Description of the attraction
In April 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued a "Decree on strengthening the principles of religious tolerance." Such a document was adopted in Russia for the first time, it abolished the persecution for confessing non-Christianity, lifted restrictions on other Christian denominations and recognized the Old Believers that had existed in the country since the second half of the 17th century - the time of church reforms and schism in Orthodoxy.
One of the first Old Believer churches that appeared after this decree was the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Intercession of the Virgin. It is located in the Basmanny district of Moscow, in Tokmakov lane.
The church was built by the Pomor community with the participation of the architect Ilya Bondarenko. He also created sketches of all the elements of the interior decoration. The Pomors chose the style of the churches of the Russian North for their church and built a building for it in just one year. The church accommodated 500 people and was decorated with granite and majolica on the outside. The windows were decorated with colored glass, the iconostasis was made of oak, the church utensils were made of bronze.
The church was closed in 1930, its values and interior elements were confiscated and transferred to state funds for safekeeping. The Old Believers' Pomors, nevertheless, managed to preserve their community and even secured a new place for it to conduct divine services. They were allocated a part of the Nikolskaya Church, which stands at the Preobrazhensky cemetery. The community still occupies this building.
The building of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Intercession of the Virgin in Soviet times was occupied by a variety of institutions: from a children's theater to a sewing workshop. At the end of the 80s, the building was occupied by a workshop in which stamps and seals were made. Of course, the building was devoid of chapters and a bell tower and fell into disrepair without proper care. In the 90s, the church was not only returned to the Pomor community. By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the building was declared a federal cultural heritage site. After that, the restoration of the church began. Today it is a functioning temple.
