Cathedral of St. Peter. Lutheran Church of St.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the property where the church is now located belonged to the Lopukhins, relatives of Tsarina Evdokia, the first wife of Peter I. The large manor house was seriously damaged in the fire of 1812. In 1817, the property was acquired by the parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. apostles Peter and Paul. The house was adapted into a temple. Perestroika was carried out mainly with funds allocated by the Prussian king Frederick William III. The church was consecrated in 1819. In 1837, the first organ appeared in the church, on which Franz Liszt played six years later, giving a concert that, according to a contemporary, “had a very strong effect on the nerves of the listeners; some ladies were crying, others were sniffing the ether.”

In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growth of the community (the number of its members exceeded 6,000 people), it was decided to build a new church. The construction of the new cathedral in the Gothic style, designed by the architect A. Meinhardt (Meinhardt), was completed by January 1862. To save money, parts of the previous building were used. A year later, a bell donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I was raised to the two-tier bell tower.

Half a century later, the church had to be expanded again. In 1903, an architectural competition was announced, at which the first prize was awarded to the project of the famous architect V. Walcott. However, a new building in the form of a three-nave basilica covered with a gable roof was erected by academician of architecture V. Kosov, partially using Walcott's design. At the same time, they began to build a new building in the neo-Gothic style around the old one, and only after the work was completed they dismantled the old church.

The church hall was initially famous for its excellent acoustics; in 1913, “The Bells” were performed here for the first time; five years later, Mozart’s requiem was performed with the participation of A. Nezhdanova.

In 1918, the Peterpaulkirche received the status of the Cathedral of Russia, and then Soviet Union. However, after some time the church was closed. The building was adapted for the Arktika cinema, and after the war the Filmstrip studio was located here. The premises were redesigned, the interiors were destroyed, and the organ was lost. Before the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, the cathedral spire was completely dismantled.

In the 1990s, the church was returned to believers. Restoration work was carried out. The spire was restored in 2010. Currently, the church houses a 19th-century organ that previously belonged to the Lutheran Church of St., which was destroyed in 1928. Mikhail on Voznesenskaya (now Radio) Street. Organ music concerts are held regularly.

The ensemble of the church also includes a chapel, built in the 1890s in the southern part of the church yard according to the design of F. Shekhtel.

Russia is a multi-religious country: more than a thousand religious associations are registered in it and more than 50 religions are represented. Among them there is also a representative of Lutheranism - the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Moscow sheltered him in Starosadsky Lane. This is the main Lutheran cathedral in the European part of Russia and one of three cathedrals of this denomination in the capital.

History of the cathedral

The parish of the temple is one of the oldest in Russia. Lutheranism itself appeared in the country in the second half of the 16th century. During the Livonian War alone, about 3 thousand prisoners were captured, with whom the first Lutheran preacher Timan Brakel arrived. After 2 years, he became pastor of the first community of St. Michael. The community of pastor Jacob Neuenburg separated from it in 1626, which several centuries later became the cathedral of the apostles Peter and Paul.

However, the community had no luck with the location of the temple for several years.. The first church was built near Chistye Prudy and demolished in 1632, the second stood for about 10 years. In 1647, near the bridge on the Yauza River, on the initiative of Bauman, a general of Holstein origin (province of Prussia), the “Officer Church” was built, but it did not last long. And after 2 years, foreigners were completely prohibited from buying land in Moscow.

General Bauman again bought land in the German settlement (the right bank of the Yauza) and organized a prayer house there. In 1664, a small wooden church. After 3 years it was demolished and a larger church was built, as well as a parsonage and a school. The consecration took place at the end of the 17th century, and the next year the land purchased by the general was officially donated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to the community.

Under Peter I, a stone foundation was laid for a large cathedral with a bell tower. The following year, the consecration took place, but the cathedral was plagued by failures: it burned down three times, but was restored. After the war with Napoleon and the fire, the temple could not be revived. The parishioners were temporarily housed in a prayer house, which was consecrated 2 years later.

