscow Feodor Byakont. Unfortunately, all the tombstones over these burials were lost during the Soviet period.
Current state
The closure of the temple in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord occurred in 1919. From that time on, its destruction began. In 1941, a downed German bomber fell near the temple. The blast wave destroyed the upper part of the temple. But in the 1980s, the restoration of the temple began; it dragged on for a long time.
Only after the transfer of the temple to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991, restoration work accelerated. Soon the Church of the Epiphany on Bogoyavlensky Lane was completely restored, including the Alekseevsky chapel in its original form.
Floor and hanging icon cases in the Church of the Epiphany of the former Epiphany Monastery
Currently, regular services are held in the temple.
Attention! The schedule of services of the Church of the Epiphany on Revolution Square is as follows:
- Matins and Liturgy are celebrated daily at 8.30 with the exception of Monday and Tuesday;
- Vespers or before the holidays begins at 17.00;
- on holidays and Sundays starts at 9.30.
Shrines
Each church has its own shrines, especially revered icons, relics or relics associated with one or another shrine.
More interesting articles about Orthodoxy:
In the Church of the Epiphany main shrine is the Iveron Chapel, where the revered church is located. This chapel is located within the former monastery.
Patronal holidays
In the life of each temple, a special place is occupied by holidays associated with altars consecrated in honor of certain saints, the Mother of God or the Lord's great holidays, of which there are only twelve during the year.
Address: Bogoyavlensky lane, 2
The Epiphany Monastery is considered the second most ancient after Danilovsky, although a number of researchers consider the Epiphany monastery to be the first monastery in Moscow.
Epiphany was located in the very center of Moscow. But if you don’t know where exactly, then you’ll probably never find this dream. However, we will give you a hint: you exit the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station directly into Bogoyavlensky Lane. And across the road, opposite and a little to the left, you see the most wonderful - pink and white - temple in the style of the so-called “Naryshkin or Moscow baroque”. This is the Epiphany Cathedral - the main, and, in fact, the only surviving church of the monastery. But how beautiful he is!
By the way, another evidence that you came out correctly: in front of the cathedral there is a monument to two Greek monks - the Likhud brothers. It seemed - why suddenly? Yes, because it was they, and it was here, in the Epiphany Monastery, who founded the school, which later became the famous Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. And later it was transformed into the Moscow Theological Academy.
A lot can be said about the monastery and the people whose names are associated with it. This is Saint Alexy of Moscow, and Metropolitan Philip, and Abbot Stephen, brother Sergius of Radonezh...
But here's what I want to say. There is clearly some kind of secret connected with the monastery, something special that has not reached us. There was something that forced the Moscow sovereigns themselves to treat the monastery in a special way, with extraordinary respect.
After all the shocks, fires, and looting of Moscow, the Epiphany Monastery was restored almost first of all, and precisely by the will of the ruling sovereigns. Why?
The abbots of Epiphany played key roles in numerous coronation ceremonies of Moscow princes and kings. Why?
Not only kings, but also many noble persons donated money and estates to the monastery, so much so that in this sense, Epiphany clearly stood out among other, no less glorious monasteries. And again - why?
From the very first years of its existence - and the monastery was built more than seven hundred years ago - Epiphany was also the main boyar tomb. The Sheremetevs, Dolgorukies, Repnins, Yusupovs, Saltykovs, Menshikovs, Golitsyns died here... And again questions...
Such a mystery monastery once existed where only the beautiful Epiphany Cathedral has now been preserved...
What is not a reason to worship this mysterious and holy place?
Contacts: Epiphany Monastery
Address: Bogoyavlensky lane, 2
How can I get to:
From the Ploshchad Revolutsii metro station:
There are two exits from the station. You need an exit marked with the following sign: “EXIT TO THE CITY: TO RED SQUARE, NIKOLSKAYA, ILYINKA STREETS, CHAMBER MUSICAL THEATER, STORES: GUM, “CHILDREN’S WORLD”, “GOSTINY Dvor”. You go up the escalator, get out of the metro - and right in front of you is a tall, beautiful temple.
