Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Savior of the Transfiguration) in Zayitsky. Church of Nicholas in Zayitsky Church of St. Nicholas on Raushskaya embankment

Nicholas in Zayitskoye was first mentioned in the chronicles of the beginning of the 16th century. Unfortunately, none of the existing sources provides an explanation for the name "Zayitsky". There are, of course, many assumptions and guesses about its origin, the bulk of which are associated with the Ural River, called in the old days - Yaik. Some talk about the Yaik Cossacks, who once supported Emelka Pugachev, others - about some Zayitsky Tatars.

There is even a legend that the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was painted by Andrei Zayaisky, and another - that the Zayayitsky Cossacks presented the icon of St. Nicholas to this temple, but none of the versions finds confirmation from a historical point of view. Only one thing is clear - Nikola Zayitsky stood in his place for a very long time.

In the XVII century. was located in Sadovaya Sloboda and was already made of stone. Interestingly, at the end of the century, the main altar of the church was consecrated in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and Nikolsky was one of the chapels. There is also no exact date when the thrones were re-consecrated or changed places and the temple was “dressed” in stone, however, in the documents the temple was still called Nikolsky.

Before restoration.
The temple did not stand out from the general gray mass

In 1741, at the request and donations of the merchant Yemelyan Moskvin, instead of the old dilapidated one, they began to build a new stone church according to the project of the architect I.F. Michurin. But in the fall of 1743, the incredible happened: the almost finished building collapsed, it could not be restored. In 1745, the old foundation was dismantled and a new one was laid out. Only in 1749 work began again on the construction of the temple anew. The author of the new project was the architect D. Ukhtomsky, who designed the majestic temple in the Elizabethan Baroque style, more similar to a palace than to. A squat two-story quadrangle, topped by an octahedral dome, creates a sharp contrast to the tall, slender four-storey bell tower. In 1754 and 1755. the side-altars of the refectory were consecrated - in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker (right) and Sergius of Radonezh (left), two of the most revered saints in Russia. And only on August 22, 1759, after the completion of all construction and interior finishing works, the main altar was consecrated - in honor of the Savior of the Transfiguration.

1990 This is how the bell tower looked, more precisely - its 2 lower tiers

The fire of 1812 spared the temple, but the French "warriors" still stole a part of the church utensils. The parishioners themselves compensated for the damage by purchasing new utensils, and consecrated it anew.

In 1908 g. Church of Nicholas in Zayitsky It was badly damaged by the flood, but after that it was rebuilt. In 1917, the next renovation of the church began, but then a revolution broke out. The robbery of church property began, covered by all sorts of people, incl. and noble, reasons. The Nikolsky Church managed to survive until the end of 1932, when it was nevertheless closed and the building was transferred to the Moscow Association of State Power Plants for a transformer workshop. Some of the icons of the temple were donated to the Tretyakov Gallery in 1933.

House temple
St. Alexia in the clergy's house

In 1939, they decided to demolish the temple. True, only the dome and 2 tiers of the bell tower were dismantled, and then the destruction of the building was suspended in connection with the establishment of its historical and architectural value. In the 1950s, attempts were made to restore the temple, but the work was not completed. It was slowly crumbling.

In 1992, the temple with the adjacent territory was returned to the believers. They took up the restoration of the disfigured and desecrated building, and temporarily began to perform divine services in the clergy's house renovated by the community, where the house church of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow. The Nikolsky side-chapel was reopened in 1996, the services were transferred there. Gradually, the pre-revolutionary look was returned to the temple; in 1995, the Moscow Bell Center was created under it, on the basis of which the Museum of Orthodox Ringing arose in 2004. They occupied 2 tiers of the restored 45-meter bell tower.

The Orthodox brotherhood of St. Alexia and the Orthodox Education store was opened.

Today it is impossible to imagine the appearance of Raushskaya Embankment without the Nikolskaya Church: its high bell tower and wide dome contrast with the neighboring high-rise buildings and the power plant complex. Now it is hard to believe that in the twentieth century this temple was almost wiped off the face of Moscow.

According to one version, the Nikolsky Church on the banks of the Moskva River was founded back in the 16th century by the Zayaitsky Cossacks - that is, those who lived across the Yaik River (today it is called the Ural). According to another hypothesis, the first temple appeared here at the beginning of the 17th century, and the Zayitsky Cossacks donated the icon of St. Nicholas to it. In the middle of the 17th century, it was already mentioned as a stone one, and its main altar was consecrated in honor of the Savior of the Transfiguration, and only the side altar was named Nikolsky. Nevertheless, among the people, he continued to be named in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker, one of the most popular saints. In 1741, the church was dismantled, and at the expense of the merchant Yemelyan Moskvin, new construction began, which ended in failure: in 1742 the unfinished building collapsed. After that, the work was resumed and suspended several times, but nevertheless it was crowned with success: by 1759, under the leadership of the outstanding Moscow architect Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Raushsky Lane was completed at the expense of the merchants Turchaninovs.

The general composition of the new church is typical of its time: the building is made in the spirit of the Elizabethan Baroque, named after the Empress Elizabeth. The quadruple of St. Nicholas Church is crowned with a powerful octahedral dome with eight large lucarnes - this not only gives the temple a monumental look, but also contributes to good illumination of its interior space. Interestingly, some decorative elements were never completed: in particular, the capitals of the pilasters on the facade remained smooth and did not receive the intended carving. The general view of the temple is perfectly complemented by an elegant fence with a wrought-iron lattice, which is a drawing of a blossoming flower bud. In addition to its architectural merits, the temple impresses with its size and spaciousness: in addition to the main throne in the name of the Transfiguration of the Savior, refectories, chapels of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Sergius of Radonezh were consecrated.

After the cessation of services in 1933, St. Nicholas Church came under the jurisdiction of the neighboring power plant, which, having destroyed its dome and the upper tiers of the bell tower, intended to demolish the building altogether, but then turned it into a transformer-mechanical workshop. By the early 1990s, the church was brought to an emergency state, the space of the central part was divided into floors, and cracks appeared in the brickwork. Only in 1996, the disfigured temple was handed over to the community of believers. At the beginning of the XXI century, St. Nicholas Church was returned to its historical appearance. But the restoration continues today, work is underway to recreate the lost interiors. In addition to the temple itself, a two-story house has survived. and chta XVIII century in the 2nd Raushsky lane. The 19th century church sheds with their facades overlooking the Moskva River were replaced at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries with new buildings imitating ancient architecture.

The name of the temple and the area is associated with the hare Cossacks (from the Yaik River, now the Ural), who built on this place a wooden church in the name of Nicholas the saint during the repulse of the invasion of Polish troops at the beginning XVII century. Another version says that Zayaitsk Tatars lived in this place, who traded Bukhara goods in Moscow. In addition, there is an assumption that the name of the temple was given by the main icon of the temple, which was brought from Zayayitsky Island, which belongs to the Solovetsky monastery. The church that has survived to this day was built in the 1740s and 1750s. on the site of an older brick temple. The previous, more ancient wooden church stood here, on the low right bank of the Moskva River, opposite the mouth of the river. Yauzes at the end of the 15th century. The construction of the stone church began according to the project of the architect I.S. Mergasov at the expense of the merchants Moskvins and Turchaninovs in 1741. But in 1743 the unfinished building collapsed, and there was not enough money to continue the work. The construction of the church was completed in 1751-1759, presumably according to the project of D.V. Ukhtomsky.

