Metochion of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God - Compound of the Kozelskaya St. Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage
The place where the temple stands has belonged to monastic farmsteads since the 18th century: first to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (now the Lavra), then to the Pskov Bishops' House. In 1875, the courtyard was acquired by the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. At first, the temple at the Lavra courtyard was small and could hardly accommodate worshipers. In 1894-1900, the Kiev-Pechersk courtyard was built anew - with the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which has survived to this day.
The creation of the project and construction of the temple was led by the outstanding architect Vasily Antonovich Kosyakov (author of the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, the Church of the Mother of God on Bolshoy Prospekt, etc.). The beautiful, spacious temple gained numerous parishioners.
The events of 1917 destroyed the usual way of life. Since 1919, the gradual eviction of monks from their cells began under the pretext of “densifying” housing and providing it to those in need. On the night of August 23, 1930, the first arrest of the Podvorye brethren took place. The arrested monks were accused of “systematically withholding small silver coins, thereby undermining monetary circulation in the USSR.” All were convicted and sent to northern concentration camps.
However, until the end of 1933, services in the temple continued; there was a parish of the Assumption Church, consisting of faithful parishioners. But soon they were also arrested. Among the arrested parishioners was the church's singer, Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev, the father of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
In 1934, the temple was closed and turned into a warehouse. In 1956, the first indoor skating rink in Leningrad began to be built in the church building. The world-famous Leningrad Figure Skating School began here.
In 1991, the former Kiev-Pechersk metochion became the metochion of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn. The restoration of the temple and the entire courtyard complex began, which continues to this day.
On September 15, 2013, the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God was consecrated with the Great Order by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
In the temple there is a shrine with a canopy and a particle of the relics of St. Ambrose, the Elder of Optina (XIX), there is a reliquary of the Council of the Reverend Elders of Optina, as well as a reliquary of the Kiev-Pechersk saints, which contains particles of the relics of 82 ascetics, including such revered saints: Moses Ugrin (XI), Ilia Muromets (XII), Nestor the Chronicler (XI-XII), Agapit the free doctor (XI-XII), John the Long-Suffering (XII), Isaiah the Wonderworker (XII century) and others.
The temple houses the image of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear”, painted on Holy Mount Athos in the Dochiar Monastery. The image is an exact copy of the miraculous icon of the ancient Athonite monastery.
In the altar of the temple there is kept the Holy Cross with Particles of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, Holy Golgotha, the Holy Sepulcher and with particles of the relics of various saints: Prophet John the Baptist, Apostle Andrew the First-Called and Apostle James Zebedee (I), right of Lazarus the Fourth Day (I), sschmchch. Ignatius the God-Bearer and Dionysius the Areopagite (II), St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (III-IV), Martyr Panteleimon (III-IV), St. John of Damascus (VII-VIII) and other saints.
The men's choir “Optina Pustyn” was founded at the Optina Compound. A team of professional singers is reviving the traditions of ancient statutory monastic singing: at services in the church, Znamenny chants, Optina chants, various types of Old Russian monophonic chants, Russian church polyphony, as well as Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian and Georgian chants are performed.
The Stavropegic Orthodox Cathedral is located on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. The church was built over two years from 1885 to 1887. This five-domed religious building was designed to accommodate 2,000 parishioners. Today the Assumption Church is a courtyard of the Kozelsk Hermitage.
History of the construction of the temple
In 1721, by decree of Emperor Peter the Great, the construction of farmsteads for the bishops of the Synod began on the territory of Vasilyevsky Island. Trinity-Sergius Hermitage acquired land from the Naryshkin family. After 30 years, the monastery moved the courtyard to the Fontanka embankment, leaving the Church of the Nativity on the banks of the Neva.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Petersburg
- This building was soon going to be sold, but a buyer was never found. Therefore, Catherine II ordered the transfer of the remaining lonely church into the possession of the diocese of Pskov. Church meetings were held in the courtyard and bishops lived there.
- Soon the Holy Synod took over the rule, since the Pskov diocese lacked the funds and geographical proximity to rationally control affairs. The change of owners did not affect the improvement, so the question of selling the site with the lone church arose again. The Holy Synod gave it away for 86 thousand rubles.