From the Kitay-Gorod metro station:
Two different lines converge at this station. Regardless of which line you arrived on, you need to turn to the exit with the stairs (as opposed to the opposite exit with the escalator) under the sign: “EXIT TO THE CITY: TO NEW SQUARE, STREETS: ILYINKA, MAROSEYKA, POLYTECHNIC MUSEUM, GOSTINY Dvor” . Go up the stairs, turn left and go to the escalator. Having climbed the escalator and exited the station, you find yourself in a long passage - you need to turn left and walk to the end, then go up the right exit to the street. Ilyinka Street begins right next to the metro exit. You need to follow it to Bogoyavlensky Lane. He will be second in right side. Landmarks: Exchange Square, Gostiny Dvor (corner large blue building), building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. Turning right into Bogoyavlensky Lane, you will immediately see the temple.
From the metro station "LUBYANKA":
Arriving at the station, go to the exit indicated by the sign: “EXIT TO THE CITY: AT THE SQUARE: LUBIANSKAYA, NOVAYA, TO THEATER PROJECT, TO THE STREETS: PUSHECHNAYA, ROZHDESTVENKA, NIKOLSKAYA, B. AND M. CHERKASSKY LANES, CHAMBER MUSICAL TE ATRU, HISTORY MUSEUM MOSCOW, POLYTECHNICAL MUSEUM, AIRLINE CASSES, PHARMACY No. 1, DEPARTMENT STORE "CHILDREN'S WORLD". After taking the escalator, turn left and walk until you exit to the street. When you go outside, you will see Lubyanka Square in front of you. Turn left again onto Nikolskaya Street, which starts right next to the metro station, and follow it to Bogoyavlensky Lane (second left turn). Soon you will see the Church of the Epiphany.
Driving directions:
Year of foundation: 2004
Abbot: Dean of the churches of the Khimki district, Archpriest Artemy Grankin
The Church of the Epiphany in the city of Khimki, Moscow region, was erected on the initiative of the believing residents of the city and with the support of the city Administration. Archbishop Gregory of Mozhaisk, vicar of the Moscow Diocese, in the presence of the head of the city V.V. Strelchenko, consecrated the foundation stone on May 15, 2004.
The architecture of the Church of the Epiphany in the Byzantine style. The capacity of the church is 1000 people. The temple is two-story and has four altars. The lower church is dedicated to the Nativity of the Prophet John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord (June 24/July 7). This is a baptismal temple, in which a font is planned for the complete immersion of the person being baptized in water.
The upper temple and the central altar are consecrated in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord (celebration January 6/19), the right aisle of the temple is dedicated to the icon Mother of God“Quick to Hear” (celebration October 9/November 22), and the left side chapel is dedicated to St. Nicholas (celebration May 9/22 and December 6/19).
The temple has five domes in a single volume with a bell tower. The plan is in the form of a cross with an orientation to the east. Since the temple has two floors, the Architectural Foundation, chief architect V. N. Mikhailov and the decision of the Khimki City Administration provided grand staircases (in addition to the central entrance) to the side entrances and lifts for wheelchairs. The bell tower has four internal tiers and a belfry with four arched openings. On the territory of the temple there is a church administrative building, as well as a church shop.
The church building is two-story, four-altar, with five domes in the same volume as the bell tower. The lower church is dedicated to the Nativity of John the Baptist, the upper church and the central altar are dedicated to the Epiphany of the Lord, the right side chapel is consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear,” and the left side in the name of St. Nicholas.
The bell tower has five internal tiers and a belfry with four arched openings. The bells for the temple were cast at the ZIL plant by craftsmen from the Society of Old Russian Musical Culture. The selection of the sound of the bells, their number, tonality and weight was carried out by the chief bell ringer of the Moscow Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior I.V. Konovalov.
There are twelve bells in total, the largest one weighs two tons. An image is cast on the bells Holy Mother of God, called “Quick to Hear”, as well as the faces of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Nicholas, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, St. righteous John Kronstadt and Blessed Matrona of Moscow.
