The bright period of prosperity of the Riga Old Believers was the end of the 18th century. By the beginning of the 19th century, the Old Believers had 3 prayer houses, the most important of which was the "Moscow Prayer House on the bank of the Daugava" (now the Grebenshikov House). Initially the prayer house was really located on the bank of the Daugava (Western Dvina), although now it is quite far from it.
The year 1760 is commonly considered the year of the temple's foundation. Originally the temple was located in a wooden shed. The owner of this building at first was a merchant of the first Savva Diakonov, and then - a merchant of the second guild Gavrila Panin. In 1793 the parish of Riga Old Believers bought the church building from Panin. Later the building Later the building was rebuilt, and in 1798 a brick structure was built. In honour of the merchant Grebenshchikov the temple was named in 1826.
The Grebenshchikov Temple is a historical and cultural monument. It contains a large hall with an iconostasis for prayers, ceremonial halls, administration rooms, flats of the priests and ministers of the church. The House of Prayer owns the richest collection of books, icons, and manuscripts from the 15th to 19th centuries.
In the frame of the Old Believers named Grebenshchikov there is a parish. Already in the sixties years of the 18th century on the maintenance of the parish was an orphanage for the poor. In 2000, a conference dedicated to the 240th anniversary of the existence of the Prayer House of the Riga Grebenshchikov Old Believer Community was held in the capital of Latvia. After this conference, a new tradition of organising gatherings to celebrate the anniversaries of the church and the parish appeared. In honour of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Grebenshchikov community, a wonderful book and photo album were published in 4 languages.
During Soviet times, the building of the Grebenshchikov prayer house housed apartments for local residents. At present, the Grebenshchikov parish is the largest Old Believer parish in the world. It consists of about 25 thousand believers. Divine services in the temple are conducted according to ancient traditions, and ancient songs are sung.
