How an Old Believers' chapel ended up in Moscow’s Museum of Russian Icons

After the Russian Church Schism in the 17th century, the Old Believers began to be persecuted. As a result, they had to live in secrecy and would hold their prayers in such inconspicuous chapels.

In the 1970s, this small 19th-century log structure was discovered during an expedition by collector Nikolai Vorozhny, the current director of Moscow’s private Museum of Russian icons. The chapel had been standing abandoned near the village of Bukholovo in Tver Region.

In 2010, the local administration finally allowed the prayer house to be moved to the museum’s collection. The log structure was carefully dismantled and then reassembled inside the museum walls. 

The exhibition recreates not only the architectural appearance of the prayer house, but also its interior. It’s considered a rare exhibit for museum collections.