During the Soviet years, the temple was closed. The bell tower and the end of the temple were dismantled, the temple icon "Transfiguration of the Lord" (end XV century) was transferred to the State Tretyakov Gallery.

Divine services were resumed on October 8, 1992 in the clergy's house. In the church services were resumed in 1996 in the Nikolsky side-altar. Restoration is currently underway. The brotherhood of St. Alexy Moskovsky, bookstore, bell center.

The Church of St. Nicholas in Zayaitsky is located in Zamoskvorechye, on the right bank of the Moscow River, in the northwestern part of the quarter formed by the intersection of the Raushskaya embankment, 2nd Raushsky lane, Sadovnicheskaya street and Ustinsky passage. The entire area adjacent to the right bank of the Moskva River, between Kamenny and Ustinsky bridges, in ancient times was occupied by gardeners' settlements. Here lived the gardeners who served the royal gardens, arranged by order of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century and stretching along the river bank, opposite the Kremlin.

The most likely version was expressed by the famous historian of the end of the last century I.F. Tokmakov, who believed that the name of the church came from the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century the Zayaitsky Cossacks donated the image of the holy miracle worker Nicholas, in whose name the right side-altar of the warm church was built. This version is confirmed by a recently found archival document. The church of Nikola Zayitsky (with the main chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord) was located in the Lower Sadovnicheskaya Sloboda. The original church on this site was made of wood and was first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1518. In the documents of the XVII century there is an entry: “The Church was led. Miracle worker Nikola Zayitsky 1625 and 1628 on a salary of 16 altyn 4 money was paid by priest Ephraim. " In 1639, in her parish there were four courtyards of the clergy and "near the cemetery, white courtyards of gardeners." According to some sources, by 1657 the church became stone, but after a hundred years it was so dilapidated that it was decided to demolish it and build a new one in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to others, the stone church was first built in 1652.

On May 25, a solemn laying of the foundation stone of the church building took place, about which a prayer service was served. The church "building was already conceived and only a few were built" when Moskvin died two months later. In September, the unfinished walls of the church were covered with wooden shields and a tent was erected, heated by a stove, in which blocks of white stone were hewn in winter. Construction was largely completed by 1754, and the interior was finished by 1759. On October 24, 1754, His Grace Philemon, Bishop of Georgia, consecrated the right side-altar, in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on July 31 of the following year, the left side, in the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. The main, Preobrazhensky side-chapel was consecrated only on August 22, 1759. Thus, from the beginning of the construction of the temple to its full completion, including the decoration of the interior, the hanging of bells, etc., a long eighteen years have passed.

During the fire of 1812, the fire spared the temple, but its utensils were plundered by the French. Thanks to donations from parishioners, the lost utensils were replaced with new ones, and on September 19, 1812, the chapel of Nicholas the Wonderworker was consecrated, and a little later, the rest. In the 1820s, a barn was built along the northern border of the site, next to which it was decided to build stone storage sheds. In 1850, numerous wooden and stone one-story sheds appeared on the churchyard. From the beginning of the 19th century, life in the parish intensified, which was facilitated by merchants who donated for the improvement of the church.

Of the antiquities stored in the church, noteworthy is the old icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Zayitsky in the chapel of his name behind the right choir, which was donated by the Zayitsky Cossacks, in a silver gilded robe, arranged in 1814 by the widow, merchant's wife Sophia Eliseevna Sveshnikova. Another icon of St. Nicholas in the iconostasis of the Preobrazhensky chapel is a copy with the donated by the Cossacks, with separate icons at the top and bottom of the life and miracles of St. Nicholas, belonging to the original image, which was inserted in this place for the summer. The icon "Satisfy My Sorrows", in a silver gilded high work robe with crowns, arranged in 1853 by the diligence of merchant girls Tatiana and Irina Zabelin, who had their own house in the parish, in which they lived. At the left pillar was an icon of the Tikhvin Hodegetria, an exact copy of the original, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1820 by the diligence of all parishioners. Icon "Iverskaya", in a gilded silver riza, made by the diligence of the former church head of the Moscow merchant Afanasy Vasilyevich Savrasov in 1859. In the left side-altar "Kazan" icon, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1821 by the merchant Rodionov. An ancient remarkable writing icon of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, with his life on the sides, in a gilded silver robe. The local icon of the Mother of God "Feodorovskaya", in the main Transfiguration Church, in a gilded silver chased riza made in 1879 by the will of a parishioner, Moscow merchant Matvey Dmitrievich Bryushakov (Bryushanov).

The coup of the 17th year marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On November 24, the Executive Committee of the Zamoskvoretsk District Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies received Prescription No. 1026 marked "urgently": the Church of Nikola Zayitsky was obliged to submit to the Legal Department an inventory of church real estate, financial statements for 1917 and 1918, receipts for depositing interest-bearing securities to the bank and cash, and in a harsh form it was stated that those guilty of non-compliance would be arrested and prosecuted for non-compliance with the orders of the Soviet government. On January 14, 1930, the Presidium of the Moscow Council decided to close the church and transfer the building to a pioneer club. But this decision was not implemented. In the same year, a statement was sent to the Zamoskvoretsky District Council on the decision to form a "society of believers at the Moscow Nikolo-Zayitsky Orthodox Church" with a request for its registration on the basis of the resolution of the All-Russian National Research Commission and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated April 8, 29 "On Religious Associations" and the NKVD instruction of 1.10 .29 "On the Rights and Duties of Religious Associations." On September 4, the religious society was registered. On September 6, 1931, Deacon Nikolai Vasilievich Tarkhov left the service in the church at his own request.

On October 19, the Presidium of the Moscow Regional Executive Committee heard a petition from the Leninsky District Council to close the church and re-equip it for Orgkhim's workshops and decided “to refuse because the said church is considered a monument of antiquity of the highest category”. The cult commission of the Moscow Oblast Executive Committee suggested that the district council send additional material on the closure of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On September 17, 1932, the community from the closed church of St. Nicholas in Pupyshi moved to the temple, with a part of church things, utensils and icons. Shortly before that, on June 19, the Presidium of the Leninsky District Council heard a petition from the MOGES to close the Nikolo-Zayitskaya Church to use its building for the House of Science and Technology and decided, “given the urgent need ... in a room for ... deployment of work on those. propaganda ... in the form of consultations, exhibitions, emergency production rooms, those. libraries and reading rooms, production demonstration laboratories "ask the Moscow Council to close the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky, transfer the church building to MOGES, and give a group of believers the opportunity to" satisfy their religious needs "in the Church of St. George in Sadovniki, located nearby.