The last resettlement took place in 1817: the parish finally moved to Starosadsky Lane (at that time Kosmodamiansky Lane), having bought the Lopukhins’ estate. Construction began almost immediately, money for it was allocated by the Prussian king Frederick William III, and Emperor Alexander I provided a loan.

In 1819, the temple was consecrated and became the largest Protestant parish: it was visited by many wealthy industrialists and nobles. By the middle of the 19th century, the number of parishioners reached 6 thousand people, by the end of the century there were already 17 thousand of them, most of them (14 thousand) were Germans. At the same time, the final reconstruction and expansion of the cathedral began. It was consecrated in 1905; 10 years later, during the anti-German uprisings, the building was seriously damaged.

What happened after the revolution

After the decree on the separation of church and state, all church property was nationalized, and educational establishments the cathedral was closed. Parish members were required to hand over all their money and securities for 3 days, and then fined for refusing to comply.

After the capital was moved to Moscow, the church received the status of a cathedral, the main Lutheran cathedral of the Soviet Union and the residence of a bishop. However, this did not greatly affect the fate of the parish: valuables were confiscated, and the number of parishioners decreased.

After 4 years, the Lutheran church in the German settlement was closed and destroyed, members of the church council and the pastor were shot. In 1938, the building was transferred to the Krasnogvardeysky District Council for reconstruction into a cinema. A few years later, the building was transferred to the Filmstrip studio, which began redeveloping the building inside, and in the middle of the 20th century dismantled the spire. However, the church was never legally closed.

The building was returned to the religious community in 1988, and in 1991 registration was obtained with the Moscow City Council Justice Department. Filmstrip, which owned the building at that time, allocated a small hall for worship, where Sunday services resumed in September of the same year. The very next year the church received a permanent pastor - Gunnar von Schlippe.

However, all the problems with Filmstrip were resolved (the studio had nowhere to move) only in 1997, although 5 years had already passed since the transfer of the cathedral to the Lutheran community. Gradually, all the buildings that belonged to the Lutherans were returned, and restoration began in 1997.

The consecration of the throne took place in December 2005, and the consecration of the cathedral itself in November 2008. The symbolic ceremony of transferring the temple to the ownership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church took place at the end of October 2017. Today, the Peter and Paul Cathedral houses valuables inherited from the destroyed St. Michael’s Cathedral:

Bible from the mid-17th century;
18th century altar;
late 19th century organ;
Bishop Mayer's cross.

cathedral organ

But still, for ordinary citizens, the cathedral is better known for its organ and the concerts it hosts. In total there were 3 organs in the temple: The organ first appeared in the church in 1837.

The second appeared in 1892: a 42-record, 3-manual German organ from E.F. Walker" ("E.F. Walcker"). It was the best at that time musical instrument in Moscow, which, despite its modest size, was not inferior in sound to the organ of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. It was destroyed in 1941: during the war it was transported to the Opera and Ballet Theater in Novosibirsk, where it was dismantled for scrap metal and decorations.

The modern Wilhelm Sauer organ of the church has an unusual history: it was given to the community at the end of the 20th century and originally (from the end of the 19th century) stood in the Lutheran Church of St. Michael in the German Settlement. After the cathedral was closed, it was moved to the 1st Moscow Crematorium. IN early XIX century was held major renovation, and the organ was already installed in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Today it is the fourth instrument located in the church, and one of the oldest Moscow organs. It ranks sixth in terms of number of registers. Its sound can be heard during Sunday and holiday services, during concerts of Russian and foreign performers. The instrument takes part in regular musical and vocal concerts held in the cathedral for children and adults, in music festivals such as the International Bach Festival, the Road to Christmas arts festival, Night in the Cathedral, etc.

The full concert poster of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul is presented on the official website of the church. Concerts are held almost every weekend and on weekday evenings. The organist is Irina Shashkova-Peterson.

Building complex

Today the cathedral is not just a religious institution, but also a federally protected cultural heritage site. IN temple complex includes:

Nearby are the Petropavlovsk Men's School (built in 1912−1913. Today the Research Center for Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation is located here) and a residential building for teachers of the men's school, built in the same years.

On the opposite side is a women's school. It was a one-story brick building, to which a second floor was added during the USSR.

Complex of buildings at the cathedral

Information for visitors

Below is information useful for visitors about the cathedral and organ concerts:

Address: Starosadsky lane, building 7/10, building 10.
How to get to the Peter and Paul Cathedral: the easiest way is to walk from the Kitay-Gorod metro station. You need to go towards Solyanka Street or Zabelina Street, then walk along Zabelina Street to the Church of Prince Vladimir and turn left onto Starosadsky Lane. Second option: go out towards Maroseyka Street and walk along it to the Cosmodamian Church and turn right into the alley.
Phone: (495) 628−53−36, 87−62.
Opening hours: from 9:00 to 20:00, on Saturday the temple is open from 10:00; day off - Monday.
The schedule of concerts can be found on the official website in the section “Main of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, concerts.”

Worship services are held according to the following schedule:

On Thursdays at 19:00 - divine service with Holy Communion;
On Sundays at 11:30 there is a service in Russian and a children's service, at 14:00 - in French.

Additionally, the cathedral hosts:

Tuesdays at 18:30 - Bible hour;
on Wednesdays from 17:00 to 17:55 - “Lutheran Wave” on Teos radio (Christian interdenominational online radio);
every first Friday of the month at 19:00 - community meeting for everyone;
last Friday of the month at 17:00 - meeting for seniors with Pastor Weber;
on Saturdays there is a choir rehearsal, the time is negotiated separately;
on Sundays, half an hour before the start of the service, a rehearsal of the service is held for everyone. After the service there will be a reception by the pastor (by prior arrangement), a confirmation session and a youth meeting.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is one of the oldest Lutheran communities and an important monument federal significance. But it gained great popularity thanks to the organ and regularly held concerts, which everyone can come to.

The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is a beautiful and huge 62-meter Lutheran cathedral, in which services are held in both Russian and German. In addition, numerous classical music concerts are constantly held here with the participation of domestic and foreign outstanding musicians and singers; divine and enchanting music sounds, combining the sounds of organ, saxophone and Armenian duduk. The cathedral has always been the center of not only religious, but also cultural life of residents and guests of the capital.

The history of the cathedral goes back to the distant past. Peter I himself founded a stone church in 1694, named in honor of Saints Peter and Paul; a year later it was illuminated, but, unfortunately, during the War of 1812 it burned to the ground. Then the Lopukhins' estate was acquired, and a cathedral was erected in its place. The house was completely rebuilt as a church and consecrated in 1819. An organ was brought, the sounds of which were then enjoyed by numerous visitors. A few decades later, the building was reconstructed in the neo-Gothic style, and a bell was raised onto its tower. With coming Soviet power The cathedral was not immediately liquidated, but a sad fate overtook it in 1937, when its building began to be used as a cinema, and then as a Filmstrip studio.

The cathedral is irretrievably losing its appearance due to a complete redevelopment of the premises, and the unique bell was used for scrap metal and decoration, and then the cathedral spire was dismantled. And only after a while, in 1992, the cathedral was returned to the community. Restoration and reconstruction began, but they were able to completely restore the former beauty only thanks to large-scale work that began in 2004, and sponsors also helped a lot. The cathedral was revived, the spire and historical interior were restored. The restoration took place using old photographs of the cathedral that had been saved, and the craftsmen managed to restore it to its original beauty.

Now it is a beautiful cathedral with a huge and spacious hall, including two sectors in the ground floor and a large balcony. Excellent acoustics give the melodies a special magic, and the voices sound simply divine. Today, organ music concerts are often held here, with the best musicians, vocalists, choirs and other musical groups performing. The concerts are simply unique, designed for any audience, including children. The main decoration of the cathedral is unique and oldest organ, installed opposite the altar. You can order tickets for events at the cathedral on our website or by calling the operator.

Last weekend we attended the solemn Christmas Liturgy, which took place on the morning of Sunday, January 25, in the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Starosadsky Lane.

The church building itself has interesting story, strongly intertwined with many Moscow events from the very beginning of the 19th century.

The first Lutherans appeared in Moscow under Vasily III in the 16th century. These were mainly merchants who came to Muscovy or military personnel invited as specialists. Moreover, in 1626 the community split after a certain scandal caused by a quarrel between officers and merchants' wives. The merchant part of the community mainly united around the Church of St. Mikhail in a German settlement, and the officer's room eventually moved to the Pokrovka area. The Church of St. Michael was demolished in 1928, as it ended up on the territory of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) on Radio Street (Baumanskaya metro station), and the church on Ivanovskaya Gorka has survived to this day.

The first building of the current “officers’ church” was built back in 1817 and looked completely different. The Lopukhins' estate in Starosadsky Lane was purchased and converted into a church.

As can be seen in the illustration, the first church was only a reconstruction of an estate building, and it was dangerous to create something in an already densely populated area of Moscow in an already densely populated area of Moscow.

In 1843, Franz Liszt, who came to Moscow, gave an organ concert in this church.

When in the middle of the century the number of community members exceeded 6 thousand, a decision was made to reconstruct the temple according to the plan of the architect A. Meinhardt in the neo-Gothic style, which was completed in January 1862. In 1863, a bell, donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I, was raised to the tower.

General view of the church on Starosadsky Lane in the 1880s. The remains of the manor house are still clearly visible.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul numbered 17 thousand parishioners (14 thousand Germans, 2 thousand Latvians, 600 Estonians, 150 Finns and Swedes). Divine services were performed not only in German, but also in Latvian and Estonian.

In this regard, in the first decade of the 20th century, the building was radically rebuilt and expanded.

View of the church after reconstruction in 1905

During Soviet times, the church continued to function for some time, but in 1936 the clergy were arrested, and by 1937 the building was transferred first to the Arktika cinema (fortunately there was already a hall and rows), and then to the Filmstrip studio. , which occupied him until the mid-1990s. and could not leave the building for a long time, even when it was transferred to the church

In all Soviet filmstrips, the address of the church is listed at the end - Starosadsky, 7.

Before the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow, the authorities decided that the building stood out too much in the urban area and spoiled the appearance of the capital of the state of victorious atheism, so the spire was dismantled.

Dismantling the spire

This is how the church looked during Soviet times and stood until 2010, when the spire was restored again. Please note that not only the paint and spire had to be restored, but also the windows, which were made completely differently in Soviet times.

View of the church in 2005

photo by Reedus
General view of the church from the courtyard

Reconstruction of the church in 2005

General view of the church among the dense buildings of Ivanovskaya Hill

The bells appeared in the tower again

And the promised photos from the solemn Liturgy:

In the center is Dietrich Brouwer, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the European Part of Russia.

The stained glass windows were also restored

It is interesting that during Lutheran services there are breaks for, for example, a small children's performance. Theater productions are an old tradition of the Lutheran Church. It is interesting that the very first theater in Moscow (and Russia) was founded by Lutherans. In the 1660s. The parish teacher of the Lutheran Church of St. Michael, Johann Gottfried Gregory, organized a home theater at the school.

News of the “non-Orthodox and unpleasing hypocrisy” reached Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but he was surprisingly interested in the idea and ordered a “comedy dance” to be organized in the village of Preobrazhenskoye (now metro Preobrazhenskaya Square, but then still outside Moscow) for the first production The biblical story about Esther was chosen. Gregory, together with the parish school teacher Yuri Mikhailov, gathered in Moscow “children of various ranks of servicemen and merchant foreigners, 64 people in total” and began to practice with them the comedy about Esther, or the so-called “Artaxerxes action.” The premiere took place in 1672, the performance was attended by the Tsar himself and all his fellow boyars, the Tsarina and her entire retinue, while the women sat behind a partition, invisible to men.

