Holy Trinity Church in Sheets
The first written mention of the Holy Trinity Church dates to 1635. According to the most popular source, the name “in Sheets” was given to the church because workers of the Moscow Print Yard used to sell their goods — “sheets” — not far from the church, hanging them on its fence. The church occupied the land of the Streltsy (shooters) settlement dating from the 1630s.
In the 1650s, a stone church was built near the wooden one. To this end, Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich donated 150 thousand bricks, as well as holy pictures, royal doors and a silver chalice. The church was topped with five domes on the graceful drums with windows and was consecrated in 1661.
Built as a regiment church of the Streltsy, it has always been under the patronage of the House of Romanov. Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich awarded the local Streltsy for taking part in the suppression of Stepan Razin’s rebellion and for the participation in the Chigirinsky campaign in 1677 – 1678 and Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich made a rich contribution to the Holy Trinity Church. The Church became perceived as a monument of military glory.
In 1679 – 1682, the Streltsy regiment was commanded by Semyon Griboyedov whose abuse of office in 1682 provoked a rebellion among the Streltsy. In 1683 – 1695, the commander of the regiment was Lavrenty Sukharev, Peter I’s stolnik (palace servant). His regiment was the first to unhesitatingly take the side of Peter when the Streltsy attempted to elevate Tsarevna Sophia to the throne in 1689 during the Tsar’s traveling to Europe as part of the Grand Embassy. For the capture of one of Sophia’s supporters Fyodor Shaklovity, Peter I reportedly awarded the Streltsy of Sukharev’s regiment 700 rubles to restore a dome on the Trinity Church that was hit by a fire.
In 1699, the Church began to be maintained at the expense of the state. In 1704, the Tsar decreed to grant it the status of Admiralty and Parish Church of the Navigation School — Russia’s first artillery, engineering and naval school situated near the Sukharev Tower, which was named after Sukharev’s regiment.
A three-level stone bell tower with a spire in Classicism style was built in 1788 (by architect Semyon Karin).
The Church was closed in 1930 and was used for economic purposes. The domes were dismantled and the bell tower was demolished in 1957.
The building is a monument of federal significance. Its restoration began in 1972 and was completed in 1990 when it was also decided to return the Church to the eparchy. The Church has been holding regular services since 1991.