In 1933, the building of the temple was transferred to the Moscow Association of State Power Plants, which housed a transformer shop in it. When adjusting the church premises for new needs, the beautifully carved iconostases were dismantled, numerous utensils were taken out, and the wall paintings were partially destroyed; the remaining painting was covered with layers of whitewash and paint; the stucco molding of the middle of the 18th century has been fragmentarily preserved, in particular, the rocaille frame above the doorway on the western wall of the refectory, stucco floral ornaments and drawn cornices on the vaults. In 1939, they decided to demolish the temple. They managed to disassemble the octahedral dome with lucarnes over the quadrangle of the main volume of the church and the two upper tiers of the bell tower, and only the intervention of the protection of architectural monuments saved the building from complete destruction. Fortunately, numerous fixation photographs of the temple were taken, as well as the crocs of the iconostasis and the gate of the fence.

A church with a dismantled dome and a bell tower without upper tiers stood until 1955, when specialists under the leadership of A.S. Altukhova developed a project for their superstructure, taking as a basis the surviving photographs, field research data and fragments of decor details. It should be noted that the restoration work of 1955-1957 was not completed in full and was rather cosmetic in nature. Until recently, the temple was in disrepair, due to the poor preservation of the foundations in the brickwork of its walls and vaults, many through cracks formed. In 1992, the Moscow Government issued a decree on the transfer of the Church of St. Nicholas in Zayayitsky to the Russian Orthodox Church. The cleric of the church of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh, Fr. Alexandra Korolenkova. The divine service was first performed in the house church in the name of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, in the clergy's house renovated by the community.

In 1996, Mosenergo vacated the disfigured, oiled and smoky workshop of the church - in the middle of its central chapel, rails were laid for a trolley that went into the altar; metal ceilings are built into the walls; the interior is completely destroyed. Through the efforts of the parishioners, most of the members of the Brotherhood of St. Alexis, with donations from various organizations and private citizens, all the appliances left over from the previous tenant were dismantled, the heating, water and electricity supply systems were replaced, the bell tower and the refectory of the church were restored, internal and external finishing works were carried out - scraping of walls and vaults, plastering, installation of granite and ceramic floors. In 1998, the new iconostasis of the Nikolsky side-chapel was consecrated. Two tiers and a dome with a drum of a 45-meter bell tower were rebuilt, a new marble baptistery was equipped. On December 30, 1999, a cross was erected on the bell tower. A month after this event, Moscow Mayor Yu.M. Luzhkov, seeing the bell tower rising over the Raushskaya embankment, decided to help in the restoration of the temple and church buildings. At the expense of the investment project, the dome over the main chapel with eight lucarne windows in the vault was restored, for which the quadruple was pre-built about three meters in height (with a wall thickness of about 2.5 m). The walls and vault were laid out, as before, of brick, the total weight of the superstructure was about 1,500 tons. The dome and the refectory were covered with copper, and a gilded cupola with a cross was erected on the church. In the main chapel and its altar, plastering work was completed, heating, electrics were installed, and a concrete screed base was made for the future granite floors. The former church storage facilities on the embankment have been reconstructed. In agreement with the Moscow City Monuments Protection Office, a second floor was built in their central part; over the rest of the storage sheds, as far as the height of the attic floors allowed, premises were arranged for a book fair, a publishing house, an icon-painting workshop, a book collector and a library book depository (the pre-revolutionary parish library of the Nikolo-Zayitsky Church was one of the largest in Moscow). The first floor of the storage sheds will house trading rooms, a festive refectory with a kitchen, a bakery, a garage with a welding workshop and utility rooms. The facade of the storage sheds, overlooking the embankment, has acquired a form close to the original. In 2000, the parish completed the external work on the bell tower on its own: it was plastered, painted, the dome was covered with copper, new oak doors were installed - the western entrance to the temple, the metal external entrance doors were restored. The iconostasis was re-painted for the Sergievsky side-altar. Currently, work is being completed in the central aisle (with the exception of the installation of the iconostasis and the installation of forged choirs on the western wall of the quadrangle) and in storage sheds and the improvement of the territory of the temple with paving with granite paving stones.

The name of the church of Nikolai Zayitsky has long attracted historians and place names. Thus, I. Kondratyev, a historian of the late 19th century, expressed several assumptions about it: “They say that Zayayik Tatars lived here, who traded Bukhara goods in Moscow. According to other news, it is clear that the temple was called Zayitsky because during the invasion of the Poles at the beginning of the 17th century, a Cossack regiment from the Yaik River (modern Ural River) was summoned to repel the enemies, which built a wooden church on the site where the stone church now stands in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and put in her the image of this saint. Then there is also a legend that the icon painter Andrei Zayizsky lived in the parish, who painted the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker in the said church and painted all the walls of the church. Finally, some suggest that the ancient image of St. Nicholas was brought from Zayitsky Island, which belongs to the Solovetsky monastery, and is placed in the aforementioned church. "

The assumption about the Zayaitsky Tatars, who gave the name to the church, was also expressed in the "Historical Guide to the Famous Capital of the Russian State", published at the beginning of the 19th century. The modern author Alexander Shamaro also leans towards him: “The adjective“ Zayitsky ”itself does not represent anything mysterious. Zayitsky - behind the Yaik, a large river flowing through the South Urals and the Caspian lowlands and separating Europe and Asia. As you know, in 1775, Mother Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, who had barely recovered from the deep emotional upheavals associated with a gigantic peasant revolt led by Yemelyan Pugachev, and was in anger at the Yaik Cossacks, who ignited this fire, ordered to rename the Yaik River into the Ural River and, accordingly, the Yaitsk Cossack army in the Urals. This means that what left a memory in the name of the Nikolsky temple must be looked for in the history that preceded the renaming. Yes, it must be in the Time of Troubles - the hard times of 1605-1612, the time of foreign intervention, general ruin, hunger, countless deaths. For only then could Cossack detachments from the shores of the distant Yaik visit Moscow.

Therefore, another toponymic version seems to be more correct. It can be said that it is turned in the diametrically opposite direction - not towards war, but towards peace, not towards murder, robbery, fires, but towards trade with distant countries. IF Tokmakov briefly informs about this hypothesis: “Perhaps some lovers of Moscow antiquity will want to know the reason why this temple is called“ what's in Zayitskaya ”; we cannot answer reliably, but we assume that the Zayaitsk Tatars lived here, who traded in Moscow in Bukhara goods. Across the street from the embankment there is one street named after Tatarskaya; this proves that Tatars lived in this part ... ”. Is this version historically plausible? Caravan routes crossed the lands inhabited by Eastern Slavs, and our ancestors, of course, also participated in this trade. In the 16th-18th centuries, the Bukhara Khanate was the main supplier of Asian goods to Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, to the Moscow state, which became the Russian Empire. Khiva also conducted extensive trade. From Bukhara and Khiva, embassies were sent one after another, which, of course, were also trade expeditions. And all these ambassadors and merchants needed a safe haven worthy of them in the mother capital. Speaking in Russian - an inn, or a courtyard. It could well have been created on the Moskvoretsky coast, opposite the mouth of the Yauza, near the Tatar settlement located south of the Tatar settlement. The desire of guests from Turkestan to stay in a Slavic and Christian city closer to brothers in faith who spoke a related language is quite understandable. Well, as for Tokmakov's expression “Zayayik Tatars who traded Bukhara goods in Moscow,” it should be recalled that in pre-revolutionary Russia, representatives of various Turkic peoples were called Tatars. And it is quite possible that the nickname Nikola Zayitsky meant the Nikolsky temple, which in Zayitskaya Sloboda - near the Bukhara courtyard ”. For this reason, this area can also be attributed to the era of Mongol-Tatar domination. "

