Today in Moscow there are 22 active Orthodox monasteries. Among them are both male and female cloisters. Many of them are well known throughout the country, only Muscovites know about others. Therefore, today we will take a short tour and try to tell you about some of the existing cloisters.
Pokrovsky monastery
It is no exaggeration to say that this ancient monastery is known far beyond the capital. He gained wide fame in connection with the fact that the relics of the old woman Matrona are resting here. The Orthodox believe that they have miraculous powers.
In 1635, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich founded the Pokrovsky Monastery in Moscow. In those days, the territory occupied by the monastery was the outskirts, where there were "wretched houses" - a cemetery where the homeless and the poor were buried not only from all over Moscow, but also from its environs.
Little information has been preserved about the monastery. It is known that during the Russo-French war (1812) the monastery was ruined. It took seven years to restore it. In Soviet times, the Pokrovsky monastery in Moscow was closed. At the site of the cemetery, a culture and recreation park was created, which exists today. For 70 years, offices, a gym, a bank, and a billiard room were located in the sacred premises of the monastery.
In 1994, the Matrona Monastery in Moscow (so often called Pokrovsky Monastery) received the status of a convent. All limits were sanctified anew.
Conception Monastery in Moscow
The monastery in its present form was founded in 1584, during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. On the territory of the temple is located the Spassky Church, which for many years was the house temple of the Roman-Korsakovs.
Until 1924, the church was not a monastery, but a parish. In 1922, the Conception Monastery in Moscow was looted and destroyed. The monastery was restored only in 1991. The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected and services are again going on in it.
Don Monastery
In a noisy and crowded capital it is difficult to find quiet places where you could relax with your soul. The existing monasteries of Moscow are islands of peace and silence.
The bustle of the city does not penetrate the powerful walls of the Don Monastery. There is peace and tranquility.
From the history of the monastery
There is a legend that in 1591 the troops of the brutal khan Kazy Girey came close to Moscow. By decree of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the miraculous icon of the Don Mother of God was enclosed along the entire defensive line. When the sun rose, the Russian soldiers froze in amazement - the horde left its position and fled from the walls of the city. In honor of the miraculous icon, 2 years later a stone church was built. So a monastery was founded here.
Usually the monasteries of Moscow, photos of which you can see in our article, were built by several generations. In this sense, the Don cloister was no exception. In the XVII century, the construction of the Great Cathedral began by Princess Sophia, Peter I continued her work. Charitable financial assistance was provided by the boyar Artamon Matveev, Bogdan Khitrovo and the family of Stepan Razin. In the same XVII century a wall was erected around the monastery. After the October Revolution, the monastery was abolished, but all of its buildings were preserved. This is because the Museum of Architecture was located here in Soviet times.
The main event in the history of the monastery, many consider an unexpected find of the relics of Blessed Tikhon - the patriarch of all Russia. Two years after his death (1925), the monastery was closed by the Bolsheviks. Rumors circulated that Tikhon’s body was burnt in the crematorium, according to another version, it was reburied at the German cemetery. The mystery was solved in February 1992, a year after the start of restoration work in the Donskoy Monastery. Excavators discovered the crypt of the patriarch.
Famous people who played a big role in the history of the country are buried in the necropolis of the monastery - white generals Denikin and Kappel, writers Shmelev and Solzhenitsyn, as well as Odoevsky, Chaadaev, philosopher Ilyin. Today the cloister is a part of the group “Active Monasteries of Moscow”.
Thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit this holy place every year. By prior request, you can visit the bell tower and towers, the museum-cell of Patriarch Tikhon, an observation deck.
Convents in Moscow
Today in the capital, there are eight active women's cloisters. Divine services are held in all, and some of them are happy to welcome pilgrims and tourists.
Theotokos Nativity Monastery
This is one of the oldest Moscow monasteries. It was founded by the mother of Vladimir the Brave, the Grand Duke, and the wife of Prince A. Serpukhov in 1386. At first, the monastery was located on the territory of the Kremlin. Now the convent is located at: Rozhdestvenka, 20.
Novodevichy Convent
There are monasteries in the capital, widely known throughout Russia. These are very ancient monasteries of Moscow. The existing (on the map it is clearly visible) cloisters are located not only in the center, but throughout the city.
Novodevichy Convent is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in Moscow. It was founded in 1524 in honor of the return of the Russian city of Smolensk to the Principality of Prince Vasily III. There is no consensus on the name of the monastery. According to one version, the abbess of the monastery had the surname Devochkina. According to another, on the site of the current monastery there was a field on which beautiful girls were selected and sent to the Golden Horde. The most likely version is that the monastery was intended for girls, the prefix “new” appeared only to distinguish new and existing convents in Moscow from each other.
For a long time it was the richest and most privileged monastery of Russia. Noble women came to this monastery. When tonsured, they sacrificed their jewelry - gold, pearls, silver, sapphires and diamonds. By the middle of the XVII century, a magnificent ensemble in the style of Moscow Baroque was fully formed here. The towers began to adorn openwork crowns. The second tallest bell tower and the Assumption Church were built. During its long history, he saw the Novodevichy Convent within its walls and guests, who, not of their own will, crossed the threshold of the monastery. Here in custody was the noblewoman Morozova, Tsarevna Sofya, whom he imprisoned in the monastery of Peter I, and Evgeny Lopukhina (shortly before her death), the first wife of Peter I, was also transferred here.
It can be considered a miracle that the monastery was not damaged in 1812. However, the fate that befell all the monasteries of Russia in Soviet times, he could not avoid. In 1922 it was closed, and a historical museum began to operate on its territory.
All male and female monasteries in Moscow are historical and architectural monuments. The Novodevichy Convent is included in the UNESCO heritage list.
St. Danilov Monastery
This is the first monastery in Moscow. It was built in 1282 by Prince Daniel, the son of the legendary Alexander Nevsky. After 11 years, it was looted and destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols. For two centuries, only a tiny temple and cemetery resembled him. The monastery found greatness only in the time of Ivan the Terrible. In 1611, the monastery was set on fire by decree of False Dmitry. It was restored, but in 1812 it was again desecrated and plundered. The magnificent ensemble that we see today was formed in the XVII - XIX centuries.
In Soviet times, the monastery was closed one of the last in Moscow. This happened in 1930. The cemetery was destroyed, the graves of famous Russian figures were transferred to Novodevichy and Donskoy monasteries. A common occurrence for that time, alas ...
The current monasteries of Moscow, returned to the Orthodox Church gradually. St. Danilov Monastery was the very first. This historic event occurred in 1983. Five years later, the monastery hosted the main celebrations on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia. Today, here is the residence of the Patriarch of All Russia.
Sretensky Monastery
This is perhaps the most ancient Orthodox male monastery, located in the very center of Moscow.
It must be said that all the existing monasteries of Moscow to one degree or another reflect the history of the Russian state. Sretensky monastery is no exception.
It was founded in 1397 in memory of a wonderful event. Khan Tamerlan, preparing for an attack on Moscow, in a dream saw the Mother of God, who strictly demanded that the invader leave the borders of Russia. After listening to the opinions of his advisers, the invincible khan fled in horror from Russian soil the next morning.
In memory of the miraculous deliverance from the enemy on the site of the appearance of the image of the Virgin, after some time they founded the Sretensky monastery.
At the end of 1925 the monastery was closed. Between 1928 and 1930, most of its buildings were destroyed. Later, a hostel of officers of the NKVD was organized here.
Today the monastery lives its measured life. Services are held in the temple. The male choir of the Sretensky Monastery is known throughout the world.