Despite the fact that the performance was staged in poetic form on German and lasted more than 10 hours without an intermission (more than 60 actors and 36 changes of scenery were involved), Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was so impressed that on Easter week he invited Gergory and the actors to the royal palace and allowed him to hand, which was for non-Orthodox people at that time unheard of generosity.

But let's return to the service

Perel Christmas children of parishioners were making Christmas trees

In front of the pastor is a stylized manger of the Savior, to which the children, like the Magi, laid their gifts during the performance.

At the Liturgy the organ played and the choir sang beautifully.
We highly recommend visiting organ concerts in the church

Each parishioner has a book of hymns and a gift calendar in front of him.

Pre-revolutionary tiles have been preserved in the altar

Altar

The 1898 organ was manufactured by the German company Wilhelm Sauer for the Church of St. Michael, but after its closure and destruction in 1928 it was transferred to the Donskoy Monastery, where for some time it was used during funeral ceremonies in the crematorium. In 1996, the organ was given to the Church of St. Peter and Paul.

W.Sauer
Frankfurt an der Oder
op.755

The front row of pipes is followed by many other rows

In the basements of the church, old beams with manufacturer's marks have been preserved.

Let's go up to the tower

This is what the church vault looks like, above which a sharp gable roof is erected.

Bells reinstalled

Several views of the surrounding area

View from the church tower for a long time used for the title picture of our . More precisely, the view we took in 2005 at sunset:

Compare with the photo above how much the view of the Kremlin and New Arbat has changed in just 6 years.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was also not visible 6 years ago

And, finally, Zamoskovoreche with the oldest power plant spewing out clouds of steam

Van Gogh. Eight saxophones, organ and water animation
Moscow musical life is oversaturated with various events - every day you can find concerts for every taste on the playbill. In this tough struggle for the listener, the leaders are either concerts that attract the names of world stars, or that offer some zest and arouse curiosity. The Bel Canto Charitable Foundation has its own identity and is not lost in the Moscow musical sea: every concert it organizes is exclusive. The repertoire of concerts offered by the Foundation is huge - from children's performances with anime to Vivaldi, from Queen music to Mozart's requiem. And these concerts take place in interesting places - I went to one of them, the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, last Saturday. Those who came were treated to a concert “Van Gogh. Eight saxophones, organ and water animation" from the series "Sounding Canvases". Moreover, in fact, there were even two organs: a modern electric organ and a historical organ from the Sauer company (1898) (Anna Suslova shone with her performing arts on both). And the concert program was extremely interesting: not only works by the great Bach, Mozart, Handel, Pergolesi, Debussy, but also modern composers such as Guillermo Lago and Karl Jenkins were performed. I must say that I had never heard G. Lago’s suite “Ciudades” before, and it, performed by four saxophonists, was beautiful. But eight saxophones took part in the concert, these were two quartets: Sirenes Saxofone Quartet - consisting of lovely girls, and the all-male “Russian Saxophone Quartet”, and the saxophones also played music that was not written specifically for them, but sounded in an arrangement Interesting. True, in my opinion, in competition with the organ, saxophones still lost. The music was accompanied by projections onto the apse of the cathedral of works by Van Gogh and variations on the themes of his paintings, made using the technique of water animation - ebru (artist - Anna Klykovskaya). When I was getting ready for the concert, it was the water animation that raised some doubts in me; I almost never saw it, although I guessed what it was. In fact, it turned out to be very interesting to watch how a picture is created right before your eyes, smoothly flowing into another, for example, a seascape turns into a blooming garden, and an iris suddenly blooms in the starry sky. As a result, the Bel Canto Foundation miraculously managed to combine several types of art in one concert, and to combine them very organically - it’s a pity that the name of the director of this entire event was not found in the program.

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