And the terrible invasion of Tokhtamysh Khan that followed two years later, the Sourozh merchant Stefan appeared in Moscow, whose nickname, which soon became his surname, was Komra. Among his descendants, it changed to Khovra and gave the name to their ancestral estate - the very area where the Temple of the Sign in Khovrino is now located.

The first two churches in the family estate

The first evidence of the piety of the descendants of Stefan Khovra - a mention of their construction on the patrimonial lands of a wooden church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr George - dates back to the end of the 16th century. However, she was not destined to stand for long. During the Time of Troubles, the church was burned by apostates who exchanged the faith of the fathers for the Latin heresy.

The fire victim was restored only three decades later, and already at the very end of the 17th century, another church, wooden, but larger, was erected next to it, and its main chapel was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. It was destined to stand until 1740, when the owner of the estate, Count N. Golovin, in a fit of piety, ordered the wooden building, which was very dilapidated by that time, to be replaced with a stone one. So in its place, Znamenie appeared in Khovrino.

The pious deed of Count Golovin

For more than a hundred years, masses were served there, infants were baptized, and funeral services were held for those who were about to complete their earthly journey. Finally, in 1860, the new owner of the estate, court councilor E.I. Molchanov, like his predecessor, Count Golovin, wished to make a large donation for the benefit of the Orthodox Church for the salvation of his soul and forgiveness of sins. He conceived and soon carried out another reconstruction of the temple.

The court councilor entrusted the development of the project and the work to the famous Moscow architect Konstantin Mikhailovich Bykovsky, who, on his order, was already working on the construction of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Intercession Gate. The Temple of the Sign of the Mother of God in Khovrino became the pinnacle of his work. Despite periodic technical difficulties, construction was carried out at a fairly fast pace. The temple, founded in 1868, was completed two years later and consecrated in 1871. Services there were conducted splendidly and decorously until 1917.

A time of spiritual darkness

After the October revolution, the Church of the Sign in Khovrino experienced the full extent of the troubles that befell the Russian Orthodox Church. The owners of the estate on whose territory it was located were kicked out, and their plot was transferred to an agricultural community. From that time on, endless litigation began, either with the new owners of the land or with the railway workers. Both of them, under various pretexts, demanded that the temple be closed. The “God-bearing people,” who believed in the Marxist-Leninist heresy, did not need him.

There is also a series of repressions against the clergy, as well as the most active parishioners. Many of them were shot or sent to camps. During this difficult time, trouble affected all Moscow churches. The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” in Khovrino was no exception. The schedule of services in those years was not observed only because there was simply no one to serve. The crown of martyrdom is accepted by the parish priests: K. Vinogradov, N. Kasatkin, their successor, Archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery Ambrose (Astakhov) and a number of other sufferers for the faith.

The destruction of the temple

If previously services were held in the church at least periodically, then in 1939 a decree was issued to close it. Moscow old-timers still have memories of how domes and belfries were mercilessly demolished, high reliefs were broken and icons were burned. Only three images were miraculously saved from the fire - the Savior, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This is all that remains of the church's former splendor.

The acacia bushes that formed a hedge around the temple were cut down and replaced with a gray plank fence. Production workshops were set up in the building itself, the mosaic floor was filled with asphalt and the marble walls were covered with blue oil paint. Later, the former Church of the Sign in Khovrino was again converted, this time turning into a garage of one of the government institutions.

The beginning of perestroika

In the second half of the eighties, a process of comprehensive liberalization began in the country, which then affected the Church of the Sign in Khovrino in a very original way. The schedule of the evenings of the discotheque located inside it is the only thing that perestroika brought to the church building. Another blasphemy was initiated by the local district Komsomol committee, which by that time had not yet been dispersed.

But gradually everything fell into place. Following biblical wisdom, the times of “throwing away stones” gave way to a period when it was appropriate to collect them, and since a lot had been scattered over the years of general atheism, a lot of work lay ahead. In 1991, the temple was returned to believers, and the process of its restoration began. The new rector, Father Georgy (Polozov), had to literally raise the building from ruins.

