The Temple of Seraphim of Sarov in Kuntsevo, its history and future

The last Russian emperor Nicholas II was known for his piety, he did much for the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1903, on his initiative, the monks of the Sarov Monastery, Prokhor Isidorovich Moshin (in the world) were listed as "the Reverend".

The Monk Seraphim

Despite the fact that St. Seraphim of Sarov was ranked relatively recently, he rightly became one of the most revered saints. He is worshiped not only by the Orthodox, but also by Catholics, drawing a parallel between him and his holy Francis of Assisi. Among the many glorious deeds committed by Seraphim of Sarov in the name of the Church, for example, such as the foundation and further patronage of the Diveevo women's monastery, the great saint left his unquenchable memory of himself, having accomplished seven feats. These include obedience and monasticism, desert life and pandemonium (not a very frequent phenomenon in the Christian church), silence, seclusion and eldership. He brought his whole life to the altar without a trace. He died with his arms crossed on his chest.

History of the village Kuntsevo

This saint is dedicated to many churches throughout Russia and abroad. The Temple of Seraphim of Sarov in Kuntsevo is one of them. Kuntsevo village itself since 1960 has become an intracity municipal entity, part of the Western Administrative District of Moscow. This village near Moscow was first mentioned in documents in 1454. It is natural to assume that the church, like in any other populated place of Russia, existed then. This summer residence was always owned by representatives of the best Russian families. The village belonged to Mstislavsky, Miloslavsky, Naryshkin. Naturally, here was erected a palace, a garden, as it should, with sculptures made of white marble, and a church. And so they were good, that royal princes came here, for example Catherine II and Friedrich Wilhelm III. The last owner of Kuntsevo was a famous businessman-old-believer Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, a major book publisher. The village he bought in 1865.

How the temple arose

Later all these events appeared the temple of Seraphim of Sarov in Kuntsevo. The history of its emergence is connected with the Poluninskaya Krestovozdvizhenskaya women's community. History knows many examples when a successful, held person leaves the worldly vanity and becomes a monk. So it happened with the merchant V. I. Polunin.

Having settled in the cell of the elder Platon, who was in the desert area of the Ryazan region, Polunin built his own stone chapel and founded a women's almshouse. His sons in 1890 filed a request to convert the almshouse to the community. And already in 1906 by the decree of the emperor for the Poluninskaya community the land is fixed in the amount of 3600 sq.m. Here, the church of Seraphim of Sarov was erected in Kuntsevo, a village donated to the community in 1906 by the peasants of Krylatsky. The management of the construction of the monastery and the temple was occupied by the rassophore novice Ekaterina Ilieva and the nun Serafima. The temple project, provided by the architect VF Zhigardovich in 1907, was later simplified, evidently due to a lack of funds.

Good plan

According to the project, the temple of Seraphim of Sarov in Kuntsevo was a five-domed church, the main part of which was separated from the altar by a luxurious two-tier, almost 5-meter iconostasis of carpentry. The one-domed refectory adjoined the temple. It was calculated for 300 people. During the erection process, the beautiful porch and semi-circular windows were abandoned, and the facade of the church was not decorated. Archimandrite Daniel consecrated the temple of Seraphim of Sarov in Kuntsevo in 1909. The community intensively developed, houses for nuns were built, the church was plastered both inside and out, the wall painting depicted the death of Seraphim of Sarov. Already in 1915, permission was received for the construction of holy gates and premises for the campaigners, as well as for the construction of a chapel with a belfry. Summer residents and local residents gave the monastery the name "Kuntsevsky Monastery".

Years of Unbelief

In the alarming year of 1917 Kuntsevskoe metochion became an independent community, the nun Seraphim was appointed as the head. Abolished the community in 1922. Then, despite the fact that the parishioners cared for the church, which became a parish, and did their own repairs, the authorities decided to select the cult structure for a kindergarten. In passing, "conscious" citizens rallied and collected signatures about the closure of the church, which was officially held in 1929. Despite the fact that the community has not disintegrated, terrible times have come for servants and parishioners. The first rector, Archpriest Rusinov, was shot in 1938. The second abbot priest S. Feltsin was shot in 1937 with Deacon VI Krasnokutsky. All of them were glorified in the face of the new martyrs. Of course, the church was broken and rebuilt to the needs of the new owners, who changed very often.

Revival

The second life of the temple began with the formation in 1993 of a new community, and in 2006 the church was granted the status of a Patriarchal farmstead. At one time prayer services were held at the gates, as the entrance to the courtyard was prohibited. Here at the gate was built a temporary building, in which the temple of Seraphim of Sarov settled in Kuntsevo. Photo demonstrates this church, including against the background of multi-storey buildings. The temple is located at: Moscow, st. Bagritsky, house 10, building 3. The project of a new two-storeyed church, which is supposed to be erected on the site of the chapel, was approved in 2001.

Now the church performs all kinds of worship. There is a timetable that is widely available, from which you can find out on which days the Seraphim of Sarov temple in Kuntsevo commits. Soborhood (de-sanctification), for example, falls on a Saturday. Or about them notify in advance.