The temple contains many shrines. Among them are an ark with a consecrated copy of a nail from the Crucifixion of Christ and a particle of the nail itself, an exact photocopy of the Turin Shroud of Christ the Savior, particles of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Blessed Matrona of Moscow. On the left side of the central arch there is a canopy with an icon of the Venerable Martyr Ephraim the New, the Wonderworker of Nea Macria (Greece). There in the ark are kept the skufia and slippers of St. Ephraim, a piece of the tree on which the saint was tortured, and the earth from the place of his torment. In the temple, the image of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and the icons of the holy Apostle Simon the Canaanite and the martyr Basilisk are also especially revered. Below them, in special arks, are stones from the site of the martyrdom of these saints.
Since 2009, divine services have been held daily in the Epiphany Church, a Sunday school has been opened, a social service and a youth movement have been operating.
Next to the Epiphany Church there is a chapel in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” It is dedicated to the memory of those who died during the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in local wars and man-made disasters. Every year on April 26, the day of the Chernobyl tragedy, a memorial service for the victims is held in the chapel.
Also attached to the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the home church of St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol. It was built in 2005 in the surgical building of the Khimki Central Clinical Hospital instead of the prayer room that had existed since 2004. The clergy provides care for patients and medical personnel undergoing treatment. Currently, work is underway to build a separate church, which will be attended not only by those in the hospital, but also by everyone.
Temple opening hours: from Monday to Saturday from 7:30 until the end evening service; on Sunday: from 06:00 until the end of the evening service.
Directions: from the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow to the Khimki station, then by bus/minibus No. 3 to the “New Khimki Stadium” stop; from metro station " River Station» Moscow by bus/minibus No. 443 to the stop “New Khimki Stadium”; from the Planernaya metro station in Moscow by bus/minibus No. 383, also by trolleybus No. 202 to the stop “New Khimki Stadium”
Temple details:
Recipient: Local religious organization Orthodox parish Epiphany Church in Khimki, Moscow Region Russian Diocese Orthodox Church
INN 5047069695 KPP 504701001 r/account 40703810509010000660
Central branch of AB "RUSSIA" p. Gazoprovod Moscow region
account number 30101810400000000132
BIC 044599132
The Church of the Epiphany, the former Epiphany Monastery, in Kitai-Gorod is located near the Moscow Kremlin, between Ilyinka and Nikolskaya streets.
From the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line):
Exit to the city “to Red Square, Nikolskaya, Ilyinka streets, Chamber Musical Theater, shops: GUM, “ Child's world", "Gostiny Dvor". The temple is located opposite the metro exit.
From the Kitay-Gorod metro station (Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya or Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya lines):
Exit to the city “To New Square, streets: Ilyinka, Maroseyka, Polytechnic Museum, Gostiny Dvor.” Go up the stairs, turn left and go up the escalator. In the long passage, turn left and go to the end, then go up the right exit to the street. Walk along Ilyinke Street to Bogoyavlensky Lane (second on the right side). Landmarks: Exchange Square, Gostiny Dvor (corner large blue building), apricot-colored building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.
From Lubyanka metro station (Sokolnicheskaya line):
Exit to the city “on the square: Lubyanskaya, Novaya, to Teatralny Proezd, to the streets: Pushechnaya, Rozhdestvenka, Nikolskaya, b. and metro station Cherkassky Lanes, Chamber Musical Theatre, Museum of the History of Moscow, Polytechnic Museum, airline ticket offices, pharmacy No. 1, Detsky Mir department store.” Exit to Lubyanka Square, turn left onto Nikolskaya Street, which starts right next to the metro, and follow it to Bogoyavlensky Lane (second turn to the left).
Divine services
Tuesday: 17.00 - Evening Worship.
Wednesday: 8.00 - Confession; 8.30 - Clock and Divine Liturgy; 17.00 - Prayer singing with an akathist before the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan and Prayer singing for the increase of love - alternately.
Thursday: 17.00 - Evening Worship.
Friday: 8.00 - Confession; 8.30 - Hours and Divine Liturgy; 17.00 - Evening service.
Saturday: 8.00 - Confession; 8.30 - Hours and Divine Liturgy; 17.00 - All-night vigil.
Sunday: 8.00 - Confession; 9.30 - Hours and Divine Liturgy (from May to October - 8.30).
The day before church holidays at 17.00 - All-night vigil (from May to October - at 18.00), on the very day of the holidays at 8.00 - Confession, at 8.30 - Divine Liturgy.
All church requirements are fulfilled.