Works on the restoration of the temple

Over the course of five years, with money raised by parishioners, it was possible to re-lay the floor mosaic, once destroyed by asphalt, and recreate the former appearance of the walls. After many years of separation, three holy images, which were saved from the fire during the destruction of the temple in 1939, returned to their original place. New icons also appeared, donated by other churches and ordinary pilgrims.

It took special effort to restore the central dome and high reliefs for which the temple was once famous. The best specialists of the capital were involved in their production. They also erected four belfries, accurately reproducing the appearance of their originals. The building was completely freed from scaffolding in 2005.

Related works

In addition to all of the above, a new spacious brick house was built for the parable, and the entire complex was surrounded by an openwork metal fence. The territory provided to the temple by the city authorities is small, it does not exceed half a hectare, but several more structures had to be placed on it, without which the modern parish cannot do.

Today's life of the temple

With the completion of the main part of the restoration work, regular services resumed. The schedule of services in the Church of the Sign in Khovrino indicates that they are held to the full extent provided for by the church charter.

On Sundays and holidays: early liturgy at 7:00, late at 10:00; Vespers, Matins at 17:00.

On weekdays: Liturgy at 8:00, Vespers, Matins at 17:00.

The only exception is March 13, 2016 - conspiracies for Lent. On this day at 16:00 the rite of forgiveness will be performed.

In addition, the parish organizes children's Sunday school classes, and also regularly holds conversations with adults, especially with those who are just beginning the path of their churching and preparing for the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

In the Kaluga region, the parish of the church was given a significant territory (an area of ​​forty-seven hectares) for farming. Currently, extensive and systematic work is being carried out to develop this land, which should ultimately make it possible to solve the problem of material independence, which is so acute in most communities.

The temple regularly organizes pilgrimage trips to the holy places of Central Russia. Their list is very extensive. For a more complete and comprehensive acquaintance of travel participants with objects located along the bus route, professional guides from various travel companies are invited. Nowadays, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” (ROC), completely restored after a period of desolation, is actively involved in all spheres of the spiritual life of Russia.

At the end of the 14th century, the Sourozh merchant Stefan, nicknamed Komra, moved to Moscow. His son was also nicknamed Komra, or Khovra, and his grandson already had the surname Khovrin. One of the descendants of this family took possession of a patrimony on the Likhoborka River, which was named Khovrino after the owner’s surname. At the end of the 16th century, a church was built here in the name of the Great Martyr George. It was built by Stefan's descendant Vasily Tretyakov-Khovrin. This church was burned by apostates during the Time of Troubles. The temple was revived by the powerful boyar Vasily Borisovich Sheremetev. By 1646, the wooden church of St. Nicholas with the St. George chapel was built, and in 1682 - the second cold summer church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. Suffering from many ailments, Vasily Sheremetev soon died, and the estate passed into the state treasury.

In 1700, Khovrino, by decree of Peter I, was donated to his associate, Field Marshal Count Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin, a descendant of the Khovrins. After the death of the count, the village was inherited by his widow Sofya Nikitichna, who built the stone Church of the Sign on the old Khovrinsky churchyard. In 1749, a warm chapel of St. Nicholas was built in a small refectory, and in 1753-1754, a chapel for the martyr Sebastian and his squad. The Golovins laid the foundations for the regular axial layout of the Khovrino estate, planted a linden park and a “fertile garden”.

In 1811, the estate was acquired by Prince Obolensky. By this time the church was already in need of repairs. The new owner also intended to expand the Nikolsky chapel. But his plans were interrupted by the Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleonic soldiers robbed and burned the estate and desecrated the temple.

