The first mention of the Church of St. Basil the Great in the village of Vasilyevskoye dates back to the 16th century in connection with its grant by Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich to the clergy of the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral.

No later than the 1620s, a wooden cage church was built in Vasilyevskoye through the efforts of parishioners. According to the description, it contained “images and books and all the secular church buildings.” In 1764, church lands, including the village of Vasilyevskoye itself, became the property of the state.

The wooden church in the village lived to see its 200th anniversary. In 1836, it was replaced by a stone three-part temple of the same name, founded in the 1810s in memory of the deliverance of the Fatherland from the French in 1812 and, due to lack of funds, was built in 1836.

Before the construction of the new temple, the old wooden one was used for firing bricks, and a memorial pillar was erected on the site of his throne. According to local legends, bricks for the temple were fired in kilns near the village. Bricks were delivered to the construction site not only on horses. Women brought it in their hems in order to thus contribute to the creation of the temple.

In the church register of 1887 it was also noted that the model of the Vasilyevskaya Church was the temple of the same name on Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street in Moscow.

Funds for the construction of the new church were donated by residents of the village of Vasilyevskoye, the village of Tsarevskoye and the villages of Yarygino, Zelnikovo, Kostromino and Torbeevo, which made up one parish. The new church had a chapel in the name of the holy prophet of God Elijah. Not far from the church, in the village cemetery, a wooden chapel was erected, which fell into disrepair by the end of the 19th century. The church clergy at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries consisted of a priest, a deacon and two psalm-readers.

In the 20-30s of the twentieth century, the temple operated. It was closed two years before Stalin's death - in 1951. According to local residents, they tried to blow up the church and build a club in its place. However, the walls of the temple refused to obey the “builders”, and the car sent for additional explosives had an accident. At the same time, the bell tower of the temple was destroyed, the dome with the cross was removed from the main dome, the church fence and gate were broken, and the temple itself was converted into a warehouse.

In 1991, the building of the Church of St. Basil the Great was returned to the Orthodox Church. The rector of the temple was a young graduate of the Moscow Theological Seminary, priest Sergius Sapun. The priest and the village residents set about restoring the desecrated shrine. On the Day of the Holy Trinity the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated.

Gradually the temple began to acquire its former features. Every year the interior decoration gets better. The church fence was restored, a new brick clergy house was built, the interior decoration of the refectory part of the temple was completed, and a chapel in the name of the holy prophet Elijah was equipped. The bell tower was rebuilt two years ago. You can again hear the bells ringing over Vasilievsk.

In 2011, it was exactly 175 years since the construction and consecration of the stone church, as well as 20 years since the revival of parish life in it. For all these 20 years, the rector of the temple was Archpriest Sergius Sapun. On August 21, 2011, he departed to the Lord.

From 2011 to 2017, Priest Sergius Demin served as the rector of Vasilievsky Church.

On August 23, 2011, in the Vasilyevsky Church in the village of Vasilyevskoye, Sergiev Posad District, a funeral service was held for the rector of the temple, Archpriest Sergius Sapun. Father Sergius ended his earthly journey on August 21 at the 45th year of his life after a serious long-term illness.

Archpriest Sergiy Arkadyevich Sapun was born on July 3, 1967 in the village of Suponevo, Bryansk district, Bryansk region, into the family of a hereditary priest: his father, both grandfathers and great-grandfather served the Church of Christ for 50-60 years. After graduating from high school in 1984, he served as a sexton and subdeacon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the city of Perm. In 1986 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary. During his studies he was awarded the medal of St. Sergius of Radonezh, II degree. In 1987 he got married. In 1990 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary.

On May 22, 1991, in the Smolensk church in the city of Ivanteevka, Pushkin district, Deacon Sergius Sapun was ordained a presbyter by His Eminence Juvenaly, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna. And on June 6, 1991, by the Decree of Bishop Yuvenaly, the young priest was appointed rector of the Vasilievsky Church in the village of Vasilievskoye, in which he served continuously for 20 years. For his diligent service, Father Sergius was awarded liturgical awards: in 2001 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest, and in 2007 he was awarded the right to bear a club. There are three children in the family of Father Sergius and Mother Elena.

Over the years of the sacrificial labors of Father Sergius, the Vasilievsky Church was almost completely restored,
representing the ruins in 1991. At one time, to restore it, he, without hesitation, sold his own apartment.

The good shepherd created a strong and friendly parish community. For twenty years he was the permanent leader of the spiritual life of his parishioners, for twenty years he, together with them, restored the temple from ruins, for twenty years he shared both grief and joy with them.

Father Sergius was very attentive to every parishioner. He knew how to listen patiently, give good advice, reason and explain how to act correctly in a given situation. He always entered the temple with a smile and knew how to disperse any sadness with a joke. With his appearance, everyone's spirits immediately lifted. He loved his parish, which was his father's home. He was generous and merciful. And it is not surprising that the parishioners loved him like their own father.

Father Sergius was a good preacher, instructing his flock that anger, hatred and revenge have never brought anyone to good.

When the priest’s illness worsened, the parishioners began to hold frequent prayer services and “with one mouth and one heart” prayed purely for the recovery of their rector. So on August 21, a prayer service for health began, but it was interrupted by the sad news of the death of the shepherd.

On August 23, many people gathered in the temple: clergy, relatives, parishioners and
everyone who knew Father Sergius to accompany him on his last journey. The Divine Liturgy and funeral service, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Yuvenaly, was led by the dean of the Sergiev Posad district, priest Alexander Kolesnikov, co-served by twenty-nine priests. Before the funeral service, Father Alexander in his speech called Archpriest Sergius a servant of God, noting that he did not spare his life for the sake of serving the Lord, he managed to do a lot of good, served God and people until his last day, and by patiently enduring his illness showed an example of Christian courage. The dean read out a telegram from Metropolitan Yuvenaly expressing deep condolences in connection with the death of Archpriest Sergius Sapun: “A good shepherd has left us, who laid down his life for the sheep of Christ’s flock. May the Lord rest His servant in the villages of the righteous.”

After the funeral service and farewell to Father Sergius, a religious procession was held around the temple, during which the priests carried the coffin with the body of the late abbot on their shoulders. Archpriest Sergius Sapun was buried in the church fence not far from the main altar. After the burial, a funeral meal took place.

The life path of Father Sergius was short, but full of good deeds and accomplishments. He devoted him entirely to serving God and people. The parishioners sincerely mourn the death of their pastor and believe that the Lord will rest his soul in the villages of the righteous.

Lord, grant to Your servant, Archpriest Sergius, forgiveness and remission of sins, and grant him eternal peace in Your Kingdom!