And yet the most probable version was expressed by the famous historian of the end of the last century I.F.Tokmakov, who believed that the name of the church came from the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century the Zayaik Cossacks donated the image of the holy miracle worker Nicholas, in whose name the right side-altar of the warm church was built. This version is confirmed by a recently found archival document. The church of Nikola Zayitsky (with the main chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord) was located in the Lower Sadovnicheskaya Sloboda. The original church on this site was made of wood and was first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1518. In the documents of the XVII century there is an entry: “The Church was led. Miracle worker Nikola Zayitsky 1625 and 1628 on a salary of 16 altyn 4 money was paid by priest Ephraim. " In 1639, in her parish there were four courtyards of the clergy and "near the cemetery, white courtyards of gardeners." According to some sources, by 1657 the church became stone, but after a hundred years it was so dilapidated that it was decided to demolish it and build a new one in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to others, the stone church was first built in 1652.

The Temple of the Sign was built next to the Church of St. Nicholas in Zayitskoye in 1670 (stone from 1718, consecrated on November 25), dismantled in the second half of the 18th century. The Znamensky throne was last mentioned in a document from 1778. In the 1870s, there was a project to restore the Znamensky side-chapel in the bell tower, but permission was not given, as "the passage there is cramped and inconvenient."

The "Construction Book" for 1657 indicates the size of the church land and two cemeteries at the Nikolo-Zayitsky Church, fenced off. Mostly gardeners lived in the parish (there were 47 yards), and “around the church” there were “garden fences”. In 1699, after an audit of the "annual cash income", Peter I against the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with the side-altar of Nicholas the Wonderworker Zayitsky made a note: "to feed on the parish." From that time on, all repair and restructuring work was to be carried out at the expense of parishioners, without subsidies from church departments.

In March 1741, "Moscow drinking gatherings, the companion Emelyan Yakovlev, son Moskvin" turned to the office of the Synodal Board with a request to give permission to demolish the old parish church and build a new one - in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord with the chapels of Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Gardeners, Zayetsky's Call ”.

According to a report in the office of the Synod, by March 1742 the walls of the church had been erected "along the lower windows and higher they were brought out." In March 1742, by the Decree of the Synod, the architect Ivan Michurin was ordered to inspect the construction of the church, "what the word of Zayitsky", and draw up an estimate for its completion, but he examined the church only a year later. In the "Reporting" Michurin reported that "this church should be completed at a height of 12 sazhens, a bell tower at a height of 15 sazhens ... and how to remove the walls should be this, everything is indicated on the drawn up drawing." The estimate compiled by him lists the necessary materials. It was also planned to produce "twenty-four statues of different kinds" to decorate the facades. It was supposed to buy cast iron slabs for the interior of the church floors. The construction was approaching complete completion, when on the night of September 11, 1743, the temple suddenly collapsed, as the priest Peter Kirillov immediately reported to the office of the Synod. Since the money bequeathed by Moskvin had already run out, the office of the Synod began to collect on promissory notes. One of Moskvin's debtors received 500 rubles. They were given to the priest, who hired workers to dismantle the fallen building and began to buy building materials.

From a record dated March 30, 1745, it is known that the peasant contractor Ivan Stefanov "and his comrades" completely dismantled the old foundation, and another contractor, Andrei Stepanov, with a team of masons laid out "a new foundation for the church." This entry contradicts the opinion of many researchers who believed that the new building was erected on the old foundation.

Work resumed in the spring of 1749, but due to a constant lack of funds, their completion was delayed for several years. A new stage in the history of the temple is associated with the name of the famous Russian architect Prince D. Ukhtomsky. On January 18, 1748, the office of the Synod issued a decree, according to which Ukhtomsky was instructed to draw up a "statement" of the necessary materials for the completion of the church. The temple of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya is reasonably considered an analogue of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. Both of them are close both in the time of construction, and in the participation of D. Ukhtomsky in it, and in the architectural appearance in the style of “Elizabethan Baroque”. The Church of Nikola Zayitsky is designed in a traditional Baroque composition, consisting of a sequential connection of the temple, the refectory and the bell tower, moreover, the more dynamic, upward-looking multi-tiered bell tower contrasts with the squat massive quadrangle of the main volume of the church building. The quadruple ends with an octahedral dome, each edge of which is cut through by a high hatch window, framed on the sides by columns and topped with an onion pediment. In the center of the dome is a light drum with a bulbous head. The use of windows of various shapes, including round ones, as well as numerous white-stone decorative elements and the color of the walls, contrasting with the white decor, enhance the feeling of conviviality.

Construction was largely completed by 1754, and the interior was finished by 1759. On October 24, 1754, His Grace Philemon, Bishop of Georgia, consecrated the right side-altar, in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on July 31 of the following year, the left side, in the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. The main, Preobrazhensky side-chapel was consecrated only on August 22, 1759. Thus, from the beginning of the construction of the temple to its full completion, including the decoration of the interior, the hanging of bells, etc., a long eighteen years have passed.

The area of the temple was 200 square fathoms, and the territory of the churchyard - 1572. The one-part altar protruded 4.5 fathoms and was 2 fathoms narrower than the main volume. The total length of the church, the refectory and the bell tower was 19 yards, while the width of the latter was 6 yards. The first plan of the churchyard is dated 1748. Its territory had an L-shaped configuration; the long western border stretched along the modern 2nd Raushsky lane, to which the end of the bell tower went; the border parallel to it ran along the adjacent courtyard, while the northern one stretched along the Moskva River. The first tier of the bell tower was a porch open on three sides with a row of arches with cross vaults (later they were laid). In the arches, steps were arranged for the blind area, as well as white stone steps in front of the entrances to the church from the southern and northern facades. The Nikolo-Zayitsky temple was not rich. In 1771, there were 30 households in his parish.

From the beginning of the 19th century, life in the parish intensified, which was facilitated by merchants who donated for the improvement of the church.

