Church of Saint Michael, Federal cultural heritage church in Saltykovka, Russia.
The Church of Saint Michael is a Moscow Baroque building in Saltykovka featuring detailed wall decorations and domed roof structures. Inside, the layout follows Orthodox church traditions with an iconostasis and altar area.
The first mention of a Church of Saint Michael here dates from 1646, when the village belonged to the boyar Vasily Streshnev. Prince Yuri Dolgorukov, who bought the estate in 1651, replaced the decayed wooden church in 1676–1677; the Dolgorukovs used it as their burial vault. The stone church was begun after 1748 on the request of Prince Alexander Dolgorukov, was nearly finished with its bell tower in 1773, and was rebuilt by 1789, when the side chapels of the lower church were dismantled.
The village was renamed Arkhangelskoye under the Dolgorukovs, whose family tree traced to Prince Michael of Chernigov and whose coat of arms bore the Archangel Michael. The church served as their burial vault for ten generations, including governor Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgorukov. Its five-tier iconostasis holds icons from the building period, with rocaille carving and gilded applied ornament.
The church is best reached by taking the suburban train from Moscow to Saltykovka station and then walking a short distance through the neighborhood. Visitors should know that worship services happen at certain times, which may affect access to the building.
The church kept its pre-revolutionary icons, liturgical vessels and interior furnishings intact through the Soviet period, when it never closed. Its first stone church was begun after Prince Alexander Dolgorukov's 1748 petition, and the old wooden church burned down in 1770. The building was completed in 1773 and rebuilt in 1789, when the side chapels in the lower church were dismantled.
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