Description of the attraction
Another church, whose popular name turned out to be better known than the official one, is the church in Ovchinniki, in Sredny Ovchinnikovsky lane. According to the main altar, the temple is named in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, and among the people it is called the temple of the Archangel Michael, in whose honor its side altar was consecrated.
The first church on the territory of the Sheep Sloboda was built at the beginning of the 17th century for artisans who were engaged in the processing of sheepskins and sheep's wool. The consecration of the temple took place in 1613, history even preserved the name of Semyon Potapov, who donated money for its construction. Subsequently, the building of the temple was rebuilt several times, and to this day it has been preserved in the form that was given to it in the second half of the 17th century. At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, a bell tower was added to the church, and in 1770 another side-chapel in honor of the holy Martyr Harlampius was added to the church, which has not survived to this day.
With the arrival of the Bolsheviks, the church was closed. Due to the use of the building of the temple by various institutions, the interior decoration and interior elements were not preserved, values and relics were also lost. The most revered shrines of the temple were several ancient icons, two of them - "Saturday of All Saints" and Our Lady of Vladimir, painted in the 40-50s of the 17th century - were transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery. The icon of Our Lady of Vladimir was painted by Simon Ushakov, a famous Moscow master.
In Soviet times, the building of the temple was used as an office building, a bakery, a hostel. In the 50s, the question of its demolition or transfer to another place was even raised. However, the temple remained standing in Sredny Ovchinnikovsky lane. At the end of the last century, it was returned to the Orthodox Church, at the same time restoration of the building began. Currently, the building of the temple is recognized as a federal architectural monument. The small church is located in the courtyard of the administrative building, so it takes some effort to find it.
