Monasteries on Preobrazhenka. Preobrazhenskoye, St. Nicholas Edinoverie Monastery, Pomeranian Old Believer community Preobrazhenskoye Old Believer community

Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery.

Our walking route No. 2 from the “Walks around Moscow” series can start either from the Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad metro station or from the Semenovskaya metro station. Between them, closer to Preobrazhenka, at Preobrazhensky Val Street, 17a, there is the Preobrazhenskoe Cemetery. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the cemetery was an Old Believer cemetery, and was the center of the so-called. Fedoseevites(representatives of the priestless sense of the Old Believers). Now this is one of the prestigious city cemeteries in Moscow.

On the picture: The bell tower and St. Nicholas Church (1790) on the territory of the former St. Nicholas Monastery of Edinoverie (1866 - 1920s).

The Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery was founded during the terrible time of the plague epidemic of 1771 behind the Kamer-Kollezhsky Val. (In order to somehow defuse the situation, the authorities at that time allowed the establishment of private cemeteries and quarantines in the vicinity of the city). The Preobrazhenskoe cemetery was founded behind the Preobrazhenskaya outpost by one of the courtyard people of the Golitsyn princes, the merchant Ilya Alekseevich Kovylin, who, having organized a plague quarantine here, at the same time established the Fedoseevsky almshouses and built a chapel, thus laying the foundation for an entire monastery. Before the revolution, the territory of the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery was second only to the Rogozhskoye cemetery center of the Old Believers.

In 1784-1811, according to the design of the architect F.K. Sokolov (with funds and under the leadership of the merchant Kovylin), a large complex of buildings (which included male and female monasteries) was built in imitation of the Vygoretsk Hermitage.

In and around the cemetery, the merchant Ilya Alekseevich Kovylin gradually built houses, shops, factories and chapels. At the beginning of the 19th century there were about 10,000 parishioners. And in the surrounding shelters there were up to 1,500 people. Thus, the community became the largest charitable institution in Moscow.

To limit the activities of schismatics, on the orders of Emperor Nicholas I, on April 3, 1854, the Assumption Church was reconsecrated into the Orthodox Church. In 1866, the men's courtyard was moved to the women's courtyard, where the Old Believer community was preserved, and the St. Nicholas Edinoverie Monastery was opened on the territory of the former men's courtyard. At the Preobrazhenskoe cemetery there was a rich library of works on the schism, collected by the merchant A.I. Khludov; ancient icons were kept (including 1,300 icons collected by E. E. Egorov), works of ancient Russian art. In 1920, all Fedoseev chapels, except for the Exaltation of the Cross, were closed, and those in need were evicted. In the early 1920s. Nikolsky Edinoverie Monastery is closed. Khludov's library and part of Egorov's collection were transferred to the State Historical Museum, ancient icons were also transferred to the Historical Museum, from where some of them later ended up in the Tretyakov Gallery and a small amount in the Kolomenskoye Museum. In the 1920s A labor school was opened in the building of the former monastery school and in the cells of the monastery, and later various institutions were located, for example, a dormitory for the Radio factory.

After the Great Patriotic War, the Preobrazhenskoe cemetery became the de facto center of all Russian non-priesthood; the spiritual centers of three concords were located there - the Old Pomeranian (Fedoseevsky), the Marriage Pomeranian (DPTs) and the Filippovsky, to which the Fedoseevites gave a chapel in the cemetery.

The cemetery includes the Cathedral Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at the Transfiguration Cemetery, the Pomeranian prayer house and the Church of St. Nicholas at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery, the former cathedral church of the St. Nicholas Edinoverie Monastery.

For a long time, the churchyard was exclusively Old Believer. There are many merchant burials in the cemetery. More than 10 thousand soldiers and commanders of the Red Army are buried at the military site.

Pomeranian Old Belief.

In the middle of the 17th century, a schism occurred in the Russian Church, caused by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon. Moscow becomes one of the centers of the movement for the preservation of the Old Faith. After the bloody repressions began, many defenders of the Old Faith were executed, the rest were forced to leave Moscow. The few remaining Christians lived mainly on the eastern outskirts of the city, as well as in the nearby villages: Preobrazhenskoye, Izmailovo, Cherkizovo.

