August 27, 2021
On August 26, crosses were installed on the main domes of the Intercession-Assumption Church in Maly Gavrikov Lane in Moscow. The event was long-awaited for all Old Believers of the capital. The priests of two other churches in the capital, Protopriest Alexei Mikheev (Rogozhskoe), Priest Alexei Lopatin (Tver community of Moscow), and Protodeacon Viktor Savelyev (Rogozhskoe), arrived to support the Intercession-Assumption community.
Before erecting the crosses on the domes, the Primate of the Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Korniliy, sprinkled holy water on the crosses. Vladyka Korniliy personally petitioned many times for the transfer of the church to the faithful.
The Church of the Intercession and the Assumption was returned to the Church in December 2017. Until that moment, for a long time, it housed a sports club. With the handover to the Church, the life of the church changed radically. However, for those passing along the street, the building remained just a beautiful building. For the appearance itself to speak to people about faith, it was necessary to return the crosses to the domes.
“The cross is the beauty of the church” – the Intercession-Assumption community always remembered that, but it saw its main task in establishing the prayer life and provision of everything necessary for it. It was also not so simple to install the cross. The Church of the Intercession and the Assumption is a cultural heritage site, and permission from the authorities is required to change its appearance. In the beginning of the year, another attempt to obtain a permit was crowned with success. By that time, work on the manufacturing of the crosses was already in full swing, the funds for which were collected through crowdfunding.
It was probably in the 1930s that the church lost its crosses, when it was confiscated from believers for “cultural and educational needs.” Since the 1960s the sports club “Spartak” was located here, which eventually became private property. When the Third Ring Road was built in 2004, the church was restored at the expense of the construction budget. However, the owner did not consider it appropriate to restore the crosses.
Precisely one month ago, on July 26, the first small cross was erected on the church gate. On August 6 the second cross took its place above the altar part. Today we can say that another important work of the community has been successfully completed.
“The installed crosses will call people to the temple, and I want to believe that people will come to this call,” said the rector of the church, priest Nikola Bobkov.
