The Assumption Church is impressive in size and is rightfully considered one of the best churches in Sergiev Posad, made in the mature baroque style. The temple was built on a hill, to the south of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. This church is clearly visible from all sides and rises above the streets with historical wooden buildings and ponds. Fully restored, it is today one of the most beautiful churches in the Radonezh land.
History of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The ancient village of Klementyevo was located 1 km south of the Trinity-Sergievskaya Lavra. Initially, it was owned by a specific prince of Radonezh. It passed into the possession of the monastery during the time of the second abbot of the monastery, a disciple of Sergius of Radonezh - hegumen Nikon, under Prince Andrei Vladimirovich. According to researchers - no later than 1425.
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary from a bird's eye view
Klement'evo was considered the oldest of all the submonastic villages. It was here that the old trade route passed, leading from Moscow to the northern Russian cities, and later to the Urals and Siberia. Through Klementyevo, numerous pilgrims also went to the Lavra along the Yaroslavl road. It was through this village that Mikhail Lomonosov came from Arkhangelsk to Moscow at one time. A fragment of the old road has been preserved in the modern Sergiev Posad as Klementyevskaya Street.
The villagers were artisans. They painted icons, made church candles, baked bread. Klement'evo had its own blacksmiths, masons and silversmiths. Two icons painted by local craftsmen in the first half of the 17th century have survived to this day.
At the very beginning of the 16th century, there were 134 courtyards in Klementyevo. And the church was built here even earlier, presumably in the 15th century. The written testimony in which the village temple is first mentioned dates back to 1513. By the end of the 16th century, two churches were built at the expense of the villagers. One, warm, was made in the likeness of a hut, that is, a cage, and was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas. And the cold Assumption Church was erected with a tent. Nuns lived in special cells at both churches. And nearby, on the square, there was a monastery hotel.
But the difficult times of Troubles have come. In 1608, a military detachment of Poles, commanded by Pan Alexander Lisovsky, completely ruined and burned Klement'evo. During the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, at the end of 1609, the peasants of this village Nikon Shilov and Petr Slota performed a feat and, not sparing their lives, blew up the tunnel made by the Poles under one of the towers of the Lavra.
After many months of the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, the destroyed Klementyevo was gradually rebuilt. By 1624, there were already 289 courtyards in it, and St. Nicholas Church was restored. Later it was replaced by the three-domed Assumption Church made of wood, which was erected by the 40s of the 17th century. This temple was built with two borders - in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker and Alexy the Man of God. The temple had its own refectory and a bell tower with a hipped roof, which was covered with wooden scales - a ploughshare.
A century later, in 1746, there was a great devastating fire, and the temple of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos burned to the ground. The parishioners raised the necessary funds and from 1757 to 1769 built a new brick church of the Assumption, which has survived to this day. It had four limits, consecrated in memory of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the icon "Life-giving source", the Nativity of John the Baptist and Nicholas the Wonderworker. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra took a great part in the construction of the temple. She supplied the church with 20,000 bricks for the vaulting and two iron crosses for the decoration of its side-chapels. At the end of the 18th century, there were 1240 people in the parish of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Under Soviet rule, the temple did not escape the sad fate of many Russian religious buildings. From 1929 to 1936 the parishioners united and rented the church from the state. However, in 1934, the bells were removed from its bell tower, as well as from all the churches of Sergiev Posad. By decision of the authorities, they were collected throughout the city and handed over to scrap metal.
In 1936, the church was closed and its priest, Hierodeacon Theophan (Grafov), was arrested. He was convicted and died in 1938 in the Kargopol exile camp at the age of 64. In the vacated premises, the authorities placed a city bakery. Such changes required their own alterations. The bell tower was destroyed up to half, the interfloor floors necessary for the bakery were arranged, and the interior decoration and iconostases of the 19th century were also destroyed. In 1960, the temple received the status of a state architectural monument, and the bakery moved out of the building. However, for the next thirty years, the church was empty and practically not guarded.
Restoration work began in it in 1990, after the building was handed over to believers. It was in a deplorable, dilapidated state, littered with broken bricks and debris. For several years, the marble floor was restored in the church, the roof was covered with copper, and a new bell tower was erected. An iconostasis was made and new icons were painted for it.
After the consecration of the temple, the reconstruction continued. Gradually, the territory was improved and the church fence was restored, and, in addition, the temple interior was renewed. In 2003, a beautiful baptismal church was built next to the church, consecrated in honor of the Life-Giving Spring icon. At the same time, a Sunday school was opened at the church, where now more than a hundred children of parishioners study.
Architecture and decoration of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The composition of the brick church of the Assumption is traditional - it is a three-part church, elongated in one line. Its expressive silhouette consists of a high two-height pillarless octagon with narrow diagonal edges, a refectory in the form of a three-pointed cross and a three-tiered bell tower.
The temple is covered with a steep dome in the form of a hemisphere and is crowned with a two-tiered drum, which ends with a small onion dome. The altar has a rectangular shape, complicated by a small protrusion in the middle. The height of the church refectory is equal to the apse of the altar. It ends with an intricate roof supported from the inside by eight pillars. A small dome rises on the bell tower. The magnificent temple decor is made in the traditions of the mature baroque and expressively emphasizes the beauty of its volumes. It is enhanced by the contrasting color of the church facades. In addition, the bottom of the main temple, the altar apse and the refectory are decorated with volumetric horizontal masonry - rusticum. The windows are framed with platbands with elegant stucco molding. And the corners of the church are decorated with paired pilasters. On the facades of the octagon, round pediments are made, which visually smooth the transition between the walls of the temple to its roof.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
The Assumption Church is an active Orthodox church, the clergy of which consists of 7 clergy. Morning services start here every day at 7.30, evening - at 17.00. Patronal holidays are celebrated on May 22, July 7, August 28, December 19. Temple Holidays - March 18, August 20 and 26. The icon of St. Nicholas with a part of his relics, the image of the Monk Pimen with a part of his relics, the icon of Our Lady of the Great Cave, the image of the Three Saints with particles of relics, as well as a reliquary containing the relics of many Christian saints are considered especially revered by all believers.
How to get to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The temple is located in the city of Sergiev Posad at 39 Bolotnaya Street. From the railway station and the bus station located near it, first along Kooperativnaya street, you need to go down to the Red Army street, and along it walk to Bolotnaya street, where the temple is located. This path is short and is less than 1 km.
Bust of Nicholas II, installed on the territory of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
If from Moscow to get to Sergiev Posad by car, then you need to go through the city along the Moscow highway and the street of the Red Army. Before reaching the Lavra about 1 km, turn left onto Bolotnaya Street. It is only 200 m along it to the Assumption Church.
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