The church life of the Old Orthodox Christians in Moscow began to revive only at the beginning of the 18th century. At that time, the society of Old Believers-Pomeranians consisted mostly of townspeople (townspeople) and merchants. Pomeranians began to be called Christians who conducted services according to the Pomeranian Church Charter. At that time, people gathered for worship at home prayers...

After the mid-18th century, the home prayer house of Gabriel Artamonov became the most famous among the Pomeranians. It was here, at the insistence of spiritual father Vasily Emelyanov, that the ritual of non-sacred marriage was adopted. At that time, there were about 50 merchant families in the community. Among them are such famous Moscow merchants as the Zaikins, Monins, Alekseevs, Zenkovs. In the 1790s, through the efforts of the merchants, the first public prayer house was organized on Pokrovka. The property was assigned as private property to V.F. Monin, and the prayer house was named “Moninskaya”. Vasily Emelyanov was elected rector.

In 1807, G.I. Skachkov became the head of the prayer house and introduced a specially compiled “Rite of Marriage Prayer” into use.

During the War of 1812, the Moninsky Church burned down, but all community values ​​were preserved. Instead of the burnt wooden chapel, thanks to the efforts of the parishioners, a year later they managed to build a stone two-tiered church with a spacious room for worshippers on the same place. The Moninsky prayer house became a real center of cultural and spiritual life of the Pomeranian Old Belief, there was an almshouse and a church school.

In 1826 there were more than 6,000 parishioners. The mentor then served as Antipa Andreev, who later became famous for introducing naon singing into the community, following the model of the Transfiguration Monastery.

In 1837, by order of the authorities, the Moninskaya prayer house was closed. Since the 1860s, its successor was the so-called “Lyubushkinskaya” prayer house. Other home prayer houses began to appear. By the middle of the 19th century, there were already more than 40 of them in Moscow. Based on these groups, by the beginning of the 20th century, the 1st and 2nd Moscow communities were formed.

After the tsar's manifesto on religious tolerance in 1906, the 1st Moscow community with tradition was established naon singing during the service, the temple of which was located in Perevedenovsky Lane. 2nd Moscow community with tradition adverbial singing settled in a temple built in 1908 on Tokmakov Lane. In 1909 and 1912, the 2nd Moscow community hosted the All-Russian Councils of Pomeranian Christians.

After the 1917 revolution, religious freedoms in the country began to curtail. In 1922, the temple of the 1st Moscow community in Perevedenovsky Lane was closed. Now all Moscow Pomeranians began to gather for the cathedral service in the Resurrection-Pokrovsky Church in Tokmakov Lane. In 1930 this temple was also closed...

The community moved to the Assumption Church, provided by the authorities, located on the territory of the former male half of the Transfiguration Monastery. The community of Old Believers-Pomeranians remains here to this day, being one of the largest in Russia.

In the northern part of the complex, not knowing what else to come up with, the authorities placed a police station with pre-trial detention cells (CPC) and various dormitories. The Preobrazhensky collective farm market was opened right on the territory of the monastery in the 1930s, which still functions today.

