Saints Joachim and Anne Church, Orthodox church in Mozhaysk, Russia
Saints Joachim and Anne Church is an Orthodox house of worship in Mozhaysk with classical Russian ecclesiastical design, built as part of a monastery complex. The structure displays typical features of its period through its stonework and architectural detailing.
A Joachim and Anne monastery was first recorded in a 1504 charter as an old boundary, and scholars place its founding in the early 15th century. Its main church, rebuilt in brick in the 19th century, kept the north wall of a white-stone building of the late 14th century. The present church was built in 1867–1871 to a design by Kazimir Grinevsky, and its bell tower was finished by 1892.
The church is dedicated to Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, called Bogoottsy (Godfathers) in the Orthodox tradition. In 2013 the parish received relics of the saints, and since then an akathist has been sung to them every Thursday. The north side chapel, dedicated to Leonty of Rostov, has been mentioned since the late 16th century.
The church stands in Mozhaysk, Moscow Oblast, at the site of the former Ioakimo-Annenky Monastery. Services continue in the newer part of the building, while the older section houses the parish school. Since 2013 an akathist to Saints Joachim and Anne has been sung every Thursday; visitors should time their visit around services.
The north wall of the 14th-century white-stone church survives inside the later building, and the former Leonty side chapel was topped in the 1770s with a round-domed bell rotunda, making this a rare church "under the bell".
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