SANCTUARY OF THE TEMPLE OF ST. NICHOLAS IN KOTELNIKI

Particles of the relics of the holy martyrs Princess Lyudmilaand Prince Vyacheslav of Czech

The great patron saints of the Czech lands, the holy martyr Lyudmila and the holy prince Vyacheslav of Bohemia, were venerated in Rus' already in the 10th century. Nowadays, the fame and veneration of the great prayer book Princess Lyudmila and her grandson Prince Vyacheslav is growing.

Our temple stores the only ones in Moscow particles of the holy relics of the holy martyrs Lyudmila and Vyacheslav of Czech. They were brought to Moscow by His Beatitude Metropolitan Dorotheos in 1999 and were donated to the Russian Orthodox Church by the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. By decision of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the holy relics were left in the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotelniki for the prayerful veneration of believers.

Saint Lyudmila is revered as a quick-to-hear, which means that she quickly responds to prayers to her. Often parishioners tell how prayer to Saint Lyudmila helped them cope with problems in life.

Recently, a reliquary with a holy particle of the holy martyr Lyudmila was installed in the temple for permanent access of believers. Currently, funds are being raised for the second reliquary, where the relics of St. Vyacheslav, Prince of Czech, and other saints will be kept

Akathists Saints Lyudmila and Vyacheslav of Czech are read on Wednesdays in our church according to.

Memorial Days:

The Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyr, Blessed Princess Lyudmila of Czechoslovakia is celebrated by the Church on September 16/29.

The memory of the holy martyr Vyacheslav is celebrated by the Church on March 4/17 and September 28/October 11.

A piece of the holy relics of St. Nicholas, Archbishop Myra of Lycia

Gift to the Temple of His Eminence Archbishop George of Michalovsko-Kosice.

There is probably not a single Orthodox believer who does not know about the miracles performed by St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Amazing words about the help of the great saint were spoken by Archpriest Alexy Uminsky during the Patronal Feast in our Temple: “ It is Saint Nicholas that we call “quick to hear.” And, indeed, there is probably no saint as close and quick to help as Nicholas the Wonderworker. As soon as the heart begins to truly deeply cry out to him, St. Nicholas is next to us. He hears very well, he is very sensitive to us. His heart is open to us. Every moment of his life was such that he listened to human grief, listened to human misfortune.»

In the fall of 2015, one of the most revered icons of our church, the icon of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker, received a new vestment to the joy of all believers. For the icon, dating back to the 18th century, a precious frame was created with gold crowns, which the jewelers made from gifts donated to the icon by our parishioners (gold crosses, rings, chains). The frame is decorated with gems.

The image is decorated with a tsata - a special silver pendant in which the holy piece of the relics of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra of Lycia, Wonderworker. Every believer can venerate the holy relics at any time.

Akathists to St. Nicholas is read every Thursday according to.

Memorial Days:

July 29 (August 11) - Nativity of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia.

Icon of the Mother of God Feodorovskaya

An amazing story is connected with the icon of the Mother of God of Feodorovskaya. Today, this is the only holy image that was in the Temple before the 1917 revolution and has survived to this day.It was preserved with God’s help by the daughter of the last rector of the temple before its closure, Irina Nikolaevna Chertkova. Her father, Archpriest Nikolai Feoktistovich Chertkov, served in St. Nicholas Church for more than 30 years. It is known that the priest went to the Lord on the night when the security officers were supposed to arrest him.

Risking their lives and freedom during the times of iconoclasm, the priest’s family preserved the holy image of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God until the 90s of the 20th century. When the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotelniki began to be revived, Irina Nikolaevna transferred the icon back to the temple.

Days of HonoraboutTimes of the Virgin Mary "Feodorovskaya":

Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan

Many parishioners, upon entering the temple, first of all go to bow before a small icon with a face darkened by time. This is the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. It was once discovered at the site of a burnt house. According to eyewitnesses, after the fire not a single object remained intact, and only the holy image lay untouched. The icon was transferred to our church, and it is one of the revered shrines.

Days of veneration:

October 22 / November 4 – celebration in honor of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God

Icon with a particle of the holy relics of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara

Icon of the Great Martyr Barbara with a particle of holy relics

On March 8, 2015, the icon of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara with a particle of the saint’s relics was in our Temple. The Lord gave the Great Martyr Barbara a special gift - prayers and intercessions for a person’s last communion. In her dying prayer, the Holy Great Martyr Barbara asked the Lord to save everyone who resorted to her help from unexpected troubles, from sudden death without repentance, and to pour out His grace on them.

