Many of those who have been on excursions in the Kremlin may not even suspect that today this historical place could look completely different. The fact is that several magnificent temples and churches were destroyed on this territory, including the Ascension and Miracles Monastery, the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor and other historical monuments.
Temple History
Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin began to build the Metropolitan of Moscow Alexy. For him, the place of the former khan's court was chosen. At that time, ambassadors lived there. They came to Moscow for tribute. This place was given in gratitude for the fact that Alexy cured the wife of Khan Dzhanibek - Taidula from complete blindness. The Metropolitan personally went to the Horde to help the unfortunate woman.
In the beginning, the Church of the Archangel Michael was built. It was founded in 1365. This is one of the ancient churches in Moscow.
Chudov Monastery later became known as the Great Lavra (at the beginning of the 17th century), under Patriarch Filaret.
In 1771, a spontaneous plague riot broke out in Moscow, during whichthe monastery was mercilessly plundered by the townspeople.
During the Russian-French war of 1812, the Chudov Monastery, the photo of which you see in our article, was occupied by the French. Here was the headquarters of Napoleon's army. A luxurious bedroom for Marshal Davout was equipped in the altar of the monastery. Its founder, Metropolitan Alexy, was buried in the temple. His relics were kept in the cathedral until 1686. Later they were transferred to the Church of St. Metropolitan Alexy.
Restored the temple in 1814. The architect M. Bykovsky made a special contribution to this matter. Thanks to his efforts, a bronze iconostasis with large Holy Doors made of silver appeared in the cathedral church of the monastery.
The role of the monastery in the history of Russia
Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin has played an important role in the history of Russia for many years. In 1382 it was ravaged by the troops of Tokhtamysh. In 1441, Metropolitan Isidore of Moscow was deposed here, shortly before that he had returned from the Florentine Cathedral. Representatives of the Orthodox Russian Church, headed by Isidore, signed an agreement on the introduction of a union in Russia. Moscow did not agree with this decision. Isidore was deposed and imprisoned in a monastery.
In 1504, an outstanding fighter against heresy, Metropolitan Geronty of Novgorod, was imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery. The same fate overtook Elder Bassian. In 1610, Tsar Vasily IV was overthrown, and in the monastery he was forcibly tonsured a monk. And two years later, Patriarch Hermogenes died of starvation in the cell of the monastery. One can only guess how much suffering Miracles sawmonastery. Prayer to Archangel Michael often sounded under his vaults.
The role of the monastery in education
Chudov Monastery made a huge contribution to the development of enlightenment in Russia. Its two archimandrites, Adrian and Jokim, were elected patriarchs. Hierodeacon Timothy became the overseer of all church rites taking place on the territory of Moscow. This happened during the reign of Peter I. When the Moscow diocese was restored in 1737, the Department of Moscow bishops revived its activities in the Miracle Church.
Epiphany Slavinetsky, a native of the Kyiv Academy, worked here. In 1658, he translated the “dokhtursky book” for the patriarch. I must say that in those days medical literature was a very rare phenomenon, as, indeed, medicine itself, which served only the highest persons. For his work, Epiphanius received a large reward for those times - 10 rubles. In addition, Arseniy Grek also worked here for some time.
Teaching in a monastery
According to the established tradition, boyar children were given to the Chudov Monastery for education and protection from the evil influence of secular society. They lived at the monastery until the age of sixteen, and then returned to their father's house. According to contemporaries, in those days the monastery looked more like an educational institution for the aristocracy than a monastery.
Karion Istomin, an educator from Little Russia, lived here for a long time. In 1662, he created a primer, which he subsequently presented to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna to teach her grandson, Tsarevich Alexei, to read and write.
Temple Rise
It is believed that the Chudov Monastery reached its peak by the beginning of the 17th century. Then it was called the Great Lavra. At this time, with the support of Patriarch Filaret, the Greek-Latin school began to receive its first students here. The most valuable contributions of Russian tsars, great boyars and princes were kept in the monastery sacristy. Here was a huge library, with priceless samples of ancient books. It was one of the most significant book depositories in Russia.
