The Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi (Russian: Храм Святителя Николая в Толмачах, romanized: Khram Svyatityelya Nikolaya v Tolmachakh) is both a Russian Orthodox house church and museum that is part of the State Tretyakov Gallery located in Moscow.
[4] The church's name derives from the Old Tolmachi settlement of Tatar translators located in what is now Old Tolmachevsky Lane [Wikidata] in Moscow.
In March 1687, Patriarch Joachim visited the church for mass, which generally indicated the parish had nobles and highly regarded individuals as members.
However, in commemoration of her initial desire for the temple to honor Mary, the icon "Satisfy My Sorrows", which Demidova had originally wanted for the chapel, was later installed.
For this task, the services of the premier architect F. M. Shestakov, who helped to build the Greater Church of the Ascension, were successfully sought.
By the time the gallery began major restoration work on the church in 1983, the temple had remained empty for over 50 years.
[1] It was not until 1993 that the temple was reopened for worship after an arrangement was made between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state gallery.
[1][7] In September 1996, the church's restored main altar was sanctified by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' Alexy II.
[3] Security improvements to store and display art were added during this process, and an underground passageway was additionally made to connect it to the State Tretyakov Gallery.