The temple was built in 1698-99 and included part of the temple of the same name built in 1568, which was a coop. instead of a wooden one in the name of St. Boris and Gleb (second half of the 14th century, in 1434 the Moscow holy fool, St. Maxim the Blessed, was buried there, in whose name the throne was established, and the temple received a second name). The main altar is St. St. Maximus the Blessed, from the south (right) the chapel of St. Maximus the Confessor (prominent church figure of the 6th-7th centuries). After the fire of 1737, it was thoroughly renovated in the Baroque style. In 1827-29, instead of the previous, dismantled belfry, a building was built. a new, two-tier bell tower (the upper one is the belfry, the lower one is the entrance to the temple) in the Empire style.

Pillarless, rectangular in plan, double-height, with a light drum and a bulbous dome above the central altar and a dome above the vaulted, single-pillar refectory. Three-apsid ground floor (high basement) in the 17th-18th centuries. served as a storage place for citizens' property during fires and disasters. Facade with wide window openings and false windows. Central altar with closed vault. South the aisle is combined with the refectory. Fragments of painting from the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved in the temple and refectory. and two white stone mortgage boards. Internal window slopes with corners beveled at the top are a technique rarely found in Russian architecture of the 17th-18th centuries. The bell tower consists of two tiers decreasing upward with a dome topped with a spire.

At the end of the 1920s, the regent of the temple was the monk Platon (Izvekov, in 1971-90 - His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen).

In the 1930s closed. Was ruined. He was beheaded. In 1965-69. was restored. Since 1970 - under the jurisdiction of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation.

In 1991 it was returned to believers. Worship services resumed after 1994.

Temple of St. Maxim the Blessed (Maxim the Confessor) on Varvarka in Moscow - description, coordinates, photos, reviews and the ability to find this place in Moscow (Russia). Find out where it is, how to get there, see what's interesting around it. Check out other places on our interactive map for more detailed information. Get to know the world better.

Cathedrals No. 3473 – St. Maxim the Confessor (St. Maxim the Blessed) on Varvarka, church

Temples of Russia No. 926 – Church of St. Maxim the Blessed on Varvarka (Church of St. Maxim the Confessor on Varvarka, 2nd half of the 14th century)

The chapel of St. Maxim the Blessed was built at the existing wooden Boris and Gleb Church after 1434. The new stone church, built in 1568, is in the name of Maxim the Confessor. The modern church was built in 1698-99. The main altar of St. Maximus the Blessed, the chapel of St. Maximus the Confessor. Bell tower 1827-29 Closed no earlier than 1929. Divine services were resumed after 1994 and are held on holidays.

Church of St. Maxim the Blessed on Varvarka

Varvarka, then st. Razin, since 1990 again Varvarka, 4

"The original church with the main altar of Boris and Gleb stood here, probably from the second half of the 14th century (judging by archaeological data, to the south of the existing one) and appeared, apparently, as a house church of the rich estate of merchants-surozhans. In 1434 there was The Moscow holy fool Maxim the Blessed was buried, in whose honor a chapel was built, and the church received a second name, which became more popular."

“Before the current church, there was a stone temple here from 1568, which in turn was built on the site of a wooden temple from the early 15th century. The existing church is thus the third built on this site. The wooden temple was named in the name of Boris and Gleb. was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1434 in connection with the burial of the holy fool Maxim, famous in Moscow: “On November 12, the servant of God Maxim, who was ugly for Christ’s sake, reposed and was laid to rest with Boris and Gleb on Varvarskaya Street, behind the market, and was buried by a certain the faithful husband Fyodor Kochkin." The courtyard of Fyodor Kochkin at one time served as a landmark for the church: for example, in a charter of 1460 it is called "at Kochkin's courtyard." The stone church of 1568 had a different name - Maxim the Confessor, a prominent figure in the church of the 6th-7th centuries. , and the name "Boris and Gleb" passed to the chapel of the church. The existing church of 1698-1699 has a third name - St. Maxim the Blessed - in honor of the holy fool mentioned above. The existing bell tower was built in 1827 to replace the dismantled old one; it consists of two tiers, the upper one is the belfry, the lower one is the entrance to the temple. The architecture of the church has features typical of a temple of the late 17th century."

"The main altar of St. Maximus the Blessed, the chapel of St. Maximus the Confessor was added in 1699." from South.

"...October 206, 21... The newly built Church of Maximus the Confessor, on the Varvarsky Sacrum..." At the very end of the 17th century. two wealthy merchant guests - Kostroma Maxim Sharovnikov and Moscow Maxim Verkhovitinov - built a new church building instead of the previous one. It was consecrated at the beginning of 1698 (according to the old calendar, 7206). The main church is dedicated to Maxim the Blessed - the holy fool, who in 1434 was buried in the Church of Boris and Gleb that existed on the site of Maxim's church. From that time, according to the newly built chapel dedicated to St. Maxim the Blessed, the church received its name. It is known that at the beginning of the 16th century. The stone church building, which has not survived to this day, was built by Surozhan Vasily Bobr and his brethren. There is information that the church burned in 1676 and after that it was renovated by Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, the mother of Peter I. In those days, when constructing a new building, the previous building was rarely completely destroyed; they tried to preserve and use as much as possible the old foundations and walls. Sometimes a new structure includes entire fragments of previous ones as an integral part. And all this is so wonderfully fused that it is very difficult to separate them. As a result, we see a structure typical of the 17th century: a pillarless rectangle with a light dome, a refectory and a narrow aisle on the right. The lower floor of the building - the basement - served as a storage place for the citizens' property.

After renovations following the fire of 1737, some parts of the building acquired features of Baroque architecture. The restructuring of this time included a change in the shape of the dome and crosses. In 1829, the current bell tower was built instead of the previous belfry.

The significant opening of the temple drum, together with wide, high window openings, made it possible to brightly illuminate the interior of the church, which is typical for con architecture. XVII - early XVIII century

The design of window slopes from inside the premises is interesting. Their shape with corners beveled at the top is a rare example in Russian architecture at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. The interior contains fragments of paintings dating back to the 19th century. and made in oil. This late painting apparently repeats the composition and general character of the previous one."

"The temple is a pillarless, two-light, three-apse quadrangle on a high basement, typical of the late 17th century, covered with a closed vault and topped with a light drum with a bulbous dome. The false windows on the apse façade are unusual. The space of the southern aisle is combined with a vaulted single-pillar refectory. In the temple and refectory, fragments of 18th-century painting and two white stone foundation boards. The Empire bell tower consists of two receding quadrangles with a dome topped with a spire."

At the end of the 1920s. the regent of this temple was the monk Platon Izvekov, later His Holiness Patriarch Pimen.

Soon after this the temple was closed.

“In 1965, the temple stood headless, had a sloppy, dirty look. Inside was the Mosremchas factory management, warranty repairs of watches. At the end of 1967, the temple was repaired, domes were installed, painted, crosses were gilded, the building was brought into decent shape” (M L. Bogoyavlensky).

“The Church of Maxim was restored in 1965-1969. The head is the architect S. S. Podyapolsky. After restoration, in 1970 it was transferred to the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation for organizing exhibitions.”

Mini-guide to China Town

Maxim the Blessed was buried in 1434 near this church (it was previously called the Church of Boris and Gleb). And in 1547 Blessed Maxim was canonized. At the same time, at the expense of Vasily Beaver, a stone temple was built in his memory.

The modern building of the Cathedral of St. Maxim the Blessed was built in 1698 at the expense of merchants Maxim Sharovnikov from Kostroma and Maxim Verkhovitinov from Moscow.

What is what in the church

The main altar of the church was consecrated in the name of St. Maximus the Blessed, and the southern chapel - in the name of St. Maximus the Confessor. Because of this, the temple has two names.

This church is interesting primarily because of its large central volume, covered without additional supports. And when the old temple was dismantled, the relics of St. Maximus the Blessed were found again. During construction, they were kept in another temple, and then moved back and placed in a silver shrine under a canopy.

It is known that the lower floor of the Church of Maximus the Confessor in the 17th-18th centuries was used to store the property of townspeople during fires and disasters.

In 1737, in a fire that destroyed half of the central part of Moscow and the Kremlin, the Cathedral of St. Maximus the Blessed also burned down. It was restored. But in 1812 the temple heroically survived, and the priest Ignatius Ivanov did not leave the temple for a day. For this, after the victory he was awarded the pectoral cross. This fact confirms that the Church of St. Maximus the Blessed was not badly damaged - it was impossible to conduct services in desecrated or dilapidated churches. And in 1827, the temple had a new empire-style bell tower with a spire.

In the 1930s, the Church of Maximus the Confessor was closed, beheaded and destroyed. According to the Stalinist reconstruction plan, it was going to be demolished, like all the houses on the south side of the street.

Guide to Architectural Styles

The Church was saved by Stalin's death. The Mosremchas factory management (warranty watch repair) is located inside the temple building. At the same time, the temple itself had a sloppy and dirty appearance. Only in 1965 the Church of St. Maximus the Blessed was restored. For some time, the temple building was used to promote knowledge about nature and its protection. Now the church is active.

On Yandex.Photos

Church. Valid.
Thrones: Maximus the Blessed, Maximus the Confessor
Architectural style: Moscow
Year of construction: Between 1698 and 1699.
Website:
Address: Moscow, st. Varvarka, 4
Coordinates:55.75251, 37.62737
Directions: m. "China town"
The temple bears the name of a famous at the beginning of the 16th century. Moscow Blessed Maxim. He was buried in 1434 on Varvarka near the church, which was formerly called the Church of Boris and Gleb. In 1547, Blessed Maxim was canonized. At the end of the 17th century, after a fire, a new stone church of St. Maximus the Confessor was erected, its main boundary was consecrated in honor of St. Blessed Maximus. The church was badly damaged during the fire of Moscow in 1676 and after that it was renovated by Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the mother of Peter I.
The new temple building, built in 1698-1699 with the money of merchants M. Sharovnikov from Kostroma and M. Verkhovitinov from Moscow, included part of the temple of the same name built in 1568. After the fire of 1737, the temple was thoroughly renovated in the Baroque style, unusual for the old Moscow appearance of Kitay-Gorod. In 1827-1829 Instead of the previous belfry, a new, two-tier bell tower in the Empire style was erected. It consists of two tiers decreasing upward with a dome topped with a spire. The bell tower was dismantled back in 1757, at the request of the architect Yakovlev, because gave a significant list and was close to falling. In the 19th century, the bell tower was built again.
The temple is pillarless, rectangular in plan, double-height, with a light drum and a bulbous dome above the central altar and a dome above the vaulted, single-pillar refectory. Three-apse ground floor in the 17th-18th centuries. served as a storage place for citizens' property during fires and disasters. Facade with wide window openings and false windows. Central altar with closed vault. The southern aisle is combined with the refectory. Internal window slopes with corners beveled at the top are a technique rarely found in Russian architecture of the 17th-18th centuries.
Fragments of painting from the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved in the temple and refectory. and two white stone mortgage boards.
“On Varvarsky Sacrum, on Varvara Mountain, on Varskaya, then Varvarskaya Street - the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, stone...”
One of the ancient names of the street is Vsesvyatskaya, named after the Church of All Saints on Kulishki, built, according to legend, by Dmitry Donskoy in 1380, in memory of the soldiers who died on the Kulikovo Field. Sometimes the street was called Varskaya, Varvarsky Bridge, Bolshaya Mostovaya Street. In ancient times, healers and healers sold medicinal herbs and roots here, people came here to “speak” toothache... Believers went to Varvarka to venerate the image of the holy Great Martyr Barbara.
The only daughter of a rich and noble resident of the Phoenician city of Iliopolis, Dioscorus, Barbara was known for her beauty and pious life.
Refusing lucrative marriage offers, rejecting worldly vanity, she heeded the voice of her soul and accepted holy Baptism. Dioscorus, “Hellene by birth and evil faith,” was angry at his daughter’s act, but also struck by her firm faith in Christ.
The most cruel tortures did not shake the Christian’s steadfastness. Barely alive, she was thrown into prison. At night, during prayer, a great light illuminated her, Christ himself appeared to her, healed her from terrible wounds and said: “Be bold, My bride, and do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
In the morning, Varvara was again subjected to torture and humiliation, and then she was condemned to death. Varvara was executed with a sword by her own father...
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