Thrones:
Upper Temple:
Epiphany of the Lord ( high altar); Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called; Holy Hieromartyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia.
Lower Temple:
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God;
Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow.
Patronal holidays:
Epiphany of the Lord - January 19 (high altar);
Saint Apostle Andrew the First-Called - December 13;
Holy Hieromartyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia - February 7;
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - November 4;
Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow - June 2.
Story
The Church of the Epiphany of the former Epiphany Monastery was built in 1693–1996 in the Naryshkin Baroque style, as main temple Moscow Epiphany monastery, founded in 1298–1299 by the Venerable Prince Daniil of Moscow. The trustees of the monastery, starting from the 14th century, were St. blg. Prince John Kalita and the Moscow boyars Vorontsov-Velyaminov, Pleshcheev, Dolgorukov and Galitsyn. The ancestral necropolis of the trustees was also located here. The Monk Stefan, brother, labored in the monastery St. Sergius and the Venerable Dionysius of Svyatorets, the Venerable Gabriel (Zyryanov), the Venerable Confessor Leonty (Stasevich). In 1313, the future Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, took monastic vows in the monastery.
The monastery was closed in 1919, but services in the temple continued. In 1929, the temple was closed, the building was used as a warehouse, dormitory, printing house, and later the temple was transferred to the State Academic Russian Choir of the USSR. A. Sveshnikova.
In 1990, the temple was transferred to the Orthodox community of the Russian Orthodox Church, and on January 19, 1991, the first divine services were held there. On May 31, a small consecration of the chapel was performed in honor of St. Alexis of Moscow; On April 25, 1992, the side altar was consecrated in honor of the Hieromartyr Vladimir of Kyiv; January 14, 1998 His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' performed the Great Consecration of the main altar of the upper church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord; On October 31, 2003, a throne was consecrated in honor of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the northern gallery of the upper church; On March 6, 2011, the main altar of the lower church was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In 1995–1999, work was carried out to reconstruct the drum and dome of the temple, destroyed during Soviet times, and the facades of the temple. The altar parts of the Alekseevsky and Alfeyevsky chapels of the lower church were rebuilt, the iconostases of the upper and lower churches were restored.
Shrines
External Cross with part of the Honest and Life-Giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord;
Reliquary cross with a cathedral icon and particles of relics: Saints Apostle and Evangelist Luke, Apostle Barnabas, Saint Basil of Ryazan, Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh, Saints Agapit the gratuitous physician and Damian the healer of the Kiev-Pechersk, Venerable Euphrosyne of Suzdal;
Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God with particles of holy relics: Shchmch. Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens, St. Innokenty of Irkutsk, military center. Barbarians, St. John Climacus, prmcc. Book Elizabeth and nun Varvara, St. bgg. Book George Vladimirsky and Prince. Peter and Prince Fevronia Muromsky; and with particles of the Holy Sepulcher, the oak of Mamre and a stone from Mount Golgotha.
Icons with particles of holy relics:
o Apostle Andrew the First-Called;
o Apostle Barnabas;
o VMC. Catherine;
o Vmch. Demetrius of Thessalonica;
o 14,000 infant martyrs, killed by Herod in Bethlehem;
o Rights warrior Feodor Ushakov;
o Rights Martha;
o Prmcc. led book Elizabeth and nun Varvara;
o St. Alexy Zosimovsky;
o St. Aristocleus of the Elder of Moscow;
o St. Varlaam of Suzdal;
o St. Gabriel of Spain, Melekessky;
o St. Herman Zosimovsky;
o St. Herman Zosimovsky;
o St. John Climacus;
o St. Job Pochaevsky;
o St. Lavrentiy of Chernigov;
o St. Maxim the Greek;
o St. Pimen the Great;
o St. Roman Kirzhachsky;
o St. Sofia of Suzdal;
o St. Stefan Makhrishchsky;
o St. Theodore of Sanaxar;
o St. Alexander (Orlov) isp., presbyter of Maccabees;
o St. Blg. book Oleg Bryansky;
o St. blgv. led book Andrey Bogolyubsky;
o St. blgv. led book Georgy (Yuri) Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky;
o St. blgv. book Alexander Nevsky;
o St. blgv. book Daniil of Moscow;
o St. blgv. Tsarevich Dimitri, Uglich and Moscow;