- The site consisted primarily of a two-story church that was constantly being renovated. In the courtyard of the temple there were service buildings and a warehouse for materials. There was a public toilet and a garbage pit nearby. Metropolitan Arseny proposed carrying out a full-fledged restructuring, but died before he had time to develop and approve the project.
- The poor courtyard was rented out to the laity; in 1879, renovation work began; the architect P. Shestov built a one-story outbuilding. The old Church of the Nativity, unfortunately, could no longer accommodate everyone; its condition was becoming critical: there was not enough lighting, the plaster of the walls was falling off, the integrity of the floor and ceilings was severely damaged. Cast iron columns were installed in the bishop's chambers to prevent the roof from collapsing.
At the end of the 19th century, an architectural competition was held where designs for a new building were considered. In 1884, on the site of one of the demolished buildings, a two-story house was erected for the rector and metropolitan. From here the bishops could go straight to the temple. A few years later they built a garden and 2 courtyards, a stable, a barn and a fence. The metochion acquired the status of a closed complex with separate premises for monks, bishops and abbot. In 1915, a rich library belonging to Father Vladimir was improved here.
Construction of the Assumption Cathedral
The first stone was laid at the end of the summer of 1895, the work was supervised by Archimandrite Theognost. The builders worked from early morning until late evening; instead of bricks, it was decided to use a concrete mixture for the arches. In the early autumn of 1896, a temporary cathedral was erected inside the building under construction, intended for daily worship. A year later, Orthodox crosses were raised on the domes of the temple.
On a note! At the beginning of the summer of 1932, the Assumption Church was transferred to the control of the Leningrad Metropolitan, and four years later, it was used as a sports hall. During the siege of Leningrad, an air defense point was installed under the roof, and a naval warehouse was installed inside the cathedral itself. The basement was converted into a bomb shelter, and the garden was used as an anti-aircraft crew. Recovery
In 1956, an order was received to build an indoor skating rink inside the church. As a result of the preparatory work, the floor covering and wall paintings were destroyed, and a wardrobe was organized in place of the altar. A tool warehouse and a sharpening workshop were placed here, and the walls were decorated with banners and portraits of leaders.
Other churches in honor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary:
In 1967, the skating rink was used to educate children. The condition of the building was deteriorating and required complete repairs. To correct the problems with financing, baths and a flower shop were opened here.
In 1991, the Assumption Church was transferred to the Optina Monastery, and a temporary iconostasis was placed where the skating rink was located. The gradual restoration of God's house began: walls that did not belong to the church's architecture were removed, and garbage was removed. Daily services began to be held only in mid-winter 1996.
Icons of the Mother of God in the Assumption Church, St. Petersburg
In 1998, a cross was placed on the temple, and by 2003 the iconostasis was completely reconstructed. In 2013, the Assumption Church shone with new life; Patriarch Kirill consecrated it with a traditional ritual.
On a note! In 1994, a Sunday school and theological courses were opened at the church. In 1999, these institutions were retrained into the Institute of Religious Studies, where Christian cultural studies were studied and missionary and social activities were practiced. In 2010, an Orthodox gymnasium was organized here in honor of St. Ambrose.
Architecture
The cathedral has five chapters and was created in a pseudo-Russian style and can accommodate up to 2000 people. During construction, bricks and concrete mixture were used. The lower tier was faced with gray granite, and the upper with sandstone. The smooth surfaces of the domes were covered with aluminum sheets.
The interior of the cathedral was formed by crossing arches, so the building does not require supporting columns. Initially, the walls of the temple were painted by Moscow masters. Graduates of the Academy of Arts of the city of St. Petersburg participated in the restoration work.
The interior painting of the dome shows Christ and a host of angels; under the drum there are compositions telling about the deeds of the Savior. The theme of the altar in the center is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Nearby is a marble throne and a gilded porcelain iconostasis.
Painting of the main vault of the Assumption Church in St. Petersburg
Shrines of the temple, how to get there
Today, the Assumption Church safely receives pilgrims and holds daily services.
