Foundation Stone at the Church of the «Derzhavnaya» Icon of the Mother of God
On December 5, 1990, a solemn ceremony took place on Volkhonka Street, at the foot of the site where the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour once stood. It was there that a granite stone was installed with a commemorative inscription: “Foundation stone in the name of the Sovereign Mother of God – the forerunner of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which will be reborn on this holy site.” This date was no coincidence: exactly 59 years earlier, in 1931, an explosion had occurred on the same spot, destroying the last cathedral – a symbol of Russian spirituality. The symbol of rebirth took concrete form in 1995, when a wooden tent-roofed church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God “Derzhavnaya” (The Sovereign) was built next to the main cathedral under construction. The design was created by architect A.N. Obolensky. This modest church became the spiritual herald of the triumphal return of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to its historic location. From the very first days, regular services were held there: the faithful prayed for the swift completion of the construction, for the builders and benefactors, investing their souls and resources into this holy cause. The “Sovereign” icon – one of the most venerated images of the Mother of God in Russia, which became wonderworking in the 20th century – held a special place among the holy treasures. Its visage became not just an icon but a true spiritual beacon of modern Russia, a reminder of the continuity of faith through centuries of persecution and rebirth.
Address: Moscow, Volkhonka str., 15, building 2
