The picturesque expanses of the Nikitskaya Sloboda, in the Pereslavl Territory, adorn the white stone walls of the ancient monastery, which has been standing on this land for several centuries. From far away it reminds an ice palace. He has seen a lot, his story is rich. Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky) now daily receives hundreds of pilgrims who come from all over our country to worship the shrine. On the shore of Lake Pleshcheyev, far from the bustle of worldliness, the local inhabitants obey, work, restore the monastery, destroyed in troubled times.
Nikitsky Monastery - Pereslavl-Zalessky. History of education
Nikitsky Monastery is the oldest monastery of the Russian land, named after the great martyr Nikita. The foundation date is considered the boundary of the XI-XII centuries. A monastery was created under the leadership of Suzdal Prince Boris Vladimirovich, who, after his death, became the first saint in Russia with his brother Gleb, was canonized by the face of the martyr-martyr. It was during his reign that the Nikitsky monastery was a stronghold where pagans were converted to the Christian faith.
Nikitsky monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky) bears the name of the great martyr, who lived in the IV century. In those days, Christianity spread throughout Europe, Nikita - a wealthy Gothic military leader who abandoned paganism and followed the teachings of Christ. Ahead of this, he saw in a dream a lad with a cross, and when he woke up, he found on his chest an icon depicting a Virgin with a baby, in whose hands was a cross. Having been baptized, Nikita began to preach the teachings of Christ, for which he was sentenced by the Gentiles to be burned. He was protected from the fire by the icon on his chest, which he wore under his clothes. Then they left him to be devoured by wild animals. At night, his body was kidnapped by a friend Marian, who buried him. Later, Christians erected a church on the site of the grave, which was named after the great martyr. The relics of Nikita gained the ability to heal, became miraculous. Later, the monastery, built on this site, gained fame thanks to another martyr. His name was also Nikita (Stolpnik). So the monastery is called after these saints.
The heyday of the monastery under John the Terrible
In 1528, on the site of the old Nikitsky church, on the orders of Grand Duke Vasily III, a white stone Nikitsky Cathedral was built.
During its rule, the abode took its true heyday under the rule of the son of Basil - Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He decided to prepare the monastery as a reserve oprichnina fortress, in case Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda would lose its reliability as a fortification . John repeatedly made a pilgrimage to the Nikitsky monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky).
In 1560, the king ordered the construction of a new cathedral building. It was a five-domed temple. An old building from the time of the father began to belong to the southern limit of Nikita Stolpnik. John the Terrible personally attended the consecration of the new cathedral. From himself, he presented a bronze chandelier as a gift, and his wife Anastasia personally presented her with an embroidered image of Nikita Stolpnik. This temple has survived in our days. At that time, other buildings were erected on the territory of the monastery, but not all of them were preserved: the refectory church, the gate church of the Archangel Gabriel, towers and walls, which were rebuilt several times throughout history. He founded John and the monastery, provided the monastery with estates.
The participation of the royal family of the Romanovs
Nikitsky Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky in 1609 withstood the siege of the Poles. But in 1611, the Lithuanians, led by Pan Sapieha, after a siege lasting two weeks, completely burned out the monastery. Many defenders died, hegumen Mikhail, who survived the siege, wandered for a long time.
The Romanov family took a direct part in the restoration of the monastery. Alexei Mikhailovich, Mikhail Fedorovich, Patriarch Filaret presented valuable gifts to the monastery. Under Alexei Mikhailovich in 1645 towers and walls were restored. At the same time, the Annunciation Church was erected, which has survived to this day. The church has a two-story refectory and a tent bell tower.
In 1702 the Chernihiv chapel was erected, it is considered the last example of ancient Pereslavl architecture.
In Catherine’s time, many monasteries survived disastrous times. The construction of the monastery continued in the XVIII-XIX centuries. 1768 - the chapel of St. Nicholas was added to the refectory. In the XVIII century. also erected a chapel above the pillar of St. Nikita.
