Among the architectural monuments of old Moscow, one of the most interesting, without a doubt, can be called the temple of Nikita Martyr, located in the southwestern part of Tagansky Hill. It is a compound (representation) of the Russian Panteleimonov monastery - the oldest monastery of St. Athos. Today, those who have decided to devote their lives to monastic service are undergoing initial training.
Construction of a temple on Tagansky Hill
The place where the temple is located is interesting in itself. According to the results of archaeological research, there existed the most ancient settlements dating back to the 10th century and arising long before the founding of Moscow. The population of Tagansky hill increased significantly in the XV-XVI centuries. Representatives of flammable professions, blacksmiths and potters, were evicted from the capital, fearing fires, to this area.
The year in which the future Athos Compound was built in Moscow is known for sure. A mortgage plate in one of the walls testifies to it. According to the inscription made on it, the temple was erected in 1595 by the works of the merchant Savva Vagin. It is not known exactly whether the pious merchant built from scratch or rebuilt a pre-existing building.
Reconstruction of the temple
Almost a hundred years later, at the end of the 17th century, a bell tower was added to the church, made in the tent-style that was usual for that era. The building itself has undergone changes - the southern aisle was added to it. The reconstruction of those years ended with the construction of the refectory and the northern portal.
The temple, which today houses the Athos Compound in Moscow, was significantly reconstructed in 1740. Then, in addition to the northern aisle and the new iconostasis, he received an original and very practical addition - an open gallery-graveyard. Although this was not a novelty for Moscow in those years, it organically fit into the overall complex, and in addition, a panorama of the expanses of the Moscow River and the Kremlin domes, nowadays closed by a modern building, opened from the gallery.
Shame of the Shrine
The Bolsheviks who came to power did the same with this pearl of ancient Russian architecture as they did with most Russian churches. In 1936, having destroyed the gates and fences, which were rare in beauty, they intended to demolish the building itself. The Athos Compound in Moscow was saved from total destruction only by public intervention, which in those years of total repression could be called a civil feat.
Work to restore the appearance of the temple complex began in the mid-fifties. They were led by a group of Moscow restorers led by the famous Soviet architect L.A. David. Thanks to them, the Athos Compound in Moscow, the photographs of which are presented on our page, has acquired its original form. However, in those years we could only talk about the external restoration of the building - until 1990 the temple was used as a utility room of the Filmstrip studio.
Transfer of the temple to believers
The temple of Nikita Martyr was returned to the church in 1991. It was a graceful period when, sobering from decades of atheistic frenzy, the country began to return to its spiritual origins. Throughout the country, thousands of temple buildings — desecrated, mutilated, and sometimes dilapidated — began their rebirth. Three years later, the temple complex was again decorated with a decorative fence and the Holy Gates. In their towers, as before, the chapels of the Monk Silvanos of Athos and the Great Martyr Panteleimon are placed.
In 1992, the Athos Compound was officially established in Moscow.Since then, it houses the representation of the monastery of the Holy Martyr Panteleimon - one of twenty monasteries located on the Holy Mountain of Greek Athos. This oldest monastery was founded by immigrants from Russia back in the 11th century and since then, being under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, it has become a place of salvation for the souls of many generations of monks.
This unique building of the 16th century attracts attention not only as a religious building, but also as a rare monument of Moscow antiquity in its beauty. Every year, he is visited by hundreds of thousands of believers who have come to worship his shrines, and just lovers and connoisseurs of ancient architecture. Those who are going to visit the capital certainly need to look at the Athos Compound in Moscow. Address: Goncharnaya Street, 4-6.
