The Church of the Intercession at Fili (russian: Це́рковь Покрова́ в Филя́х) is a

Naryshkin 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 ...

church commissioned by the boyar Lev Naryshkin in his suburban estate Fili; the territory has belonged to 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 ...

since 1935. It is located at 6, Novozavodskaya Street (near Bolshaya Filyovskaya Street). The existing church replaced a 1619 wooden church established by

Mikhail Romanov Michael I (Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He w ...

, consecrated in the name of the Intercession of the Virgin to commemorate the victory over

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

troops on that day in 1618. In 1689, Fili village was acquired by Lev Naryshkin, brother of

Natalia Naryshkina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (russian: Ната́лья Кири́лловна Нары́шкина; 1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694) was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 as the second spouse of Tsar Alexis I of Russia, and reg ...

and uncle of

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

. Naryshkin's two brothers were murdered during the

Moscow Uprising of 1682 The Moscow uprising of 1682, also known as the Streltsy uprising of 1682 (russian: Стрелецкий бунт), was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy regiments that resulted in supreme power devolving on Sophia Alekseyevna (the daughter of th ...

; it is believed that Natalia saved Lev from the same fate and that Lev Naryshkin vowed to dedicate the church to his late brothers. The church was constructed between 1689 and 1694 in the shape of a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

, with short, rounded annexes. It actually contains two churches: a winter Intercession Church in the basement and a summer, unheated Church of the Saviour Not Made by Hands above it. All construction records were lost in a 1712 fire, thus the exact year of completion is unknown, as well as the names of the architect and contractors (with an exception of icon painters

Karp Zolotaryov Karp Ivanovich Zolotaryov (russian: Карп Иванович Золотарёв, fl. last quarter of the 17th century) was a Muscovite painter, interior designer and wood carver, employed by Posolsky prikaz and the Kremlin Armoury. Zolotaryov ...

and

Kirill Ulanov Kirill is a male given name, deriving from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos) which in turn derives from Greek κύριος (kyrios) "lord". There are many variant forms of the name: Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiryl, Kirillos, Kyryl, Kiril, Ky ...

). Both Natalia and Peter were frequent guests in Fili and donated money to the church; in the 18th century, it was equipped with a clock taken from

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

. The church was damaged by French troops in 1812 and even more by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. By 1945, it lost all domes, crosses and the upper octagonal layer; the interior had been looted earlier, in 1922. It was restored in 1955-1971 (exterior) and 1971-1980 (interiors) and painted pale red, although the original color scheme remains disputed. The earliest layer of paint uncovered by restoration is pale blue; later layers are either yellow or red.

References

* Н.Мерзлютина, "Церковь Покрова в Филях", "Архитектура.Строительство.Дизайн", 200
Church of the Intercession at Fili
"Pravoslavie.RU" in Russian * William Craft Brumfield. ''A History of Russian Architecture'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) (Chapter Seven: "The Seventeenth Century: From Ornamentalism to the New Age") {{Coord, display=title, 55, 45, 2, N, 37, 30, 36, E Churches in Moscow Religious buildings and structures completed in 1694 Baroque church buildings in Russia Russian Orthodox church buildings in Russia 1694 establishments in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow