The Tikhvin Male Theotokos Assumption Monastery was founded in 1560 at the personal command of Sovereign Ivan the Terrible. The executor of the royal will and the builder of the monastery was the Novgorod archbishop Pimen, who took upon himself all the economic and administrative concerns. But even half a century before that, a temple was built in those places for the miraculous icon, which appeared in 1383 and became one of the main shrines of the Orthodox world.
The image that came from biblical times
This miraculous icon, with which the entire history of the monastery is inextricable, is unique in that its creation is associated with the name of the Holy Evangelist and Apostle Luke. According to legend, the image was painted by him during the stay of the Blessed Virgin in Jerusalem. Seven decades before the fall of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, the icon of God was transferred from there to the shores of Lake Ladoga and in 1383 appeared to the eyes of pious fishermen who threw nets into the cold waters of the northern lake.
It became known as Tikhvin at the place of its stay, and soon the fame of the miracles revealed through it by the Blessed Virgin spread throughout Russia. To the glory of such a wonderful gift, sent down by the Grace of God, a monastery was laid, over the gates of which an inscription has been preserved to this day, certifying the year of construction - 7068th from the creation of the world, which corresponds to 1560 according to our calendar, originating from the Nativity of Christ.
The first centuries of the monastery
Dramatic events unfolded around the walls of the monastery in 1613. The Swedish invaders, led by Field Marshal Jacob Delagardi, besieged the monastery and made every effort to capture it. However, the defenders, commanded by an experienced Russian governor, Prince Semyon Prozorovsky, managed to repel their attacks and hold out until reinforcements arrived.
During the first one and a half centuries of its existence, the monastery was rebuilt several times, but by the beginning of the XVIII century its ensemble was mainly formed. The main and oldest building is the Assumption Cathedral, erected even before the monastery itself. The Tikhvin Male Theotokos Assumption Monastery has become for many years the place of constant residence of the shrine.
Temple - a gift from the prince of Moscow
Historical materials testify to the awe with which the great princes, kings and princes of the church treated the Tikhvin Shrine, seeing in it the guarantee of the further strengthening of Orthodoxy. The ruler of Russia in 1505 donated funds for the construction of a stone temple for her. It was around him that the Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery was subsequently formed . A photo of this unique structure is given in this article.
The history of its construction is connected with the names of two architects - Ivan Fryazin, who, despite the Russian name, was a native of Italy, who entered the service of the Moscow prince, and our compatriot - Novgorodian Dmitry Syrkov. As a result of their joint work, a five-domed temple was crowned, crowned with onion domes. In plan, it represents an elongated quadrangle with three semicircles in which the altars are located.
Murals and carvings by ancient masters
Very interesting is the painting of the cathedral that has survived over the years . Its author is the famous icon painter of the late XVIII century - Login Shustov. His frescoes, painted on top of previously lost images created by the masters of the Novgorod school in the 16th century, have come to us in excellent condition.
One of the attractions of the cathedral, in which the male Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery preserves the shrine sent to it, is a carved iconostasis - a work of masters of the 17th century. Despite the fact that it is filled with icons of modern writing (old originals are in the collections of the State Russian Museum), it can be attributed to unique examples of applied art.
The journey of a miraculous image overseas
The famous icon stored in the temple survived amazing events in the 20th century. It is known that after the October armed coup the temples of the monastery were transferred to the Renovationist church, and in the thirties they were completely closed. The miraculous image of the Virgin became part of the museum exposition. During the war, the city was occupied by the Germans, and during the retreat, they removed the icon from Tikhvin and sent to Pskov.
The icon continued its way through Riga, Libau and Yablontsy until it ended up in Germany, on the territory of the American occupation zone, at the end of the war. From there, the icon was taken by Metropolitan John to America and for a long time was in Chicago. In his will, he ordered to return it to its historical place only after the male Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery was completely restored and monastic life was resumed in it.
When, with the onset of democratic changes in the country, the attitude towards religion radically changed, the whole complex of monastery buildings was transferred to believers. It happened in 1995. Then the miraculous image came back from across the ocean, so marvelously revealed more than five centuries ago in the waves of Lake Ladoga. Now it can be seen in the middle of the temple, on one of the columns supporting the roof.
Gate Church, survived the hard times
One cannot fail to mention another building of great artistic and historical interest. This is the gateway church of the monastery, which in the Soviet period remained the last to not stop its activity in the whole region. It is known that in 1669 the main entrance to the monastery was decorated with a stone tower, called the Vvedensky gate. Two years later, a church was built in its upper tier, where a shrine was placed, for the worship of which a stream of pilgrims did not dry up in the monastery. In the years 1860-1865, the wooden staircase leading to the image was replaced by a stone one, designed by the famous architect N. L. Benoit and called the “Porch”.
Monastery today
As mentioned above, in the Soviet period the monastery was closed, and its buildings were used for a long time for household needs, until in the seventies they were transferred to the disposal of the Museum of Local History. The Tikhvin Theotokos Assumption Monastery, whose history in many respects resembles the fates of other Russian monasteries, again became the property of the church only thanks to the victory of perestroika and the changes that followed.
Today, among hundreds of Russian monasteries that have been reborn after a period of hard times and newly built, one that occupies a place that was laid in honor of the icon famous throughout the Orthodox world. Like many years ago, the fame of him and his inhabitants has stepped far beyond the borders of the region. This is the Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery.
The reviews left by visitors to the holy monastery speak of the high continuity of the current generation of monks and their predecessors, who have devoted themselves to the search for ways to save the soul. Many pilgrims testify of the gracious help granted by them in prayers before the miraculous image.
Tips for future pilgrims
A natural question that interests everyone who wants to visit the Tikhvin Theotokos Assumption Monastery - how to get there? Make it easy. You can use either an electric train departing from the Moscow station of St. Petersburg, or an intercity bus leaving from the embankment of the Obvodny Canal of the Northern capital. Owners of personal vehicles can get there by driving along the Murmansk Highway M118 to the Volkhov River. Turning right, on highway A 118 they will soon arrive at the Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery, whose address is Tikhvin, st. Tikhvinskaya d. 1.