“Unexpected Joy” is one of the most famous icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It represents victory over sin and reminds us of God's mercy. The Mother of God herself is called “Joy” here, which is why both words in the title of the icon are written with a capital letter. The “Unexpected Joy” temple, located in Maryina Roshcha, is dedicated to this icon. Where exactly, when it was built and what shrines are located here - you will learn from this article.
History of the construction of the temple
A construction project was drawn up. According to him, the church was also supposed to house a Sunday school, and the church itself did not have an independent clergy and belonged to the Holy Trinity Church, located near the village of Ostankino. In 1903, it was decided that the “Unexpected Joy” temple would not be made of wood, but of stone. Since most of the buildings in Maryina Roshcha were made of wood, people were simply afraid of possible damage to the church as a result of a fire. The creator of the project and the chief supervisor of construction was the Moscow architect N.V. Karneev. It was he who transferred the project to the Construction Department.
This is where the difficulties began. Approval of the project was refused; the reasons for this decision were that the external appearance of the stone church-school was unsightly, and the designed section was allegedly drawn up incorrectly. Karneev tried several times to redo the drawings, while construction of the temple had already begun without official permission.
By the end of 1903, the rough construction was already ready, but according to the report of the Moscow district government, it did not correspond in any way with the presented drawings of the architect. It was all due to a group of people led by T.F. Neschastnov, who hurried at all costs to complete the construction of the temple, without even taking into account the opinion of the state. Serious problems were brewing as the construction department's refusal made it impossible to approve the project. The “Unexpected Joy” Church in Maryina Roshcha acquired the status of an illegal construction, and this was fraught with demolition.
Then, retroactively, a new project was urgently introduced, by other architects - D. D. Zverev and P. F. Krotov. Early in 1904, the chief representative of the Building Department, together with the diocesan architect, made a final inspection of the newly constructed building and found no doubt about its strength and stability. So the incident was over.
Abbots
- Sergiy Leonardov, construction supervisor
- Arseny (Krylov) (1956 - 1962 retired, honorary rector)
Temple "Unexpected Joy" today
This temple is located on Sheremetyevskaya Street, the nearest metro station is Maryina Roshcha. The Belorusskaya, Rizhskaya and VDNH stations are also nearby. House number - 33. With the naked eye you can see that the architecture of the temple is completely in the style of ancient Russian church buildings of the 17th century.
Here are the services that operate at the temple today:
- Sunday School.
- A social service that receives parishioners every Saturday.
- Church library.
- A youth organization called Ladder.
- parish counseling service.
There is close cooperation with the Phoenix club, created to help young people with disabilities. In addition, the “Unexpected Joy” temple helps low-income families in the area and protects the rights of minors in court hearings.
Modern life
Now there are 5 priests serving at the church. Its rector, Rev. Georgy Klimov is the dean of the Trinity District of Moscow. He also regularly appears on Radio Radonezh.
At the parish there are:
- social service;
- youth association “Lestvitsa”;
- Sunday School.
The temple also publishes the newspaper “Orthodox Moscow”.
Muscovites treat this church with great sympathy. On the Internet you can find the following reviews about it:
Svetlana: “I am sincerely happy for the Muscovites who live within walking distance; it is such a blessing to have the opportunity to come here every day, find answers to a variety of life questions and leave the walls of the temple as a completely different person! The church has a Sunday school for children and adults and this is also wonderful! If there is such an opportunity, do not delay, visit this temple, preferably not alone, give such a gift to yourself and your loved ones!”
A user under the nickname “korti912 ” (style and spelling preserved): “One of the most beloved churches in the inner city of Moscow. Very conveniently located. Light, quick, but at the same time prayerfully focused services. Miraculous Image of the Queen of Heaven! When we are in this area, it is impossible to pass by. Sometimes we even specially go to this Holy place from another area!”
Schedule of church services
The “Unexpected Joy” Church holds many services today. Their schedule is usually drawn up a month in advance; parishioners can view it in the church or on a special online portal. Morning and evening services, confessions and Divine Liturgies are regularly held here, prayers and memorial services are read. On holidays, the service includes the reading of akathists, and on the eve of religious celebrations an All-Night Vigil is held, with confession.
It should be noted that the “Unexpected Joy” icon, which is the main shrine here, is greatly revered by parishioners. People come even from afar to venerate it, and local residents consider it their duty to visit the temple and bring fresh flowers to the icon.
Construction of the church
According to different versions, the name “Maryina Roshcha” comes from
- on behalf of the wife of a local boyar who lived here around the 17th century;
- goes back to another, less pleasant story of the 18th century: robbers led by Atamansha Marya hid here.
And even in the 19th century, from the end of which the area finally became part of Moscow, this area was a refuge for various kinds of thieves, there was even a saying: “In Maryina Roshcha, people are simpler.” Is this why the local residents, when deciding on the creation of a temple, decided to dedicate it to the revered icon of “Unexpected Joy”. Indeed, according to the history of the image, its name comes from the story of God's pardoning of a robber or thief who prayed before him.