At the expense of the hereditary honorary citizen of the house owner Afanasy Aleksandrovich Moshnin, two most exquisite silver-gilded vestments were ordered for the temple icons of St. Nicholas and St. Sergius in the side-chapels of their name, he also donated the image of the Great Martyr Panteleimon of high artistic writing in a silver-gilded riza and a metal frame. In 1887, the “Metric” of the church was drawn up, in which, in particular, it was noted that the temple was built “of bricks, the lower part was faced with white stone. Wall masonry and ordinary bricks. The walls have survived in their original form ... The outer walls are smooth, no decorations, except for the columns in the dome windows. A drum with spans, one piece without decorations, is arranged over the vaults. Two chapters, east and west, are gilded. Eight-pointed copper crosses. The windows are oblong, arched at the top, placed above the plinth. There are six in the altar, in one light, with straight lintels; kokoshniks above the windows, architraves with rollers; the windows have ebb inside, iron bars, ring-shaped, shutters are simple. There are three doors, on the north, south and west sides; iron, no decorations, no carvings. " The interior of the main church looks like a “square chamber, the altar is separated by a stone wall with three spans. There are two aisles; the western vestibule in the form of a chamber is separated by a blank wall with spans. In the main church, the vaults are in the form of a circular arc without support on pillars; in the side rooms they rest on four pillars. To the east is a mediastinum with one semicircular span ... In the side-chapels, the ceiling is decorated with stucco frames and heads of cherubs. The main church has a mosaic floor, with cast-iron slabs in the side-altars. An altar without division ... the platform is raised one step. A high place in a depression under a semicircular vault. The salt stone is one step higher than the cathedral platform and is separated by a copper lattice.

The church inside is decorated with paintings ... the main church is painted all over, there are images of Russian princes in princely costumes, in crowns ... The bell tower together with the church, the base is four-sided, the top is octagonal, stone. There are eight bells ... the oldest belongs to 1834, the rest all belong to a later time. Inscriptions on bells of ordinary content. " Subsequently, there were nine bells. The main one is “for the glory of the Holy, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” in 356 pounds in weight, polyeleos in 165 pounds, everyday and seven different weights.

In the chapel in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker there was also a locally revered image of the Sign, of the first half of the 16th century, in a gilded silver chased riza from the nearby Znamensky Church (since 1933 the icon has been in the Tretyakov Gallery). Since olden times, with the blessing of His Grace Metropolitan Plato, the day of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos on November 27 / December 10 was celebrated in the same way as temple and patronal feasts and was accompanied by the walking of a clergyman with a cross and holy water upon arrival.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the entire church was “painted on the walls and in the dome with various picturesque paintings. The bottom of the western wall in the present church and the bottom of the same wall and the adjacent parts of the southern and northern sides to the windows in the refectory church are covered with cloth ", with two pylons in the refectory" altar iconostases have been approved. "

On May 6, 1893, with the permission of the diocesan authorities, the Nikolo-Zayitsky charitable brotherhood was opened with funds collected by subscription from the parishioners.

In 1894 and 1907, several stone and one wooden sheds were built along the Moskva River embankment at the churchyard; they were rented out as a warehouse for goods. In the spring of 1898, the clergyman and headman of the church turned to the spiritual Consistory with a request to allow the installation of a cold central chapel in the basement of an oven. The need to "expand the temple" in this way was explained by the fact that with a large congestion of parishioners in the church it is stuffy, "which is why drops form on the ceiling, wall paintings and gilding on iconostases leak from the walls and deteriorate." The Consistory allowed the indicated work. Having made stone descents into the basement, heating was installed in it, after which all the side-altars of the church became warm.

In 1901, at the expense of A.V. Moshnina, a one-story stone building was built for the parish school, designed by the architect A. Nikiforov. The deacon and psalmists taught at the new school. Five years later, a two-story stone house was added to the building, designed by V. Kashin, and apartments for rent were arranged in it. In 1907, funds from profitable apartments went to add the second floor over the school and the almshouse. The decorative design of the building's facade was made according to the project of the civil engineer V. Dubovsky in the pseudo-Russian style characteristic of that time. In the spring of 1908, the temple was damaged by floods. On April 9, on Great Wednesday, the water in the Moskva River, Yauza and Vodootvodny Canal began to arrive with incredible speed. At the Babegorodskaya dam, which from 1836 to 1937 blocked off the Moskva River above the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, between the Prechistenskaya and Bersenevskaya embankments, a draft cab driver drowned. The horse turned out to be happier than the owner - they managed to pull it on the ropes. The water kept coming in and out until Saturday midnight. For three days, the level in the Moskva River soared almost 9 meters above the ordinary level. 16 square kilometers of urban area - 226 streets, lanes, embankments, 2,500 houses with 180,000 inhabitants - were under water. The Moscow River merged with the Vodootvodny Canal, forming a single stream up to one and a half kilometers wide. On the Kremlin embankment, the water rose so high that only gas lamps were visible on the street lighting poles. The Kremlin looked from the side of the flooded Zamoskvorechye by the Buyan Island from Pushkin's fairy tale. At midnight from Saturday to Easter Sunday, April 13, the flooding reached its highest point. Panic fear gripped the residents of the riverside neighborhoods. Something unimaginable was happening in the churches along the banks of the Moskva River and the Vodootvodny Canal. Dirty, icy water rushed into the temples, turning them into stone pools. Priests and pilgrims wade, stood in the water up to their knees, up to their waist, and in the Tikhvin Church on Dorogomilov - even up to their chests. Religious processions around the temples were interrupted, people with banners and icons hurriedly climbed onto the roofs. The chants of Easter Matins in the Church of St. George, in Endovy, were interrupted by a collapse of plaster that fell from the vault on the worshipers. Having thus marked the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the flood began to subside. And only a week later it was possible to at least roughly determine the damage caused to at least twelve Moscow churches. In the church of Nikola Zayitsky, all the iconostases were damaged, books were stained; up to 25 expensive vestments were damaged in the sacristy and altars.

In June 1917, the clergy and parishioners of the church applied to the Consistory for permission to repair the church "without any changes." O. A. Kashurin (Koshchurin) was appointed the contractor. From his estimate, the nature of the work performed is visible: the roof, domes, cornices and valances of the church and bell tower were made with new twelve-pound iron; the roof and domes are painted with copperhead. Replaced the dilapidated refectory gutters. On the walls of the facades, with an area of 785 square fathoms, the plaster was repaired, and then “the whole church and the bell tower outside in two times” were painted “in the same color with red tint on the chemical composition”.