At the beginning of the XIX century. in place of the old gate church, a high bell tower was built.
Destructive 20th Century
In 1918, the monastery property was nationalized by the Soviets. In 1923, the monastery was formally liquidated, and all valuable objects were transferred to the historical museum. All monks were expelled from the monastery. All sorts of institutions were located in buildings and churches at different periods of the reign of Soviet power: the Rest House for scientists settled here, there was a school, and military units, and living rooms, and even a prison.
In 1933, in the most barbaric way, the ancient iconostasis of Nikitsky Cathedral was burned. Many ancient architectural structures of historical value have simply been destroyed over the years.
In the 1960s and 70s it was decided to restore the Nikitsky Cathedral. But, either because of the negligent attitude of the builders, or because of the miscalculations of the architect, the central head of the temple collapsed in 1984. The centuries-old monastery well has disappeared.
Buildings that have stood for many centuries, were destroyed literally in a few years. In 1977, the Annunciation Church was almost destroyed in a fire. For many years the temple was simply abandoned, overgrown with weeds, buildings were dilapidated. Many true Christians could not look without tears at the Nikitsky monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky). Requirements, memorial services, memorial services, which the believers so needed, ceased to be available to the people. Only in the hot 90s did the revival of the monastery begin.
Nikitsky Monastery, Pereslavl-Zalessky. Rebirth
Only in 1993 the Nikitsky Monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. Since this year, a large-scale restoration of the monastery began, we can say that it came to life and again began to be reborn to the joy of all Christians. The monastery was completely restored, work was carried out not only outside but also inside, painting was done by the best icon-painters. The newly appointed governor, Bishop Anatoly, supervised all the work.
In 1999, Archimandrite Dimitry was appointed viceroy, who continued work on the improvement and revival of the monastery.
Glory to the Lord, the most important shrine - the relics of the great martyr Nikita Stolpnik and his faith was miraculously preserved in the monastery. Thousands of pilgrims come to Pereslavl-Zalessky all year round. Nikitsky Monastery, whose address is: Nikitskaya Sloboda, Zaprudnaya, 20, accepts all believers, tel .: (48535) 2-20-08. He gives everyone the opportunity to adhere to the shrines.
Architecture. The temples of the monastery
The monastery is on a raised platform. It is surrounded by a wall of stone with towers, loopholes and embrasures. In the monastery itself there are three churches: the Great Martyr Nikita, the Holy Archangel Gabriel, the refectory church of the Annunciation of the Virgin.
The monastery walls, towers, as well as the Nikitsky Cathedral belong to the XVI century and are of particular architectural interest.
Buildings in the walls of the monastery:
- fortress walls, towers (1560);
- monastic corps (1876);
- the pillar-chapel of Nikita (1786);
- gate bell tower (1818);
- tent bell tower (1668);
- Church of the Annunciation, refectory (XVII century);
- Nikitsky Cathedral (1561).
Buildings behind the wall:
- Nikitsky Chapel;
- Chernihiv Chapel (1702).
If you decide to visit the Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky), the schedule of services, pilgrimage excursions can be found by contacting kancelyria@yareparhia.ru or by calling the phone number above. The novices will contact you and help you resolve any issues.
Who is Nikita Stolpnik? Sinner?
The life of Nikita Stolpnik does not tell us about his infancy and youth. And begins with a description of his fall. A mature man, he serves as a tax collector, was an evil and greedy man. He was married to a patient, obedient woman. Particularly in the scripture are emphasized such character traits of Nikita as love of money, cruelty, and vindictiveness. To the highest ranks was obliging and flattering. So he lived for many years, enriching and robbing the people. Indirect stories say that Nikita was no stranger to the doctrine, he read the Psalter, learned to read and write, inserted into quotation from the scripture. Inside him was that pivot of ardor, determination and a certain dissatisfaction with a well-fed life. So his life turned upside down in an instant.
