Paraskeva Parish Church in Butovo - the pearl of the microdistrict

The city of the Icon of the Roman Empire is the birthplace of the holy martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, who lived there in the III century. Born in a family of Christians, Paraskeva with all her heart was devoted to this religion, went because of her martyrdom, and will forever remain in the memory of Christians. Temples and chapels were built in her honor.

Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva

Paraskeva Friday is considered the patroness of agricultural workers. Industrialists, traders and travelers also consider themselves to be under her care and concern. In prerevolutionary Russia there was not a single trading area where St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa would not stand, in one Moscow there were 4. The name Friday was given to her by parents in memory of the day of the crucifixion of Christ. Paraskeva in translation from ancient Greek means "the eve of the holiday." In the Orthodox Church, the day of remembrance of this great martyr falls on October 28. On this day it is customary to bring to the altar the fruits for sanctification and store them until the next harvest, thus ensuring its subsequent abundance. This saint is prayed for both the harvest and the prevention of the loss of livestock.

In humans, it can cure serious illnesses - both mental and physical. In addition, centuries of experience contributed to the formation of a tradition to ask the girls for holy assistance in an early and successful marriage. Therefore, every church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa is popular. On the icons, the saint is always depicted with a cross in hands and a red maforia. She is always strict and severe, and on the frescoes associated with the Passion of Christ, she represents the Great Friday, the day of the crucifixion of Christ. In the Orthodox its image intertwined with Mokosha, a pagan deity, also a patroness of fields and cattle, which also was dedicated to Friday.

Occurrence Butovo

Paraskeva Temple Friday in Butovo is one of the many religious sites dedicated to this martyr on the territory of Moscow. The church has a rich history, which began three hundred years before the emergence around the huge region of North Butovo. Since XVII in Russia, there was the concept of "village", which is a very small settlement, literally in a few yards. But the chapel must necessarily have been included in its composition. Such a villager in five households - 3 peasant and 2 bobyl, that is, without any land allotments, and there was Butovo, which was owned by the deacon Samoylov. It arose on the site of the burnt down village of the landowners Shcherbatov, who owned these lands since the XV century.

Chapel, church, temple

In their estate was a wooden church, which also burned down during the Polish-Lithuanian invasion - in 1612. After decades, namely in 1694, a new stone church was consecrated here, built in a new Russian style according to the design of the architect Blagoveshchensky. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa's temple in Butovo was not large, and in the 18th century a chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin was added to it. Now here could be up to 400 believers. In 1903-1904 the church was renewed. Nearby, in the village of Znamenskoe Sadki, the estate of the princes of Trubetskoy, there was also a church, but it did not survive. Together, these two religious buildings were united in one parish, then separated.

The name of the temple Paraskeva Pyatnitsa in Butovo received from the roadside chapel, many of which since ancient times were named after this saint, and she was popular in Russia in pre-Mongol times. How else, after all, did she patronize the traveler and the merchant! Her icon in a glassed-in kiot, such a peculiar chapel, is in our time from the outside of the temple. The church is very beautiful. It, along with the temples dedicated to this saint, erected in ancient Chernigov and Smolensk and preserved to this day, are monuments of architecture. The grave of the late rector Nicholas of Epiphany is not far from the altar, on the east side.

Years of hard times

On the temple of Paraskeva Friday in Butovo, all the hardships of the 30s came to an end, when churches and their ministers were destroyed. It was closed, defiled and plundered. Then in it for many years there were warehouses, sewing workshops, and later the church burned down completely. Ruined, without windows, doors and roofs, it began to rebuild in the 90 years by the forces of the community, which was transferred, and in 1998 the church was consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow. Believers brought icons, donations were ordered new. When there was not a huge residential district of Northern Butovo, on this place there were several villages - Kiovo, Bitsa, Kachalovo. Therefore, the church of Friday in Butovo has another name, so to speak, a synonym - the temple of Paraskeva Friday in Kachalovo.

It is very popular with the local population, but it is small. Therefore, in this area is planned the construction of a new large religious building, named after the Prophet Elijah.

New trends

Among the elders of the temple are people who were in the past and a sea captain, both military and children's doctor. Maybe this affects the active church life of the temple. He has a Sunday school, whose students, along with the study of religion, take part in sports competitions. The temple provides effective assistance to orphanages, is engaged in the rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug addicts.

Among the shrines of the temple there are such rarities as the icon of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina (Georgian saint), the icon of the Mother of God "The Inexhaustible Chalice", the icon of Seraphim of Swarovski.