Day of veneration:

Icon with particles of the relics of the holy prince

Icon of the Holy Blessed Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom Wonderworkers, kept in our Temple

Particles of the holy relics of the holy faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom Wonderworkers were donated to the Temple by His Beatitude Metropolitan Christopher.

The life of the holy faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia is an example of love and fidelity, patience and wisdom; an example of the life that is available only to people who are pure in heart and humble in God. The icon with a particle of the holy faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom Wonderworkers is kept in our church.

Celebration:

Peter and Princess Fevronia of Murom Wonderworkers

Icon with a particle of holy relics light. Nectarios of Aegina

Saint icon Nectarios of Aegina with a particle of St. relics of the saint

Our church is one of the few in Moscow that houses an icon with a particle of holy relics Saint Nektarios of Aegina. The icon was donated to the Church of St. Nicholas in Kotelniki by Archbishop George of Michalovsko-Koshice.

Saint Nektarios is one of the most revered (modern) Greek saints. He reposed in the Lord in 1920 and was canonized in 1961 in Greece. He is revered everywhere as a renowned miracle worker, as an ambulance in troubles and illnesses. Through the prayers of Saint Nektarios, countless miracles of healing were performed. In Greece there is even a saying: “Nothing is incurable for Saint Nektarios.”

Our Temple also contains icons with particles of holy relics Great Martyr George the Victorious, Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon.

The Church of St. Ludmila (Kostel svaté Ludmily) is located in the central part on Peace Square. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Church and is a majestic structure built in the early North German Gothic style.

What is the church famous for?

The Church of St. Lyudmila was founded in 1888, it was consecrated 5 years later. The church was built according to the design of Joseph Motzkert. The most famous artists, sculptors and architects living at that time took part in the construction and arrangement of the church.

The church amazes parishioners and tourists with its grandeur and decoration. It still works today. Religious ceremonies are often held here, and services are held almost every day. At this time, an organ consisting of 3000 pipes plays in the church.

Who is the temple dedicated to?

The Church of St. Ludmila in Prague received its name in honor of the first Christian woman in the state, who was canonized in the 12th century. She lived in the 9th century, led the country together with her son Vratislav and died as a martyr for her religious beliefs. She was strangled with a veil during prayer, so on the icons she is depicted in a white scarf.

In the memory of the townspeople, Saint Lyudmila remained a wise ruler who lived according to the canons of the church and cared for the disadvantaged and sick people. Today she is the patroness of the Czech Republic, the intercessor of grandmothers, mothers, teachers and educators.

Church facade

The Church of St. Lyudmila is a brick three-nave basilica, flanked on either side by 2 identical bell towers. They reach a height of 60 m, and are crowned with sharp spiers. The church seems to rush upward. This idea is also emphasized by pointed arches elongated to the top.

The facade of the building is decorated with multi-colored stained glass windows and carved details, emphasizing the religious and cult themes of the architectural building. The main entrance to the Church of St. Lyudmila is crowned by massive doors, which are decorated with strict ornaments. A high staircase leads to them.

Above the portal there is a large window made in the shape of a rose. The tympanum is decorated with a relief image of Jesus Christ blessing Saints Wenceslas and Lyudmila. Its author is the famous sculptor Josef Myslbek. On the fronts and side aisles there are figures of great martyrs who patronized the Czech Republic in various eras.

Church interior

The interior decoration of the Church of St. Lyudmila is decorated in a bright and solemn style. Such famous masters as:

• Antonin Prochazka – sculptor;
• František Jenišek and Josef Capek – painters;
• Antonin Turek is an artist.

Floral designs were applied to the ceiling vaults, and the snow-white columns were decorated with trim in the form of ethnic and geometric patterns, as well as crosses. The walls are decorated with pointed semi-arches and bright frescoes. Gold, orange and blue tones were used for them.

The main altar of the church is decorated with precious stones and has a height of 16 m. There is a crucifix and a sculpture of St. Lyudmila on it. There is also a fresco here depicting scenes from the life of the great martyr.

The side altars, created according to the design of Štěpan Zaleshak, also deserve the attention of visitors. On the left is a statue of the Virgin Mary with a baby in her arms, 6 patrons of the Czech Republic bending over it. On the right side of the temple you can see a double sculpture of Saints Methodius and Cyril.

How to get there?

