The current Church of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of
the Mother of God was built in 1785 (but its history goes back
almost 800 years). For the first time it was erected on the banks of
the Klyazma at the behest of Andrei Bogolyubsky. The reason for the
construction of the church was the meeting of the icon of the
Vladimir Mother of God (candlemas), which was transported from
Bogolyubovo to the Assumption Cathedral. It was in this place that
the prince met the icon, accompanied by the clergy and with a huge
gathering of people. In memory of this, a wooden temple was built.
In 1237, the Mongol-Tatar troops burned the Sretenskaya Church.
After that, it was not restored for a long time, it begins to be
mentioned again only from 1656. Later, the renovated and rebuilt
temple is already found in documents of the second half of the 17th
century. During this period, he was assigned to the Assumption
Cathedral, but in 1710, his priest led divine services in the
Sretensky Church.
By the beginning of the 18th century. on
the site of the Streltsy and Gatilova Sloboda, the Soldatskaya Sloboda
began to be settled, and since they did not have their own temple, the
locals went to the nearby Kazan and Peter and Paul churches. After some
time, the Peter and Paul Church burned down, and the Kazan Church with
the Yamskaya Sloboda was moved outside the city. Left without a church,
the inhabitants of the Soldatskaya settlement, in 1784 were forced to
ask the bishop of Vladimir and Murom to transfer the old wooden church
of the Nativity of Christ to the settlement. The request was granted,
but the Sretenskaya Church was moved to the settlement from the banks of
the Klyazma. By the spring of 1785, the temple was dismantled and placed
in the Soldier's settlement. In 1788, a warm church was added to the
temple in the name of the Presentation with an iconostasis brought from
the abolished Intercession Monastery.
By the beginning of the
19th century. The Sretenskaya church remained the only wooden church in
the city. In 1805, the parishioners of this church filed a petition with
the spiritual consistory for permission to build a stone church. In 1805
permission was obtained. While the stone church was being built, divine
services were held in a wooden church. In 1807, the chapel was already
consecrated in honor of the Meeting of the Lord, in 1809 - the main
throne in the name of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. At the
same time, a bell tower was built, topped with a spire.
The
church was not distinguished by any particular luxury or wealth. The
liturgical utensils were made of copper, only the altarpiece of the
Mother of God, which was decorated with small pearls, was of value. In
1829, the plank roof of the Sretensky Church was replaced with an iron
one, the dome above the cold temple was gilded, as well as small cupolas
at the end of the bell spire and above the chapel. At the same time, the
three-tiered “smooth” iconostasis was replaced by a new carved one. In
the warm church, the iconostasis was replaced in 1834. In 1830-1832. the
walls of the chapel were decorated with sacred paintings, and 10 years
later the Yaroslavl tradesman Mikhail Shvetsov painted the cold church.
In 1866, the northern chapel was built, its throne was consecrated
in the name of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow."
According to the inventory of 1809, there were 4 bells on the
belfry, the largest of them weighed 424 kg. In 1816 the bell was
replaced. But in 1817 this bell was removed, it was replaced by an even
heavier one (1084 kg). In 1875, a 100 pood bell was installed, the
former one was broken. This bell hung on the belfry until the October
events of 1917.
The first blow to the church was inflicted in
April 1922, when silver church utensils weighing 26 kg were seized. In
November 1923, the community at the temple was 148 people. Divine
services were held regularly, although they had to obtain permission to
hold them.
On March 7, 1930, the Sretenskaya Church was closed in
order to transfer it to the residents of Krasny Gorodok and Soldatskaya
Sloboda as a cultural and educational institution. The parishioners
defended the church by writing a complaint to the All-Russian Central
Executive Committee, the church was left to the community. Another
attempt to close the temple was also not successful.
Until the
very last days, M.S. continued to serve in the church. Belyaev, who had
been its rector since 1888. Father, together with the parishioners,
prevented the closure of the church, but, nevertheless, on April 29,
1937, the church was closed. The desecrated temple was both a warehouse
and a woodworking facility.
More than half a century after
closing in 1992, the church was again returned to the Russian Orthodox
Church. Today it is the current temple of Vladimir.