Website of the Sergiev Posad Deanery (spblago.ru)

Total 78 photos

St. Basil's Cathedral occupies a special place not only among the masterpieces of world architecture, but also in the consciousness of any Russian person. This church on Red Square is the personification of the beauty of the Russian soul, its bottomless inner spiritual world, the innermost desire to find heaven and bliss, both on earth and in heaven. St. Basil's Cathedral is unconditionally recognized by all of us as one of the symbols of Russia and as one of its significant spiritual foundations. The architectural ensemble of Red Square is now simply unthinkable without this heavenly beauty embodied in stone. It’s scary to think, but according to one of the legends, the famous Lazar Kaganovich once suggested that Stalin demolish St. Basil’s Cathedral, effectively snatching it from the model of the reconstruction of Red Square, which was presented to the leader of the people for consideration. Lazarus! “Give us a place,” Stalin said briefly then...

St. Basil's Cathedral impresses you so much, it remains in your consciousness for a long time and continues to live in it for a long time, feeding the soul with the sensual immaterial energy of this earthly miracle. Being next to the temple, you can endlessly admire its unique living image, playing with all the facets of sublime and exquisite beauty from any angle. Many essays have been written about this temple, countless scientific studies have been conducted and, of course, countless materials from independent researchers and simply lovers of Russian architecture and antiquity have been posted online.

I wanted to present to my reader about the Church of the Intercession on the Moat something different from the works of other authors, which, of course, in this context, is a difficult and, in many ways, impossible task. However, I will still try) As usual, there will be many of my photographs of this temple, from its most varied angles, at different times of the year - in order to reveal both the external sensory image of the cathedral and to show its amazing internal spaces, without seeing which it is impossible to absorb all this Beauty entirely. As it turned out, while I was in the temple itself, I managed, as often happens to me, to miss some views and details of its rich interior when photographing, which, as usual, becomes clear when preparing specific material. Of course, these shortcomings will be filled in by me here as appropriate visual source material becomes available.

I am extremely interested in the period of construction of tented churches in Rus' and St. Basil's Cathedral occupies, among the miraculously surviving tented churches, its own special unique place, because the central architectural dominant of this masterpiece is the sublime tented church of the Intercession of the Virgin. This article will be one of several in a series of my future review articles about the period of tent construction in Rus'.

In the first part, according to tradition, we will try to absorb the wonderful and unique image of St. Basil's Cathedral, learn about its amazing and mysterious history, the spiritual basis of the history of its creation, about architectural features, and in the second and third parts we will examine and explore the church from the inside , because the main thing is a complex sensory impression, and it is precisely what we endure for ourselves and what remains, as a result, with us for a long time, or even forever.

I do not have an architectural education and I do not consider myself an independent expert in this field, but the field of art and creativity in the field of Orthodox architecture is extremely inspiring and interesting to me. Therefore, when talking about the architectural features of the cathedral, third-party sources will be used - as they say - we will not reinvent the wheel where it has already been invented a long time ago and everything is professionally and meticulously described and explained in detail. So, I will not try to be original in this sense. To separate an academic text about the history and architecture of the cathedral, I will highlight my impressions and considerations in italics.
02.

So, the cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate, which happened precisely on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - in early October 1552. There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral. According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma.
03.

According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both participating in the construction. But this version is now outdated. According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.
04.

We have a more emotional detailed report, so I allowed myself to add to my story the warm feeling of the flower beds laid out on Red Square last summer...)
05.

According to Moscow legends, the architects of the cathedral (Barma and Postnik) were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could no longer build a second temple of similar beauty. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.
06.

The temple itself symbolizes Heavenly Jerusalem, but the meaning of the color scheme of the domes remains an unsolved mystery to this day. Even in the last century, the writer Chaev suggested that the color of the domes of the temple can be explained by the dream of Blessed Andrew the Fool (of Constantinople), a holy ascetic with whom, according to Church Tradition, the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God is associated. He dreamed of Heavenly Jerusalem, and there “there were many gardens, in them there were tall trees, swaying with their tops... Some of the trees bloomed, others were decorated with golden foliage, others had various fruits of indescribable beauty.”
07.

Initially, the cathedral was painted to resemble brick. Later it was repainted; researchers discovered the remains of drawings depicting false windows and kokoshniks, as well as memorial inscriptions made with paint.
08.

In 1588, St. Basil's Church was added to the temple, for the construction of which arched openings were laid in the northeastern part of the cathedral. Architecturally, the church was an independent temple with a separate entrance. At the end of the 16th century, figurative domes of the cathedral appeared - to replace the original covering, which burned down during another fire. In the second half of the 17th century, significant changes took place in the external appearance of the cathedral - the open gallery surrounding the upper churches was covered with a vault, and porches decorated with tents were erected above the white stone stairs.
09.

The external and internal galleries, platforms and parapets of the porches were painted with grass patterns. These renovations were completed by 1683, and information about them was included in the inscriptions on the ceramic tiles that decorated the façade of the cathedral.
10.

Architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral

No matter how complex the design of the temple may seem, it is actually very logical. In the center of the composition is the main tent-roofed Church of the Intercession, around which are placed eight other pillar-shaped churches with domed tops. In plan, the cathedral forms an eight-pointed star. Large churches are located at the corners of the diamond. A rhombus inscribed in a square is the structure of the temple. The eight-pointed star in Christian symbolism carries a deep meaning - it symbolizes the entire Christian church, which is a guiding star in a person’s life to Heavenly Jerusalem.
11.

Another aspect of considering the architectural features of the temple as a whole can be reduced to a simple consideration of its architectural forms. All elements of the complex, including the central one, the Intercession Cathedral itself, and large and small churches correspond to different types of church architecture. But their interaction is based on several compositional elements. This is a combination of an octagon on a quadrangle, or two octagons of different diameters. The central part is two octagons on a quadrangle, crowned by a tent structure. Two octagons topped with a dome - this is how one can describe the architecture of large churches. Small churches - an octagon on a quadrangle, topped with a dome over a round drum. Although the lower part of small churches, their quadrangles, is very difficult to see, they are hidden behind the external decor - kokoshniks.
13.

Along the entire perimeter of the temple is decorated with kokoshniks, they are located in different ways, of different sizes, but they perform one function - they smooth out the transition from fours to eights. The cathedral was built on the principle of increasing height - the central tent is twice as high as large churches, large churches are twice as high as small ones.
14.

Another feature of the temple makes it completely different from others - the lack of symmetry in the decor and size of large and small churches. But the whole cathedral leaves an impression of composure and balance. Whoever was the author of the cathedral, his idea - the realization of both political and religious meaning - was impeccably embodied in its architectural forms. Similarity and difference, unification and separation - the combination of these mutually exclusive elements became the main theme in the architecture of the cathedral and the fundamental idea of ​​its design.
15.