At the Assumption Church, located on Vasilyevsky Island, there is also an institute of religious studies. The brothers also have livestock and have the opportunity to engage in agriculture.
The place where the Assumption Church stands has belonged to monastery farmsteads since the 18th century. In 1721, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, following the decrees of Peter I, began to equip its courtyard on Vasilyevsky Island. A small wooden temple was built on it.
But 35 years later, in 1756, the monastery, faced with very great financial difficulties, was forced to move. The house was ordered by Imperial decree to be transferred “to the Pskov diocese in the courtyard.” The Pskov bishop's house owned this courtyard for almost a hundred years. Here, at the direction of the Synod, nonresident bishops who came to St. Petersburg to attend the Synod were usually stationed. Saint Philaret (Amphitheaters; †1857), at that time the Bishop of Ryazan, also stayed here, who, according to the recollections of the treasurer, Archimandrite Paul, stopped the flooding of the courtyard with prayer during the flood of 1827.
In 1854, the temporary administrator of the Pskov diocese, Archbishop Platon of Riga, presented to the Synod an explanation of the complex circumstances of the courtyard and asked to transfer the courtyard to the jurisdiction of the Synod. But after 20 years, the Synod had to think about selling it. At this very moment, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia Arseny (Moskvin) received a proposal to the economic management of the Synod for the acquisition of this place by the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Unfortunately, shortly after acquiring the buildings of the courtyard in 1875, Metropolitan Arseny died (†1876) and the improvement of the courtyard he had planned was postponed for many years. All the buildings of the courtyard, including the Church of the Nativity, were dilapidated and, due to repeated reconstructions and alterations, gave the impression of architectural chaos. Metropolitan Ioannikiy (Rudnev), for whom the metochion was his permanent place of residence, was extremely undemanding in terms of personal comfort and put up with skewed floors and supports for the ceilings of the living quarters, but was preoccupied with the need to rebuild the church, which could not accommodate pilgrims.
Beginning in 1886, Bishop Ioannikiy was the leading member of the Holy Synod. And from 1891 until his death in 1900, he occupied the Kyiv and Galician Sees, and, therefore, was the rector of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra along with its St. Petersburg metochion. The saint's fasting abstinence, his widespread charity, modesty of life, justice, simplicity and directness in communication, and finally, living and sincere piety are well known.
Metropolitan Ioannikiy knew well the architect Kosyakov, who was building the Church of the Mother of God of Mercy in Galernaya Harbor in St. Petersburg. He was entrusted with transforming a run-down courtyard into a magnificent church complex capable of becoming a real spiritual center connecting St. Petersburg and Kyiv, the imperial capital and the Pechersk Lavra.
In 1894-1900, the buildings of the courtyard were rebuilt, including the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Images of Kyiv saints still decorate its vaults. On August 15, 1895, the foundation stone of the temple took place, and already on December 18, 1897, Bishop Ioannikiy consecrated the main altar with choirs. An iconostasis from the former courtyard church was temporarily installed in the temple. The entire complex of the farmstead, which also included a residential building, was completed in 1900. The five-domed temple was designed for two thousand people.
The temple is designed in pseudo-Russian style. The lower part of the building is faced with gray granite, the upper part with Radom sandstone and special brick. 14 types of molded bricks, tiles and mosaics were used in the decoration. The innovation of the author of the project was manifested in the use of intersecting arches to support the main drum, which made it possible to do without the installation of pylons and create a vast internal space. Olovyanishnikov's company made the stoves from red copper with through carvings, Frolov's workshop made the external mosaics of the temple. The interior painting of the temple in 1902-1903 was carried out by Moscow masters under the guidance of academician Fyodor Sokolov. It is believed that Viktor Vasnetsov participated in the creation of the wall painting.
The main dome of the temple is decorated with a relief ornamental pattern, lined with stucco garlands. The kokoshniks of the facades are decorated with colored tiles. The temple plays a significant role in the panorama of not only Vasilyevsky Island, but also the entire mouth of the Neva.
After the revolution, the Assumption Church became a parish church; Archimandrite Theognost (Pashkov) was the rector of the temple at that time.
Since 1919, monks were evicted from their cells under the pretext of “densifying” housing, and from 1930 to 1933, all inhabitants of the metochion and active parishioners of the temple were arrested and sentenced to exile and camps. Among the arrested members of the community was the church choirmaster Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev, the father of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
In 1934, the Assumption Church was closed and turned into a warehouse for the Leningrad military port, and in 1961 an indoor skating rink opened there. Sports societies of that time held classes on its ice. All frescoes in the interior of the temple were whitened and painted over with oil paint. The temple icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God was transferred to the Prince Vladimir Cathedral. Over time, the skating rink fell into disrepair and more and more investments were required in the renovation of the building.
In the Optina Pustyn Monastery, the question of creating their own metochion in St. Petersburg was considered even before the revolution. But only in 1991, with the participation of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, the city transferred for free and indefinite use the former metochion of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the newly formed metochion of the stauropegial monastery of the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage. It seemed almost impossible to restore the temple: the walls were damaged by dampness and fungus, the paintings were hidden under layers of plaster. In 1992, services were held in a small room in which a temporary temple was built. Two years passed before it became possible to celebrate the Liturgy in the southern aisle. Regular services in the temple could only be held since 1993.
In 1995, the new rector of the metochion, Hieromonk (now abbot) Rostislav (Yakubovsky), invited Yaroslav Shterenberg and Gennady Zhuravlev, graduates of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, to collaborate, who created a team of restorers who began restoring the exterior of the building and restoring the interiors. Funds for the revival of the monastery were collected by the whole world; the main sponsor was Vadim Novinsky. In January 1998, a cross was installed on the main dome of the building. In 2003, the restoration of the iconostasis was completed. Only in 2013 was the reconstruction of the interior and wall paintings completed.
On September 15, 2013, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated the great consecration of the restored Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the St. Petersburg metochion of Optina Hermitage.
Press service of the St. Petersburg diocese/Patriarchy.ru
Assumption Cathedral - Optina Metochion in St. Petersburg
In St. Petersburg, on the embankment named after Lieutenant Schmidt, the beautiful and majestic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is reflected in the Neva waters - the architectural pearl of Vasilievsky Island and the entire Northern Palmyra. Its building is huge and monumental, but at the same time it gives the impression of amazing harmony and lightness.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg stands on land that has been a monastery courtyard since ancient times, immediately and later.
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary- a magnificent church - a decoration of the representative offices of several Russian monasteries at once; since the 90s of the 20th century it has become the pride and asset of the metochion of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn. Having happily survived difficult times, the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was transformed into a genuine spiritual center of religious studies and church arts, Orthodox education, theology and icon painting.
Today, the church hosts daily statutory services, long-standing traditions of monastic life are being revived, and the former architectural ensemble of the metochion of the stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn has been recreated.
The Assumption Church of the Metochion is now a place of active educational, social and charitable work, social service of many people of good will.
The true pride of the temple and the courtyard is the male choir “Optina Pustyn”, which accompanies services in the traditions of ancient monastery chants; the choir consists of professionals, graduates of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory.
The past and the present are closely intertwined in the fate of this amazing island of spiritual life on the big island. History is being made today, and its great witness is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 28.10.2018 10:07
The founding year of the monastery is officially considered to be 1721, and the predecessor of the future Assumption Church was the small wooden house church of the Nativity of Christ, located on the second floor of the monastery building.
However, over time, the small house church of the metochion becomes increasingly cramped for worship and needs a global restructuring. This was especially noticeable on major church holidays. Therefore, in 1891, work began on renovating the Lavra’s courtyard.
Its most important stage was the competition of 1894, which was organized among eminent Russian architects for the construction of a whole complex of new buildings for the future church, dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Monks Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk. Many applications were submitted, and the project of a civil engineer and a famous architect won the competition.