In 1813 N.P. Obolensky nevertheless rebuilt the St. Nicholas chapel, the Znamensky and St. Nicholas thrones were again consecrated, and the Sevastian chapel was no longer restored. Unable to restore the burnt estate, Obolensky sold it in 1818 to N.A. and G.D. Stolypin. The Stolypins built a new house on the estate, but did not want to repair the church, and it fell into disrepair. In a report to the diocesan authorities in 1825, the dean priest wrote: “... this church has become so dilapidated that cracks have begun to appear in many places on the outside of the real Znamenskaya, and a leak is leaking through the dilapidated wooden roof of the side-chamber Nikolaevskaya, which is why there are cracks in the ceiling. He, Mr. Stolypin, refused to correct such dilapidations, saying thus: let the spiritual authorities seal the church, and no one can force him to correct it.” The Stolypins increased the annual salary of the clergy from 350 rubles to 500 and considered themselves free from worries about the estate church. The church was almost closed. The Stolypins still had to repair it a little, and services in the temple continued.

After the Stolypins, Khovrino became the property of the Zhemchuzhnikovs. In 1836 L.I. Zhemchuzhnikov, a professional card player, returned part of the church land to the clergy of the Znamenskaya Church, since it was now unprofitable to pay salaries. Gradually, the temple received ownership of all of its ancestral land - 33 acres.

The most favorable era in the life of the Khovrinsky temple came in 1859, after the purchase of the estate by Moscow millionaire, manufacturer Evgraf Vladimirovich Molchanov. Molchanov redesigned the park, redecorated the main building of the estate, and built several new outbuildings. It was decided to demolish the old temple in the estate. To build a new church, Molchanov invited the famous Moscow architect Mikhail Dorimedontovich Bykovsky to Khovrino. Bykovsky chose a dry, elevated place that skirted a rural road (now it is the turn from Klinskaya Street to Festivalnaya). Evgraf Vladimirovich Molchanov died in 1869 and did not live to see the opening of the church. His widow, Elizaveta Iosifovna, was in charge of decorating the temple. In 1879, she sold the estate, but even after that she continued to take care of the Znamenskaya Church.

The temple conceived by Bykovsky, despite its small size, did not look like an ordinary rural church. The appearance of the temple merged the features of Moscow Baroque, Italian Renaissance, and Byzantine ornament. In the grandiose ensemble of the Ivanovsky Monastery, which Bykovsky built in the same years, and the stylistically close Znamensky Church, the dream of a synthesis of architectural features from different eras was realized with the greatest consistency.

The high quadrangle on the basement is completed with an octagon, which is surrounded by four bell towers. The five domes of the temple are crowned with gilded poppies. The facades were decorated with a white stone arched frieze. The axes of the facades are accentuated by four high reliefs with images of the Mother of God ("The Sign"), the Savior, Nicholas the Wonderworker and Molchanov's heavenly patron - the martyr Evgraf. The western porch with a Venetian window and arcade resembled the galleries of the Ivanovo Monastery. The mosaic floor is also characteristic of Bykovsky's church buildings. The design of the floor of the Khovrinsky temple was distinguished by its special grace and rich range of light. The walls were lined with light-colored artificial marble, which concealed the lack of interior lighting. The low single-tier iconostasis was also decorated with artificial marble. The sacristy of the Church of the Sign was considered the richest in the area. The upper, cold Znamensky Church was consecrated in 1871, and the warm Nikolsky chapel in the basement in 1874.

At the end of the 19th century, Khovrino and its surroundings became a popular holiday destination. Many writers, artists, and poets liked to relax here. On September 28, 1897, the poet Valery Bryusov and Ioanna Runt were married in the Khovrinsk Church of the Sign.

In 1918, the Khovrino estate was taken away from its then owners (the Grachevs). In 1923, the leadership of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy, to which the church land was transferred, demanded that the temple be closed and a dormitory established in it. The church was not closed then, they only forced the parishioners to enter into endless conditions with the authorities for the right to “worship” and retain the church building and property. In 1928, railway workers from the Khovrino station demanded that the temple be dismantled. In its place they intended to build a club. However, this did not work out.

