One of the flying buttresses is crumbling and needs to be replaced. The old steam boiler has caused five major floods this year. And yet, St. Andrew's Anglican Church on Voznesensky Pereulok is the prize in an 18-month struggle between Moscow's Anglican community and the state-run Melodiya music studio. And a recent decision by the Moscow city government has the recording studio bemoaning its now imminent move and the Anglicans declaring victory.
"After a year and a half of hemming and hawing, a decision has finally been made," said Holly Smith, an administrator at the law firm Arnold & Porter, which has fought for the Anglican church on a pro bono basis since 1994.
The decision calls for ownership of the church and surrounding buildings to be transferred Feb. 20 from Melodiya, which uses the church as a recording studio on weekdays, to the State Property Committee, which, in turn, is expected to deed the property to the 200-member congregation.
When the property committee assumes legal control, the Anglicans, who now use the church only on weekends, will immediately regain control of the parsonage and, in approximately a year, the brick neo-Gothic church.
This development is the latest in a series of rulings and decisions by various bodies of local and federal governments. Queen Elizabeth II's visit in October 1994 got the ball rolling. That year, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin twice signed documents that reflected his intention to transfer the ownership from Melodiya to the State Property Committee. But nothing happened.
Melodiya's executive director, Valery Sukhorado, sighed when asked about the pending move to a new location. "Of course, the accoustics will be worse," he said. "But it is the decision of the government. Our job is to carry it out."
Sukhorado could not estimate when Melodiya would actually move. "It doesn't depend on us," he said. "It depends on the money."
The new space at 18 Tverskoy Bulvar that Melodiya will eventually occupy is currently uninhabitable. The building, a former military prosecutor's office, requires major renovation, which Smith said the Russian government will fund.
Sukhorado disagreed. "The place we need to move into requires 22 billion rubles' worth of renovation," he said. "Unfortunately, the government hasn't given us the money for renovation. As soon as they do, we can begin to gradually move over there."
"Churches should be churches," Smith said. "With modern technology, there's no physical need for a recording studio to be in a church."
But Vitaly Matveyev, a classical pianist, cares more about music than church. Matveyev, 36, said he recorded in Melodiya's studios three times.
"It's very high-sound quality," Matveyev said. "I think it's a big pity. It was a chance for classical musicians to do some recordings. To close it would be very bad. Maybe we will have another studio. But I think this new one will be very expensive. People can't afford it."
Ian Haye-Campbell, press attache for the British Embassy and a member of the congregation since 1994, said that while the embassy was not involved in the "nitty-gritty" negotiations, it did try to exert some influence when possible.
"The embassy has sought occasions to remind the Russian authorities of the undertakings and mention that we would very much like the situation to be resolved," Haye-Campbell said.
According to church officials, the Anglican community of Moscow bought the property on which the church sits from the Naumov sisters in 1825. The 16-room house on the property was torn down in 1882 and reconstructed with materials -- including an organ, bricks and a facade -- brought from England by the Anglican community .
Since it was taken over by the Soviets in 1920, the structure has served, among other things, as a dormitory before being given to Melodiya in 1960.
"After a year and a half of hemming and hawing, a decision has finally been made," said Holly Smith, an administrator at the law firm Arnold & Porter, which has fought for the Anglican church on a pro bono basis since 1994.
The decision calls for ownership of the church and surrounding buildings to be transferred Feb. 20 from Melodiya, which uses the church as a recording studio on weekdays, to the State Property Committee, which, in turn, is expected to deed the property to the 200-member congregation.
When the property committee assumes legal control, the Anglicans, who now use the church only on weekends, will immediately regain control of the parsonage and, in approximately a year, the brick neo-Gothic church.
This development is the latest in a series of rulings and decisions by various bodies of local and federal governments. Queen Elizabeth II's visit in October 1994 got the ball rolling. That year, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin twice signed documents that reflected his intention to transfer the ownership from Melodiya to the State Property Committee. But nothing happened.
Melodiya's executive director, Valery Sukhorado, sighed when asked about the pending move to a new location. "Of course, the accoustics will be worse," he said. "But it is the decision of the government. Our job is to carry it out."
Sukhorado could not estimate when Melodiya would actually move. "It doesn't depend on us," he said. "It depends on the money."
The new space at 18 Tverskoy Bulvar that Melodiya will eventually occupy is currently uninhabitable. The building, a former military prosecutor's office, requires major renovation, which Smith said the Russian government will fund.
Sukhorado disagreed. "The place we need to move into requires 22 billion rubles' worth of renovation," he said. "Unfortunately, the government hasn't given us the money for renovation. As soon as they do, we can begin to gradually move over there."
"Churches should be churches," Smith said. "With modern technology, there's no physical need for a recording studio to be in a church."
But Vitaly Matveyev, a classical pianist, cares more about music than church. Matveyev, 36, said he recorded in Melodiya's studios three times.
"It's very high-sound quality," Matveyev said. "I think it's a big pity. It was a chance for classical musicians to do some recordings. To close it would be very bad. Maybe we will have another studio. But I think this new one will be very expensive. People can't afford it."
Ian Haye-Campbell, press attache for the British Embassy and a member of the congregation since 1994, said that while the embassy was not involved in the "nitty-gritty" negotiations, it did try to exert some influence when possible.
"The embassy has sought occasions to remind the Russian authorities of the undertakings and mention that we would very much like the situation to be resolved," Haye-Campbell said.
According to church officials, the Anglican community of Moscow bought the property on which the church sits from the Naumov sisters in 1825. The 16-room house on the property was torn down in 1882 and reconstructed with materials -- including an organ, bricks and a facade -- brought from England by the Anglican community .
Since it was taken over by the Soviets in 1920, the structure has served, among other things, as a dormitory before being given to Melodiya in 1960.
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