The author of the projects for the Church of the Mother of God of Mercy on Bolshoi Prospekt, the Kazan Church of the Novodevichy Resurrection Monastery and the grandiose monastery sought to develop national features in Russian architecture, based on the experience of Byzantium, which is spiritually close to us, creatively and originally reworked.
This time, the architect was given an even more serious task: to make the rather dilapidated and obsolete courtyard a worthy representation and a genuine spiritual center on the banks of the Neva.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Kiev Pechersk Lavra in miniature
In 1894, dismantling of old buildings began in the courtyard to clear space for the future large temple. Publications in the press fueled the already great interest in the construction, and residents of St. Petersburg were looking forward to the day when they would be able to visit the “Lavra in miniature” and hear with their own eyes its legendary and traditional choral chants.
Finally, the buildings of the courtyard were rebuilt, and the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Monks Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev-Pechersk turned out to be beautiful and spacious. Maintained in the canons of the pseudo-Russian style, from now on it could accommodate up to two thousand believers. The appearance of the new temple had similar features to the famous memorial church in Borki, erected on the site.
On December 18, 1897, when the crosses were raised on the domes, the altar and choir were consecrated. The next day, the side chapel was also consecrated in honor of the Council of All Reverend Fathers of the Kiev-Pechersk Church. And by 1900, the construction of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the new buildings of the courtyard were successfully completed.
From now on, the temple was always crowded. The room had excellent acoustics, which made it possible to hear every word of the priest during the service. During the cold season, an effective heating system for the vestibule prevented the worshipers standing in the last rows from freezing. The services were performed by the monks of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and many pilgrims from all over the area and from other parishes came to listen to them.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 28.10.2018 10:32
By the beginning of the 20th century, the courtyard had a temple complex of buildings with separate entrances for parishioners, church brethren and the metropolitan. In addition, since the beginning of the First World War, the funds of the large library of Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany), lost during the years of Soviet power, were kept in the basements of the Assumption Church.
The October Revolution destroyed the usual way of life of the monastery, its ministers and parishioners. 1919 marked the beginning of the eviction of clergy from the monastery.
In the 1920s, the authorities openly set out to close the Assumption Church at any cost. Mass arrests of brethren and parishioners began, which continued until 1932. The Assumption Church of the metochion was deprived of its high stauropegial status, but services continued here until the end of 1933.
In 1934, a decision was made to liquidate the temple and further organize a sports hall on its territory. The church doors were closed to parishioners for many years. Almost everything was taken out of it, from icons and iconostasis to chandeliers and other church utensils. Only the crosses continued to cover the orphaned church, until they were cut down just before the war. The revered icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the “image and measure” of the ancient Lavra image, was transferred from the ruined courtyard to.
At first, the church premises were converted into a warehouse for the Leningrad military port. The metropolitan's chambers were divided, converted into a dormitory, and then into communal apartments. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple dome hid an air defense observation post, and a bomb shelter was installed in the church basement.
In 1956, construction of an ice skating rink with artificial turf began in the main church building. Already in 1961, most sports societies in Leningrad began training on its ice.
The existence of a skating rink in the church caused enormous damage to the building: the altar housed the engine room for refrigeration units and wardrobes, and buffets and storerooms for sports and technical equipment were organized in the choir. The entire central part of the former church was occupied by a vast ice field, and the auditorium was full of portraits of Lenin and other Soviet party leaders; patriotic banners were displayed on the walls. All these “innovations” practically destroyed the expensive Metlakh tiles on the floors and paintings on the walls and ceiling.
The ice generated cold and dampness, from which the walls deteriorated, crumbled and were destroyed by fungus. Over time, maintaining a skating rink here simply became unprofitable. However, even after the closure of the ice arena, baths functioned for some time in the Assumption Church, and later plantations were set up to grow flowers for sale, which continued to maintain humidity in the building at unacceptable levels.
Restoration and revival
Only in 1991, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the building of the Assumption Church was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church as a metochion.
Restoring the building required great expenses, technical and human resources, and enormous effort. Everyone who dreamed of seeing the Assumption Church again in its original form and in all its splendor took up the cause. Floors and wall paintings were restored, and mountains of construction waste were removed. In 1998, the main dome of the building acquired a cross, and in 2005 the dome was gilded. By 2003, the iconostasis was restored using archival photos. And only 10 years later the restoration of the wall paintings was completed.
