In 1762, the first year of her reign,
Catherine II of Russia opened Russia to settlers of all confessions, excluding
Jews, in particular inviting the Old Believer fugitives, whose spiritual center at that time was based in present-day
Belarus. A group of fugitives who returned to Moscow became the nucleus of future Rogozhskoe community. Moscow Old Believers operated two cemeteries within the city borders – on near Serpukhov Gates, another on the Tverskaya road. After a devastating
plague of 1770–1772 all burials within the city limits were banned; instead, the Crown established new cemeteries well beyond the city border. The new cemetery of Old Believers laid one mile east from city border, between the roads to
Vladimir and
Ryazan, south from the village Novaya Andronovka. Mass graves from the 1771 plague were preserved at Rogozhskoe till the 20th century. In the last quarter of the 18th century, the cemetery became a spiritual center of
popovtsi Old Believers – a denomination that relied on professional,
ordained clergy rather than informal spiritual leaders. By the beginning of the 19th century, popovtsi had built three churches (or chapels). The oldest, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was laid down in 1776 (on the site of present-day Saint Nicholas church of the Orthodox denomination). By the end of
Alexander I reign, the
sloboda around the cemetery grew up into a small town with five
convents; informal leadership of the Cemetery was vested to
Mother Pulcheria (born Pelagea Shevlyukova), and later father Ivan Yastrebov, who gained influence during the
September 1812 for saving treasures of Rogozhskoe from the French troops. The influence of Rogozhskoe clergy grew due to scarcity of Old-Rite clergy in the Russian hinterland; even the basic Old-Rite services, like weddings and confessions, were only available here. As a result, out-of-town pilgrimage quickly multiplied the wealth in Rogozhskoe coffers. Although Old Believers were allowed to build new churches, none of them was a true church from the government standpoint. Rather, they were classified as chapels and thus could not provide the full range of services expected from a church, including Holy
Liturgy – at least, legally. In 1823 Rogozhskoe was hit by the government for the first time: police searched the community, confiscated the
altarpiece donated by
Matvey Platov and shut down all churches. They reopened soon on condition that Old Believers will no longer serve Holy Liturgy.
Nicholas I of Russia increased the pressure, banning ordination of new Old-Rite priests and relocation of existing Old-Rite priests from town to town. As a result, by the 1850s Rogozhskoe clergy shrunk through natural attrition to just three priests and the government confiscated the unused St. Nicholas church in favour of more acceptable
edinoverie denomination. Old Believers of Rogozhskoe reacted by establishing a new spiritual and educational center beyond the Russian border, in
Austro-Hungary, creating the
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy. Image:Rogozhskoe cemetery - Protection cathedral 01.jpg|Cathedral of Protection Image:Rogozhskoe_cemetery_-_Nativity_cathedral.jpg|Church of Nativity Image:Rogozhskoe cemetery - St.Nicholas - 01.jpg|Church of St. Nicholas Image:Rogozhskoe cemetery - belltower 04.jpg|Bell tower
Cathedral of Protection In 1791 the community obtained a permit to build the cathedral of Protection of Our Lady. Architectural drafts (eventually lost) were signed by someone
Kazakov, which could be either
Matvey Kazakov or his lesser-known contemporary
Rodion Kazakov. The cathedral, as planned, would have exceeded in size the Dormition Cathedral of Moscow Kremlin; it was intended for use in summer only due to high costs of heating in winter. The builders laid down the foundation even larger than Kazakov's design; worse, they changed the design from a single dome to five domes. In summer 1792, when the walls were nearly complete, Orthodox clergy 'uncovered the plot' and alerted
Empress Catherine. Catherine, wary of growing influence of the dissidents, ordered demolition of the 'unlawful' additions; Moscow governor, prince
Prozorovsky, complied and assigned architect
Semyon Karin to supervise demolition. As a result, the cathedral was built with a single dome resting on an elongated, flat slab with minimalistic
neoclassical finishes. Parts of the building are apparently mismatched, revealing the conflict of the client and the Crown. Traces of
baroque influence, like the circular windows of the main dome, give away its 18th-century roots. As-built design is attributed, by exclusion, to
Semyon Karin. Inside, the cathedral has three
aisles and eight load-bearing columns, and is decorated in an 'old-looking' style intended to resemble pre-
Nikonian cathedrals. The icons actually date back to 15th–16th centuries, while the neoclassical
iconostasis clearly belongs to the 19th century.
Church of Nativity of Christ Church of Nativity, commissioned in 1804, was intended to complement the summer cathedral in winter. It was designed, most likely, by Ivan Zhukov. In line with the fashion of the early 19th century, the design mixes neoclassical layout with
Gothic Revival details, most visible on the northern and southern facades (the western facade, open to outside world, carries only a neoclassical
portico). Just like the cathedral, Nativity church is a three-aisle slab with a single dome, however, its transepts are more pronounced. The church was insignificantly expanded in 1908–1909, with secondary altars installed in
transept niches and more Gothic features added. In the Soviet period the dome was torn down and is being recreated since 2007.
Church of Saint Nicholas The first chapel of the community, St. Nicholas was separated from it in 1854, when the government pressed
popovtsi out and granted the church building to
edinoverie – a least independent Old Believer denomination in
communion with state Orthodox church. Existing St. Nicholas, financed by personal funds of M. P. Alabin, was designed by
Vasily Karneev and built in two stages, 1863–1867 and 1879. This church is of a single-aisle type (without internal columns), ornately imitating Moscow
baroque of the late 17th century. Present-day St. Nicholas belongs to mainline Russian Orthodox church, since
edinoverie practically disintegrated in the 20th century.
Bell tower The tallest and most visible building of the Cemetery, a free-standing bell tower was built in 1908–1909, soon after the government lifted prior ban on Old Believer church construction. Rogozhskoe tower is exactly one meter lower than Moscow's tallest religious building –
Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It was designed by
Fyodor Gornostaev (artistic design) and
Zinovy Ivanov (structural engineering and construction management). Minor work on internal and external finishes continued until 1913. The first floor housed a small Church of Resurrection, the upper floors – library and a
sacristy. The bells, all internal finishes and parts of external ornaments were lost in the Soviet period and are being recreated.
Old-Rite Institute The Old-Rite Teachers Institute, like the bell tower, emerged in 1912 after lifting the bans on Old Believers. Initially it operated in
Nikoloyamskaya Street, managed by Alexander Rybakov (father of
Boris Rybakov). In 1914–1915 the community erected a new Institute (two blocks east from the cathedral); it was closed after the revolution of 1917 and eventually converted to a municipal school. The Cemetery also retains a number of old two-story buildings; some are operating, some dilapidated and expecting a complete rebuild (like the Cemetery Hotel, adjacent to St. Nicholas). == Notable graves ==