The temple inventory of the end of 1918 - the beginning of 1919 has been preserved, according to which one can imagine its decoration. In the altar in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the throne and the altar were oak, covered - the throne with a metal silvered garment, and the altar with brocade. A gilded, carved iconostasis was erected in the high place, in the middle of which there was an image of the Resurrection of Christ, on the glass, and on the sides - the images of "Prayer for the Chalice" and St. Basil the Great. Above, in round frames, were placed the images of the Lord of hosts and two cherubim. There were eight icons in the iconostasis. Behind the throne were placed the cross and the image of the Mother of God "The Sign", on shafts, in pedestals; on a gilded wooden curbstone, in a specially arranged ark, behind the glass - the Tabernacle, silver, gilded, having the appearance of a temple with five chapters, with chased images of the Resurrection of Christ, the Prayer for the Chalice, the Crucifixion of the Lord, the Entombment and the holy apostles. Behind the altar is the image of the Resurrection of Christ and the Twelve Great Feasts, in a gilded icon case on a staff, in pedestals. In front of the throne is a copper, gilded seven-branched candlestick. In the altar there were five more copper, silver-plated and in places gilded candlesticks and two small copper, silver-plated and in places gilded chandeliers, each with six candles. The iconostasis of the main church was carved, all gilded, with four tiers. In the first, lower tier, in the middle of the royal gates, there was an image of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and above and below - four evangelists. On the columns on the sides of the royal doors on the right was the image of the Lord Almighty, and on the left - the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God; to the right of the royal gates - the icons of the Transfiguration, the Archangel Michael (on the southern door) and St. Nicholas, to the left - the Theodorovskaya Mother of God, the Archangel Gabriel (on the northern door) and John the Baptist. In the second tier there were nine small icons: the Last Supper, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the Nativity of Christ, the Holy Trinity, the Ascension, the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Meeting, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the middle of the third tier was the image of the Almighty with the forthcoming Mother of God, the Forerunner and two angels; on either side of it are the icons of the twelve apostles. In the fourth tier in the center was the image of the Mother of God sitting on the throne with the Eternal Child, and on the sides - the icons of the eight Old Testament prophets. The iconostasis ended with a cross. The choir of the main temple were carved, gilded on the outside. Two gilded copper banners were placed near them. Behind the right choir were the icons of St. Seraphim of Sarov and the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (the latter is in a carved gilded iconostasis), behind the left one was the image of St. Theodosius of Chernigov and the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God in a robe decorated with stones, also in iconostases. Above the icons of St. John the Theologian and the Iberian Mother of God - three small images each: the Savior, the Mother of God, John the Forerunner; archangels Gabriel and Michael. In the arch of the northern side door stood a large wooden octagonal cross, fixed on a wooden base in the shape of a Calvary; at the pulpit there are two bronze analogies in silver-gilded frames, with screwed copper, silver-plated candlesticks, on pedestals, with soles; in the decks of analogies there were particles of holy relics. In the altar of the Nikolsky side-altar, the throne and the altar were oak, in brocade vestments. Behind the throne, in a high place, there was an iconostasis, all gilded and decorated with carvings, with icons of the Savior sitting on the throne, the Mother of God, John the Baptist; above them, in round hallmarks, were placed the images of the God of hosts and two angels. Behind the altar on the walls are the icons "Prayer for the Chalice", in a gilded frame, with an icon lamp, and the Mother of God "Three-handed", in a silver-plated copper robe. In the right corner of the altar is the image of the Savior, painted on canvas, in a simple frame behind glass. Behind the throne were the cross and the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign", metal, on shafts, inserted into wooden curbstones, and a seven-branched candlestick, and on the sides of the throne there were two small candlesticks, copper, silvered. On the throne, under a round glass cover, was a small silver-gilded Tabernacle. The iconostasis of this side-chapel was carved, gilded, with three tiers. In the royal gates there are icons of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and four evangelists; to the right of the royal gates are the images of the Savior, the great martyr Theodore and saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria (the latter is in an icon case without a frame); on the left - the icons of the Mother of God, the high priest Aaron (on the north door) and St. Nicholas (behind the glass). In the second tier of the iconostasis there were six small icons of the Twelve Great Feasts, without salaries. In the third tier - the image of the Almighty with the forthcoming Mother of God and John the Baptist and four icons of the holy apostles. On the left side of the Nikolsky altar, in the arch, there was an iconostasis with large icons of the Savior, the great martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki and four reverend fathers - Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky, Savva Zvenigorodsky and Varlaam Khutynsky. Above, in gilded frames, there are three small images: the Moscow saints Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip, St. Demetrius of Rostov and the Lord Almighty, without salaries. Two choirs of the Nikolsky side-chapel were carved, gilded on the outside. Near them were two gilded copper banners on shafts. Behind the left choir were images of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky with some of the saints and Moscow saints Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip, inserted into metal frames behind glass, without salaries. Behind the right kliros is the image of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Sign" and, at the southern wall, St. Nicholas (above him is the Lord of hosts). In the piers between the windows on the south side, in carved gilded icon cases, were placed the icons of the Mother of God "Satisfy my sorrows" (above it - a small image "Prayer for the chalice", without a robe) and Smolensk (above it - the Mother of God "Three-handed", also small in size) ... In the southwestern corner of the church there was another image of St. Nicholas, in a gilded carved frame. In the side-altar of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the altar, the throne and the altar were also oak, covered with brocade vestments. Behind the throne, on a high place, there was a painting of the Transfiguration of the Lord, painted on canvas with oil paints, full-length, and overlaid with bronze. Behind the altar on the eastern wall was a carved gilded frame with a binding, in which icons were placed: in the upper row, St. Nicholas, the Mother of God of the Don, the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Resurrection of Christ; in the lower one - “Sign”, “Softening of Evil Hearts” and Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos. At the altar on the north wall there was an image of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in a metal icon case; above the royal doors, on the inside of the iconostasis - icons of the Resurrection of Christ and the two apostles, without salaries. On the throne, under a small glass bell, was a silver-gilded Tabernacle; in front of the throne there is a seven-siren and on the sides there are two small candlesticks, all copper, silver-plated. The iconostasis of this side-chapel was also carved, gilded, with three tiers. In the royal gates there were icons of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and four evangelists; on the right - the images of the Savior, the prophet Zechariah (on the southern door) and the Monk Sergius; on the left - the Mother of God, King Melchizedek (on the north door) and the Transfiguration of the Lord. In the second tier there are small icons "Washing the Feet", "Prayer for the Chalice", "Descent from the Cross", "Entombment", the Holy Trinity and the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, all without salaries. In the middle of the third tier - the image of the Lord Almighty with the forthcoming Mother of God and the Forerunner, on the sides - the icons of the four apostles. On the right outer wall of the altar, in an arch, were placed the icons of the Resurrection of Christ with twelve feasts; Saint Demetrius of Rostov and Saint Sergius, with a life. Above them, in gilded carved frames, are three small images: St. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom; Of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Crowning of the Mother of God, all without vestments. The altar side iconostases at the entrance to the main church were connected by a gilded carved semicircle with six holy icons. Both choirs of the left side-altar were carpentry, gilded on the outside. Two gilded copper banners were placed near them. Behind the right kliros were the icons of the Great Martyr Panteleimon and the Mother of God "Tenderness" (without a robe), in metal frames with glass; behind the left - the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the icon case. Along the northern wall between the windows, in special iconostases, behind glass, were placed the icons of the Mother of God - Kazan (on top - a small image of St. Sergius, without a robe); Annunciation (above - the image of the Lord Almighty); “Joy of All Who Sorrow” (above - the image of St. Nicholas). In the northwestern corner there was another icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in a gilded carved frame. On the pillars in the middle of the refectory church, special gilded iconostases were arranged on three sides. On the west side of the pillar to the right of the entrance, in the center, was the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, below - the icon "The Position of Jesus Christ in the Tomb", behind the glass, and above - the image of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. On the south side there are eight small icons behind glass. On the north side - the image of the Mother of God of Bogolyubskaya, and above it - Saint Simeon the God-receiver. On the left pillar on the western side was an icon of the Mother of God and on top - a small image of the Lord Almighty; on the south side - the image of the Archangel Michael and above him - the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos; on the north side - the martyr John the soldier, above - a small icon of St. Nicholas. Most of the icons in the church were decorated with gilded silver frames and similar rims; in front of them were placed 37 silver-gilded icon lamps and 32 silver-plated copper candlesticks. In the main temple hung a large silver plated chandelier, about 56 feathers, in four rows, weighing 6 pounds 25.5 pounds. In the refectory church there were four chandeliers - one in the middle, closer to the arch, about 32 feathers, in three rows, weighing 6 poods 31 pounds; the second in front of the posts, about 16 feathers, in two rows, weighing 2 pounds 29 pounds; the third in the chapel of St. Nicholas, about 16 feathers, in two rows, weighing 2 poods 22 pounds; and the fourth in the chapel of St. Sergius, about 16 feathers, in two rows, weighing 2 pounds 27 pounds.

There were five altar gospels in the temple: one in a semi-Alexandrian leaf; the other, on Alexandria paper, on a sheet, lined with crimson velvet; three more on semi-Alexandrian paper - on a sheet, lined with green velvet; in a sheet, lined with blue velvet; in a sheet, lined with raspberry velvet. All in silver-gilded frames or with silver-gilded decorations. In addition, there were four small Gospels for prayer services. There were eight altar crosses, silver-gilded, of various sizes. Two small crosses were intended for the service of prayers. Of the sacred vessels were three chalice, three diskos, three stars, three silver-gilded liars, three ladles for warmth, three copies with silver handles and one silver-gilded monstrance. In the church vestry there were two shroud of crimson velvet, embroidered with gold; wooden, carved, gilded hearse for the shroud, under a glass case; two small altarpieces of blue satin; fifteen pairs of air, brocade and velvet, of different colors; three changes of clothes for thrones and altars, brocade; thirty pairs of full clergy's vestments, brocade, velvet, tinsel, of various colors; four silk bedclothes; four verses for the psalmist, silk, different colors; five sheets of brocade and silk for analogies. (Etc.) The immovable property belonging to the Nikolo-Zayitskaya church was also described: “The land at this church - under the church, churchyard and church houses - two thousand four hundred and thirty-eight square fathoms (2438 sq. Sazh.); four stone two-story houses with 15 apartments, of which 6 are occupied by the clergy, two apartments have been occupied by a school and an almshouse until now, 7 are rented out. (The sums received from the lease of apartments and the barn go to the maintenance of the church and the clergy.) A one-story stone barn with 9 mortars, rented out. One-story wooden plaster gatehouse. These houses have stone and one wooden cellars. Church shed, stone. Church brick fence with an iron grating and a wooden fence (along the lane and Sadovnikov street and behind the barn). "

On February 10, 1919, a petition was sent to the legal department of the Council of Deputies of the Zamoskvoretsky district from the Nikolo-Zayitsky parish community with a request to transfer to her the use of the church building with church inventory according to the list provided. The petition was signed by priests Kosma Levkievsky and Vasily Smirnov, deacon Nikolai Tarkhov, psalmist Nikolai Petrov and nineteen members of the community. On February 21, an agreement was signed, signed by thirty-one parishioners of the Nikolo-Zayitskaya Church, on the transfer to the community for free and unlimited use of a liturgical building located in Moscow on Raushskaya embankment, building 2, consisting of a one-story stone building with a bell tower. The agreement could be terminated by the Council of Deputies, and for failure to fulfill the obligations arising from it or direct violation of it, members of the community were subject to criminal liability to the fullest extent of the revolutionary laws.

On the same day, the legal department received an application from representatives of the Nikolo-Zayitskaya church community with a request to return the church seal, which had been taken away in November 1918. In April-May, there was another seizure of church valuables from thirteen Moscow churches in the amount of 86,029 rubles. 29 kopecks. (including from the Nikolo-Zayitskaya church - for 100 rubles 24 kopecks). On August 5, the Church Department of the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of Art and Antiquity under the Moscow Council inspected the artistic and historical values of the temple. It was recorded that 38 different church items, including 14 icons, deserve registration and protection.

At the beginning of April 1922, on the basis of the Resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, valuables were confiscated in fifteen churches in Moscow for the aid to the hungry fund; their weight was 78 pounds 30 pounds 32 spools. In particular, on April 6, 92 church items were removed from the Nikolo-Zayitsky Church, including 88 silver vestments from icons, with a total weight of 15 poods, 9 pounds, and 48 zolotniks. The protocol noted that “the attitude of the believers regarding the confiscation was very good” and “there were no complaints from the community ...”. The Commission on Removal tried to take away especially revered and valuable icons of ancient writing, but they could not be removed from the walls, since they were very well fixed and removal threatened them with destruction, since "the tree is rotten and completely crumbles." By the grace of God, the icons survived until 1932. In the church, 3 tabernacles, altar gospels and a cross, 2 censes, a pair of wedding crowns, 4 lamps, 2 vessels with accessories remained for the service. At the first request, they were to be placed at the disposal of the commission. The parishioners voluntarily contributed 105 silver rubles to the fund to help the starving; they subsequently made up for the damage suffered by the church by donating 8 icons in silver-gilded vestments (mostly small), 13 silver-gilded and 18 copper-gilded icon lamps and a copper altar cross.

On January 14, 1930, the Presidium of the Moscow Council decided to close the church and transfer the building to a pioneer club. But this decision was not implemented. In the same year, a statement was sent to the Zamoskvoretsky District Council on the decision to form a "society of believers at the Moscow Nikolo-Zayitsky Orthodox Church" with a request for its registration on the basis of the resolution of the All-Russian National Research Commission and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated April 8, 29 "On Religious Associations" and the NKVD instruction of 1.10 .29 "On the Rights and Duties of Religious Associations." On September 4, the religious society was registered. On September 6, 1931, Deacon Nikolai Vasilievich Tarkhov left the service in the church at his own request.

On October 19, the Presidium of the Moscow Regional Executive Committee heard a petition from the Leninsky District Council to close the church and re-equip it for Orgkhim's workshops and decided “to refuse because the said church is considered a monument of antiquity of the highest category”. The cult commission of the Moscow Oblast Executive Committee suggested that the district council send additional material on the closure of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On September 17, 1932, the community from the closed church of St. Nicholas in Pupyshi moved to the temple, with a part of church things, utensils and icons. Shortly before that, on June 19, the Presidium of the Leninsky District Council heard a petition from the MOGES to close the Nikolo-Zayitskaya Church to use its building for the House of Science and Technology and decided, “given the urgent need ... in a room for ... deployment of work on those. propaganda ... in the form of consultations, exhibitions, industrial emergency rooms, those. libraries and reading rooms, production demonstration laboratories "ask the Moscow Council to close the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky, transfer the church building to MOGES, and give a group of believers the opportunity to" satisfy their religious needs "in the Church of St. George in Sadovniki, located nearby.

On October 22, 1932, the Moscow Oblast Executive Committee issued a corresponding resolution. According to him, “church property for worship is considered nationalized: items made of gold, platinum, silver, as well as other stones are credited to the State Fund and transferred to the disposal of local fin. bodies or in the People's Commissar of Education (cultural monuments), if these items are registered with them; all items of historical or artistic value are transferred to the People's Commissar of Education; other items (icons, vestments, banners, covers, etc.) are transferred to believers for transfer to other prayer buildings; transitional property (money, incense, candles, oil, wine, wax, firewood and coal), if the society of believers is preserved, is not subject to seizure; prayer buildings and church gatehouses, registered by the state. foundations can be transferred by the latter for the free use of the corresponding executive committee, while remaining part of the nationalized property. " On October 29, Archpriest Vasily Smirnov announced this decree to the parishioners. On January 3 of the following year, the executive body of the Nikolo-Zayitskaya community of believers appealed to the Commissioner for the Cult of the Leningrad City Council with a request to allow members of the clergy to bypass the apartments of those parishioners who wish to receive them by virtue of the established custom during the upcoming holidays of Christmas and Epiphany. Permission was obtained to "walk around the parish on January 7 and 19.01.1933 exclusively at the invitation of the faithful."

In 1939, they decided to demolish the temple. They managed to disassemble the octahedral dome with lucarnes over the quadrangle of the main volume of the church and the two upper tiers of the bell tower, and only the intervention of the protection of architectural monuments saved the building from complete destruction. Fortunately, numerous fixation photographs of the temple were taken, as well as the crocs of the iconostasis and the gate of the fence.

The church with the dismantled dome and the bell tower without the upper tiers stood until 1955, when specialists under the leadership of A.S. Altukhov developed a project for their superstructure, taking as a basis the surviving photographs, field survey data and fragments of decor details. It should be noted that the restoration work of 1955-1957 was not completed in full and was rather cosmetic in nature. Until recently, the temple was in disrepair, due to the poor preservation of the foundations in the brickwork of its walls and vaults, many through cracks formed.

In 1992, the Moscow Government issued a decree on the transfer of the Church of St. Nicholas in Zayayitsky to the Russian Orthodox Church. The cleric of the church of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh, Fr. Alexandra Korolenkova. The divine service was first performed in the house church in the name of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, in the clergy's house renovated by the community.

In 1996, Mosenergo vacated the church building, disfigured, turned into an oily and smoky workshop - in the middle of its central aisle, rails were laid for a trolley that went into the altar; metal ceilings are built into the walls; the interior is completely destroyed. Through the efforts of the parishioners, most of the members of the Brotherhood of St. Alexis, with donations from various organizations and private citizens, all the fixtures left over from the previous tenant were dismantled, the heating, water and power supply systems were replaced, the bell tower and the refectory of the church were restored, internal and external finishing works were carried out - scraping of walls and vaults, plastering, installation of granite and ceramic floors. In 1998, the new iconostasis of the Nikolsky side-chapel was consecrated. Two tiers and a dome with a drum of a 45-meter bell tower were rebuilt, a new marble baptistery was equipped. On December 30, 1999, a cross was erected on the bell tower. A month after this event, Moscow Mayor Yu. M. Luzhkov, seeing the bell tower rising over the Raushskaya embankment, decided to help in the restoration of the temple and church buildings. At the expense of the investment project, the dome over the main chapel with eight lucarne windows in the vault was restored, for which the quadruple was pre-built about three meters in height (with a wall thickness of about 2.5 m). The walls and vault were laid out, as before, of brick, the total weight of the superstructure was about 1,500 tons. The dome and the refectory were covered with copper, and a gilded cupola with a cross was erected on the church. In the main chapel and its altar, plastering work was completed, heating, electrics were installed, and a concrete screed base was made for the future granite floors. The former church storage facilities on the embankment have been reconstructed. In agreement with the Moscow City Monuments Protection Office, a second floor was built in their central part; above the rest of the storage sheds, as far as the height of the attic floors allowed, premises were arranged for a book fair, a publishing house, an icon-painting workshop, a book collector and a library book depository (the pre-revolutionary parish library of the Nikolo-Zayitsky Church was one of the largest in Moscow). On the ground floor of the storage facilities there will be sales rooms, a festive refectory with a kitchen, a bakery, a garage with a welding workshop and utility rooms. The facade of the storage sheds, overlooking the embankment, has acquired a form close to the original.

In 2000, the parish completed the external work on the bell tower on its own: it was plastered, painted, the dome was covered with copper, new oak doors were installed - the western entrance to the temple, the metal external entrance doors were restored. The iconostasis was re-painted for the Sergievsky side-altar.

Currently, work is being completed in the central aisle (with the exception of the installation of the iconostasis and the installation of forged choirs on the western wall of the quadrangle) and in storage sheds and the improvement of the territory of the temple with paving with granite paving stones.

Today, looking at the beautiful church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zayayitsky, which is located nearby, it is difficult to imagine that in the 20th century it could have been destroyed forever.

From the history of the Nicholas Church in Raushsky lane

The exact data on the appearance of the shrine has not yet been established.

According to the first version, the Nicholas Church was founded in the 16th century by the Zayitsky Cossacks, those who lived across the Yaik River. Another assumption regarding the appearance of a religious building says that it happened later - in the 17th century, then the Zayitsky Cossacks presented the temple with an icon depicting St. Nicholas.

In the second half of the 17th century, the church was already mentioned as a stone one. Then only the side-altar was called Nikolsky, but the people so soon began to call the temple itself.

In 1741, the old church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker built in 1652 was dismantled, and a new church began to be erected in its place. The funds for the construction were provided by the merchant Moskvin, and the project was developed by the architect I.S. Mergasov.

However, in 1743 the unfinished church collapsed. The construction of the shrine was started again only in 1751. The funds for the construction were allocated by the merchant Turchaninov, who supervised the construction work. Only by 1759, all the work on the construction of the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zayitskoye was completed.

The building is executed in the Elizabethan Baroque style. On the quadrangle there is a huge octahedral dome with powerful lucarnes, which gives the temple a monumentality, and also contributes to the excellent illumination of the building inside. It was planned to decorate the capitals on the facade with carvings, but they remained smooth.

A wrought-iron fence, which depicts a blossoming flower bud, complements the look of the temple.

The Nicholas Church in Raushsky Lane is very spacious. It impresses with its size as well as its architectural decor.

In 1933, the services ceased. The building was transferred to a nearby power plant. After the dome of the temple and some tiers of the bell tower were destroyed, it was planned to demolish the entire building of the temple itself. However, the demolition was suspended, and the temple was adapted for a transformer workshop.

By 1990, the church was in disrepair: cracks appeared on the walls, partitions were placed in the central part, dividing the temple into floors.

In 1996, the shrine was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Already in the 21st century, St. Nicholas Church acquired its original historical appearance.