[1] The foundation stone of the votive church was laid on Miusskaya Square (an industrial area in the northwest of Moscow) in 1911, on the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Manifesto, in the presence of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Construction did not start in earnest until 1913, and the First World War impeded further progress.

[1] After the Russian Revolution, the huge 17-domed church capable of accommodating more than 4,000 persons stood unfinished, while the Soviets debated whether to have it reconstructed into a crematory or a radio centre.

[2] It was the largest church in Moscow after the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

The dilapidated concrete shell was eventually torn down in 1952.