Once, in ancient times, near the sacred Sinai mountain, towering above the peninsula of the same name, washed by the warm waters of the Red Sea, the monastic settlement of Raifa was formed. What this name meant is hard to say for sure today. However, based on the fact that through these places lay the path of the "Israelites" from Egypt to the Hasan land, we can admit its Hebrew origin.
Tragic events
Be that as it may, in the fourth century it was here that tragedy occurred. At that time, forty-three monks lived in Raif, some elders spent fifty to sixty years in this settlement. The pagan Noba tribes, who then migrated to the Nile Valley from the Libyan Desert, captured them, first tortured, demanding gold, and then killed. The monks died, glorifying God, for which the Orthodox Church was canonized.
Thirteen centuries passed, and the traditions of the murdered elders were revived on Kazan land. The history of the new Raifa monastery is very interesting. To feel this, let's look into the depths of centuries and feel the breath of time that has gone far from us ...
How the Raifa Monastery (Kazan) was founded
The founder of the monastery is the hermit Filaret. When his parents died, he went on a journey through the cities of the Volga region. The monk came to Kazan in 1613 and first settled in the Transfiguration Monastery. But then, in search of solitude, Filaret arrived on the shore of Sumy Lake, twenty-seven kilometers northwest of the city, and built a cell there. At first, the monk lived alone, only sometimes local Cheremis came to the lake to perform their pagan rites. So Orthodoxy met with paganism.
This meeting turned out that the Mari throughout the district spread the news of the appearance of the holy man’s hut on the lake. And soon, many Orthodox gathered around Filaret. A chapel was built at his direction - the initial prerequisites for founding the Raifa monastery appeared. Kazan, after the capture of Ivan the Terrible, did not know such cloisters yet - this is one of the very first Orthodox communities formed on this territory.
Main shrine
Filaret died in 1659, but his work continued. In 1661, an exact copy of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, written off from the original, was brought to the Raifa Monastery in Kazan from the Krasnogorsk Monastery located near Kholmogor. From the seventeenth century to the present day, this is the main shrine of the monastery, thousands of pilgrims come to it from different parts of the country every year. In the same 1661, the Kazan Metropolitan Lawrence blessed the monastery. It got its name from the very place where in the 4th century the monks died at the hands of barbarians - Raifsky Bogoroditsky.
Construction
The monastery remained completely wooden until the fire of 1689. From the turn of the 17-18 centuries, a stone ensemble began to take shape. In the years 1690-1717. erected the existing towers and walls that stretched more than half a kilometer around the perimeter and formed the monastery’s picturesque Kremlin. In honor of the monks who died in Raifa in 1708, a church was erected in stone, in 1739-1827. over the fraternal cells they built the Sofia Church - one of the smallest: only seven people can be in the temple part at a time. In the period 1835-1842, the Georgian Cathedral was built in the style of classicism - the work of the architect M. Corinth, and in 1889-1903. built the tallest building of the monastery - the gate bell tower, a length of about sixty meters. In 1904-1910, the Trinity Cathedral was erected in neo-Russian style according to the project of architect F. Malinovsky.
Now the Raifa monastery in Kazan is one of the most luxurious and magnificent architectural ensembles in the Middle Volga region. The unique surroundings give it extraordinary picturesqueness: Sumy Lake (also called Raifsky) with a length of about one and a half kilometers and a width of 300 meters and a delightful pine forest, which has been declared a reserve since 1960.
Events after the 1917 revolution
On the eve of the October Revolution, the Raifa Monastery (Kazan) numbered up to eighty novices and monks. In 1918, the monastery was officially closed, but churches were used for worship for several more years. On charges of anti-Soviet and counter-revolutionary activity in 1930, the novice Peter and the last hieromonks were arrested: Joseph, Job, Sergius, Varlaam, Anthony. In the same year they were all shot. Since the 30s there has been a prison for political prisoners, then a colony for juvenile delinquents.
Only in 1991 Kazan regained the Raifa Monastery. Archimandrite Vsevolod recalls that when he, while still young, first came to the ruined and abandoned monastery with two novices, the revival seemed incredible to him. However, everything turned out, and it is surprising that the first who began to help the monks were local Muslims.
Current state
Now the brothers have up to sixty people. There is a shelter school for orphans (boys) in the monastery. The entire architectural ensemble is completely restored, and the monastic life is fully restored. City guests love to come to the Raifa Monastery (Kazan). Reviews of pilgrims are filled with admiration for what beautiful flower gardens are here, what magnificent sculptures, what wonderful spirit, what beautiful nature. Three churches have survived to our days: Trinity and Georgian Cathedrals, as well as a cathedral in honor of the monks killed in Raifa. In addition, the Sofia Church.
Raifa Monastery (Kazan): excursions
To visit the territory of the monastery is open at any daytime. The easiest way to get here is to come by bus from Kazan. Buses run from the North Station to Urazly and Kulbashi; their flights pass through the Raifa Monastery. There is a hotel for pilgrims on the territory of the monastery, which is called the “House of the Pilgrim”. Every day, from 7 a.m. to 8.45 p.m., a sanctuary chapel was opened in the monastery, which was consecrated in 1997 by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II. Since ancient times, water has been a means and a symbol of purification, especially if it is sanctified water. The water sanctuary stands on the western side of the temple area, into which water is drawn from artesian wells. Guests and pilgrims can always sip water from a consecrated spring or collect it and take it with them. For those who do not want to get here on their own, numerous travel agencies offer an organized excursion to the Raifa Monastery. Kazan - an amazing city, having arrived in it, do not miss the opportunity to see this monastery.