In 1937, the priest of the Znamenskaya Church, Fr. Nicholas, several more clergy were arrested and soon shot. Since then, services in the Znamensky Church were held sporadically, and in 1939 the church was officially closed. For some time the sealed temple was not touched, only the most valuable utensils were taken away. Old-timers remember that before the war the domes were still standing, and then the destruction began: the domes and belfries were demolished, three high reliefs were broken, and icons were burned. Only two of the main iconostasis have survived - the image of the Savior and Our Lady of the Sign, as well as the image of St. Nicholas from the lower church; they were moved to Aksinino. The acacia around the church was cut down, and the area was surrounded by a fence. A factory for the blind was set up in the temple, machines were installed, the mosaic floor was filled with asphalt, and the artificial marble disappeared under blue oil paint.

In 1960, Khovrino became part of Moscow. Rural houses were demolished, the cemetery was liquidated, the once rich terrain disappeared under blocks of five-story buildings and high-rise buildings. The church building was completely abandoned. Blackened by the fire, beheaded, it was destined for demolition: according to the project, the land was to be used as an overpass for the future highway. The factory was closed, and a warehouse was located in the temple. The area was littered with scrap metal. But the construction of the route was postponed, and the church building survived.

In 1991, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” was returned to believers. Georgy Polozov, appointed priest in Khovrino, and his assistants raised the temple from the ruins. In 1994, the lower temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completely renovated. In the upper Znamensky Church, in the spring of 1997, a marble floor was made and artificial marble was restored on the walls. Three icons from the Aksinya temple were returned to the church.

The previously existing Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Khovrine.

Khovrino was once a village on the Likhoborka River; in 1585 it was listed as a village that belonged to Semyon Fomich Tretyakov, and from him it passed to his son Vasily. According to the scribe books of 1623, “behind the steward Vasily Tretyakov, his father’s ancient patrimony was a wasteland, which was the village of Khovrina, on the Likhoborka River.”

In the village of Khovrin, from time immemorial there was a church of St. Vmch. George, when and for what reason it was destroyed is unknown. After the death of Vasily Semenovich Tretyakov, Khovrin was owned by his wife, the widow Ulyana, and was listed as a quitrent for her from 1634-73. Church land that belonged to the Church of St. George. Then Khovrino became a village and a new wooden church was built in it in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which is why the village became still a village.

According to the census book of 1646: “behind the steward Vasily Borisovich Sheremetev, which was behind Vasily Tretyakov, is the village of Khovrino, and in it the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is wooden, near the church there is priest Vasily, in the courtyard there is the sexton Iosifko Titov, and there are 9 peasant farmsteads, in them 33 people." Under the same owner, another wooden church was built in the village of Khovrine in the name of St. much George.

For 1683-1740 in the salary books of the same government order, under the Seletskaya tithe in the village of Khovrine, the church of St. was listed. much George. In 1678 in the village of Khovrine there were courtyards: votchinniki, stable and livestock, 11 peasant households, with 43 people, and 4 bobyl households, with 13 people.

In 1680, during the inspection of churches and church lands in the Moscow district by Roman Vladykin, by order of Patriarch Joachim, the priest of the village of Khovrina Pavel showed: “now in the village of Khovrina the Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the side chapel was built on the old church site; and he, the priest, was given half a tithe of land in the field, 20 kopecks of hay, and he was given grain and money.”

After V.B. Sheremetev in 1682, the village of Khovrino was given to his daughter Afimeya, the wife of Prince Yakov Golitsyn, and from her it passed in 1683 to her aunts Aksinya Vasilyevna Tretyakova, the wife of Prince Ivan Pronsky, and Avdotya Vasilyevna Tretyakova, the widow of Prince Semyon Pozharsky, and behind them it was refused the same year, and in the refusal book it is written: “in the village there is the Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and another church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, both wooden, and in the village there is a courtyard of patrimonial estates, courtyard people live in it, and there are 18 peasant households.” .

