How did the restoration of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fili end?

The Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of those architectural monuments that still preserves the pre-Petrine style. In the twentieth century, the temple, like many others, was closed, the domes were removed, the upper octagon, domes and upper tier were dismantled. In addition, the temple was damaged during German air raids. 

The very first restoration began back in 1955, and after it the building was used for a variety of needs. And since the restoration was not done well, it ended up that in 2019 the building was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church in a deplorable state. And, following requests from the diocese and the residents of Fili, Moscow allocated funds for the restoration of the temple.

So in 2021, a thorough restoration of both the facades and the underground part of the building began, waterproofing, drainage, etc. were restored. The restoration was done on the basis of pre-revolutionary photographs and using ancient technologies. For example, waterproofing was done in lead in the XNUMXth century. As Andrey Yakhnin, head of the Image Design Group of companies and scientific director of restoration work, says: “We recreated it in lead, as it was in the XNUMXth century. This is a very complex, lost technology, and it was not easy to find specialists who could work on it. It was recreated by us especially for the Church of the Intercession in Fili"

Particularly interesting is what can sometimes be found in churches during restoration. Thus, when opening one of the building’s structures, a walled reliquary was found - a casket with particles of the relics of seven saints, including Saints Barbara, Anastasia and Alexander Nevsky. The circumstances of the find indicate that the reliquary was probably hidden during Soviet times by master restorers. The relics have now been transferred to the parish and will be available for veneration.

Photo: Department of Urban Development Policy and Construction of the City of Moscow

Material prepared by Maria Komarova