o St. Blessed Andrey Simbirsky;
o St. Blessed Vasily, Christ for the sake of the holy fool, Moscow;
o St. VMC. Barbarians;
o St. Sergius (Pravdolyubov) isp., presbyter of Kasimovsky;
o St. blgv. book Konstantin (Yaroslav) and his children Mikhail and Theodore, Muromsky;
o St. blgv. book Peter, in the monasticism of David, and Prince. Fevronia, in monasticism Euphrosyne, Murom miracle workers;
o St. blgvv. knn. Theodore of Smolensk and his children David and Konstantin, Yaroslavl;
o St. Innocent, bishop Irkutsk;
o St. Innocent, Bishop of Penza;
o St. Innocent, Metropolitan Moscow;
o St. John, Bishop of Suzdal;
o St. Luke isp., archbishop. Simferopol;
o St. Nikita, recluse of Pechersk, bishop. Novgorodsky;
o St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia;
o St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus';
o St. Theodora, bishop Suzdal;
o St. Theodosius of Chernigov;
o St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky;
o St. Philareta, Metropolitan Moscow;
o Sschmch. Vladimir, Metropolitan Kievsky and Galitsky;
o Sschmch. Dionysius the Areopagite, bishop. Athens;
o Sschmch. Sylvester, Archbishop. Omsk.
Icons with particles of coverings from holy relics:
o St. Ilya of Muromets, Pechersky;
o St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky;
Reliquary with particles of holy relics: St. James of Nizibia, St. Ignatius, bishop Rostov, the venerable fathers of Chozroes who were beaten, the martyrs of Nicomedia, the martyrs of Jordan,
Equal Apostles icon. Nina, enlightener of Georgia with a particle of the Cross of the Equal Apostle. Nina.
At the temple there are:
Sunday School for children and adults, choral singing and painting studios(Record in Sunday school carried out according to Sundays in September);
Parish library;
Lecture hall on topics devoted to spiritual life, the foundations of Christian morality and the principles of building relationships in Orthodox family- on Wednesdays at 19.00, conducted by Archpriest Gennady Nefedov;
Evening singing and regency courses(one-year education in the specialty of a church liturgical choir singer) and amateur choir(training the skills of church choral singing for everyone, registration in September of each year based on the results of the interview);
Icon studio(3-year training for those interested in the basics of icon painting; recruitment based on the results of an interview, testing of professional skills and viewing of works - once every 3 years).
Epiphany behind Torg, or behind Betoshny row. Male, 2nd class, non-dormitory monastery. Located between Nikolskaya and Ilyinka streets, it was founded, according to the Novgorod Chronicle, at the end of the 13th century, shortly before the death of Prince of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich, son of Alexander Nevsky. During the years of the founding and construction of the Epiphany Monastery, its western part adjoined Red Square with trading tents and rows. The northern side bordered on a busy road to Rostov Veliky, Suzdal and Vladimir (Nikolskaya St.). All buildings were erected from wood, the first stone structure - the Church of the Epiphany - was built in 1342 under the supervision of the boyar and the thousand's Protasius.
In 1624, a new stone cathedral with the Church of the Kazan Mother of God was built in the monastery on the site of the Church of the Epiphany, which had stood for almost 300 years. Later, in the lower tier (in the basement) a church was built in the name of the icon of the Apparition of the Kazan Mother of God, consecrated on December 29, 1693, and twenty years earlier, when the noblewoman Ksenia Repnina was the widow of the prince and governor Boris Alexandrovich Repnin-Obolensky, one of the leaders of the boyar duma , a participant in the fight against the Polish interventionists, donated the land adjacent to it from Nikolskaya Street and Bogoyavlensky Lane to the monastery, the monastery built here the main Holy Gate with access to the busy Nikolskaya Street and the gateway Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
At the end of the 17th century. stone stones were built in the monastery along the line of Vetoshny Row fraternal cells and at right angles to them inside the courtyard is the abbot's building (1693-1697). The cathedral was also rebuilt at the same time. The temple acquired the elegant appearance of a Moscow Baroque building. The outer walls of its apse and refectory, decorated with the same decorative decoration, created the impression of rich decoration, and the double quadrangle windows, cornices and octagonal window frames, composed of several tiers of small profiled parts, and a light figured spire gave a special festiveness to the entire structure.