The height of the temple is 65 meters. The cathedral consists of churches, the thrones of which were consecrated in honor of the holidays that fell on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan:

Trinity.

In honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of his Velikoretskaya icon from Vyatka).

Entry into Jerusalem.

In honor of the martyrs Adrian and Natalia (originally - in honor of the holy martyrs Cyprian and Justina - October 2).

Saints John the Merciful (until XVIII - in honor of Saints Paul, Alexander and John of Constantinople - November 6).

All these eight churches (four axial, four smaller ones between them) are crowned with onion domes and grouped around the ninth pillar-shaped church rising above them in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God, completed with a tent with a small dome. All nine churches are united by a common base, a bypass (originally open) gallery and internal vaulted passages.
17.

In 1588, a tenth chapel was added to the cathedral from the northeast, consecrated in honor of St. Basil the Blessed (1469-1552), whose relics were located on the site where the cathedral was built. The name of this chapel gave the cathedral a second, everyday name. Adjacent to the chapel of St. Basil's is the chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which Blessed John of Moscow was buried in 1589 (at first the chapel was consecrated in honor of the Placing of the Robe, but in 1680 it was reconsecrated as the Nativity of the Theotokos). In 1672, the discovery of the relics of St. John the Blessed took place there, and in 1916 it was reconsecrated in the name of Blessed John, the Moscow wonderworker.
19.

A tented bell tower was built in the 1670s.
21.

There are only eleven domes, of which nine are above the temple (according to the number of thrones):

Intercession of the Virgin Mary (center),

Holy Trinity (east),

Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (west),

Gregory of Armenia (northwest),

Alexander Svirsky (southeast),

Varlaam Khutynsky (southwest),

John the Merciful (formerly John, Paul and Alexander of Constantinople) (northeast),

Nicholas the Wonderworker of Velikoretsky (south),

Adrian and Natalia (formerly Cyprian and Justina) (north).

Two more domes are located above St. Basil's chapel and above the bell tower.
22.

The cathedral has been restored several times. In the 17th century, asymmetrical extensions were added, tents over the porches, intricate decorative treatment of the domes (originally they were gold), and ornamental paintings outside and inside (originally the cathedral itself was white).

FIRST LEVEL

Podklet (1st floor)

There are no basement spaces in the Intercession Cathedral. Churches and galleries are built on a single foundation - a basement, consisting of several rooms. The strong brick walls of the basement (up to 3 m thick) are covered with vaults. The height of these rooms is about 6.5 m.

On the plan of the first level, the rooms in the basement are indicated in black. In color - the churches of the second level of the cathedral.
23.

The design of the northern basement is unique for the 16th century. Its long box vault has no supporting pillars. The walls are cut through with narrow openings - vents. Together with the “breathable” building material - brick - they provide a special indoor microclimate at any time of the year.
24.

Previously, the basement premises were inaccessible to parishioners. The deep niches in it were used as storage. They were closed with doors, the hinges of which have now been preserved. Until 1595, the royal treasury was hidden in the basement. Wealthy townspeople also brought their property here.

One entered the basement from the upper central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady via an internal white stone staircase. Only particularly trusted persons knew about her. Later this narrow passage was blocked. However, during the restoration process of the 1930s. a secret staircase has been discovered. We'll see her again.
25.

In the basement there are icons of the Intercession Cathedral. The oldest of them is the icon of St. St. Basil's at the end of the 16th century, written specifically for the Intercession Cathedral. Also on display are two 17th-century icons. - “Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos” and “Our Lady of the Sign”. The icon “Our Lady of the Sign” is a replica of the façade icon located on the eastern wall of the cathedral. Written in the 1780s. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. The icon was located above the entrance to the chapel of St. Basil the Blessed.

Church of St. Basil the Blessed

The lower church was added to the cathedral in 1588 over the burial of St. Basil in the church cemetery. A stylized inscription on the wall tells about the construction of this church after the canonization of the saint by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. The temple is cubic in shape, covered with a cross vault and crowned with a small light drum with a dome. The roof of the church is made in the same style as the domes of the upper churches of the cathedral.

We can see the quadrangle of this church and the lowest level dome, green with crimson spikes, and, in fact, its chapels in the foreground in the photo below.
27.

Access to St. Basil's Cathedral itself begins precisely from St. Basil's Cathedral, which is located on the first level, unlike all the other churches of the cathedral...
There are a lot of people here on holidays, as you can see.
29.

Sacristy

In 1680, another church in the name of St. Theodosius the Virgin was added to the cathedral above St. Basil's Church. It was two-story (on the basement). The top was made in the form of an octagon with a head on a narrow drum.

Already in 1783, the octagon was dismantled and the church was turned into a sacristy (storage for vestments and liturgical utensils) at the Church of St. Basil the Blessed. Hilferding's painting, painted in 1770, is the only image of the Church of St. Theodosius the Virgin before its reconstruction. Currently, the sacristy has partially retained its purpose: it hosts exhibitions of things from the cathedral’s funds, that is, the very things that were once stored there.

A tour of the exhibition of St. Basil's Cathedral begins with the entrance through the small northern porch into the building of the former cathedral sacristy (on the left - in the photo below).
30.

But this photo was taken just from the entrance to the Museum of St. Basil's Cathedral.
31.

We will get to the museum later, but for now I suggest you carefully examine St. Basil’s Cathedral in detail and from different angles.

SECOND LEVEL

Galleries and porches

An external bypass gallery runs along the perimeter of the cathedral around all the churches. Initially it was open. In the middle of the 19th century, the glass gallery became part of the cathedral's interior. Arched entrance openings lead from the external gallery to the platforms between the churches and connect it with internal passages.
32.

The central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady is surrounded by an internal bypass gallery. Its vaults hide the upper parts of the churches. In the second half of the 17th century. the gallery was painted with floral patterns. Later, narrative oil paintings appeared in the cathedral, which were updated several times. Tempera painting is currently unveiled in the gallery. Oil paintings from the 19th century have been preserved on the eastern section of the gallery. - images of saints in combination with floral patterns.

This is a large northern porch - through it the exit of tourists visiting the museum and churches of the cathedral is already carried out.
33.

Actually, these are the views you can take from him...
35.

Previously, daylight penetrated into the gallery from windows located above the passages in the walkway. Today it is illuminated by mica lanterns from the 17th century, which were previously used during religious processions. The multi-domed tops of the outrigger lanterns resemble the exquisite silhouette of a cathedral. We'll also look at the lanterns a little later.
37.

This is the west side of the cathedral. Now we will go around it counterclockwise. Some of the photos you see were taken intentionally with high geometric distortions in order to capture, if possible, the entire façade of the cathedral.
38.