The Church of St. Ludmila is located in the area. You can get here by bus No. 135 or by trams No. 51, 22, 16, 13, 10 and 4. The stop is called Náměstí Míru, and the journey takes up to 10 minutes.

Hello dear readers. The Church of St. Ludmila in Prague was built and decorated by the most famous sculptors and artists of the Czech Republic at the end of the 19th century. Therefore, you can imagine how outstanding this church turned out to be. It still works today. One of the most famous buildings in the city.

Administrative district Prague 2. Historical.

The Church of St. Ludmila (Kostel svaté Ludmily) is an example of neo-Gothic architecture, located on Mira Square, Vinohrady district.

It was built in 1888-1892 according to a project prepared by Yosef Motzker.

The parish church was built in honor of the first Czech saint - Lyudmila.

Lyudmila was born in the 9th century into the family of princes Pshovanov. Having converted to Christianity after marriage, she and her husband began building churches and conducting missionary activities. According to some reports, Lyudmila was educated and spoke foreign languages.

After her husband's death, she gave away her fortune to the poor and then continued raising her children alone.

When her youngest son ascended the throne, she helped him in many ways.

After his death, Lyudmila’s 18-year-old grandson Vaclav came to power.

Vaclav’s own mother was not a Christian and fiercely hated Lyudmila for her son’s Christian upbringing. She orchestrated a conspiracy, as a result of which Lyudmila was strangled with her veil during prayer.

Saint Lyudmila was canonized in the 12th century.

Church

Now let's return to the temple itself. It is interesting that on the site of this building there were previously buildings of a completely different kind: there was a menagerie and a circus.

In addition to Yosef Motzker himself, the construction and decoration of the church was carried out by: J.V. Myslbek, J. Capek, A. Prochazka, F. Jeniszek. Myslbek's hand belongs to two famous sculptures decorating the façade of the building - the statue of St. Wenceslas and St. Ludmila.

The main altar of the temple was created by Antonin Turek.

In 1893, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Prague.

A colossal amount of almost 370 thousand guilders was spent on the construction of this structure.

Moreover, only a smaller part of this money was allocated by the government; the rest was collected from contributions from citizens and the city of Vinohrady.

Bells

On the towers of the temple there are four bells with the names Vaclav, Prokop, Vojtech, Lyudmila.

During the First World War, bells were used for military purposes, and only one funeral bell remained at the church. From frequent use it soon cracked.

By 1925, a fundraiser was organized to build five new bells. They were consecrated that same year. The new bells are dedicated to the same saints as their predecessors.

Nowadays, concerts, fairs and charity sales are periodically held in the temple area. You can visit the building during services.

Features of architecture and interior

This church is a neo-Gothic pseudo-basilica with two towers, each of which has two bells and ends with sharp spiers.

The tympanum of the central portal is decorated with a relief depicting Christ blessing St. Wenceslas.

Also, the main facade is decorated with figures of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Prokop and Vojtech.

A massive staircase leads to the main entrance.

The inside of the church is no less magnificent.

The stained glass windows here are painted by famous artists. They depict saints.

The department was created by carver J. Zika. It is decorated with sculptures by A. Prochazka.

The walls of the main nave are replete with frescoes.

The 16-meter altar is decorated with precious stones. Next to it is a fresco with episodes from Lyudmila’s life.

The side altars also deserve special attention.

• The left one is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the patron saints of the Czech Republic.
• Right - Cyril and Methodius, Lyudmila Czech, her husband.

The temple also has an organ consisting of 3 thousand pipes.

Working hours

You can visit the temple only during services.

Website: www.ludmilavinohrady.cz

How to get there

• By tram
  No. 16, 22, 51, 59 to the Náměstí Míru stop.
• Metro
  To Náměstí Míru station.

Address: Náměstí Míru, Prague 2

Church of St. Lyudmila on the map

We wish you a variety of routes. Thank you for reading us. Goodbye!

Holy Martyr LYUDMILA OF CZECH (†921)

Nowhere are there so many women bearing the glorious holy name - Lyudmila, as we have in Russia. Even in the Czech Republic, the homeland of the great saint, her name is almost forgotten.

Saint Ludmila was born in 860 into the family of the Serbian prince Slavibor. Very young, she was married off to a land that was distant at that time - to the Czech Republic, to Prince Borivoj from the Přemyslid family. The marriage of Lyudmila and Borivoy marked the beginning of the process of uniting the tribes on
territory of the present Czech Republic. According to a number of documents, the young princess was educated and knew several languages, including Greek and Latin.