Moscow! Bright, noisy, sincere, this is a huge metropolis, but it is so warm and cozy. Every street here has its own history and our Eastern District is no exception.
We began to get acquainted with the history of the Preobrazhensky district.
Both those houses and temples that we walk past every day have revealed their secrets. What a fascinating activity it is to get to know your hometown!
We were surprised when we learned that Old Believers had long lived on Preobrazhenka, and this place had long been considered the center of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church. First we came to the Assumption Church, where Pomeranians pray for marital consent. A red and white building, painted with snow-white stucco, as if striving upward, you look and you can’t get enough of it!
But the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Fedoseyevskaya community brought us even greater delight. This church has rarely been seen; it is located on an area closed from prying eyes. Built like a medieval fortress, it is surrounded by a thick brick wall, and only members of the community can enter and pray. In the center of noisy and bustling Moscow, a unique corner of old Moscow suddenly opened up to us. We were amazed when we saw men in black caftans and beards, and women in sundresses and large scarves, fastened with pins, all with laces and armbands.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross stands in the very center of the temple complex. We wandered around the park, admired the Gate Church, met the spiritual mentor of the community, Vladimir Mikhailovich Novoselov, watched the Baptism ceremony and heard an interesting story about the emergence of the local community.
Vladimir Mikhailovich told us about the emergence of the community.
The concept of Old Believers arose in Rus' at the end of the 17th century, when some believers did not agree with the innovations introduced at the church council of 1666-1667 and continued to carry out services according to the old rites. Over time, the Old Believers divided into two main movements: priests, i.e. the accepting priesthood, and the non-priests, i.e. those who do not recognize the priesthood. In turn, these trends also divided into a number of directions.
Being in opposition to the official Orthodox Church, the Old Believers have been persecuted throughout their history. However, at times the state authorities showed relative tolerance towards them, which allowed a number of different Old Believers communities to exist quite officially.
The Preobrazhenskaya Old Believer community in Moscow appeared in 1771 during the plague epidemic. Then, the monastic community of Bespopovtsy Old Believers were given land near the Preobrazhenskaya outpost to create a cemetery. The organization of the community's activities was undertaken by the merchant I.A. Kovylin. Under him, the Assumption Church was built in a pseudo-Gothic style, which is now the oldest building on the territory. The men's and women's monastery buildings were built next to the church. An almshouse was set up in the women's section. At the beginning of the 19th century, the territory of the community and cemetery was surrounded by a stone fence with turrets, and a small five-domed Church of the Exaltation appeared above the gate. Later, the entire male half of the monastery was turned into the St. Nicholas Monastery of Edinoverie, and after the revolution the entire monastery was abolished.
Under Nicholas I, during the period of oppression of the Old Believers, in 1854 the Assumption Church was transformed into a Edinoverie church. The chapel of St. Nicholas was consecrated here, after which the church began to be called St. Nicholas. In 1866, the St. Nicholas Monastery of Edinoverie was created on the territory of the men's monastery. The monastery that remained with the Old Believers began to be called the Preobrazhensky Almshouse.
Address of the Preobrazhensky community: Preobrazhensky Val, house 17.
The Assumption (Nikolskaya) Church, which has the address Preobrazhensky Val Building 25, is currently divided into two parts: Old Believer and Orthodox.

The community was formed in 1771 during the plague epidemic: the Old Believers-bespopovtsy were given land behind the Preobrazhenskaya outpost to organize a cemetery. The community near the cemetery was founded by the merchant I. A. Kovylin.
At the beginning of the 19th century, buildings for male and female monasteries were built, separated by a road to the cemetery. In 1806, a stone fence with turrets was built, the gates of the men's monastery with the gateway five-domed Church of the Exaltation.

At the request of Moscow Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), with the Highest Imperial permission, on May 16, 1866, the men's department of the Bespopovshchina Preobrazhensky Almshouse was turned into the St. Nicholas Monastery of Edinoverie. Before the opening of the monastery in this men's department of the Transfiguration Almshouse, since 1854 there had already existed a Church of the Edinoverie, under the name St. Nicholas Church of the Edinoverie, which is located at the Transfiguration Almshouse, with a parish located at it, which was not abolished even after the opening of the monastery.

On September 16, 1856, the former Sovereign Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and the Grand Dukes Alexander Alexandrovich and Vladimir Alexandrovich honored this place with a visit. At the request of all Moscow co-religionists, with the highest imperial permission, the monastery was named Nikolsky in memory of the deceased Sovereign Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, who visited the St. Nicholas Church of Edinoverie that was before the monastery. The consecration of the temples followed the Highest will of Emperor Nicholas I, as a result of the joining of the main non-priest parishioners of the Preobrazhensky House: the Guchkovs, Nosovs, Gusarovs, Bavykins, Osipovs and others. These parishioners built altar extensions and other devices at their own expense. A separate bell tower was built in 1876-1879 at the expense of benefactors - mainly A. I. Khludov and I. V. Nosov.