Two galleries unite the chapels of the cathedral into a single ensemble. Narrow internal passages and wide platforms create the impression of a “city of churches”. After passing through the labyrinth of the internal gallery, you can get to the porch areas of the cathedral. Their vaults are “carpets of flowers,” the intricacies of which fascinate and attract the attention of visitors.
48.

Now we are on the south side of St. Basil's Cathedral. The area in front of the cathedral is quite spacious. Relatively recently, archaeological excavations were carried out in this place. Their results can be seen right there - stone cannonballs and ancient cannons were found...

The Dnieper hills used to be crowned with many more domes than now. The two small domes of Vasilyevskaya Church and its bell tower almost did not dominate the panorama (compared to the domes of the Lavra, St. Nicholas Military Cathedral and St. Andrew's Church), but the church itself stood almost unchanged since the end of the 17th century.

Confusion with the name of the temple is firmly rooted in Kyiv history, so its name is still written in several versions. Back in the 17th century, it was believed that a small building opposite the buildings of the Kiev-Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery was erected during the time of Prince Vladimir the Great ( A. Kalnofoisky “Cerkiew ś. Bazylego na samy przod zmurowana od Wielkiego Włodzimierza": Τερατούργημα..., 1638, p. 25.). In the petition of the abbot of the Kiev-Brotherly Monastery, submitted to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in April 1640 on the issue of restoration of the Church of the Three Hierarchs, the latter is called “the construction of the sovereign’s ancestor, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, named Vasily in holy baptism.”“The building of the Grand Duke Vladimir” is called the Church of the Three Hierarchs and in another petition - to the Moscow Tsars John and Peter, sent from Kyiv in 1688 ( S. T. Golubev. On the history of the Kyiv Three Saints Church for the second half of the 17th century. TKDA, Kyiv, 1899, book. I (January), p. 111.) .
Common among Kyiv clergy of the 17th century. The dating of the temple was uncritically accepted by the first researchers of Kyiv antiquities. So, N. Samoilov ( N. Samoilov. Kyiv at the beginning of its existence. M., 1834) believed that the existing Church of the Three Hierarchs is “a remnant of Vladimir’s century”. The author did not even doubt that this was the first church that was erected by Vladimir on the hill where wooden idols had previously stood. N. Samoilov believed that even the words “command to cut down the church” do not refute his opinion, because, in his words, “you can cut from stone.”The author, however, left the possibility of another solution: “If, after the introduction of the Christian faith, the wooden one was immediately cut down for haste..., then a stone one was soon built.”The study of the building itself led N. Samoilov to the final conviction of the correctness of his considerations. Vasilievskaya and Desyatinnaya churches, in his opinion, “are made of thin quadrangular bricks on thick Greek cement, and therefore there is no doubt that the foundation of the current Three Hierarchs Church is very ancient, requiring one to agree with the Kiev Monthly Book that its structure dates back to Vladimir.”
M. A. Maksimovich also believed that the Church of the Three Hierarchs had survived from the time of Vladimir. “On its ancient remnant,” according to the author, a church was built in 1695 (under V. Yasinsky) that survived until recently (M. A. Maksimovich. Review of Old Kyiv , 1839 ) .
Author of the descriptive text for the publication by I. Fundukley “Review of Kyiv in relation to antiquities”(Fundukley I. Review of Kyiv in relation to antiquities. Published by the Highest permission by Kyiv citizen Ivan Fundukley. Kyiv Printing house of I. Wallner 1847 viii, xvi, 111 s. .) believed that “the original Vasilyevskaya Church was built in wood, but then a stone one was built, perhaps by the same craftsmen who were called to build the Church of the Tithes.”

Between 1658-1660 Church of the Three Saints burned down(during the uprising of Hetman I. Vygovsky against the Moscow authorities, the dome and ceilings were destroyed by artillery fire).
In 1688, the Kiev Metropolitan Gideon Chetvertinsky asked Tsars John and Peter for permission to dismantle the ruins of two ancient Kyiv churches - the Church of Basil and the Church of Catherine, “which stand dilapidated and empty,” and use building materials from them to repair the St. Sophia Cathedral (S. T. Golubev. On the history of the Kyiv Three Saints Church for the second half of the 17th century. Kyiv, 1899 ) . However, Gideon did not receive permission from the Moscow government to dismantle these temples. The Kyiv governor I.V. Buturlin “and his comrades” was ordered to make a description of the dilapidated churches and draw up an estimate of how many old stone supplies there would be for repairing the St. Sophia Church, and what supplies needed to be made again for that church building.”In June of the same 1688, apparently having learned about the Moscow order, the abbess of the Kiev-Mikhailovsky Monastery submitted a request to Tsars John and Peter to transfer the ruins of the Church of the Three Hierarchs to the named monastery, which did not have its own church. In the petition, the state of the ruins of the ancient temple was described as follows: “In the city of Kiev, an old stone church in the name of three saints, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, and only its domes and the building of the Grand Duke Vladimir were destroyed, and near that church there are close courtyards no, only the granaries of their great sovereigns.”The nuns asked that, in view of the fact that “there is no state salary for them, against other monasteries... that the great sovereigns would grant them, order that church to be repaired and fenced and to be built in that monastery.”
Soon in Moscow a response was received from the Kyiv governor, who described the state of the temple in much darker colors and, apparently, more objectively than the nuns did: “The church stone walls of St. Great Vasily,” wrote Buturlin, “they have settled in many places, the heads of the church and the vaults are missing, they have collapsed for a long time; Is it possible to repair that church without disassembling it, and whether the vaults and domes will hold those walls, and how much stone and all kinds of supplies are needed to repair that church, there is no one to inspect and sweep it, there are no apprentices in stone work.”
Due to the uncertainty of the answer about the possibility of restoring the temple, the question was postponed, and the petitioners decided to build a new wooden church.
Soon, Metropolitan Gideon died, and the Kyiv see was taken by Varlaam Yasinsky on June 2, 1690. Arriving at the call of the Moscow government in Moscow and showered there with royal favors, the new metropolitan, among many requests, petitioned for the restoration of the Church of the Three Hierarchs. In Yasinsky’s petition, the state of the ancient monument was again described in very gloomy colors, and the Metropolitan hinted that “negligence about that church and disorganization and desolation” had reached such proportions “which were not the case even under the Lyatsky state,” under which the church was given “to watch and possession" to the Bratsky Monastery. Only after the fire that occurred in the province of Vasily Buturlin, the church was “turned into a granary of reserves.”
According to the petition, “The Church of the Three Hierarchs stands empty, dilapidated and largely ruined, and the surrounding area is crowded with barns of granaries and supplies from the Kyiv governors.”
Soon an order was sent to Kyiv to demolish the barns located near the church, but the question of the “structure” of the church was again somewhat postponed until “the war with the infidel enemies was over.”
The restoration of the temple, which apparently began around 1692, proceeded rather slowly. In any case, on the plan of Kyiv, drawn up in 1695, the Church of the Three Hierarchs is depicted as still far from finished, not even brought to the vaults (Plan of Kyiv, drawn up in 1695. Kyiv, 1893. ) . This image does not agree with the widely held opinion expressed for the first time M. A. Maksimovich, who believed that the Church of the Three Hierarchs was restored in 1693-1694. and on January 30, 1695 it was consecrated (M. A. Maksimovich. Explanatory paragraphs about Kyiv. Collection cit., II, Kyiv, 1877, p. 63; Wed: N.I. Petrov. Historical and topographical essays..., p. 126; N. Zakrevsky (Description of Kyiv, vol. I, p. 210) attributed the renewal of the church even to 1693 . ) .
The date of completion of the restoration work is indirectly indicated by the lengthy inscription on the engraving of Hilarion Migura, which he presented on January 1, 1707 to the judge general of the Zaporozhye army Vasily Kochubey. The engraving depicts a small three-domed temple, and in the lower part of it there is Kochubey’s coat of arms and a very ornate congratulatory inscription addressed to him, from which it can be understood that Migura praises Kochubey for following the “blessing advice” of Varlaam Yasinsky , took part in the renewal of the Church of the Three Hierarchs.
Apparently, restoration work was finally completed only in the first years of the 18th century.Even under Varlaam Yasinsky, the western pair of pillars of the four-pillar church of the 12th century was probably dismantled, so that the vault began to rest directly on the walls of the building (F. L. Ernst. Kiev architecture of the 17th century. 1926 ) . Kochubey, continuing the restoration, added a pentagonal vestibule to the rectangular base of the building, spanning the entire width of the building, similar to the western part of three-domed churches with a three-part plan. In addition to the large drum with a head, Kochubey placed heads over the porch and altar. Thus, the ancient temple, having received some tripartite composition and completion with three domes located along the east-west axis, was significantly closer to the Ukrainian three-domed churches with a tripartite plan.
Having renovated the Church of the Three Hierarchs, Varlaam Yasinsky, apparently, at the same time organized a monastery with it “for the life of the elderly and sick monks of the Kiev-Sophia and other Kyiv monasteries» . However, the newly founded monastery lasted only eighty years. In 1775 it was closed. In 1935-1936, in connection with the construction of a government center in this area of ​​​​Kyiv, the Church of St. Basil was dismantled, unfortunately, without being subjected to serious architectural and archaeological research.

