Church of Vladimir the Equal to the Apostles in Stariye Sady
The Church of Vladimir the Equal to the Apostles in Stariye Sady is an Orthodox church in the Basmanny district of Moscow. It is a part of the Epiphany deanery of the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The main altar is dedicated to St. Vladimir, the side chapels are dedicated to Sts. Boris and Gleb, and Sts. Kirik and Yulitta. The church is located on the Ivan’s hill in the historical part of Moscow, which was called Koulishki in the past, and offers an astonishing view over the old Moscow, up to the bell tower of Ivan the Great and the dome of Christ the Saviour Cathedral. At the beginning of the XVth century Vasily I built here his summer palace with a house church consecrated in the name of St. Vladimir. The famous princely gardens with luxuriant fruit trees were laid out on the slopes of the hill. The first church was most probably wooden. In 1514 Grand Price Vasily III replaced a wooden church by the stone one built by Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin (Aloisio Da Milano). The church was named “St. Volodimir in Stariye Sady (in the Old Gardens)” and stayed for а hundred and fifty years. In the second half of the XVIIth century the church was rebuilt. Today this restored church consists of the central chapel and the bell tower. The central double-light chapel particularly stands out and is crowned with the slender five domes. The architectural complex was finally shaped in the second part of XVII century and is, obviously, a combination of the typical for that time decoration and classic simplicity of the XVIth century deliberately designed to resonate with architectural forms of the previously existed Aleviz’s church. The church was destroyed by the fire in 1812 during Napoleon’s invasion, and was rescued from demolition by Mikhail Volynsky, an active state councilor, who restored it at his own expenseThe church was closed in 1933 and in 1937 was partially demolished, five chapters crowning the church were destroyed together with the interior decoration. The church was saved from total destruction by handing it over to the State Historical Library, which placed its reserves in it. By the 1980 Olympic Games the building of the church was restored in accordance with the old blueprints, and in 1990 after restoration works of the exterior it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1991, after a long break, the first liturgy was celebrated in the restored St. Vladimir’s Church. In 1998 services were resumed in the side chapel of Sts. Boris and Gleb. The parish community restored two iconostasis in the XVI’s century iconographic style and the interior. The community also founded St.Vladimir’s Orthodox secondary school, which has been successfully operating since that time. For many years St.Vladinir’s parish community has been participating in the restoration of the nearby churches and supports educational activities.
Address: Moscow, Starosadsky lane, 11/1, p. 2
