Old Believers' Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin

About museum

The Intercession Church is an excellent example of Russian architectural style of the early 20th century. It resembles the village chapels of the Russian North and the posad (town) churches of Moscow and Yaroslavl of the 17th century. The building's façades are decorated with kokoshniks, window surrounds and portals. The slender and elegant tent-roof bell tower gives the church entrance a special charm. A characteristic feature of this prayer building is the absence of an altar apse, since the Fedoseevtsy Old Believers do not celebrate the Divine Liturgy and do not have priests. The church interior was fitted out with icons and oak furnishings made by craftsmen of the Tiniakov iconostasis workshop in Kaluga. All decorative and structural elements are merged into a unified whole. The dark wood of the iconostases and the style of the icon paintings, together with the restrained use of gilding, create an atmosphere of devotion. Until 1987 the local community of Fedoseevtsy Old Believers conducted services in the church. After that the church was transferred to the museum's administration.