On the western side of the church there was a high pentagonal vestibule, built during the restoration of the 90s of the 17th century. The western part of the ancient temple was significantly distorted during the construction of the narthex: instead of the ancient portal, a wide opening was made, connecting the narthex with the temple, and the western pair of pillars was dismantled.

On the southern side of the temple a chapel was added, which was significantly inferior in height to the ancient part of the temple. The ancient vaults and dome of the temple have not survived; Apparently, they collapsed after a fire in the 50s of the 17th century. and restored at the end of the 17th century. The walls of the apse and the eastern pair of pillars have survived to the level of the heels of the vaults.Equal-layer brick laying technique for these parts of the building, as well as the size of the brick and the nature of the lime mortar with an admixture of crushed brick, indisputably confirm the above considerations about the date of the monument. Masonry of this type was widespread in Kyiv in the second half of the 12th century.On the inner surface of the church walls, at the level of the heels of the vaults and arches, slate cornices have been preserved in places. The middle blades of the southern and western facades were adjacent to semi-columns of significant diameter. The middle blades of the western façade have not been preserved. D. V. Ainalov (D. V. Ainalov. Art of the Kyiv period. In the book: History of Russian literature, vol. I. Ed. USSR Academy of Sciences, M. - L., 1941 ) claimed that the half-columns on the facades of the Church of Basil were hollow inside. Examine this feature when dismantling the church in the 1930s failed. In the ruins of the small temple of the Zarubsky monastery, excavated by N. Belyashevsky in 1907, hollow semi-columns were actually discovered (M. K. Karger. The ruins of the Zarubsky monastery and the chronicle city of Zarub. SA, XIII, M. - L., 1950 ) .

Detail of the southern façade.

To the south wall in the XVIII V. At the expense of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, a squat chapel with a small pear-shaped top was built.
The interior of the temple was decorated with an iconostasis in the Rococo style. In 1887 the temple was painted by Schmidt. In 1888, the temple was returned to its historical name - in honor of Basil the Great. It had two chapels - in honor of St. Basil and St. Olga.
In 1914, the following served at the Starokievskaya Vasilyevskaya Church (another variant of the name): Archpriest Ef.V. Skripchinsky, Deacon Ant.V. Bazilevich, Ant.V. Kravchenko, elder. G.

In 1901-1904. designed by architect V. Nikolaev on the street. Trekhsvyatitelskaya (now this site corresponds to Desyatinnaya street, 2-4) a three-tier bell tower was built in the neo-Russian style. The tiers were separated by wide cornices. The facades were decorated with brick decor (crosses, niches). The cornices of the first and third tiers were decorated with kokoshniks. The dome of the building was pear-shaped, which somewhat softened the discrepancy between the styles of the church (forms of the Ukrainian (Mazepa) Baroque) and the bell tower.
The bell tower was one of the first to be dismantled in Kyiv - in 1929.

When superimposing a plan of Kyiv in 1925 onto a photo from space ( Google Earth ) you can see that the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs occupies the site of the annex of Vasilyevskaya Church and partially occupies the site of a one-story building with a gate above which there was a bell tower.

Church-chapel of St. Basil the Great at the All-Russian Exhibition Center

The assigned church of St. Basil the Great is located at VDNKh on the territory of Siringaria behind pavilion No. 32/34.

In 1999 - on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition-VDNKh-VVTs - the management of the Exhibition decided to build a chapel as a memorial sign in honor of the anniversary date and turned to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' for a blessing. The blessing was received, and in August 1999, Dean Father Vladimir laid a stone and consecrated the site for construction.

The construction was made possible thanks to donations from employees and guests of the Exhibition. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church-chapel every first Sunday of the month. Also, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on the celebration of the Great Church holidays (Christmas and Easter) and on St. Basil the Great (the detailed schedule of Divine services should be clarified on the website of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in the “schedule” section).

Construction lasted from 2000 to August 2001. On September 7, 2001, the chapel was consecrated by Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II..

The temple-chapel is named after St. Basil the Great, who lived in the 4th century AD. e. He began to bear the name Great during his lifetime, since he was “a scientist in twelve sciences.” Patriarch Alexy II, during the consecration of the chapel, explained that VDNKh has always glorified everything new and advanced, both in science and in the national economy, therefore St. Basil the Great will help the Exhibition team in continuing this path.

