Description of the attraction
In Moscow in the 17th century, plots of arable land, which were interspersed with residential buildings in the then city limits, were called open fields in Moscow in the 17th century. There was also a big rift in the area of Bolshaya Ordynka. Gradually, arable land disappeared within the city, but the places where they were located were still called open fields, on one of these is the church of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.
The temple received its current name in 1802, when the re-consecration of the main altar of the newly built building took place. Before that, the church bore the name of the great martyr George the Victorious. He also changed the name and the lane in which the church stood - from Georgievsky to Iversky.
One of the lists of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the heavenly patroness of Moscow, became the main shrine of the temple. This image is kept in the Iverskaya Chapel at the Resurrection Gate. In addition to the main altar of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, there are two more side-chapels in the church, consecrated in honor of St. George the Victorious and John the Warrior.
The first St. George Church in Vspolye was wooden and existed already at the beginning of the 17th century. In the second half of the same century, the church was rebuilt in stone at the expense of the merchant Semyon Potapov. The chapel in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God was built and consecrated only towards the end of the 18th century. Four years later, one of the parishioners submitted a petition to the Metropolitan that the St. George Church should be rebuilt due to its dilapidation. This parishioner was Ivan Savinov, the church head, aide-de-camp of Field Marshal Count Razumovsky, who also financed the construction work that lasted until 1802.
The temple was closed in 1929. The building lost its bell tower, unique murals, icons, utensils and valuables. The building of the former church housed a cinema, a club; during the years of perestroika, exhibitions of contemporary art were held in it. In 1990, restoration work began in the building, and three years later it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. True, not the entire territory of the temple complex was returned to the church, but only part of it. The temple was recognized as a cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation.
