Church of St. John the Warrior on Yakimanka Street (russian: Церковь Иоанна Воина, ) is a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

church in

Yakimanka District Yakimanka District (russian: райо́н Якима́нка) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: It is named after the former church of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Yakimanka cont ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

erected in 1704-1717,Russian: П.В. Сытин, "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948 during the reign of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

. It is attributed to architect

Ivan Zarudny Ivan Petrovich Zarudny was a Baroque wood-carver and icon-painter from Sloboda Ukraine who was active in Moscow in the reign of Peter the Great. Among his works are several elaborate icon screens and triumphal arches built in wood to celebrate Pete ...

. The church address is 46, Bolshaya Yakimanka.

History

The lowlands between present-day Bolshaya Yakimanka Street and

Moskva River The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...

were regularly flooded in spring; they were occupied by

sloboda A sloboda ( rus, слобода́, p=sləbɐˈda) was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions Povolzhye, Central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be loosely ...

settlements of

Streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and ordinary farmers. Legendary accounts link the present-day church with Peter I. Peter, examining the damage done by the flood, noticed the ruined church of St. John (1625). He ordered to rebuild in on a higher, safer lot, and financed the construction to commemorate the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

. The fence around St.John was erected later, in 1754-1758. In 1779-1791, the church was decorated by Gavriil Domozhirov (

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es) and

Vasili Bazhenov Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov (russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Баже́нов) (March 1 ( N.S. 12), 1737 or 1738 – August 2 (N.S. 13), 1799) was a Russian neoclassical architect, graphic artist, architectural theorist and educator. B ...

(

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

); this artwork was lost in 1860s. In 1928, the church was refitted with an iconostasis taken from the demolished Three Saints church at

Red Gates The Red Gate (Russian: Красные ворота, ''Krasnye vorota'') was a set of triumphal arches built in an exuberantly baroque design in Moscow. Gates and arches of this type were common in 18th century Moscow. However, the Red Gate was the ...

. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, numerous icons and relics from the churches destroyed by the Communists were stored in the Church of St. John. The church itself operated continuously through the entire

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period.Russian
www.pravoslavie.ru
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Architecture

The church combines elements of the

Muscovite baroque Naryshkin Baroque, also referred to as Moscow Baroque or Muscovite Baroque, is a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration that was fashionable in Moscow from the late 17th century into the early 18th century. In the late 17th century ...

style with the

Ukrainian baroque Ukrainian Baroque, or Cossack Baroque or Mazepa Baroque ( uk, Українське бароко або Козацьке бароко), is an architectural style that was widespread in the Ukrainian lands in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was th ...

and European influences prevalent in

Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus’ state, the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and imperial ...

of Peter's reign. Architect remains unknown; similarities with

Menshikov Tower Menshikov Tower (russian: Меншикова башня), also known as the Church of Archangel Gabriel, is a Baroque Russian Orthodox Church in Basmanny District of Moscow, within the Boulevard Ring. The church was initially built in 1707 to ord ...

suggest the work of

. The main building is a traditional muscovite ''octagon on a square'' (восьмерик на четверике), however, this time there are two coaxial octagons, each crowned with a half-dome.

References

External links

Church of St. John the Warrior in Yakimanka Street (Moscow)
*Service schedule, contacts with the clerg

*Historical photograp
1882
*Russian: photograph

{{coord, 55, 43, 57, N, 37, 36, 40, E, type:landmark, display=title Churches completed in 1717 18th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Russian Orthodox churches in Moscow 1717 establishments in Russia 18th-century churches in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow