With the name of the great ascetic and ascetic of the faith of the Monk Nil Stolobensky , the foundation of the monastery, famous throughout the Orthodox world, has been associated, which has been bearing his name for many centuries. Built on the picturesque island of Lake Seliger, the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery, or, as they say, deserts, is considered to be the pearl of temple architecture and one of the leading spiritual centers of the country.
The beginning of the monastic path
The exact date of the birth of the Monk Nile is unknown, but from the documents of that long time it is clear that he was born at the end of the 15th century, in one of the villages located near Veliky Novgorod. Over the years, not only the names of the parents and circumstances related to the childhood of the founder of the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery, but even the name given to him in holy baptism remained hidden from us.
The first information about the early stage of the monk's life dates back to the period when, after the death of his father and mother, he decided to devote himself to the service of God. It is known that in about 1510 the young man went to the Krypetsky St. John the Theologian monastery, where he soon received tonsure under the name of the Nile in honor of the very revered saint of the 4th century Nile Postnik.
Feat of Hermit
Desiring to imitate the saint, whose name he bore, Neil after five years spent in the monastery, with the blessing of his abbot, left him and, cutting down his cell on the bank of the forest river Seremkhi, took upon himself the terrible feat of seclusion. There, away from people, he spent several years filling days and nights with incessant prayers. The ascetic only ate herbs and oak acorns.
Tradition tells us that once robbers approached the saint’s cell, intending to kill him. Without losing his presence of spirit, the saint said a prayer and went out to meet them with the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. His appearance was accompanied by a miracle: the robbers clearly saw many armed warriors surrounding the hermit, and in fear fell to his knees.
Relocation to Stolobensky Island
The rumor about the ascetic quickly spread throughout the surrounding villages, and people began to come to the forest cell, looking for the prayers of the saint and his spiritual instructions. This was very burdensome for the forest hermit, who wanted to retire from the world, and in 1528, leaving the Seremkhi shore, which became familiar to him, the Nile retired to a more secluded place ─ on Stolobny Island, surrounded by the waters of Lake Seliger and located 22 kilometers from the county town of Ostashkov. It was there that it was destined in the future to shine to one of the brightest centers of Orthodoxy ─ the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery.
Researchers interpret such an unusual name for the island on which the reverend settled. The most common are two versions. According to one of them, he got his name because of the outlines resembling a pillar, and on the other ─ as a result of the fact that it once had a pagan temple, after the ruin of which for many years on the island one could see a sacrificial pillar.
A life filled with ascetic exploits
The future founder of the Nilo-Stolobensky monastery spent 27 years surrounded by lake waters. At first, his dwelling was a dugout, hastily dug between the trunks of centuries-old trees. Over time, he built a cell for himself and built a small chapel near it for prayers. From the life of the Monk Nile it is known that the devil repeatedly built all sorts of intrigues against him, either sending a fire, or destroying his dilapidated buildings in gusts of a hurricane. He directed the ascetic and the dashing robbers to the forest cell. But every time prayer protected him from misfortunes.
Among the many other ascetics and ascetics of Orthodoxy, the Monk Nile stands out as a special one, given to him shortly after his relocation to Seliger by a vow of non-lying, performing which, he even slept while standing, resting on hooks driven into the cell wall. The saint came to the Lord in 1555, bequeathing to build a monastery on the site of his cell. His order was executed by the first patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Job in 1594. By his order, the Nilo-Stolobenskaya desert was founded on the island.
The Time of Troubles and the Graces of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich
The 17th century, which soon came, brought many trials to the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery. As a result of terrible crop failures that occurred during the reign of Boris Godunov, the monastery lost its basic means of subsistence. Subsequently, the situation was aggravated by the calamities that befell the country in the Time of Troubles, when all the neighboring lands and deserts themselves were plundered by the Polish-Lithuanian invaders, as well as robber gangs, which appeared in many years.
Significant improvements in the life of the monastic fraternity came only after the accession to the throne of Emperor Mikhail Fedorovich ─ the founder of the Romanov dynasty. Having deep respect for the first abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Nectarius, he ordered for a government expense to send a certain amount of money and food supplies to the Nilo-Stolobensky Deserts annually. This tradition, preserved in subsequent centuries, was maintained until the October Revolution of 1917.
The beginning of the monastery building
The subsequent decades of the 17th century were marked by the erection of numerous monastery buildings. These include the wooden five-domed church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the Epiphany Church, which replaced a chapel on the grave of the Monk Nile, which burned down during one of the fires.
During this period, on the territory of the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery, newly rebuilt fraternal cells appeared, as well as a hotel and hospital building. The desert territory itself was fenced, having built a bell tower above the main gate, equipped with a clock with a fight, which at that time was an unheard of luxury. Until the end of the century, the monastery enjoyed the favor of the reigning persons, whose generous donations made it possible to begin the construction of stone monastery buildings.
The life of the monastery in the XVIII century
In the history of the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery, the beginning of the 18th century was marked by many adverse events resulting from the policy pursued by the sovereign Peter I in relation to the church. This was both partial secularization (rejection) of its lands and the forcible recruitment of young monks to the army during the Great Northern war. The result was a suspension of construction on the territory of the monastery and a significant reduction in the number of its inhabitants.
Only in 1756 did the situation improve significantly due to the fact that, on the basis of the decision of the Holy Synod, the all-church canonization of the Monk Nil Stolobensky was accomplished. From now on, he began to commemorate the holy days along with the rest of the saints of God, and in the days of his memory ─ December 7 (20) and May 27 (June 9), prayers appropriate to the occasion began to be offered in all Russian churches and an akathist specially compiled by the Ostashkov archpriest Andrei (Kolokolov )
The glorification of the saint, whose relics, as before, rested in the Nilo-Stolobensky monastery, began to attract numerous crowds of pilgrims to him, which in the most favorable way affected the material well-being of the brethren.
World Pilgrimage Center
In the ensuing nineteenth century, the position of the monastery was further strengthened, and with full confidence we can say that it became the most revered throughout the Upper Volga. It is known that in 1820 Emperor Alexander I bowed to the shrines of the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery. He did not come to Seliger empty-handed. This can be judged by the fact that shortly after his visit to the monastery, construction work was widely launched, the result of which was the construction of an unprecedentedly beautiful architectural complex.
In the next reign, under Tsar Nicholas I, the magnificent building of the Epiphany Cathedral, built in 1833, became its center, and a few years later a complete reconstruction was made of the entire territory adjacent to it. In addition, the construction of a granite embankment, which stretched around the entire circumference of the island on which the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery is located, was an unusual event at that time. Lake Seliger has become its picturesque natural setting. As a result, by the end of the century, the monastery enjoyed such fame that it became the second most visited pilgrimage site in the world, second only to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
New power
The coming to power of the Bolsheviks in 1917 put an end to the prosperity of the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery. In February 1919, despite numerous protests from both the inhabitants of the monastery and the general public, a cancer was blasphemously revealed, from which the relics of the Monk Neil Stolobensky were seized and transferred to the local museum of local lore. At the same time, the monastery was plundered, comparable only with the calamities of the Time of Troubles. Apart from other values, more than 33 poods were exported from silver church utensils alone.
Scolded Shrine
Nevertheless, life in the monastery continued for another 9 years. It was finally closed in 1928. At first, the labor commune was located in the premises left by the monks, which was then replaced by a colony for juvenile delinquents. From 1939 to 1940, the monastery buildings were used to contain Polish prisoners of war, most of which were then shot.
During the Great Patriotic War, a military hospital was located on the territory that once belonged to the monastery, and since 1945 it was again a colony for juvenile offenders. In the 60s, a nursing home was organized there, and since 1971, the territory and all the buildings that have been preserved by that time were transferred to the Committee on Tourism at the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, after which the Rassvet camp site began to operate. However, in 1988, all the previous monastery constructions became so dilapidated that the decision of the construction commission further recognized their use without major repairs as impossible, and the base was closed.
The beginning of the revival of the monastery
The fresh wind of change that prevailed over the country during the years of perestroika did not pass by the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery. The Tver region in which it is located has been at the forefront of events related to the transfer of objects illegally taken from it in the past to the Church. In 1990, the entire monastery complex, recognized long before that as a valuable historical and architectural object and taken under state protection, was transferred to the ROC.
A year after this, at the end of a number of the most important restoration works, a liturgy was held for the first time in many years in the Epiphany Cathedral. It was served by the head of the Tver and Kashin diocese, Archbishop Victor (Oleynik). Other bright moments of the beginning of the process of the revival of the monastery were the transfer to it from the Ostashkov Museum of Local Lore of the relics of the Monk Nil Stolobensky and the glorification of the new martyrs, inhabitants of the monastery, who became victims of the Soviet regime, which carried out total terror against church ministers.
The Pearl of Lake Seliger
Today, as in past years, the Nilo-Stolobensky Monastery shone among the most significant centers of Russian Orthodoxy. Patriarch Kirill, as well as other leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church often visit him, performing prayers in the walls of one of the most beautiful cathedrals, erected by masters of the 19th century and brought back to life after many decades of spiritual darkness and desolation. Frequent guests are also members of the Russian government. Numerous pilgrims who want to see this ancient monastery come here from all over the country.
Nilo-Stolobenskaya Deserts: how to get there
Everyone who wants to visit the monastery as pilgrims or just tourists should first of all get to the city of Ostashkov, located at a distance of 22 km from it. Those who do not have private transport can reach by rail. For Muscovites, this is a direct train Moscow ─ Ostashkovo, departing from the Leningradsky railway station.
Petersburgers, in turn, can take the train that goes to Velikiye Luki and departs from the Moscow station. The last stage of the journey can be done on one of the regular buses following from the station to the village of Svetlitsy, located on the bank of Seliger. They are sent at intervals of 1-1.5 hours. There, by the way, on the peninsula that goes into the lake, there is a part of the buildings belonging to the monastery.
The Nilo-Stolobenskaya desert, whose address is Tverskaya oblast, Ostashkinsky rn, n / a Svetlitsa, hospitably opens the door for everyone to see its sights and bow to the shrines stored here.