In 1694, after the death of Aksinya Pronskaya, half of this village was given to her sister Princess Avdotya Pozharskaya, and after her this estate was assigned to the sovereign. In 1700, the village of Khovrino was granted to Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin by sovereign decree. In 1704, there were 21 peasant households in the village, with 67 peasants in them. In 1709-20 it belonged to his son Nikolai Fedorovich Golovin; in 1758 - to the wife of Prince Peter Fedorovich von Holstein-Beck Ekaterina Mikhailovna, and in 1818 to Natalya Alekseevna Stolypina.

Kholmogorov V.I., Kholmogorov G.I. “Historical materials about churches and villages of the 16th - 18th centuries.” Issue 4, Seletskaya tithe of the Moscow district. Publication of the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University. Moscow, in the University Printing House (M. Katkov), on Strastnoy Boulevard, 1885.

The wooden temple in the village of Khovrino has been known since the 16th century. This church was burned by apostates during the Time of Troubles. The temple was revived by the powerful boyar Vasily Borisovich Sheremetev. By 1646, the wooden church of St. Nicholas with the St. George chapel was built, and in 1682 - the second cold summer church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. The church had chapels of St. Sergius of Radonezh and Moscow Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah.

The first stone church was built in 1748 by S.N. Golovina. In 1749, a warm chapel of St. Nicholas was built in a small refectory, and in 1753-1754, a chapel for the Martyr Sebastian and his squad.

The current five-domed temple was built in 1868-1870. financed by E.V. Molchanov. Small, but very spacious for a village, the Khovrinsky temple was a rare phenomenon among village churches in terms of interior decoration: mosaic floors, marble wall cladding, marble iconostasis, artistic icons, paintings on the walls; The sacristy of the temple was considered the richest in the area. The Znamensky Church was consecrated in 1870, and the St. Nicholas chapel in the basement - in 1874.

In 1923, the leadership of the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy, to which the church land was transferred, demanded that the temple be closed and a dormitory established in it. The church was not closed then, they only forced the parishioners to enter into endless conditions with the authorities for the right to “worship” and retain the church building and property. A detailed inventory of the property, compiled in 1925, has today served as the basis for the restoration of the main iconostasis.

In 1928, railway workers from the Khovrino station demanded that the temple be dismantled. In its place they intended to build a club. They failed, but the blow was struck. Having fabricated a denunciation against Fr. Konstantin, the authorities deprived him of his parish, and his family was kicked out of their home. To feed his family, he performed custom funeral services at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. Together with other priests, he also served at the grave of Father Valentin Amfitheatrov, beloved by Muscovites, which was the reason for the accusation of Fr. Constantine in counter-revolutionary activities. In 1932, he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp, from which he never returned. Under the new priest Nikolai Kasatkin, Archimandrite Ambrose (Astakhov) of the Chudov Monastery often served in the Khovrinsky church. He was sheltered by one of the mothers of the Kazan Golovinsky Monastery, who bought a house in Khovrin. In 1937, Fr. Nicholas and Archimandrite Ambrose, and with them the homeless priest Vasily Likharev, were arrested in their mother’s house and soon shot.

Since then, services in the Znamensky Church were held sporadically, and in 1939 the church was officially closed.

In 1960, Khovrino became part of Moscow. The church building was completely abandoned. Blackened by the fire, beheaded, it was destined for demolition: according to the project, the land was to be used as an overpass for the future highway. The factory was closed, and a warehouse was located in the temple. The area was littered with scrap metal. But the construction of the route was postponed, and the church building survived.

When the Orthodox community was formed in 1991, the temple was rather quickly and painlessly transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. The temple was literally raised from the ruins. In 1994, the lower temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completely renovated. In the upper Znamensky Church, in the spring of 1997, a marble floor was made and artificial marble was restored on the walls. Three icons from the Aksinya temple were returned to the church. The central dome and high reliefs were restored, bell towers were erected, and new bells were cast (including 3-ton and 5-ton). Parish life in Khovrin was revived.