St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Moscow
Encyclopedia
St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Moscow is the sole Anglican church in Moscow, and one of only three in Russia. It continues the tradition of Anglican
worship in Moscow
that started in 1553 when Tsar Ivan the Terrible
first allowed the English merchants of the Russia Company
permission to worship according to their own beliefs. The Russia Company, now operating mainly for charitable purposes, continues to financially support the Anglican Church in Moscow through the congregation of St Andrew's.
The current church building dates from 1883 and the parsonage from 1894. During the October Revolution
in 1917 the church tower was used as a machine gun
post by the Bolshevik
s. The church was confiscated in 1920 and the chaplain expelled from Russia. During Soviet rule the church and parsonage were used as a hostel for girls and to house diplomats from Finland
and Estonia
. Starting in 1964 the state record company Melodiya
used the church as a recording studio. Services returned on July 15, 1991 and during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II
on October 19, 1994, the Russian government agreed to return the building to religious use. Melodiya vacated the premises in 2001.
, and from records sent to the Bishop of London.
The first Anglican worship in Moscow may have been held in the Old English Yard, now on Varvarka Street
, the center of the Russia Company in Moscow. The first English church building in Russia was probably built in Arkhangelsk
in the 17th century, with its chaplain serving both Arkhangelsk and Moscow from 1705. In 1754, with most foreigners in Russia residing in the new capital, St. Petersburg, the Moscow congregation was served by the chaplain from St. Petersburg. Services were probably held in the Reformed Church in Moscow’s German Quarter
.
Sometime after the city burnt in 1812, services were held on Tverskaya Street
in the palace of Princess Anne Aleksandrovna Golitsina
. From 1817-18 services were held in the home of the British Ambassador, Earl Cathcart. British, German, and French Protestants all attended the services about this time. In 1825, the Russia Company established an independent chaplaincy in Moscow, and Tsar Alexander I
, in one of his last official acts, approved the establishment of a church on September 7. A chapel was opened, or perhaps re-opened, on Tverskaya Street in November 1825 with 100 of 400 British residents attending. The Russia Company provided 200 pounds to renovate the building, which sat 200 people, with an additional 100 pounds promised annually. The annual expenses were estimated at 4750 rubles. The Rev. Charles Barton (or Burlton) was appointed by the Russia Company as chaplain in 1825 and the British Chapel was built in 1828 on the current site of St. Andrew’s, at 8 Voznesensky (Ascension) Lane.
By the 1880s the congregation had grown and a building larger than the chapel was needed. The Russia Company gave 25,000 rubles and the congregation raised 188,616 rubles to build the church. It was designed by Richard Knill Freeman
, of Bolton
, in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style.
At the time the congregation was evenly divided between supporters of the Church of England
and Scottish dissenter
s who supported the Presbyterian Church of Scotland
. As a compromise, the church was named after St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and the English Book of Common Prayer
was to be used. To further establish St. Andrew’s as a British church, symbols of Scotland (the thistle
), England (the rose
), Ireland (clover
), and Wales (the leek
) are incorporated into the church architecture.
Jonathan Holt Titcomb
, the Bishop of London
's coadjutor for North and Central Europe, consecrated the church on January 13, 1885.
Jane McGill paid for the building of the parsonage in 1894.
In 1904 she founded St. Andrew’s House for indigent governesses and other ladies, on nearby Tverskaya Street.
from advancing toward the Kremlin
. The Bolsheviks were dislodged on October 29, 1917.
According to Herbert North, son of the chaplain “we spent nearly a week in the basement with no light and little food. On emerging from the house at the end of the fighting we found many spent cartridges in the courtyard and two large pools of blood.” .
The church was confiscated in 1920 and the Chaplain, the Rev. Frank North was expelled from Russia to Helsinki
. He served in Helsinki, officially as the Chaplain to Helsinki and Moscow. During the following 71 years, the Helsinki chaplain would occasionally give services at the British Embassy in Moscow.
The church and parsonage were used by the Soviets as a hostel for girls and to house diplomats from Finland
and Estonia
. In 1964 Melodiya took over the church as a recording studio.
Dmitry Shostakovich and Mstislav Rostropovich
both recorded at Melodiya’s St. Andrew's studio.
Following perestroika
, on July 15, 1991, the Helsinki Chaplain, the Rev. Tyler Strand, celebrated the first Eucharist at St. Andrew’s since 1920. Regular services began soon after. The Rev. Canon Chad Coussmaker was appointed permanent Chaplain in 1993. The Rev. Dr Canon Simon Stephens has served as Chaplain since 1999.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the church on October 19, 1994 and agreed with Russian President Boris Yeltsin
that the church would be returned. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
signed the order to return of the property religious use, though in Russia, all religious property is officially state owned, with the congregation only having the right to use the property. Chernomyrdin's order was not immediately effective, with the property re-registered to the state only in January 2008 and Melodiya occupying parts of the property until about 2001.
Every one is welcome to attend St. Andrew's, and the congregation includes people from Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Southern Sudan, Kenya and other countries with an Anglican heritage. Attendance is about 150 each Sunday and about 200 at Christmas and Easter.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
worship in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
that started in 1553 when Tsar Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
first allowed the English merchants of the Russia Company
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...
permission to worship according to their own beliefs. The Russia Company, now operating mainly for charitable purposes, continues to financially support the Anglican Church in Moscow through the congregation of St Andrew's.
The current church building dates from 1883 and the parsonage from 1894. During the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in 1917 the church tower was used as a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
post by the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s. The church was confiscated in 1920 and the chaplain expelled from Russia. During Soviet rule the church and parsonage were used as a hostel for girls and to house diplomats from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. Starting in 1964 the state record company Melodiya
Melodiya
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...
used the church as a recording studio. Services returned on July 15, 1991 and during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on October 19, 1994, the Russian government agreed to return the building to religious use. Melodiya vacated the premises in 2001.