In the summer of 1782, the Epiphany Cathedral was again renovated from top to bottom, both outside and inside, and by the end of the century, in the buildings facing Torgi and Nikolskaya, the first floors were allocated to haberdashery shops. 18 years after Napoleon left Moscow, the Church of the Savior was erected in the bell tower above the Holy Gate at the expense of the guard captain Evdokia Vlasova Miraculous Image instead of the church of Boris and Gleb desecrated by the French. Almost 40 years after this, a chapel was built in the upper tier of the cathedral in the name of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God.
In 1870, the three-story fraternal building on the west side and the two-story abbot's house on the north side, standing at right angles to each other, were thoroughly rebuilt. On the south side, instead of dilapidated outbuildings, three-story commercial buildings were erected and the galleries connecting the buildings with the cathedral were dismantled. The warm Epiphany shopping arcades have survived to this day. We completed the improvement of the monastery by creating in the chapel upper tier Cathedral of the Church of the Great Martyr Panteleimon (1873).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, commercial activity also took over the monastery. The corner buildings and the gate church with the Holy Gate were demolished (1905), and five years later a four-story trading building with an Art Nouveau façade on Nikolskaya Street was erected in their place.
Previously existing Church of the Savior Image Not Made by Hands was in the Epiphany Monastery above the gate under the bell tower. The bell tower was built in 1739-42. The church was first consecrated in honor of Boris and Gleb, and after the renovation in 1830 it received its current name. The bell tower has 4 bells from the 17th century, of which one large one is marked 1616.
The previously existing chapel of the Epiphany Monastery on Nikolskaya Street was built on the occasion of the arrival in 1866 of part of the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon and the icon of the Mother of God of the Quick to Hear from Athos. Consecrated on February 11, 1873. When the Panteleimon Monastery built its own chapel at the Vladimir Gate, the Athos shrines were moved there.
"Index of churches and chapels in Kitay-Gorod." Moscow, “Russian Printing House”, Bolshaya Sadovaya, No. 14, 1916
The Epiphany Monastery in Moscow is in second place after the Danilovsky Monastery in terms of antiquity. These Moscow monasteries had one founder - Prince Daniil Alexandrovich. Prince Daniel was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and became the first Moscow prince, under whom the city became an independent appanage principality, separated from Vladimir.
The exact date of foundation of the Epiphany Monastery is unknown. It is generally accepted that it was founded in 1296, when Daniil accepted the title of Prince of Moscow, but with the same degree of probability the monastery could have been built in the period before 1304. The place chosen for the construction of the monastery could not have been better suited for this. It was located not far from the Kremlin, on the main road to Suzdal and Vladimir, and besides, the Neglinka flowed here, and this was very convenient for organizing the Jordan on the patronal holiday. The fact that the area was elevated also played an important role - at that time they preferred to build churches and monasteries on hills.
The Epiphany Monastery grew up in a suburb that was not yet fenced with the wall of Kitay-Gorod. Craftsmen and merchants lived in this place, and the main Moscow trading center was located. At first, the monastery was called that way - “The Monastery at the Bargain”. No details have been preserved about the first years of life of this monastery in Moscow. It is only known that even then he enjoyed the respect and attention of high-ranking and even royal persons; he was used for the Grand Duke's pilgrimage. The monastery had extensive estates that allowed it to expand. In addition, the great princes and Moscow nobility presented the monastery with significant donations, thanks to which it could prosper.
At first, the monastery and the Church of the Epiphany with the Annunciation chapel were made of wood, so it is not surprising that it soon burned down. After this, in 1340, the son of Prince Daniel, Ivan Kalita, founded the white-stone Epiphany Cathedral in the monastery, which became the sixth stone temple built by him. In addition, it was the very first building made of stone outside the Kremlin, built at a time when the Kremlin walls themselves were still made of oak.
The abbots and monks of the Epiphany monastery have always been distinguished by outstanding qualities; they were true ascetics of the faith. The elder brother of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan, lived here, who was first a monk and then became abbot of the Epiphany Monastery. Here the boyar's son Eleutherius Byakont, who enjoyed the trust of Ivan Kalita himself, took monastic vows and arrived in Moscow during the reign of Daniel.
The exploits of the monks more than once saved the monastery from disasters. Frequent fires surprisingly avoided the monastery. When Khan Tokhtamysh was rampaging in Moscow, in an attempt to avenge the lost Battle of Kulikovo, he personally ordered the Epiphany Monastery to be set on fire, but the monastery still survived. Of course, the situation did not always work out happily for the monastery. In 1451, it burned down along with the Moscow settlement - this happened during the invasion of Tsarevich Mazovsha from the Golden Horde. After this, the monastery was rebuilt by Grand Duke Vasily II, and his son, Ivan III, ordered the supply of “annual food” to the Epiphany Monastery for the commemoration of parents and for the prayer of the holy elders for the sovereign’s toast. Ivan III donated the Epiphany Monastery with rich estates, in which it was forbidden to beg, play tricks, stand up and demand carts even for the sovereign's people. At the same time, a refectory was built on the territory of the monastery from brick, which was particularly durable, which was produced at the Kalitnikovsky plant according to the recipe of Aristotle Fioravanti specifically for the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral.
In 1547, a strong fire caused enormous damage to the monastery. This happened six months after the accession to the kingdom of Ivan the Terrible. During the reign of this Russian Tsar, the Epiphany Monastery became the place of imprisonment of the disgraced Metropolitan Philip (Kolychev), who publicly condemned the Tsar for his anti-people oprichnina. The guardsmen seized the saint in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral, on the feast of the Archangel Michael. When the Metropolitan was taken to the Epiphany Monastery, people ran behind the sleigh to receive last blessing from the lips of his spiritual mentor. There is a legend about the miracles that accompanied the Metropolitan’s stay in the Epiphany Monastery. One day, the guards who came to him discovered that the chains had miraculously fallen off the prisoner. The second time, when Ivan the Terrible ordered a hungry bear to be released into the dungeon with a priest and left overnight, in the morning they discovered that the bear was quietly sleeping in the corner, and the arrested one was safe and sound.
Ivan the Terrible revered the Epiphany Monastery. By his order, significant rent and food were supplied to the monastery, and when in 1571, during the invasion of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, the monastery burned down in a fire, the monastery was rebuilt by order of the tsar. During the Time of Troubles, the Epiphany Monastery found itself at the center of the battles for Kitay-Gorod, which took place in March 1611 and autumn 1612.
The Poles completely destroyed the monastery and the Romanovs had to revive it. In 1624, a new cathedral was built in the Epiphany Monastery, and the monastery flourished at the end of the 17th century. Then, under Patriarch Andrian, with his blessing, a magnificent cathedral was built here in the “Moscow Baroque” style, which can still be seen today. It is unknown who the author of this cathedral was; due to its similarity with the Trinity Church in Lykovo, some experts suggest that the architect could have been Yakov Bukhvostov. This Epiphany Cathedral is two-tiered. In the first tier there is a church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which served as a symbol miraculous salvation Moscow in 1612.
In the 17th century, the fate of the monastery was extremely successful. In 1672, noblewoman Ksenia Repnina gave the monastery a vast courtyard on Nikolskaya Street, which doubled the territory of the monastery, and in addition, the monastery received access to Nikolskaya. It was here that the first holy gates of the Epiphany Monastery with the gate church of the Nativity of John the Baptist were built. It was in the Epiphany Monastery that the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was temporarily established in 1685, to which students were transferred from the school located in the St. Andrew's Monastery.
At the beginning of the 18th century, when Peter I was on the Russian throne, craftsmen from Switzerland decorated the Epiphany Church with beautiful alabaster sculptures. And recently, documents were discovered in the archives indicating that A.S.’s great-grandfather may have stayed at the Bogovyalensky Monastery upon his arrival in Moscow. Pushkin and the godson of Peter the Great, then still young Abram Hannibal. But it was in the Petrine era, after the death of Patriarch Adrian, that the first secularization was carried out: now monastic incomes went to the Monastic Order, and the monks were paid a meager salary, which was barely enough to live on. When the archimandrite turned to the king with a request to increase the amount of this salary, he was refused. But despite the difficulties, there were also joyful events in the life of the Epiphany Monastery. So, after the fire of 1731, Archimandrite Gerasim managed to restore the monastery and build another gate church with a bell tower in the name of Boris and Gleb over the second gate, which was consecrated in 1742. On this bell tower there were 9 bells, each of which was cast to commemorate the soul. By the end of the 18th century, the Epiphany Monastery in Moscow became the seat of the suffragan bishops of the Moscow Metropolitan.
The reign of Catherine II brought absolute secularization to the Epiphany Monastery. Basically, the monastery existed due to the fact that members of many noble Russian families found their final rest here, making donations for the commemoration of the souls of their loved ones. Almost from the moment of its inception, the Epiphany Monastery was the main boyar tomb after the Kremlin. In total, the tomb church contained more than 150 graves with unique tombstones, which were destroyed during the Soviet years. The Sheremetevs, Dolgorukies, Repnins, Yusupovs, Saltykovs, Menshikovs, Golitsyns were buried here, and an associate of Tsar Peter the Great, Prince Grigory Dmitrievich Yusupov, was buried here.
Before Napoleonic troops entered Moscow, the archimandrite of the Epiphany Monastery managed to remove the sacristy of the monastery, and the treasurer and the monks hid the remaining treasures in the church wall. Neither threats nor torture helped the French soldiers find out where the monastery's valuables had gone. The Epiphany Monastery was saved from ruin and destruction by the fact that one of Napoleon’s marshals stayed here. After Napoleon's army left Moscow, the Epiphany Monastery was in pretty good condition.
In the second half of the 19th century, the icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” was brought to the city from the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, as well as parts of the relics of the healer Panteleimon, a cross with a particle of the Life-Giving Tree, and a particle of the stone of the Holy Sepulcher. People from all over Russia flocked to the Epiphany Monastery to venerate these shrines. In 1873, a chapel of St. Panteleimon was built in the monastery, and the Athos Chapel was also built on Nikolskaya Street. The chapel was small and could not accommodate all the visitors, so in 1880 the brother of the abbot of the Athos Panteleimonov Monastery donated a plot of land on Nikolskaya Street to the monastery for the construction of a new chapel.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a series of repairs and improvements to churches and premises were carried out at the Epiphany Monastery, which, on the one hand, brought comfort and beauty, but on the other, destroyed rare architectural values. When steam heating was installed inside the temple, ancient burials and remains of ancient structures were destroyed, but this was only the beginning. In 1905, despite violent protests from the Moscow Archaeological Society, the gate church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was demolished, and in its place it was decided to build an apartment building. In 1919, the Epiphany Monastery was closed, and the cathedral and Spasskaya Church were made parish - they continued their activities for some time. In 1922, all the silver was removed from the monastery. And seven years later the Epiphany Cathedral was closed. In his tribute in different time there was either a flour warehouse, or a Metrostroy warehouse, and even a metalworking shop. The most valuable items were transferred to various museums, while the rest was damaged and desecrated. Various disorderly outbuildings have disfigured appearance temple, the building began to collapse. In 1941, a downed German bomber fell near the cathedral and the shock wave demolished the upper part of the temple. After the end of the Second World War, an administrative building of the NKVD was built on the territory of the monastery, and of all the valuable buildings, only the Epiphany Cathedral was more or less preserved.
In 1980, they gradually began to restore the surviving Epiphany Church; it was handed over to the choir. A.V. Sveshnikov, a rehearsal and concert hall were set up here. In 1991, the temple was returned to believers. Started new era in life ancient temple. Restoration work even affected what was damaged during the Napoleonic invasion. In the upper church, the multi-tiered iconostasis, stucco molding, sculptures from the Peter the Great period, and the royal doors in the form of a cross were restored. The restored upper church was consecrated in 1998 by Patriarch Alexy II. In 1998, the Moscow Regency Singing Seminary began to work at the Epiphany Monastery, and by Epiphany Cathedral The surviving Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Red Bell" and the Church of Cosmas and Damian in Starye Paneh were attributed. By 2014, it is planned to complete the restoration work, which is carried out using funds from the state budget. During the project, the fence will be restored and the surrounding area will be landscaped.
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