By the tenth anniversary of the chapel's existence, a decision was made to add an extension to the altar. The reconstruction was also carried out with donations from VDNKh workers and philanthropists. Therefore, in September 2011, the chapel, already as a temple, was inaugurated for the second time. It was consecrated by His Eminence Tikhon, Bishop of Podolsk, administrator of the North-Eastern Vicariate of Moscow.

Console of the southeast corner column.

Eagle, symbol of the Apostle John.

…

Nearest metro: VDNKh metro station, go through the main entrance of the All-Russian Exhibition Center to the Space pavilion, then left or trams 11, 17 to the final stop Ostankino, then through the park and along the territory of the All-Russian Exhibition Center.

The famous, but not preserved to this day, church in the name of St. Basil of Caesarea, one of the most luxurious and rich in old Moscow, stood before the revolution on the corner of 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya and Vasilievskaya streets. Its foundation in the ancient Tver settlement of Moscow coachmen is usually associated with the name of Grand Duke Vasily III and his namesake, although there is a version that the church was built by settlers from Pskov, who consecrated it in memory of the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea, which stood in their hometown since 1377.

St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, one of the Church Fathers and Ecumenical Teachers, author of many theological works, was born around 330 in the Asia Minor city of Caesarea. His parents were pious Christians, and his grandmother, named Macrina, listened to the sermons of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea. The family had 10 children, and five of them were canonized by the Church as saints, along with Saint Basil himself and their mother, Righteous Emilia.

His first education St. Vasily received it as a child from his father, a lawyer and teacher of rhetoric. After his death, the gifted young man went to study: for five years in Constantinople, and then in Athens he studied various sciences - rhetoric, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, physics. “It was like a ship, as loaded with learning as it was spacious for human nature,” they said about the saint. In Athens he met St. Gregory the Theologian, and their friendship lasted for life. According to the testimony of St. Gregory, for them there were two roads in Athens - one to the church, the other to the school.

After finishing the teaching of St. Vasily returned to his native Caesarea. Where did he start teaching rhetoric? But spiritual life attracted him, and soon he went to the East, where holy ascetics labored as monks. The saint visited Egypt, Syria and Palestine, visiting holy hermits and studying with them, and at the end of the trip he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In 362, on the way home, while in Antioch, St. Vasily was ordained to the rank of deacon, and in Caesarea, two years later, to the rank of presbyter. He was ordained by Eusebius himself, Bishop of Caesarea, author of the famous “Ecclesiastical History.” However, at first their relationship was darkened: Eusebius disliked the saint, and he withdrew into the desert so as not to sow confusion and discord in his hometown. In solitude, he again found himself together with Gregory the Theologian, and they compiled the work “Philokalia.”

However, the Arian heresy, condemned at the First Ecumenical Council in 325, soon began to strengthen again, and Emperor Constantius himself, the son of Constantine the Great, was an adherent of the Arians. Both saints returned to the world to fulfill their duty: St. Basil returned to Caesarea and reconciled with Bishop Eusebius, who, dying in his arms, blessed the saint to be his successor. And in 370 St. Basil was elected to the see in Caesarea.

All the years of his ministry, he was a devout defender of the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, one of the creators of church dogma, Liturgy and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The saint gave all his personal funds to the needs of the poor - he built almshouses, hospitals, and founded two monasteries. In his holy life he received the Divine gift of foresight. Once during the reign of the wicked emperor Julian the Apostate, who tried to restore paganism in the Roman Empire and opened new persecutions against Christians, St. Vasily prayed before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and the image of St. Great Martyr Mercury. And he had a wonderful vision: the image of the Great Martyr on the icon suddenly disappeared, and when it appeared again, the spear of St. the warrior was covered in blood. As it later became known, at this time Yulin the Apostate was actually killed with a spear.

Was at St. Basil and the wonderful gift of healing the sick and suffering, bringing unbelievers to faith and begging God for forgiveness of desperate sinners who have committed very serious, terrible sins, but sincerely repented of their evil deeds. He provided such assistance even after his earthly death. One day a woman brought him a sealed list of her sins. At night, the saint fervently prayed to God for her salvation, and the next morning, miraculously, only one sin was written down on the list. The saint sent the repentant woman to St. Ephraim the Syrian, but he again released her to St. Vasily, saying that only he can beg God’s forgiveness for her. However, on the way home, the woman met a funeral procession: they were burying St. Vasily. She sank to the ground in sobs and threw her scroll on the saint’s tomb. One priest picked up the scroll and, unfolding it, saw a blank sheet of paper on which not a single word was written. The last sin of the repentant woman was forgiven through the posthumous prayer of the saint.

And even before the death of St. Vasily managed to convert his doctor, the Jew Joseph, to Christianity. He predicted that the saint would not live to see the morning, but if he did, he himself would believe in his faith, having seen such a miracle. At night St. Vasily asked the Lord to delay his death for the sake of saving a lost man, and in the morning the doctor found him alive. The doctor’s amazement reached its limit when the saint stood up and went with him to the temple, performed the Sacrament of Baptism himself and administered communion to him. In the temple, having said goodbye to everyone, St. Vasily quietly went to the Lord. This happened on January 1 (14), 379. He was only 49 years old.

For services to the Church of St. Vasily was glorified by the Great. He became the heavenly guardian of the Russian prince Vladimir the Great, who was named Vasily in baptism. The prince, who was later canonized himself, began to build the first St. Basil's churches.

In pre-revolutionary Moscow, the feast of St. Basil the Great fell on the first day of the New Year (January 1, Old Art.) and its eve, the evening of December 31, was called “Vasily’s evening” or “Generous evening.” The festive table was set as richly as possible (it was believed that the New Year's table should be equal in abundance to the Christmas table), and they put on it everything that they would like to have in the new year. Pork was always placed in the center as a symbol of abundance and prosperity, and St. Since ancient times, Basil the Great has been revered as the patron saint of pigs: the New Year's roast pig was called either “Caesaretsky” or “Kasaretsky”, a distortion of the name of the holiday. The peasants went from house to house and, congratulating the owners, collected treats - both pies and pork legs: “Give out a pig and a boletus for Vasilyev’s evening.”

From the end of the 19th century until the revolution, Orthodox Christians hurried to church for the New Year's prayer service, which was then held at midnight - in order to revive the ancient church rite of "summer service", which was actually abolished during Peter's reforms and to distract people from restaurant celebrations, which were accompanied by drunkenness and rowdyism. . The first to set such an example were the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife, Elizaveta Fedorovna. They celebrated the New Year in the house church of the Alexandria Palace on Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya, where the court clergy served. And since 1899, this service began to be held in all Moscow churches, and the main service was performed in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. The churches turned out to be overcrowded with people of all ranks and classes, and in 1911 the Holy Synod recommended a midnight New Year's prayer service “for general use” throughout Russia.

