The Greater Church of Christ's Ascension (Большое Вознесение) is one of the largest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

churches in downtown

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 ...

. It is a major landmark of

Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street (russian: Большая Никитская улица, ''Nikitskaya Ulitsa'') is a radial street that runs west from Mokhovaya Street to Garden Ring in Moscow, between Vozdvizhenka Street (south) and Tverskaya Street (n ...

and Nikitskiye Vorota Square. It is named "greater" to prevent confusion with a nearby church of the same name. The church was commissioned by

Prince Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

, the owner of a neighbouring messuage, shortly before his death. The yellow-colored Neoclassical building was erected between 1798 and 1816. The name of the architect is not known for certain. It has been attributed either to

Matvey Kazakov Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov (russian: Матве́й Фёдорович Казако́в, 1738 – 7 November 1812) was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine I ...

, who built numerous Moscow churches in the reign of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

, or

Ivan Starov Ivan Yegorovich Starov (russian: Ива́н Его́рович Старо́в) (23 February 1745 – 17 April 1808) was a Russian architect from St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, ...

, who frequently worked for Potemkin. The edifice was overhauled to

Osip Bove Osip (Russian ''О́сип'') is a Russian male given name, a variant of the name Joseph. Notable people with the name include: * Osip Abdulov (1900–1953), Soviet actor * Osip Aptekman, Russian revolutionary * Ossip Bernstein (1882-1962), Russia ...

's designs after the

1812 Fire of Moscow Year 181 ( CLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Burrus (or, less frequently, year 934 ''Ab urbe condit ...

. It stood unfinished for several decades and was not completed (under

Afanasy Grigoriev Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev (russian: Афанасий Григорьевич Григорьев) (21 January 1782 – 13 May 1868) was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his r ...

's supervision) until 1848. The church holds historical significance for several reasons. It was in this church that

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

married

Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...

, a fact commemorated by their

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

statues on Nikitskie Vorota Square. It was also there that Patriarch

Tikhon of Moscow Tikhon of Moscow (russian: Тихон Московский, – ), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin (russian: Василий Иванович Беллавин), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 ( OS) he was ...

held his last service;The Moscow Encyclopaedia
/ref> this is commemorated by a side-chapel dedicated in his name. The church was closed during the Soviet period, between 1931 and 1990. A 17th-century tent-like belfry, the sole remnant of an earlier church on the site, was demolished in 1937 and replaced by a statue of Aleksey Tolstoy, the "Red Count". The current belfry, freely based on Kazakov's designs and similar in style to the main church building, is of recent construction. There is a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

Arbat Square Arbatskaya Square or Arbat Square () is one of the oldest squares of Moscow, located on the junction of Gogolevsky Boulevard, Znamenka Street and Arbat Gates Square (in 1925–1993 – part of Arbatskaya Square). The square is home to the Arbats ...

References

{{reflist Russian Orthodox churches in Moscow Churches completed in 1816 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 1816 establishments in the Russian Empire Church buildings with domes Neoclassical church buildings in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow

See also

References