On June 30, 2026, Metropolitan Gregory of the Resurrection performed the rite of the great consecration of the restored church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign" in the Novospassky Monastery, the first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow, the governor of the Central Moscow Vicariate, and the vicar of the Novospassky Stavropol Monastery.
The history of the Church of the Sign dates back to the 17th century. The first temple was built as a tomb for the Nikitich brothers, uncles of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov — Alexander, Vasily, Mikhail and John. The icon "The Sign" of the Mother of God was ancestral in the Romanov Boyar family, so the dedication of the temple was not accidental.
At the end of the 18th century, this temple was dismantled due to dilapidation. The famous philanthropist Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev built a new Church of the Sign in the classical style. The Sheremetev family tomb is located in it. The princes Lobanovs of Rostov, Cherkassy, Sitsky and Urusov are also buried under the Znamensky temple.
The temple was built for four years according to the project of architect Nazarov. It was consecrated on January 15, 1795, by the rector of the Novospassky Monastery, Archimandrite Methodius (Smirnov), who a few months later was consecrated bishop of Voronezh and Cherkassy.
The architecture of the temple is unusual — the altar is located on the second floor. Fenced staircases are adjacent to it. The tomb was originally located on the ground floor. The building was severely damaged in 1812 during the invasion of the French, who set up a stable there.
After the revolution in 1918, the Znamensky Church was closed. The Soviet government used the building as a women's prison, then as a barracks in a forced labor camp. After the Great Patriotic War, there was a sobering-up facility in the church, which was closed only in 1967.
The temple was restored for a very long time. On February 14, 2025, it was opened to parishioners, and since then the sacrament of Confession has been performed there.