On September 15, 2013, a great event took place - the ceremony of the great consecration of the restored Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the St. Petersburg metochion of Optina Pustyn on.
Today the entire compound complex is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 28.10.2018 11:15
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an architectural pearl of all St. Petersburg. Its building is huge and monumental, but at the same time it gives the impression of amazing harmony and lightness.
Interior painting from 1902 to 1903 was carried out by Moscow artists Dyakonov, Snegirev, Strunnikov and Yakovlev under the guidance of academician Fyodor Andreevich Sokolov.
The existence of an ice skating rink inside the temple caused great damage to the interiors, especially to the wall paintings. The wonderful paintings were simply covered with plaster, whitewash and oil paint, and in some places up to eight layers were applied!
Cold and moisture gradually destroyed the paintings painted over by zealous vandals on the walls of the Assumption Church. After its return in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church had to create a special group of restoration artists who restored the unique images to save the paintings. For restoration work, graduates of the Russian Academy of Arts who well understood the academic nature of wall painting in an Orthodox church were specially invited to this group.
With the chief specialist of the department of the Petrograd and Vasileostrovsky districts of the KGIOP Viktor Voronin:
Alla Maksimova: The history of the temple on the banks of the Neva is full of amazing contradictions. On the one hand, the brainchild of the architect Vasily Kosyakov almost did not suffer during several wars, on the other hand, the bureaucrats of first Petrograd, then Leningrad, tried their best. Almost only the walls remained of the cathedral. These walls, however, saw what cameras around the world would dream of capturing today. However, first things first. The construction of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was completed in 1900. The authorship of the painting is attributed to the famous artist Vasnetsov. As for the architect Kosyakov, he also worked on projects for the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, churches in Peterhof, Astrakhan, and Batumi. The church on Vasilyevsky Island, however, was not particularly lucky. Under the new government, they tried to close the temple several times. In particular, Petrograd residents were frightened by the obscurantism emanating from this place, then the arrests of priests and monks began. In the early 30s, everyone was imprisoned without exception. However, this did not help either. The parish continued to exist no matter what. Then, says the current head of the church’s office, Lidia Ivanovna Zagorodskaya, they started working on ordinary people.
Lydia Zagorodskaya: And then, at the end of 1934, beginning of 1935, 50 parishioners were arrested. These were the colors, these were the best of the best. These were people who served the church faithfully and they were arrested. The choir, the chief regent, and the singers were arrested. The headman was arrested. Everyone was arrested. And then the temple was empty. People were scared. And in 1935, the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council made a decision to close this temple and transfer it to a warehouse for a naval base.
Alla Maksimova: The warehouse operated here before the war; during the hostilities and during the Siege, observation points were set up here. There were anti-aircraft guns in the yard. By this time, the monks’ cells, Lidia Ivanovna says with pain in her voice, had been turned into communal apartments. The brickwork and mosaics of the temple were almost not damaged, which cannot be said about other valuables.
Lydia Zagorodskaya: The iconostasis was wooden and gilded. All the icons were taken away. Not a single icon has survived, with the exception of the temple icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This icon is today kept in the Prince Vladimir Cathedral. There were a lot of chandeliers, expensive, individual, according to Kosyakov’s design, because Kosyakov worked on everything, right down to the door handles. All this was removed, dismantled, destroyed, looted.
Alla Maksimova: And now it’s the mid-50s. An epoch-making moment is coming in the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra courtyard. For the first time in Leningrad, here, right in the church, an artificial ice skating rink is being built. The frescoes on the walls turned white. Later, several dozen layers of oil paint were applied to them. Historians call alterations in the temple blasphemy. The fact, however, remains a fact. The most talented figure skaters of the city on the Neva begin to train here, including the pairs Belousova - Protopopov and Moskvina - Mishin. The last one, Alexey Nikolaevich, admitted to us that this was his first skating rink.