Repentance. Trekking
Once Nikita went into the new Transfiguration Church, where he was heard by paremias - selected passages from the Old Testament, where prophecies and instructions sounded. The words-calls in Nikita’s head echoed loudly to cleanse his soul, become kinder, pray for his sins, and learn to bring light and good to those close to him. The Lord himself wanted to reach out to him. All night a dream did not go to him. In the morning, he ordered his wife to cook dinner with meat, decided to invite distinguished guests, free herself from "obsession." The wife began cooking and here Nikita was shocked by her terrible cry. Running to her, he saw why she was so scared. Instead of broth, blood boiled in the boiler and pieces of bodies floated in it. At that moment, the sinner died in the consciousness of Nikita, he realized that the Lord was showing him the true path. He rushed out of town.
For a long time on his knees he begged the abbot to take him to the Nikitsky monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky). He ordered him to kneel at the gates of the abode of anyone passing by to ask for forgiveness. That's what Nikita did. After that, he decided to punish his flesh and stood for three days in a swamp, where a cloud of insects tormented him to exhaustion. So the monks found him here, brought him to the monastery and took him to the monastery.
Nikita stayed in a vigil in a narrow cell, observed strict fasting, but this seemed to him not enough. Then, to torture his flesh, he dug a pillar (pit) for himself, put on iron chains (chains with crosses), and a stone hat on his head. Day and night he was in the pillar, atone for his sins, and asked for other sinners. Satisfied only with water and a piece of prosphora. His Spirit was cleansed by prayers and repentance, he did not notice the pain of his flesh. The Lord accepted his repentance and sent him the gift of healing and insight.
Healing of Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich
Everyone who came hundreds of miles to Pereslavl-Zalessky visited the Nikitsky monastery in order to talk with Nikita Stolpnik. He eased the suffering of people, healed not only the soul, but also the body. Rumor reached him about Chernigov, where Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich suffered from illnesses from an early age. With his boyar neighbor, the prince was on his way to approach the pillar of Nikita, to communicate with the miracle worker. Belief in healing with Prince Michael was very great, but he passed many trials along the way. They got to the walls of the monastery, stopped. Arriving at the monastery, the boyar found Nikita in the chains and a stone hat, praying day and night, told about all his troubles. The great martyr listened to him, gave his staff and ordered the prince to come to him. When Mikhail took the staff from the hands of the boyar, he immediately felt a great strength in himself. He himself reached the pillar of Nikita, poured out his thanks to him, and the monastery was rewarded with generous gifts.
The death of the great martyr Nikita. Finding Beliefs
The news of the miraculous healing and generous gifts of the prince quickly spread throughout the world. Relatives of Nikita rushed to him, because they intended to get some of the wealth. The righteous for a long time inspired them about evil, about the sin of love of money, but they did not heed his words, but only became bitter in heart. They decided that the belts on Nikita were silver, so they shone in the sun.
They thought a dirty deed. At night, the attackers secretly entered the monastery, crept up to the pillar and began to destroy the boards that covered the pit (from rains and bad weather). Nikita heard all this, guessed about their intentions, but did not raise noise and anxiety. Silently, he accepted beatings, death from tormentors, surrendered to the will of God. So his mortal body doomed peace, and his soul ascended into heaven. The deceivers took the chains from him and rushed for the gate. Already in the field, they realized that it was not silver, but ordinary iron, and in desperation threw the faith in the Volga.
Having discovered the body of lifeless Nikita, the brothers carried him to the temple. The rumor about his death quickly spread, and many people reached out to the tomb of the great martyr. Many at that time received healing before his grave.
The pious old man Simeon from a neighboring monastery went to the river bank in the morning and saw a luminous pillar above the water, he called the archimandrite, the townspeople. Having sailed to the middle of the river, they found that like a tree they floated on the surface of Nikita’s chain - chains and crosses. The monks of Nikitins gladly accepted this message, equipped the delegation and transferred the faith to their monastery, and laid them at the tomb of Nikita Stolpnik.
Hundreds of pilgrims are drawn to the monastery to venerate the relics of Nikita, to find healing, both soul and body.