Count Sheremetyev allocated land for the construction of the church
Funds for the temple were collected by residents of the area, but the land was 400 square meters. fathoms - donated by Count Sheremetev, deliberately allocating a dry area on a hill for the temple. This benefactor is a descendant of Count Nikolai Sheremetev (the builder of the Ostankino estate) and the former serf actress Praskovya Zhemchugova. The traditions of charity of the Church were passed on by this family from generation to generation.
This is interesting: The meaning of the icon of the Virgin Mary “Unexpected Joy”
20
June
1904
The new church was consecrated by Moscow Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany), later a holy martyr.
Eight years later (1912), parishioners raised money for the bell tower. It was designed by Yu.F. Diederichs, a famous Moscow architect. But the calm life of the newly formed parish did not last long: revolutionary events broke out.
Soviet years
Now parishioners proudly say that the “Unexpected Joy” church was one of the few that was not closed by the authorities. The Bolsheviks only removed the largest of the bells from the belfry, but the rest remained, but it was forbidden to ring them.
Interesting fact
Cleric of the temple, Rev. Rostislav Yarema believes that the workers who lived nearby did not allow the church to close. Nowadays there are many icons brought by believers from the destroyed churches of the capital: several images of the Mother of God of Kazan, icons of St. Nicholas.
But the fact that the temple remained operational did not save its clergy and parishioners from repression. Now the church has its own saints from among them - these are:
- Deacon Feodor Smirnov, who served here from 1932 to 1937, when he was arrested; the holy martyr was shot in the camp on July 5, 1938;
- novice Ekaterina Konstantinova, who became a parishioner of the church after the closure of the Sorrow Convent in Moscow; she was arrested in 1938 and executed on March 20.
Now in the church you can pray before the image of these martyrs, glorified as saints since the 2000s.
Legend
The temple houses the “Unexpected Joy” icon. Its history was conveyed by Dimitry of Rostov in his work “Irrigated Fleece.” A lonely sinner and robber had the habit of standing for a long time before going on dark deeds in front of the icon of the Mother of God and asking her for help in committing robberies. And so, according to legend, one day, standing in front of the image, he suddenly saw the Virgin Mary and little Jesus alive. The baby was bleeding from wounds and ulcers all over his body. Frightened by such a terrible picture, the robber asked what it was.
The answer horrified him. He was told that it was sinful people who constantly crucified the baby’s body on the cross, like the ancient Jews. The criminal was frightened and asked him to forgive his sins, he sincerely repents, and will no longer engage in sinful deeds. But little Jesus did not immediately forgive him, only after his mother’s request. Suddenly I felt joy in the form of forgiveness for my sins. The image painted later was called “Unexpected Joy.”
A scene is drawn of a robber begging for forgiveness, standing in front of an icon of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms. Under the icon is written the story of the salvation of the sinner's soul. This will be evidence that true repentance will always find forgiveness. All people are sinners and only complete repentance before the face of the Lord will be the first step towards the salvation of the soul.
There are many images of this icon, but only two of them are considered miraculous. This is an icon located in the Church “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha, at the address: st. Sheremetyevskaya, 33. The other is located in the Church of Elijah the Prophet, at the address: Obydensky Lane, 6.
In whose honor are the three chapels consecrated?
The main altar is dedicated to the icon of the Most Pure One “Unexpected Joy”. Two more chapels are dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra and St. John, Archbishop of Novgorod. Both chapels have been known since 1910.
- chapel of St. Nicholas is dedicated to the heavenly patron of Nicholas II; parishioners lovingly asked for the saint’s prayers for the Russian state, which was close to its fall;
- dedication of the throne to St. John of Novgorod is associated with many of his famous miracles, for example, with the glorification of the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (XII century); but the parishioners especially revered the saint for the disasters that he had to endure from sinners; the approach of such persecution was acutely felt at the beginning of the 20th century. Now in the chapel there is an icon of the saint with a particle of his relics.
The most revered shrines
Venerated icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy”
The most revered shrine is the icon, which gave its name to the church itself. The image of “Unexpected Joy” is one of the revered Moscow lists of shrines, known since the 19th century. He is considered miraculous. Every Sunday an Akathist is performed before him.
Other venerated relics include:
- icon-reliquary martyr. Tryphon, especially revered by many Muscovites;
- three arks with parts of the honest remains of more than 50 saints of God.
Schedule of work and services
Divine services take place every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, in the summer (after All Saints' Day until the Assumption) only the liturgy is celebrated in the morning.
The Akathist before the revered icon “Unexpected Joy” is read from 17.00 every Sunday. On Thursdays at the same time the Akathist to St. Nikolai.
Days of celebration icons
Every year, on May 14, June 3 and December 22, spiritual festivals glorify Hodegetria are held. In the Church “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha, two Divine Liturgies are celebrated during the morning service.
The first one is at 7.00, the second one is at 10.00. Every Sunday an evening akathist is performed to the icon of the Mother of God in the Church “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha.