Alexey Mishin: Ice skating rink in the church hall itself. And there were choirs, and parents sat in these choirs and watched. There was a small office of the director, Grigory Vasilyevich Rybakov. There was a general atmosphere there that allowed you to breathe well and freely, because there were very high ceilings and domes. For the first time in world practice, we began to perform lifts on one arm, which was extremely difficult. And I remember how we did athletic training and carried weights in the basement of a church whose walls were a meter thick.
Alla Maksimova: The understanding of where they skated came years later. Then, however, the walls, which remembered chants, prayers and bright holidays, helped a lot. The coach of the Olympic champions is convinced of this.
Alexey Mishin: You know, I felt some kind of elation. And I was then a complete atheist, of course, but this architecture, it was not created in vain and not by accident. After all, it was created in order to awaken something bright, kind, and calm in a person. This atmosphere certainly existed, because I don’t remember that there were any, I don’t know, dirty relationships or any bad thoughts at these rinks. And we often come there, to this church, and ask: “Will you allow us to go down?” And we were allowed to go down. And we see the very same ones, they look, in general, like the catacombs in which the beginning of Russian figure skating once took place.
Alla Maksimova: Well, so to speak, the new old biography of the temple on the banks of the Neva began in 1991. The church was then transferred to the Optina Pustyn Monastery, and restoration began almost immediately.
Victor Voronin: Yes, this restoration was done several years ago, by the way, at the expense of the city budget, since this temple is probably the most noticeable of the temples that are in the panorama of the Neva. And thanks to the fact that the facades are now sparkling so much, the domes sparkle with both gold and silver. Everyone who saw this probably paid attention to this unconventional, probably coloristic solution that Kosyakov used. The domes were partially gilded, with ornaments at the bottom, and the main part was covered with aluminum leaf, which imitated silver plating. Now, during the restoration, we did not recreate the aluminum, but restored the actual silvering, which allowed us to recreate Kosyakov’s very same coloristic decision.
Natalya Kostitsina: Listen, if we return, Victor, to the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, my colleague said in her material that they were covered with oil paint...
Victor Voronin: Yes, the entire interior painting of the temple was painted over with multi-layers of oil paint. This, of course, creates big problems now when recreating the decoration of the temple. A lot of time, effort and, accordingly, money have to be spent on layer-by-layer, very careful, slow removal of this oil paint. But like any phenomenon there are different sides. The plaster was not knocked down or destroyed. With such a seemingly blasphemous adaptation for a skating rink. However, those who adapted the building preserved this painting, and now those who will enter this temple...
Natalya Kostitsina: What can you see there now?
Victor Voronin: They are amazed. And I myself, despite the fact that this is not surprising for me, every time I come there and see some new areas of painting, freed from forests, it makes a very strong impression on me, the architecture is largely unconventional for our city, unconventional painting. This is a courtyard of the Kyiv monastery with strong baroque Western influences, with very rich decoration, a desire for an abundance of gilding and so on. Whether Vasnetsov participated in the decoration of the temple is doubtful. At least, there is no documentary evidence of this, but, apparently, Kyiv masters took part in the painting. And I recommend everyone who has not been there to go and look at the already cleared areas, and there are many of them, starting from the dome, where Christ Pantocrator is depicted, ending with the choirs, where, by the way, there are also very unconventional subjects for the city, related to the history of Kiev. Pechersky Monastery, I recommend everyone to see it.
Natalya Kostitsina: By the way, I mentioned majolica, because these majolica panels were made by the same famous Kremer, who taught at the Stieglitz School; the majolica panels belong to him.
Victor Voronin: Both St. Petersburg and Kyiv masters, many took part in the construction, gradually all this is revealed, what was painted over not only in the interior, but also on the facades, it is gradually revealed. Both majolica and mosaics, there are a lot of decoration techniques used there. And I must note that it is precisely the position of the user, as we express it legally, of this monument of the courtyard of the Optina Pustyn monastery, which is extremely conducive to restoration. People do not strive to do everything as quickly as possible, which usually leads to deterioration in quality. People share our scientific restoration approach. And they take their time.