At that time, both she and the young prince were pagans, but they soon met the great enlightener, Methodius. Apparently, this creator of Slavic writing, translator of Greek, Aramaic, Latin and other languages ​​made a great impression on the princely couple, and in 882, in his presence, they received the sacrament of baptism in Great Moravia, in the Velehrad temple. Upon returning to the Czech Republic, the young couple erected the first Christian church on their land in honor of St. Clement in Levy Hradec. Having been baptized together, the pious spouses contributed to the spread of Orthodoxy in the Czech lands: they built churches in their principality and invited priests to perform divine services in them. During the reign of Borivoj and Lyudmila, a second Christian church was built in the Czech land in honor of the Most Pure Mother of God.

The couple had two sons and four (according to some sources - one) daughters, whom they raised in the fear of God. Prince Borivoy died early, at the age of 36, leaving a young 29-year-old princess as a widow. The eldest son of the princely couple, Spitignev, also did not live long, and the youngest son Vratislav ascended the throne. In fact, the state was ruled for a long time by his mother Lyudmila, who remained in people's memory as a wise ruler. The princess led a righteous life, contributed to the spread of Christianity in the Czech Republic, and helped the sick and disadvantaged.

But paganism still lived among the inhabitants of the Czech Republic, and it was especially strongly preserved among the neighboring Polabian Slavs. Unfortunately, the work of German Romanism not only did not bring the local Slavs closer to Christianity, but on the contrary fueled in them a strong hostility against it. Prince's wife Vratislava Dragomira was born a princess of Braniboro-Stoderanska. Latin legends call Dragomira a pagan, but this seems very doubtful. It could not be that in such a deeply Christian family as the family of Prince Borivoy, the wife of a Christian prince was not baptized. But there is no doubt that she was not a sincere Christian, she was proud and evil, and out of pride she valued everything Slavic, including pagan life. The hatred of Christianity, fostered in the Polabian Slavs by the cruelties of German missionaries and rulers, also appeared in her.

They had two sons - Vyacheslav and Boleslav, who were not at all like one another: Vyacheslav, in character and deeds, resembled his good father, who patronized the Christian faith; Boleslav reflected the qualities of the wicked Dragomira. Prince Vratislav entrusted the upbringing of Vyacheslav, who by right of primacy should have inherited the throne, to his pious mother, Saint Lyudmila. Dragomira was involved in raising Boleslav.

Hating her mother-in-law, Princess Dragomira did not dare to do anything serious against her during her husband’s lifetime. Blessed Lyudmila, despite all the machinations of her daughter-in-law, kept her grandson Vyacheslav in the Christian law. Feeling the approach of death, Prince Vratislav wanted to establish young Vyacheslav on the ancestral throne during his lifetime. He called all his eminent princes, the bishop and the church clergy to the cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God and, after the Divine Liturgy, elevated the youth to the steps of the altar, where the bishop blessed young Vyacheslav.

In 921, Prince Vratislav died, and power passed into the hands of the minor youth Vyacheslav (Vaclav or Wenceslav). The Sejm of the Czech Republic issued a decree according to which Dragomira, Wenceslas's mother, was appointed regent of the country. Lyudmila, his grandmother, was entrusted with the upbringing and education of her grandson.

The saint raised her grandson Wenceslas in the Christian faith, taught him the German language, and translated the Holy Scriptures from Latin and Greek with him. However, Dragomira was dissatisfied with this, who tried to oust Christian traditions from the consciousness of the Czech people. She brought bad people and even pagans, of whom there were many still in the principality, closer to her. She began to abolish the orders that were introduced by Borivoj and Vratislav to weaken paganism, and idolatry temples began to be built throughout the Czech Republic.

Saint Lyudmila openly expressed her dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law. In Dragomira's soul, power-hungry ambitions were intertwined with pagan madness, as a result of which Dragomira planned to kill her mother-in-law. Following the word of Scripture - to avoid all evil, Saint Lyudmila left the capital for the city of Tetin, where she began to lead her life in prayer, handicrafts and charity. But the vengeful Dragomira found her here too.

Two assassins were sent by her to the princely court in Tetin. On the night of September 15-16 Having broken down the doors of the palace, they burst into Lyudmila while she was praying in her home chapel. “Do you remember my good deeds?”- said the good princess. Lyudmila, seeing that they wanted to strangle her, asked to hit her with a sword in order to shed blood for Christ together with the martyrs. But the killers, knowing that the shedding of blood among Christians was an indispensable condition for recognition of martyrdom, strangled the princess. Presumably, the princess's veil, which later became her symbol, was used as a murder weapon. The soul of the martyr went to the eternal villages, and her body was buried without a church funeral under the city wall of Tetin.