Above the gate at the entrance from the former chapel there is a five-domed Church of the Exaltation. Adjacent to the church there is a wonderful library, bequeathed to the monastery by Alexei Ivanovich Khludov, opened in 1883; it contains many Greek and Slavic charatean (charter - chronicle) manuscripts, liturgical, dogmatic, instructive old printed books, new printed books of a theological and historical nature. On the lower floor there is a parochial school, opened in 1855 with funds from the monastery, previously supported by funds from the Preobrazhensky House. The abbot's cell is located in a small stone outbuilding on the northern side of the Assumption Church. Before the opening of the monastery, the caretaker lived here, and previously there was a priestless office. Mentors and leaders-trustees sat in it, discussed and decided all matters, approved and sent messages, instructions, etc. throughout Rus'. In a word, the main force of the Fedoseyev sect was once concentrated here. The brethren's cells are located on the eastern side of the Assumption Church, in a two-story stone building, where those in need were previously housed.

In 1917, most of the library of the collection of manuscripts of A. I. Khludov entered the State Historical Museum.
By 1923, the monastery was closed and turned into the home of the Radio Factory commune. The main cathedral church was turned into a parish church.
In the 1930s, the walls and towers of the monastery were dismantled, and the south-eastern part was occupied by an expanded cemetery.
In 1977-1980, under the leadership of I.K. Rusakomsky, the bell tower and the remaining part of the monastery walls were restored.

In the first half of the 1920s, the Soviet government transferred the temple into the possession of the renovationists. But the Edinoverie community did not liberate the entire temple and remained to exist in the front - Assumption part of the temple. The temple was divided into two parts, so that the main part of the temple with the Assumption throne was separated by a wall from the renovation - the refectory part. In the separated refectory part, in addition to the Nikolsky (left) aisle that existed since the mid-19th century, a new Assumption (right) aisle is being built.

This strange place with a confusing history is located five minutes from the not-so-remote Moscow metro station. However, it is little known, in any case, my husband, who lived in these parts since childhood, knew about it at the level of “yes, there seems to be something there.”
I have no enthusiasm for a full historical reference, and my level of knowledge in religious matters is low. Therefore, only in general terms.
This place is one of the centers of the Moscow Old Believers. First there was a cemetery, which appeared here in 1771 during the plague epidemic. Under the pretext of plague quarantine, almshouses were created. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, male and female Old Believer monasteries appeared (with a cemetery between them), houses, shops, factories were located around: the community numbered about 10 thousand people.
In the mid-19th century, a new round of persecution of Old Believers began. They left only the former convent. It was closed under Soviet rule, but then was restored (though part of the territory of the former monastery is occupied by the Preobrazhensky Market); entry there is closed to outsiders.
And on the territory of the former monastery, the St. Nicholas Monastery of Edinoverie was created (the fellow believers retained the old rituals, but recognized the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church). It existed until 1923. In recent years, its churches belong to the Orthodox parish, but it shares the main church with the Moscow Pomeranian Old Believers community.
This is such a confusing story. Having understood it as a first approximation, we can finally move on to what of it has survived to this day.
The most beautiful and harmonious thing we saw was the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery. Built in 1805, Bazhenov was supposed to be the architect (and it’s not surprising - the style is similar, and the hand of an extraordinary master is felt), but the authorship belongs to Fyodor Sokolov. This is the style of “Russian Gothic”; it was believed that the design of the Tsaritsyn Palace served as a model. The chapel was restored in 2002, is now in good condition and belongs to the Old Believers.

As I already said, there is no access to the current Old Believer monastery; you can only admire the fence with turrets (early 19th century).

And the second half of the territory is available for visiting.
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 1784-1790. The architect is also Fyodor Sokolov, although Bazhenov’s hand was also assumed here.

The second church - the gate church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - was built in 1801, also by F. Sokolov. Under Soviet rule, all five chapters of it were broken. In post-Soviet times, they were restored; now there are icon painting and restoration workshops here.
And finally, a very beautiful bell tower (unfortunately, it turned out poorly in the photographs). Built in 1876-79. received the unofficial name "Preobrazhenskaya candle". It was restored under Soviet rule, but there are no bells on it.

This is such a strange place. It seemed gloomy (especially since all this is located next to the cemetery or on its territory), but beautiful and unexpected. So much luxurious “Russian Gothic” in one place, I don’t know if there is anywhere else in Moscow.
You can get here by going to the Preobrazhenskaya metro station, then walking along Preobrazhensky Val street; a landmark familiar to the aborigines - the Preobrazhensky market and cemetery.