Early history
Some early records are available through the Russia Company archives in London’s GuildhallGuildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
, and from records sent to the Bishop of London.
The first Anglican worship in Moscow may have been held in the Old English Yard, now on Varvarka Street
Slavyanskaya Square
Slavyanskaya Square is the square in the center of Moscow, also known in 1924-1991 as northern side of Nogina Square ; the southern side of former Nogina Square is now called Varvarka Gates Square . These two square separates central Kitai-gorod from eastward Tagansky District...
, the center of the Russia Company in Moscow. The first English church building in Russia was probably built in Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
in the 17th century, with its chaplain serving both Arkhangelsk and Moscow from 1705. In 1754, with most foreigners in Russia residing in the new capital, St. Petersburg, the Moscow congregation was served by the chaplain from St. Petersburg. Services were probably held in the Reformed Church in Moscow’s German Quarter
German Quarter
German Quarter, also known as the Kukuy Quarter was a neighborhood in the northeast of Moscow, located on the right bank of the Yauza River east of Kukuy Creek , within present-day Basmanny District of Moscow....
.
Sometime after the city burnt in 1812, services were held on Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street , known as Gorky Street between 1935 and 1990, is the main and probably best-known radial street of Moscow, Russia. The street runs from the central Manege Square north-west in the direction of Saint Petersburg and terminated at the Garden Ring, giving its name to Tverskoy District...
in the palace of Princess Anne Aleksandrovna Golitsina
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
. From 1817-18 services were held in the home of the British Ambassador, Earl Cathcart. British, German, and French Protestants all attended the services about this time. In 1825, the Russia Company established an independent chaplaincy in Moscow, and Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, in one of his last official acts, approved the establishment of a church on September 7. A chapel was opened, or perhaps re-opened, on Tverskaya Street in November 1825 with 100 of 400 British residents attending. The Russia Company provided 200 pounds to renovate the building, which sat 200 people, with an additional 100 pounds promised annually. The annual expenses were estimated at 4750 rubles. The Rev. Charles Barton (or Burlton) was appointed by the Russia Company as chaplain in 1825 and the British Chapel was built in 1828 on the current site of St. Andrew’s, at 8 Voznesensky (Ascension) Lane.
Richard Knill Freeman
Richard Knill Freeman was a British architect who began his career at Derby and moved to Bolton, Lancashire in the late 1860s. His work, in Victorian Gothic style and typically recalling the Decorated Period of later medieval architecture, can be seen in several cities and towns across the north...
, of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style.
At the time the congregation was evenly divided between supporters of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and Scottish dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
s who supported the Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
. As a compromise, the church was named after St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and the English Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
was to be used. To further establish St. Andrew’s as a British church, symbols of Scotland (the thistle
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
), England (the rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
), Ireland (clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
), and Wales (the leek
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
) are incorporated into the church architecture.
Jonathan Holt Titcomb
Jonathan Holt Titcomb
Jonathan Holt Titcomb was an English clergyman, and the first Anglican bishop of Rangoon.-Education:Jonathan Holt Titcomb was born in London on 29 July, 1819, and educated at Brompton in 1826, and at Clapham from 1827 to 1830. In 1831, he moved to King's College School, from where he went in 1834...
, the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
's coadjutor for North and Central Europe, consecrated the church on January 13, 1885.
Jane McGill paid for the building of the parsonage in 1894.
In 1904 she founded St. Andrew’s House for indigent governesses and other ladies, on nearby Tverskaya Street.
Confiscation and renewal
During the October Revolution Bolsheviks mounted a machine gun post in the church tower to stop troops of the Provisional GovernmentRussian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
from advancing toward the Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
. The Bolsheviks were dislodged on October 29, 1917.
According to Herbert North, son of the chaplain “we spent nearly a week in the basement with no light and little food. On emerging from the house at the end of the fighting we found many spent cartridges in the courtyard and two large pools of blood.” .
The church was confiscated in 1920 and the Chaplain, the Rev. Frank North was expelled from Russia to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. He served in Helsinki, officially as the Chaplain to Helsinki and Moscow. During the following 71 years, the Helsinki chaplain would occasionally give services at the British Embassy in Moscow.
The church and parsonage were used by the Soviets as a hostel for girls and to house diplomats from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. In 1964 Melodiya took over the church as a recording studio.
Dmitry Shostakovich and Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
both recorded at Melodiya’s St. Andrew's studio.
Following perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, on July 15, 1991, the Helsinki Chaplain, the Rev. Tyler Strand, celebrated the first Eucharist at St. Andrew’s since 1920. Regular services began soon after. The Rev. Canon Chad Coussmaker was appointed permanent Chaplain in 1993. The Rev. Dr Canon Simon Stephens has served as Chaplain since 1999.
Queen Elizabeth II visited the church on October 19, 1994 and agreed with Russian President Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
that the church would be returned. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin was the founder and the first chairman of the Gazprom energy company, the longest serving Prime Minister of Russia and Acting President of Russia for a day in 1996. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s, and a great contributor to the Russian...
signed the order to return of the property religious use, though in Russia, all religious property is officially state owned, with the congregation only having the right to use the property. Chernomyrdin's order was not immediately effective, with the property re-registered to the state only in January 2008 and Melodiya occupying parts of the property until about 2001.
Every one is welcome to attend St. Andrew's, and the congregation includes people from Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Southern Sudan, Kenya and other countries with an Anglican heritage. Attendance is about 150 each Sunday and about 200 at Christmas and Easter.