N Oh, the Lord glorified the burial place of his saint with many miracles: every night burning candles appeared over that place. One blind man received his sight when he touched the ground from the grave of Saint Lyudmila. Hearing about such miraculous signs, the grandson of St. Lyudmila Vyacheslav carried out the transfer of her relics to Prague and placed them in the Basilica of St. George (Czech: St. George) at Prague Castle, where they rest to this day. Later, her holy head was separated from her body and now she is kept in a golden helmet along with other great Czech relics in the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Hradcany - the main temple of the Czech Republic, built by the grandson of St. Ludmila - Wenceslas the Saint (Or rather, St. Wenceslas began to build it, but soon died and was buried in one of the temple premises).

Vyacheslav, who was grieving the loss of his grandmother, succumbed to the sly advice of the boyars, expelled his mother, Dragomira, to the city of Budech. But soon the prince, raised by Saint Lyudmila in Christian traditions, remembering the commandment to honor parents, repented and realized that he had not
has the right to judge his mother, called her back to the capital and surrounded her with respectful care and love. Dragomira's hardened heart was touched by the kindness of her Christian son, she saw with a new spiritual gaze the entire horror of the crime committed to her, and as a repentant sinner she returned to the faith of Christ. “Love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12), having understood this truth, Dragomira became a faithful assistant to Saint Vyacheslav in matters of state and in matters of piety.

Saint Ludmila, the first Czech saint and martyr, became the patroness of her native land (often called “matka české země”), and she is also considered the patroness of grandmothers, mothers and Christian educators and teachers. Her statue is installed on the Charles Bridge, among the sculptures of the most revered Czech saints. Her image also takes pride of place on the pedestal of the monument to St. Wenceslas, installed in the very center of Prague, on Wenceslas Square. It is no coincidence that at the end of the 19th century, when the process of gaining national independence for the Czech Republic began, the huge Cathedral of St. Ludmila was built in Prague, in the construction and design of which almost all famous Czech cultural figures took part.

Just as Saint Princess Olga converted her grandson Prince Vladimir to the faith, so in the Czech Republic, only a century earlier, Saint Lyudmila raised her grandson Vyacheslav in the Christian faith. It is no coincidence that the memory of Saints Lyudmila and Vyacheslav in Rus' was already honored under Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and his sons.

Today the Catholic basilica of st. George in Prague , where the relics of St. Lyudmila, became a museum. Access to the saint's tomb is possible only during services, which are performed extremely rarely. However, if you bring flowers for the saint, then the forged doors of the chapel ( in our opinion - a chapel) Saint Lyudmila is opened, and you can go and venerate the shrine, where an Orthodox lamp is glowing.

In Moscow in Church of St. Nicholas in Kotelniki (Metochion of the Czech Lands and Slovakia) there is a reliquary with a particle of the relics of St. Lyudmila. Annually September 29 On the day of remembrance of the saint, a solemn service is held here and many Lyudmila gather from all over Moscow and its environs to honor the memory of their heavenly patroness.

Troparion, tone 4
Having left the darkness of idolatry and with ardent love accepting the light of the Orthodox faith of Christ, you, Saint Lyudmila, appeared like the morning star, and with the light of your holiness began the true day of worship of God in the Honors of the earth.

Kontakion, tone 4
You shone brightly in your suffering, passion-bearer, covered with your blood, and like a red dove you flew to the sky, Lyudmila, pray in the same way for those who honor you.

Prayer to the Martyr Lyudmila, Princess of Bohemia
Oh, holy saint of Christ, martyr Princess Lyudmila, first saint of the Czech country and adornment of the capital city of Prague, warm prayer book for us before God! Behold, we, who have committed many sins, humbly fall down and pray to you: do not let us perish in the mire of our sins, but offer up a prayer for us to the Lord, that He may have mercy on us and grant us repentance. Oh, blessed mother Lyudmila! Do not forget to visit your children, even if you passed away from us to the Heavenly Abode, together with your grandson, the holy martyr Vyacheslav. Moreover, his holy mother, ask us, sinners, for God’s blessing on our children and on all of us, and we, who have sinned greatly, will thank the Lord for the gift of His grace and together with you, let us glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your great intercession about us forever and ever. A min.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills