Church dome crown. Russia: Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy

Church of the Sign Holy Mother of God in Dubrovitsy absorbed elements of Italian, German, Swedish, French and Russian architecture. The abundance of architectural details and carvings - ornate columns, scrolls, vines, flowers, leaves, as well as sculptures of angels and saints - make the temple a unique example of church architecture. Instead of the traditional dome, the church is crowned with a golden crown.

The temple was built from limestone by order of Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn, Peter the Great’s educator, over a period of fifteen years. The construction of the religious building was completed in 1703, and a year later it was consecrated. It is part of the architectural ensemble of the Dubrovitsy estate, which once belonged to representatives of the ancient noble families of the Morozovs, Golitsyns, Potemkins and Dmitriev-Mamonovs. The height of the church is 42 meters; she is included in the List World Heritage UNESCO.

The Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubrovitsy is active - and services are held in it. It can be visited daily, from 9:00 to 17:00; on days when there is an evening service, the temple is open until 20:00.

Location

The village of Dubrovitsy is located 7 kilometers west of Podolsk and 24 kilometers south of the Moscow Ring Road. You can get to the Church of the Sign from Moscow along the Simferopol Highway through Podolsk. From Lenin Square, turn right onto Kirova Street, then right again, onto Oktyabrsky Prospekt, then follow the signs to the village.

Suburban electric trains depart from Moscow's Kursky station to Podolsk station every 15 minutes. Travel time is less than an hour. Next, you can get to the village of Dubrovitsy by regular bus No. 65, which departs from the railway station; the trip will take no more than 20 minutes. The bus schedule can be found on the website www.mostransavto.ru.

Bus service connects Moscow with Dubrovitsy; route No. 417 departs from Monday to Saturday from the Yuzhnaya metro station. Travel time is about an hour, depending on the traffic situation. Buses from Moscow leave at 8:00, 8:40, 11:10, 12:00, 14:50, 15:20, 18:26 and 19:08; from Dubrovitsy - at 6:45, 7:25, 9:55, 10:45, 13:35, 14:05, 17:11 and 17:53. You can also take a bus to Podolsk; Routes No. 406, No. 407 and No. 417 also depart from the Yuzhnaya metro station; the trip will take about 50 minutes. You need to get off at the Lenin Square stop and change to a bus going to Dubrovitsy.

How to get there

The Church of the Sign is located on top of a hill in the village of Dubrovitsy, on the western outskirts of the city of Podolsk, south of.

The temple was erected by Peter I's tutor, Prince Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn, as a sign of reconciliation with the sovereign. In 1689 B.A. Golitsyn was slandered before the tsar and retired to his village, but already in 1690 Boris Alekseevich was summoned back to Moscow, at which time he began to build a new temple, in the foundation of which the sovereign participated.

Church architecture

The Znamenskaya Church, with its unusual architecture for the Moscow region, was built from local white stone, which is often found in the Podolsk region. The carvings of the decorative decoration of the temple were made from the same material.

In plan, the building forms an equilateral cross with rounded blades. The main volume of the temple, raised on a high foundation, is surrounded by an open gallery, in other words, a walkway, to which four wide staircases lead. An octagonal tower, topped with a dome in the form of a gilded crown, rises above the central part.

The temple is covered from top to bottom with carvings with plant motifs, the facade is also decorated with sculptures. On the western side there are statues of St. John the Theologian and Gregory Chrysostom. All elements of external and internal decor do not belong to the Russian tradition of that time. Perhaps, using the techniques of Western architecture, the prince sought to please Peter I, who preferred European manners.

The interior of the temple is also richly decorated and abounds with sculptural compositions and stucco reliefs on biblical and evangelical themes. The central place is occupied by the “Crucifixion”. To the right of it is an inscription, which is indicated by two seated angels. Similar texts accompanying other scenes were originally written in Latin. During the restoration in the 19th century, Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov) demanded that they be replaced with Church Slavonic quotations from the Gospel.

Fortunately, the wooden iconostasis and carved two-tier choirs have been preserved. The creation of the icons is attributed to the masters of the Moscow Kremlin Armory. Throughout the decoration of the temple, Western European traditions coexist with the “Naryshkin baroque”. This style was called “Golitsyn Baroque”.

Consecration of the temple

So daring for its time, the project of B.A. Golitsyn was able to realize it only thanks to the support of Peter I. The construction of the temple was completed by 1699, after which another five years passed until the opening of the Church of the Sign.

Patriarch Adrian did not give permission to consecrate such an unusual temple, decorated in a European style.

After the death of the patriarch, Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky) of Ryazan and Murom became the locum tenens of the Moscow Patriarchal Throne. And in February 1704, he consecrated a new church in Dubrovitsy in the presence of Peter I and his son Tsarevich Alexei. Magnificent celebrations on this occasion lasted a whole week, and all local residents were invited to them.

Temple in the 20th century

The bell tower of the Church of the Sign, which was located next to the temple, was blown up in 1930. The temple itself was not damaged, but was closed for worship for many years. At the end of the 1950s, the temple came under the jurisdiction of the All-Union Institute of Animal Husbandry, which carried out restoration work in the church for 40 years. Unfortunately, they were never completed.

In 1990, on the eve of the 300th anniversary of the start of construction of the temple, services were resumed there. And in 2004, restoration work was carried out, during which the Latin texts in the decoration of the temple were restored to their original form. The unique high reliefs of the late 17th - early 18th centuries were renewed and the Royal Doors of the iconostasis were restored.

Not every resident of our country knows how many amazing historical and architectural monuments are located in small towns and villages. If you ever find yourself near the village of Dubrovitsy, be sure to visit the former estate of the Golitsyn princes. This place is included in the list of cultural monuments of Russia and is a large architectural ensemble, updated and replenished in different years and centuries. The Church of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Sign” is of greatest cultural value. This building is so different from Russian architectural traditions that it attracts attention at first sight. No less interesting is the history of this monument, which over the several centuries of its existence has gone through different periods, leaving an indelible mark on the appearance of the temple. Today, as you guessed, our article is dedicated to the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy.

Temple location

The Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy does not have an address as such, but it is part of the architectural ensemble of the Dubrovitsy estate, so finding it will not be difficult. It is located approximately thirty-six kilometers from Moscow, very close to Podolsk.

Tourists who traveled here on their own claim that the journey does not take much time. In addition, the beauty of the temple seen can compensate for any, even the most difficult, path to the estate.

Route to the village of Dubrovitsy

If you are interested in how to get to the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy, then we will tell you the easiest and shortest route from Moscow. Tourists usually take the train departing from Kursky Station. You need to go to Podolsk station, bus number sixty-five departs directly from here to the village. When you get off at the bus stop, you will literally look at the Church of the Sign. In Dubrovitsy it can be seen from almost everywhere, because the temple stands on some elevation.

If you travel from Moscow by your own car, then choose Varshavskoye Highway. Having reached Podolsk, move along Lenin Street, and then Kirov Street. There you will see a direction sign to Dubrovitsy. From the city it takes no longer than ten minutes to get to the temple.

Local residents say that it is necessary to choose the road to Obninsk, where you need to turn only once, at the Neptune sports complex. Then the path runs straight, so travelers will have nowhere to get lost.

General description of the temple

The Znamenskaya Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Dubrovitsy is located on a cliff overhanging two rivers - the Desna and Pakhra. It is in this place that both rivers merge, forming a simply unique topography.

Anyone who has seen this creation of seventeenth-century architects at least once will never forget this majestic spectacle. The temple seems to float above all the other buildings of the estate; it resembles an openwork white cloud, standing out brightly against the blue sky.

It is interesting that the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy is not at all similar to other religious buildings of that period. It is made in the Baroque style of white stone and is completely decorated with carvings and bas-reliefs. Its façade is replete with scenes from the Bible and sculptural compositions that have never before been used in Russia to decorate Orthodox churches. Modern experts still cannot confidently say which masters had a hand in creating this true miracle of architecture. Some argue that Italian craftsmen worked on the construction of the church, but other historians are confident that the ideas of German architects are strong here. The church facades are painfully similar to the architectural masterpieces of Germany of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy itself embodies a flight of thought; it seems to strive upward, rising above everything earthly and vain. On its facades and columns, branches of stone plants, animals and figures of saints are intertwined in a bizarre pattern. You can also see the angels crowning the church tiers. The openwork gilded crown covering the temple instead of a dome looks especially unusual. Such architecture is one of a kind, which is why this church is included in the list of the World Monuments Fund. Now the unique structure is in deplorable condition and needs large-scale reconstruction work. Due to lack of funding, they are being carried out very slowly, and in the meantime the extraordinary sculptural compositions and bas-reliefs are being destroyed. If serious measures are not taken to save the temple, then our descendants will not be able to appreciate the beauty of this ancient structure.

Znamenskaya Church in Dubrovitsy: history of construction

Experts consider this church to be one of the most mysterious buildings of the seventeenth century. Nothing is known for certain about its construction; all fragmentary information is obtained from brief notes, rumors and speculation. Such a secret has not surrounded any temple in our country, so interest in its history is growing every year.

It is believed that B. A. Golitsyn, who was the favorite and mentor of Peter I, planned to build a new temple on his estate. He had the financial resources to create a masterpiece of architecture of that time. Foreign craftsmen and Russian architects were called in to help. It is known that Golitsyn communicated with many Italian architects who lived and worked in Russia. However, which of them became the author of such a unique project is still unknown.

Initially, on the site of the future church there was a small temple in honor of the prophet Elijah. To free up the site for future construction, this wooden structure was carefully moved to the nearest village, where it stood safely for many years.

Historians claim that the first stone of the church was laid on the twentieth of July 1690. Literally immediately after this significant event the prince was accused of state crimes and exiled by his crowned pupil to the estate. Construction stopped for a while, but contemporaries knew the hot and easy-going disposition of Peter I. Therefore, after a few months, Golitsyn was returned to the Mother See and awarded the title of boyar. He decided to dedicate a new church to this event, after consulting with the king.

Sometimes written sources allegedly contain references to the fact that Peter I often visited the estate of his teacher and even personally took part in the construction of the temple. However, historians do not officially confirm this fact. The Znamenskaya Church was erected in a record time for such a grandiose structure - nine years. But for another four years it stood idle. Witnesses of those events mentioned in their memoirs that the temple was so unusual that not a single priest dared to consecrate it. And only in 1703 the church turned into a functioning parish, consecrated with the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. Peter I himself took part in this action, arriving at the estate to add significance to the event.

Miraculous icon

Church interior

The inside of the temple is as unique as the outside. It is completely decorated with high reliefs made using frame technology from broken brick and limestone. Local craftsmen applied the mixture to the frame, and then used tools to cut off all excess, creating a three-dimensional image. All of them are based on biblical stories.

One cannot help but pay attention to the high relief with the crucifixion of Christ; this composition is the central one and texts in Latin were previously located around it. Later they were replaced with Russian texts; now the inscriptions are returning to their original version during restoration work.

In one part of the temple there are two-tiered choirs, which are completely covered with carvings and painted deep blue. From the inside, the walls of the church have a beautiful soft blue tint.

Believers say that it is not recommended to take photographs in the temple, so you should take a look with your own eyes at this incredible beauty, reminiscent of Western architectural masterpieces.

Instead of a conclusion

It is quite difficult to describe in words all the beauty and uniqueness of the Znamenskaya Church. Therefore, you should definitely come here and open your heart to this incredible feeling that arises just by looking at this building by talented craftsmen of the seventeenth century.

Not far from the city of Podolsk, at the confluence of the two rivers Pakhra and Desna in the Dubrovitsy estate there is a very unusual and not typical Orthodox church for Orthodox Russia. Its unusualness lies primarily in its unconventional appearance: the temple is an equilateral cross at the base with high tower in the middle, decorated with intricate stone carvings. Instead of a dome there is a golden royal crown. The outside of the temple is decorated with numerous stone sculptures, which is also not typical for Russian Orthodoxy.

The temple stands on a high hill and is visible from afar; its full name is the Temple of the Sign of the Mother of God in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”.

The history and purpose of the Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in Dubrovitsy still raises many questions and disputes and has not been studied for certain. For example, for unknown reasons, the names of the architects and those who built the temple were not preserved.

Temple of the Mother of God of the Sign

Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in Dubrovitsy

On the territory of the estate

The Dubrovitsy estate, on the territory of which such an unusual temple was erected, had many owners. Its first owner in 1627 was the boyar Morozov. Then the estate was inherited by his daughter Ksenia, who later became the wife of Prince Golitsyn Ivan Andreevich. After her death, the estate passed to her husband Ivan Andreevich Golitsyn, and then went to his son Ivan Ivanovich, who, due to debts, sold the estate to Boris Dolgorukov. Four years later, the estate was bought by the widow of Prince I.I. Golitsyn and a year later sold it to her relative Boris Golitsyn. This is the same Boris Golitsyn who was the mentor, adviser and educator of Peter I. It was Boris Golitsyn who began the construction of the temple in 1690, which was completed in 1699.

The temple was built in the Baroque style and decorated with sculptures and carvings unusual for that time. White stones from the surrounding areas were used for construction. The temple does not have its own bell tower; it is replaced by a small ground belfry, which is installed opposite the main entrance to the temple.

Despite the fact that the construction of the temple was completed in 1699, its illumination took place only in 1704. It is worth noting that the laying of the first stone of the temple and its illumination took place with the participation and presence of Peter I.

