Description of the attraction
In the 90s, the building of the former St. Sophia Church was transferred to the Federal Security Service, whose employees decided to create their own community and restore the temple. The consecration of this church took place already at the beginning of the 21st century, after the ceremony, the head of the service, Nikolai Patrushev, handed over to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II a symbolic key to the Church of Sophia the Wisdom of God.
In Moscow, this temple is located on Pushechnaya Street in the Lubyanka district. Pushechnaya Street is one of the oldest streets in the historical center of Moscow, although in previous centuries it was known under different names, and in the 19th century it was even called Sofiyka after the church that stood here. Currently, the temple has the status of an architectural monument.
The first mentions of the Sophia Church date back to the end of the 15th century. In the same century, on the site of modern Lubyanskaya Square, the Tsar's Cannon Yard was founded, on which bells and cannons were cast. Initially, the St. Sophia Church was wooden and in this form existed for quite a long time: after more than a century and a half, in the middle of the 17th century, a new building was built in its place, which was also wooden. This building was destroyed by a fire in 1685, and towards the end of the century, the church was rebuilt in stone.
Its next renovation took place in the 18th century (then the facades were restored and the dome was rebuilt). In the 19th century, a whole series of transformations were carried out: a bell tower appeared, the refectory and side-chapels were rebuilt.
With the advent of Soviet power, the life of the parish changed, but services in the church continued until it was closed in 1932. The attributes of the temple were removed, in particular, the bell tower was half dismantled. In this form, the building was handed over to the Dynamo factory for sewing sportswear.
In addition to the main altar, the present church also has two side-chapels, consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. Among the shrines of the temple are images of St. Matrona, revered in Moscow, and Fyodor Ushakov, admiral of the Russian fleet, who was canonized as a locally revered saint in 2001.
