To the north of the Vvedensky Cathedral of Optina Hermitage there is a beautiful one-domed church built in the best traditions of classicism. While it is being restored, the monastery hopes that soon pilgrims and tourists will be able to visit the renovated temple.
Temple history
The picturesque church appeared in the monastery at the time when Moses was its abbot. In 1822, a refectory for the monks began to be erected at the monastery, money for the construction of which was donated by the wealthy landowner Anna Sergeevna Rtischeva.
View of the temple from the Vvedensky Cathedral
The refectory was completed two years later by Abbot Daniel. The lower floor of the two-story stone building was given as a place where novices and monks gathered for meals and joint prayers. In 1827, the interior was painted with picturesque frescoes, and images of saints and scenes from the Gospel appeared on the walls.
In the middle of the 19th century, the monastery refectory was moved to a newly built stone building, and the vacant building was converted into a house church by the will of the landowner. At the beginning of the summer of 1858, the head of the local diocese, Gregory, came to its consecration. The new church was dedicated at once to two saints revered by Christians: the righteous Anna, who gave birth to the mother of Jesus Christ, and also St. Mary of Egypt. In the crypt, under a bushel, found the last shelter of the temple organizer - A. S. Rtischeva, therefore the old church is often called Anninskaya.
View of the temple from the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
In the 1880s, the temple was reconstructed with private donations, adding two new side-chapels. All the reconstruction works were carried out by the Russian architect and artist Mikhail Fedorovich Granovsky. At the beginning of the winter of 1885, Bishop Vladimir of Kaluga consecrated new chapels, and they were named after Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Milanese priest and preacher Ambrose of Mediolansky.
With the advent of Soviet power, the Anninskaya Church was closed. For many years it stood in desolation and was badly destroyed. In the end, only one ugly stone frame remained from the once picturesque Orthodox church. With the restoration of the monastery, the monks organized large-scale restoration work to recreate the lost shrine, and in 2011 the first of the restored chapels was consecrated.
The architecture of the church and its interior decoration
Near the Vvedensky Cathedral, the Anninskaya Church looks quite small. The one-domed, cross-domed temple was built of bricks, plastered and painted pink and white. On three sides it is decorated with classical porticoes, each of which is decorated with a triangular pediment and four slender semi-columns.
The octagonal light drum ends with a faceted semi-dome. And at the very top you can see a small gilded cupola and a cross.
Today, part of the premises of the church is occupied by the monastery's icon-painting workshop. In the restored part there is a beautiful carved iconostasis, and to the left and right of it there are hanging carved icon cases.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
Anninskaya Church is a functioning house church. It is being restored, and in the future it is planned to build two chapels here. Visitors to the monastery are not yet allowed inside the temple.
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