On the morning of January 1, Orthodox Muscovites again hurried to the temple - and first of all, to the temple on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, where on that day there was a patronal feast day.

The Church of St. Basil of Caesarea was founded here in the first half of the 16th century as a parish for the local settlement of Moscow coachmen. This probably happened during the lifetime of Grand Duke Vasily III, whom many scientists consider the organizer of the settlement itself - the ancient name of 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street came from it. Sometimes his royal son, Ivan the Terrible, is called the creator of the coachman's Tver settlement and its parish church. And the famous Moscow historian P. Sytin believed that this settlement, along with the others, was built by Boris Godunov, who ruled at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries.

The “Tverskaya” settlement was named because its most important road for Moscow led to Tver, Pskov and Novgorod (“The city of Tver is the door to Moscow,” they said in pre-Petrine times) and further to Western Europe. Then all the Moscow coachman's settlements were called by the names of the cities to which their roads led - Pereyaslavskaya, Dorogomilovskaya, Kolomenskaya, Rogozhskaya... The coachmen, fulfilling the sovereign's duty, performed a "chase", that is, a very fast ride to cities and villages remote from Moscow, and they carried riders, mail, and cargo there. It is believed that the earliest coachman settlements began to be established by Moscow sovereigns from the beginning of the 16th century - during the period of centralization of the Russian state and the unification of Russian principalities around Moscow. One of the first was the Tverskaya Yamskaya Settlement, built on the main Moscow highway. The word “coachman” comes from the Tatar “Yam”, meaning an inn where road horses were taken.

However, the first inhabitants of the Moscow Yamsky settlements were not Muscovites, but migrants from the very cities where persecution was required, summoned to the capital to carry out Yamsky service. The inhabitants of Tverskaya Sloboda probably came from Tver, Novgorod and Pskov. The Pskovites could have founded a parish settlement church here, consecrated in the name of St. Basil of Caesarea, similar to the temple of the same name that stood in Pskov.

The second version, as already mentioned, explains the dedication of the temple on the name day of its possible founder, Grand Duke Vasily III. There is a very rare opinion that this church was originally consecrated in the name of St. Basil of Pari, since it was this saint who could have been the heavenly guardian of the Moscow sovereign. And after the death of the Grand Duke, the temple was re-dedicated in the name of a more famous saint, the widely revered St. Basil the Great. This possible reconsecration dates back to the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th centuries. when the clergy “changed” in Vasilyevskaya Church.

One way or another, it is precisely because of the dedication of the church that it is believed that the Tver Coachman Settlement was founded by Vasily III, and that this happened at the beginning of the 16th century. The first documentary mention of the settlement dates back to 1566, that is, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, and in 1581 foreign ambassadors to Muscovy saw this settlement already populated and built up along the streets parallel to the main Tver tract (2nd, 3rd, 4th Tverskoye-Yamskiye Street), as was typical for Moscow Yamskiye settlements.

The central one was the 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya. Judging by this coverage, the settlement was very large, and nearby there were also “pastures” and vegetable gardens for coachman families: all the way to Presnya on the one hand, and to Miusskaya Square on the other, where their arable lands were. Coachmen lived here for a very long time, until the middle of the 19th century, since from the time of Peter the Great they served the main highway between Moscow and the new northern capital.

The first Sloboda church was wooden, built “in a cage” like a Russian hut. It was first mentioned in the census of 1620-1621. However, the oldest information about the church is presented in the inscription on a gravestone found under the floor in the Vasilyevskaya Church during renovation in the second half of the 19th century. The inscription is dated 1577, that is, it dates back to the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, during which time, therefore, the Vasilievskaya Church definitely stood.

Already in 1671, the Tverskaya Yamskaya Settlement was destroyed by a large fire, which became the main reason for the subsequent reconstruction of the local church. After this disaster, the Sloboda church began to be restored in stone in 1688. Very rarely in historical literature there is information that until 1816, the Vasilievskaya Church allegedly stood near the current Telegraph. This is strange in that the Yamskaya settlement certainly existed at a distance from the center, not in the city, but on its outskirts. It is known that on the morning of August 18, 1723, when all the Moscow bells were ringing, the holy relics of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky were greeted with a procession at the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea, when Tsar Peter, who revered him as her patron, ordered the transfer of St. relics from Vladimir to St. Petersburg. From Vasilievskaya Church the procession headed to the Kremlin, and from there to distant Novgorod. Probably, this meeting really took place at the Vasilyevskaya Church, only it did not happen near the Kremlin, but at the Tverskaya Zastava, where this temple was located.

Its history was influenced by the features of the nearby Old Moscow area. And to this day it is called “Silence”, after the ancient and very accurate name “silence”. It is not for nothing that in 1681 Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich built his country garden with a palace and a pond in these parts. Below was New Vagankovo ​​with an amusing kennel yard, transferred to the outskirts from the Vozdvizhenka area. (See December 13). In 1729, the former palace was donated to the Georgian king, and even earlier, in 1714, the first Moscow settlement of Georgian migrants was located here, which now remains in the names of the local Bolshaya and Malaya Gruzinskaya streets. On Tishinka, they built the suburban Church of the Three Saints in Gruziny, which stood until the second half of the 18th century.

And since the 1770s, the residents of this settlement officially became parishioners of the neighboring Church of Basil of Caesarea. The area was increasingly turning into an ordinary residential area of ​​old Moscow, very densely populated. The expansion of the parish also required the expansion of the church itself, which could no longer accommodate all its parishioners. They asked the authorities for permission to rebuild their church, borrowing ten thousand rubles from the treasury for construction.

The War of 1812 broke out. The Tverskaya outpost lay on the path of Napoleonic hordes and therefore was the first in Moscow to be plundered and burned, and its temple was desecrated. The coachmen left their homes - many of them became partisans. Years later, Emperor Nicholas I issued funds for the restoration of the Tverskaya Yamskaya Settlement, since there was a state need for coachmen: they still served the most important Moscow-Petersburg highway. By order of the sovereign, a sum was allocated for which the settlement began to be built with stone, and not wooden, as before, houses. At the same time, the basic outline of this area of ​​old Moscow took shape: the famous Tishinskaya Square appeared, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street connected with 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya, and Malaya Gruzinskaya stretched all the way to Kamer-Kollezhsky Val.