Later, for some time, the estate along with the temple belonged to Grishka Potemkin. Catherine II, returning from the Crimean campaign in 1787, made a short stop at Potemkin’s estate. The unusual temple struck her so much that she decided to take it into her own hands. True, not for his personal use, but for his new favorite, Alexander Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov. Subsequently, the estate was inherited by his son Matvey, who settled here for a long time from 1817.

In the Dubrovitsy estate, the history of the secret organization “Order of Russian Knights” begins, the founder of which was Matvey Aleksandrovich Dmitriev-Mamonov. Perhaps in connection with this, passions and legends arose around this unusual temple. For example, many are surprised why the base of the temple resembles a Templar cross, why among the numerous figures decorating the temple one can see the Phoenix bird, symbolizing the revival of the Master of the Templar Order, Jacques Molay, and, finally, why and for whom inscriptions in Latin appeared in the temple itself? Some even claim that the sword of Jacques Molay himself is hidden in the temple.

So, let's try to debunk some myths and legends of the Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in Dubrovitsy.

The most common mystery that excites the minds of historians and ordinary people is why Tsar Peter I was able to approve the construction of such an unusually shaped temple, moreover, decorated with sculptures and symbols that were not entirely Orthodox for that time. Despite the favor of Peter I towards Boris Golitsyn, the then patriarch of the local area, Adrian, for some reason, flatly refused to illuminate the temple, which was so unusual for Russian people. Only after his death the temple was illuminated by the new Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom Stefan (Yavorsky). There is an assumption that Patriarch Adrian saw that the Church of the Mother of God of the Sign was not conceived as Orthodox, but as Catholic, and therefore refused to perform the ritual.

There are some explanations for all this. The fact is that Boris Alekseevich Golitsyn was a very educated person and a supporter of Western culture. He was a frequent visitor to the German Settlement and had many friends there. We remember very well that the young tsar also developed a craving for everything German, not without the help of his mentor Boris Golitsyn. It is possible that the construction of a cathedral of such an unusual shape was inspired by his craving and love for everything Western and German, including the Catholic Baroque style. Golitsyn spoke Latin fluently and Catholic priests and clergy were frequent guests in his house. Missionary Francis Emiliani, who often visited the Golitsyns, wrote that Boris Alekseevich always noted the special beauty of Catholic worship, which captivated the souls of many Muscovites. Peter I was also a supporter of everything German, perhaps that is why he was very loyal to the construction of such an unusual temple. And the temple really resembles a Catholic Church.

There is another legend told by the temple servants. When young Peter I came to visit Golitsyn at the Dubrovitsy estate, he was fascinated by the beauty of these places and, standing on a hill, exclaimed: “Two rivers, Desna and Pakhra, merge behind the hill, behind the meadow lying underneath, at an acute angle, forming the bow of the ship. This ship should have a mast worthy of these places! A church like this would be erected here, so that the Germans would gasp. So that there wouldn’t be another one so beautiful in the world...” So Golitsyn realized the dream of the young tsar and built a kind of hybrid of a Catholic and Orthodox church.

At first glance, the fruits, strange flowers and bunches of grapes in the temple’s ornaments look strange and unusual. But here, too, everything is clear. The fact is that Christ the True Vine, Christ the Vine is one of the symbolic names of Christ, based on the words of the Gospel “I am the vine, you are the grape” (John 15:5). So there is nothing surprising about the presence of grapes on the walls of the temple.

The height of the temple is 42.3 meters. The base and parapet in a circle are decorated with stone carvings and stone sculptures, until that time nowhere before in the Moscow region and indeed in Russians Orthodox churches not used.

As for the inscriptions in Latin, they were originally made in Latin, but during the restoration in the 19th century, at the insistence of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, they were replaced with Slavic quotations from the Gospel. Later, in 2004, the Latin quatrains were restored.

Translation of these verses:

Hora nona Jesus quum omnia consummavit,

Forte clamans spiritum Patri commendavit.

Latus ejus lancea miles perforavit,

Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy

- this is one of the most famous. The Znamenskaya Church is an ancient church in the Russian Baroque style and an amazing monument of architectural architecture; it will not leave anyone indifferent. The Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy is world famous and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is called the pearl of the Moscow region.

How to get to the Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy:

• From Moscow: from Yuzhnaya metro station by bus No. 417.
• From Podolsk: from the railway or bus station take bus (minibus) No. 65.
• By car: from Moscow through the city of Podolsk along the Varshavskoe highway, near the Central Archive, turn right at the sign and go straight to the village of Dubrovitsy.