The monastery had four temples. At the very beginning of the 16th century (1501), on the site of an ancient, but already dismantled by that time, temple, the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was erected. The stone Alekseevskaya Church appeared at the end of the 15th century. It burned several times, after which it was repeatedly rebuilt. But despite this, royal children were baptized in it for centuries. The children of Ivan the Terrible, Alexei Mikhailovich - the future Tsar, Peter I, as well as Emperor Alexander II were baptized here. The trophy weapons of the Russian army, captured in the battles of the Russian-Persian war of 1816, decorated the walls of the church.
The Church of the Annunciation adjoined the Alekseevskaya Church. It was erected in 1501 and rebuilt in 1826. This church housed the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, revered by thousands of parishioners.
The smallest church was built in honor of the Apostle Andrew the Primordial.
Temple in Soviet times
In 1917, the temple was badly damaged. The government of the Soviet Republic moved from Petrograd toKremlin. For some time, the monks continued to live in the monastery, but such proximity irritated the new authorities.
In 1919 the temple was closed. At first, the Kommunist cooperative was placed here and a reading room was set up. Later, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of Lechsanupra, which was responsible for the he alth of members of the Soviet government and other high-ranking officials. In 1929 Chudov and Ascension monasteries were destroyed. This place was needed for the construction of the building of the Command Staff School for the Red Army. The building was designed by the architect Rerberg.
The relics of St. Alexis were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral. In 1947, at the request of Alexy I, they were transferred to the Yelokhovsky Cathedral, where they rest today. The most valuable icons were moved to the Kremlin Armory and the Tretyakov Gallery.
Churches and temples of the Kremlin, destroyed in the XX century
Unfortunately, in the 20th century, 17 churches, which were unique historical monuments, were destroyed on the territory of the Kremlin. An old map of the Kremlin in Moscow and infographics make it possible to see that, in addition to the Ascension and Chudov monasteries, the Church of Constantine on Podol, the Church of the Annunciation, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, a stunning monument to Alexander II and others were located on this territory.
Restore Chudov Monastery… Is it possible?
Recently it became known that the President of Russia Vladimir Putin ordered the restoration of the Ascension and Chudov monasteries.
Construction work will begin after preliminaryexcavations. Today, the view of Ivanovskaya (formerly Tsarskaya) Square seems quite familiar. It seems incredible that she once looked otherwise. Only photographs of the 19th century and a map of the Kremlin in Moscow give an idea of how luxurious and majestic everything here was. On the site of the former monastery, there is now an unremarkable building of the 14th service building, which, moreover, has been under repair for many years.
The map of the Kremlin in Moscow, if you superimpose a diagram of the destroyed monasteries (Chudov and Voznesensky) on it, clearly shows what space the destroyed temples occupied. In addition to the territory where the 14th Corps is now located, they occupied more than half of Ivanovskaya Square (almost to the Tsar Cannon).
Large-scale project
Experts and historians are inspired by the prospect of the work ahead. Only seven frescoes from the Chudov Monastery have been preserved in the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery, and there are several more in other museums. There are no detailed drawings of these buildings. Folders with unique, miraculously preserved draft drawings were given by the widow of one scientist to the Museum of Architecture. Her husband tried to sketch and measure the details of the monasteries in as much detail as possible. According to the staff of the Museum of Architecture, it is possible to restore, if not the entire ensemble of monasteries, then their main buildings, according to these drawings and drawings.
In the Kremlin, the ancient halls of the Kremlin Palace have already been restored, the legendary Red Porch has been recreated. But about the return of the biggest loss of the 20th century, most recently, scientists and historians could noteven dream.
The creation of a project, excavation, construction can take more than a dozen years. But that's not the point. It is important that the face of the Kremlin will eventually be restored.
