Temple of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizicheskiy in Moscow. Moscow's Devyatinsky Temple

Like Moscow, the Temple of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizic has a rich, eventful history. He survived the heyday and decline, wealth and plunder. In 1992, the temple was finally returned to the bosom of the Church. Since then it has become for many a stepfather a house, without it there is not a single important event, such as a wedding or a christening, a funeral service or a prayer addressed to God.

Founder

The Temple of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizi in Moscow was created thanks to the efforts of Hierarch Adrian. He was the last patriarch who strictly adhered to the old church system and was an ardent opponent of reforms conducted by Tsar Peter I.

The future First Hierarch Adrian was appointed Metropolitan of Sviyazhsk and Kazan in 1685. At that time, a severe epidemic was raging in the city, which the residents called a fever. He knew that 33 years ago the sea had already visited Kazan. Zaraza literally devastated the city, taking the lives of about 40 thousand people.

Metropolitan Adrian immediately made his vow to Kazan that if the epidemic was over, then in honor of this event he would build a monastery and devote it to the Nine Martyrs of the Kizic, as they cured from terrible diseases. Metropolitan Adrian was deeply religious and diligent in his prayers, so the next morning miraculously the epidemic stopped. To fulfill his vow, he founded the Kizi monastery near Kazan. Later, Metropolitan Adrian received the order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. In the future he continued to honor the martyrs, who saved the city from the misfortune.

Building

Once, Patriarch Adrian was at death - he was paralyzed. He again appealed to the Nine Martyrs for help and gave God a vow that, in case of recovery, he would build in Moscow the temple of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizic. The Lord healed him - the patriarch rose from his deathbed.

The place where the temple of the Nine Holy Martyrs of the Kizic will stand, was determined almost immediately. By decree of Peter I the land near the Novinsky monastery was placed at the disposal of Patriarch Adrian.

From the very beginning the temple was wooden. Its construction was completed in 1698. It was erected in honor of the holy Favmasia, Magna, Theostich, Rufa, Philemon, Antipater, Artem, Theodotus and Theognis.

After 34 years, the priest of this church, Mikhail Timofeev, petitioned, and he was allowed to build on the site where the wooden church of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizic, a stone building, was erected. By decree, with the blessing of the Holy Synod, money was allocated for the erection of a new church.

In 1735, with the financial support of the Moscow merchant Andrei Semenov, a new church and a chapel of Archangel Michael was built.

Pre-revolutionary life

In 1838, two wealthy Muscovites Nerskaya and Chilishcheva donated funds for the construction of a new refectory, where the second chapel was consecrated - Varvara the Great Martyr. Six years later, the construction of a three-tiered bell tower finished. At the end of the XIX century the church had 8 bells, the largest of which weighed 315 poods.

In 1900, parishioners collected funds and heated the church. In the same year, the three-tiered iconostasis was covered with gilding, and the well-known artist Pashkov skillfully painted the walls with magnificent ornamentation and picturesque biblical subjects. Three years later, a newly built three-storey building was consecrated and housed in it an almshouse and Devyatynskaya parish school.

The post-revolutionary period

As you know, after the revolution all the churches were looted or destroyed, and the clergy were subjected to severe persecution. The temple of the Nine Martyrs of the Kizic was not an exception. In the spring of 1922, confiscation of church property took place - all silver and gold utensils were taken away, and in September 1929 all historical and artistic objects that were of value to museum workers were also removed from the temple. The main large icon of the Nine Martyrs was moved by parishioners to the Church of St. John the Baptist on Presnya. From there it was returned only in February 2004.

Modernity

The events that took place in October 1993 left their markings on the facade of the bell tower of the temple. The fact is that the church itself is located near the City Hall and the White House, so it fell into the firing zone - the facade of the building was badly damaged, but in 1994 the Divine Liturgy was held for the first time in many years.

In the Devyatinskaya church, partial restoration work is still under way. The 19th-century murals are already open for public viewing. Some of them were miraculously preserved, and some of the images were refreshed in such a masterly manner that they completely blended into the general decoration of the church. Now the Devyatinsky church has a completed view. For all those who wish to see it or take part in worship, its doors are always open. Address of the Church of the Nine Martyrs: Moscow, Bolshaya Devyatinsky Lane, 15.