Vasilyevsky Church, on the contrary, was not restored for a long time. One of the reasons was the financial insolvency of his parishioners, who found themselves in debt, unable to repay an earlier pre-war loan. However, in July 1813, the coachmen again applied for a deferment of payment for five years and for the restoration of their suburban church. Work began in 1816, but the consecration of the new temple took place only in 1830 - so its construction was delayed. Nevertheless, it turned out to be unsuccessful, so after 15 years it was dismantled again, and according to the Highest approved plan, another single-domed temple was built - much larger in size, with a slender bell tower, heated and with chapels in the name of St. Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

The coachmen resumed their service. A.S. Pushkin used their services more than once, going from Moscow to St. Petersburg and hiring a coachman at the Tverskaya Zastava. However, at that time they were already crowded out by competitors - stagecoaches, which began running between Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1820, becoming the first type of public transport. These were multi-seat carriages with 10-14 seats, where long benches were placed in a row. At first, the novelty was not to the liking of conservative Muscovites: unlike the Yamsk sleighs, you could only sit in stagecoaches, exposing your back and chest to the piercing wind - and the journey to the northern capital took two days and cost 23 silver rubles. The constant need for coachmen at the Tverskaya Zastava disappeared forever in the middle of the 19th century, when the famous Nikolaevskaya Railway was opened in 1851, connecting the northern and southern capitals of Russia. Thus came the end of the Tver coachmen. They became like an ordinary “horse taxi”, transporting riders around Moscow or to the suburbs as needed.

The population of the former Tverskaya-Yamskaya settlement began to grow rapidly due to ordinary citizens who happily settled in this lively central area. And the temple again turned out to be too small for its many parishioners. In the 1880s, they began to rebuild it again, and it was at that time that it took on its textbook-famous appearance: a majestic five-domed temple with a beautiful rotunda dome and a high bell tower, which became the architectural dominant of the 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya and a wonderful perspective of the entire Tverskaya streets. Historians consider it the largest church in pre-revolutionary Moscow, with a rich parish, “grandiose architecture and vastness” - it was designed for five thousand worshipers. Soon after its construction, very rare electric lighting was installed in it.

The decoration of the temple continued for several years. In 1889 it was painted by the artist F. Sokolov. In 1901, through the diligence of church warden I.A. Bobrov, a beautiful, very expensive oak iconostasis with heavy bronze and multi-colored enamel was built in the church. Its main shrines were the ancient, 16th-century icons of the Savior and the Mother of God. And in the same year, at the expense of parishioner Aristov, a bell was cast for the Vasilyevsky Church (according to its size), one of the largest in Moscow - at 1023 pounds - and with the inscription “Broadcast great joy to the earth, praise the heavens of God’s Glory.”

In its lifetime, the temple witnessed and took part in many historical events significant for Moscow and Russia. In the 1880s, a priest from the Vladislavlev family, who were relatives of F.M. Dostoevsky, served here: their founder was the writer’s nephew, and Fyodor Mikhailovich himself became the successor of one of his relatives. The temple was also associated with the august family. In 1891, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, the wife of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, was buried there - he donated a precious lamp to the temple as a keepsake.

And in 1899, next to the temple at the corner of 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya and Vasilyevskaya streets, they began to build a chapel. The temple stood in a very busy area of ​​​​old Moscow, and many, as stated in the petition, would like to pray along the way to the Lord and his Great Saint, asking for blessings for the coming day. However, the grandiose temple was open only during services, and not everyone who wanted could get into it on the road, “hurrying to their business or on their way.” The chapel could receive a pious passerby at any time. Permission to build a chapel was given - with a symbolic command for Russia to consecrate it in memory of the wedding day of the sovereign St. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. The architect was the great Fyodor Shekhtel, who built it in the Russian style: the chapel was crowned with a beautiful beautiful Russian tent with multi-colored mosaics, white enamel, sculptures and gilding. The consecration took place in April 1902.

After the October Revolution, both the old Tverskaya and its majestic temple suffered a tragic fate. The church was doomed to demolition, and the street - to the first socialist reconstruction in Moscow. Tverskaya and 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya were combined into one main metropolitan thoroughfare - Gorky Street. “Gorky Street between the Garden Ring and Tverskaya Zastava (formerly 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street) is 1043 meters long with an average width of 35.2 meters. This width is close to that to which the central sections of Gorky Street have been expanded, so it does not expand on this segment,” wrote Moscow historian P.V. Sytin in 1952, when the main part of the main Moscow street had already been reconstructed. Further reconstruction, however, was delayed. A new house on the site of the temple (No. 11) appeared on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya in 1939, and its neighbor, house No. 7, only in 1977.

In April 1922, Vasilyevsky Church was robbed. The bronze iconostasis alone turned out to be more than 22 pounds, and the Bolshevik government was extremely interested in metals, extracting them from churches throughout Soviet Russia. But the temple itself continued to operate and was one of the last to be closed in pre-war Moscow. In November 1923, the half-year anniversary of the death of the famous Great Archdeacon Konstantin Rozov was celebrated there, and His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon was present at the funeral service. “They gave praise to a man who adamantly stood firm during the years of church schism,” an eyewitness recalled.

And in 1925, here, throughout the surviving old Moscow, they celebrated the anniversary of the composer and director of the church choir P.G. Chesnokov. 22 archdeacons and a choir of 150 people sang to him for many years. The temple itself had another 10 years to live...

On Basil of Caesarea -
eagles with crowns.
First house -
decorated with Slavic script.
How much longer will we be?
conquered by ancient times,
dead ends of consciousness
grimacing to the past?
I go
and these little things
I'm annoyed
I'm amazed
into splinters of eagle heads, -
really
and on the tenth anniversary
won't shake them off
from the eaves
and from the domes!?

The feelings of the Soviet poet were fully satisfied only on the twentieth anniversary of October. Shortly before the next anniversary, in 1933, the still functioning temple was robbed for the second time - its bells, which were of interest to the authorities due to their “industrial” value, were mercilessly destroyed. It was already forbidden to call them in central Moscow, and the authorities issued a decree on the “procurement of bell bronze” - members of the “Union of Militant Atheists” participated in the meeting that made this decision. It was planned to remove 45 tons of bells from the Vasilyevsky Church. For comparison: from the Church of St. Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya and from the Resurrection Church on the Vagankovskoye Cemetery - 15 tons each.

And in May 1934, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved the resolution of the Moscow Soviet on the closure and demolition of the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea. The following year, both the temple and its chapel were destroyed - for the construction in their place of a pompous, “demonstrative” residential building of Stalinist architecture (current number 11 on 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya, between Julius Fuchik and Vasilievskaya streets), which was erected in 1939 year. The temple icon was transferred to the Pimenovskaya Church in Novye Vorotniki near the Novoslobodskaya metro station, where it remains to this day. Not long ago, one respectable employee of the Russian State Library, in love with Moscow, with quiet pride showed students an old photograph of a disappeared temple: “I was baptized here!”

And these days, despite modern buildings and the lively pace of life in central Moscow, the places here are quite worthy of a walk. But the memory of the glorious church is now preserved only by the name of the modest Vasilyevskaya Street.