Saint Clement

The lighting and colours in this image enhanced by the rain today.  This is the beautiful St Clement's Church, built between 1762 and 1769, and one of two Orthodox churches in Moscow dedicated to a Roman Pope, St Clement I.  In its day, it was reportedly one of the poorer parishes in Moscow.

The church was looted in 1922 by the Soviet authorities as part of a wider initiative to seize and sell off church valuables to pay for food imports.  It was closed in 1929 and somewhat lucky to escape demolition.  It was subsequently handed to the Lenin State Library to store its books and was handed back to the Orthodox Church only in 2008.

The gate is a restoration - the original one having been demolished to make way for a small park - that was apparently the compromise that saved the rest of the church. The ancient graveyard on the side of the church was also demolished and an underground public toilet installed.  This is what it looked like prior to the 1917 Revolution.  And here - in disrepair in the 1990s.  Fascinating old photos.  More here.