The Church of St Nicholas (Никольская церковь) is a small

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

in the village of Kamenskoye, Naro-Fominsk District,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The Nara River is 200 meters away. Probably dating from the 14th century, this Orthodox church is considered the oldest building in the Moscow region (including the city of

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 ...

). No records exist of the church prior to its dome's collapse during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

. Following a long period of neglect, the building was repaired and considerably expanded in the 18th century (when a refectory and a belfry were added). It remained little known until

Mikhail Preobrazhensky Mikhail Timofeevich Preobrazhensky (russian: Михаил Тимофеевич Преображенский; 1854–1930) was a Russian architect, teacher, architectural historian, academic and restorer. He was an active member of both the Imperi ...

, writing in the late 19th century, declared it the oldest building in the

Kaluga Governorate Kaluga Governorate (1796–1929) was a List of governorates of the Russian Empire, governorate of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR. Its capital was Kaluga. Administrative division Kaluga Go ...

. It was the subject of a medievalizing restoration programme in 1958–1964. The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

walls of the church are distorted and far from smooth. Unlike most Russian medieval churches, it has no pillars. The design is similar to the oldest churches of

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Populati ...

and has parallels in the Slavic Balkans. The

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

is placed on a pedestal that could support a team of archers to defend the structure from an attack. Most modern scholars date the church to the 14th century, with

Sergey Zagraevsky Sergey Zagraevsky (russian: Сергей Вольфгангович Заграевский, he, סרגיי זגרייבסקי; August 20, 1964 – 6 July 2020) was a Russian-Israeli painter, architectural historian, writer and theologian. Bi ...

dating it to the period between 1309 and 1312.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Churches in Moscow Oblast Russian Orthodox church buildings in Russia Medieval Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Russia Fortified church buildings Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow Oblast