Published on: 2026-09-11
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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The first stage of the comprehensive restoration of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word with the Nikolsky chapel at the Krutitsy Metochion in Moscow has been completed. Specialists have restored the first floor and the basement — the cellar. This unique architectural monument dating from the late 15th to 17th centuries is located on Krutitskaya Street (building 17, structure 2). The church served as the private home cross church of the bishops of Sarsk and Podonsk.
“The Resurrection Cross House Church with the Nikolsky Chapel is part of the Krutitsy Metochion ensemble, whose history began at the end of the 13th century. The main part of the church was built in 1498, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings here. During the first phase of the restoration, specialists strengthened the foundations, waterproofed the walls and pillars, and restored the white-stone and brick masonry of the first floor and basement. The sarcophagi of the bishops were also restored, and based on archival photographs and using preserved fragments, four commemorative white-stone plaques on the walls of the crypt were reconstructed. After the work is fully completed, it is planned to place archaeological finds in the crypt of the church: tombstones, details of room furnishings and building decor, tiles, and other ceramics previously found on the Metochion grounds during research,” noted the head of the city’s Department of Cultural Heritage.
In the basement, specialists recreated a cylindrical brick vault, installed floors and steps made of natural stone. In the rooms of the northern gallery of the temple, they restored the wooden balcony around the perimeter of the bishops’ burial chamber and the viewing bridge with railing. Additionally, they installed water supply, heating, fire alarm, and video surveillance systems.
All work was carried out based on the agreed project documentation, the issued permit, and under supervision Mosgornasledie.
From the wooden church to the Cross Chamber
The history of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word began at the end of the 13th century when the Moscow prince Daniil, son of Alexander Nevsky, ordered the construction of a wooden church here for bishops arriving from the distant capital of the Golden Horde — Sarai. Later, during the reign of Ivan II, the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos was established on this site. Over time, in 1454, when the Horde’s power weakened, the Sarai bishopric permanently moved to Moscow, to Krutitsy. The church became a cathedral. Here, in the white-stone basement, bishops found their final refuge — Euthymius, Tryphon, and in 1516 Bishop Dosifey laid the foundation for a new stone Assumption Cathedral on the old basement, with a St. Nicholas chapel and an episcopal crypt.
The next transformation awaited the church in the 17th century. In 1672, Metropolitan Pavel II began a grand renovation. He turned the old Assumption Cathedral into the Cross Chamber for the ordination ceremony of priests, and in the chapel he established a house cross Nikola Church. Thus, in the courtyard appeared that very church which was destined to become the Resurrection Church. The bishop’s house was surrounded by a stone wall with towers, and a Dutch garden was also laid out. In the mid-18th century, Bishop Illarion added to the Nikola chapel, and in 1765 Bishop Ambrose carried out a radical reconstruction. The Cross Chamber made way for a new church, which was consecrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. The facades were decorated with Baroque stucco and tall arched windows, and a dome with a cross appeared above the roof.
However, in 1788 the diocese was abolished, and the buildings were handed over for use as warehouses and archives. The fire of 1812 did not spare Krutitsy either: the wooden floors were burned to the ground. The church began to be dismantled, and only the personal order of Emperor Alexander I saved it from complete destruction. In the mid-19th century, the building was adapted for use as a military warehouse. In the 1930s, a third floor was added, new windows were installed, and it was turned into a communal residential building for the military. Only the white stone details hidden behind plaster reminded of its former grandeur. In the 1970s, almost all the monuments of the Krutitsy compound were freed from non-core uses and handed over for study and restoration.
Currently, the Krutitskoye Compound ensemble, together with the Resurrection Church, regularly attracts filmmakers. Here, in the authentic atmosphere of medieval Moscow, many well-known historical films and series have been shot.
Photographic materials and other information about the cultural heritage of the capital are also available in the “Cultural Heritage of Moscow” section on the city Mosfoto media bank.
To learn how the capital has changed in recent years, what initiatives aimed at making city life even more comfortable are currently being implemented, and what awaits Moscow and its residents in the near future, you can find out in a large-scale special project on on the mos.ru portal, dedicated to the development of key sectors of Moscow. These include transport, industry, healthcare, education, sports, and the construction sector.
On the page “Architecture and Construction” information is presented about the large-scale renovation of the capital over the past 16 years. Here you can learn about the development of roads and rail framework stations, as well as the creation of transfer hubs. Special attention is given to renovation program, and it also talks about the restoration of iconic landmarks of the capital, in particular the House of Culture «GES-2», the Northern River Terminal, and VDNH.
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