The Church in Kuntsevo of John the Russian is an Orthodox church, which is located in the Western Administrative District of the capital of Russia. This religious building belongs to the Mikhailovsky deanery. To be even more precise, the church of St. John the Russian belongs to the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Saint John the Russian
This liturgical religious building was named in honor of one of the most revered Orthodox saints and confessors. Righteous John the Russian was born in Little Russia in 1690. When he reached adulthood, he was drafted into the army of Peter the Great, in whose ranks he took part in the Russian-Turkish battle. In the summer of 1711, during the Prut campaign, the soldier, after whom the Church of the Righteous John the Russian was named, was taken prisoner. After some time, he was transported to Constantinople and sold into slavery to one of the chiefs of the Turkish cavalry named Aga.
During the day, John worked, fasted and prayed, and at night, when everyone went to bed, he went to the cave church,located nearby. Here he read prayers and took communion every Saturday. While in Aga's house, John performed several miracles, rumors about which spread far beyond the village. And all the people living in the vicinity, even the Muslim Turks, began to call this person only “Veli”, which means “holy.”
Veneration of John the Russian in Russia
John the Russian was officially included in the face of the righteous in 1962. At the same time, his name as a saint was added to the calendar of the Orthodox Church. In 2003, they began to build the Temple in Kuntsevo of John the Russian with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow Alexy. It was the first small wooden religious building in Russia erected in honor of this righteous saint. Today, John the Russian is also given the lower aisle of the temple in Novosibirsk. The latter was once built in honor of one of the most famous icons of the Mother of God called "The Sign" Abalatskaya.
General information about the Temple
As noted earlier, the temple in Kuntsevo of John the Russian was erected in the period from 2003 to 2004 with the blessing of Alexy - His Holiness the Patriarch. It was designed as a small wooden religious building in the architectural form of a "ship", characteristic of many ancient Russian churches. The ship symbolizes the Temple as a refuge of man in the sea of life.
As for the main and secondary thrones located inside the church, the first one was consecrated in honor ofSt. John the Confessor, and the second - in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. One of the main decorations of the interior decoration of the temple is the cupronickel iconostasis, which harmoniously combines elements of the Byzantine style and ancient Russian traditions.
The main shrine possessed by the church in Kuntsevo of John the Russian is the icon of John the Russian with a small particle of relics. Separately, it should be said that construction documentation is currently being prepared and the necessary design work is underway for the construction of a large stone church, which will be erected next to a wooden structure.
Parish activities and worship
Services in this temple are performed every day. For example, the liturgy takes place daily at 8:30 am. On the days of memory of especially revered saints and on the eve of various Orthodox holidays, an evening service is always held. In addition, in the church in Kuntsevo, all the rites are performed - requiems, prayers, christenings and weddings. Also every Sunday at three o'clock in the afternoon there is a service in honor of the holy righteous John.
At the same time, the parish life of this church is not limited to liturgical activities. The church has a Sunday school for people of different ages, an Orthodox youth association, a needlework circle, an Orthodox family school and a pilgrimage service. A military patriotic club for children and teenagers, a historical teenage club and a video lecture hall also organizes the Church of St. JohnRussian. The schedule of their work coincides with the time of the church - from 8 am to 8 pm.
Among other things, it is worth mentioning that the clergy of this temple perform the necessary services in the orphanage No. 15, created for children with developmental disabilities, feed the patients of the city hospital No. 72, and also conduct active teaching activities in the Financial - Law Academy. In addition, this parish is engaged in publishing work.
Temple location
The Church of John the Russian is located at the address: Yartsevskaya street, possession 1-A. The most convenient way to get to it is by the blue metro line. The nearest station to the Temple is called "Youth". In addition, you can use the services of fixed-route taxis and city buses. Directly to the temple there is public transport with numbers such as 73, 794, 732, 825 and 794k.