Church of the Sign in Dubrovitsy

The church in the ancient estate of Dubrovitsy, in which Prince Boris Golitsyn once lived, was built at the expense of its owner at the border of the 17th-18th centuries. The amazing silhouette of the building itself makes you want to find out in more detail how the Church of the Sign came into being, the reason for its creation and get answers to many other questions that arise after a closer acquaintance with this amazing human creation.

Its unusual architectural style is Russian Baroque, or more precisely, Golitsyn Russian Baroque. Looking at the many whimsical elements: sculptures of apostles and angels, intricate flowers and leaves carved from stone, Western architecture comes to mind. For Russia, the church is unusual and the crown with a cross adds even more originality to it.

History of creation

The Church of the Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary (this is the official name of the Church of the Sign) was built on the verge of the 17th-18th centuries near Podolsk, where the Pakhra and Desna rivers merge. The initiator of the construction and its financier was Prince Boris Golitsyn, the then owner of the Dubrovitsy estate.

Shortly before this, the prince, who served as the tutor of the future sovereign Peter the Great, fell into disgrace with him and left for his estate. However, Peter soon cooled down, and as a sign of reconciliation, the prince, at his own expense, began the construction of an unusual church on the territory of his own estate, although for this it was necessary to move from there the fully working wooden church of the Prophet Elijah.

Entrance to the linden park

In 1704, construction was completed, and Peter the Great himself arrived at the consecration ceremony of the temple, standing and praying on a special balcony of the western ledge.

Material and architecture

For the construction of the Church of the Sign, they chose local white stone, mined in quarries on the banks of the Pakhra. As a building material, it could not have been more suitable for this project.

In plan, the church is a rounded equal-pointed cross. The high foundation made it possible to wrap around the building an open porch. It was decorated with luxurious stone carvings, creating a unique ornament, which is interrupted only by four staircases.

Sculptural compositions

The hand of a Western engineer can be felt literally everywhere. This is noticeable, in particular, in the presence of numerous sculptures. Thus, on the western staircase at the main entrance there are figures of the great archbishops and saints John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian, above whose figures on the roof of the vestibule rises a statue of Basil the Great. All the great Saints are depicted as tall elders, dressed in robes.

In the basement corners stand Matthew, Luke, John and Mark. The host of apostles is complemented by 8 figures located at the base of the 8-sided tower. Unfortunately, the three evangelists standing on the ground do not have heads. They were repulsed during the struggle against church prejudices.

The sculptures of the Znamenskaya Church are reminiscent of the beautiful rotunda church in the village of Podmoklovo. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Podmoklovo is also made in the Italian style; it is decorated with 12 apostles and 4 evangelists. They are installed on a 16-bay arcade and encircle the temple tower.

Dome

An interesting decision was made for the dome of the church, which is crowned not by a traditional tent or helmet, but by a royal crown. So original idea embodied in another Golitsyn estate - in Bolshie Vyazemy, where the church is also decorated with an imperial crown.

Interior decoration

Inside, the Znamenskaya Church in the Dubrovitsy estate also largely repeats Catholic canons: the walls are decorated with high reliefs on biblical themes, and sculptural compositions are installed in the room. All this testifies to the traditions of the European school.

The process of making sculptures is interesting. They were not cut on the side, but made on site. The metal frame was coated with a base consisting of a mixture of broken bricks and lime mortar, and a contour was cut along it in its raw form. After the mixture had dried, the figures were finally modeled.

The largest composition of the interior church interior is the “Crucifixion”.

On the western porch there is a gallery, which is a balcony, which can be accessed through a small door in the northwestern pylon. Peter I and Boris Golitsyn were in this place during the consecration of the temple.

Neighborhood

To the west of the temple there was once a three-tiered bell tower with 9 bells. The largest of them weighed about 2 tons. Unfortunately, the bell tower was blown up in 1931. All that remained of it was a badly damaged statue, which is now impossible to identify. Now it has been reinstalled on the pedestal.

From the eastern gate there is a straight path towards the mound with an observation deck. It is quite possible that it has been preserved since the time of the Vyatichi, but now it is impossible to say for sure. The observation deck offers a wonderful view of the church building. Newlyweds love to take photos and videos here.

The Znamenskaya Church in the Dubrovitsy estate is a pearl of architectural art, left to us as a legacy from unknown authors who embodied their dreams, thoughts and feelings in it. This unique monument Russian architecture has long been included in the list of treasures of world art.

Video of the Dubrovitsa estate and the Znamenskaya Church