Since ancient times, monasteries have been centers of culture and spiritual development. It was in them that the connection of times and generations was carried out. In the past, monasteries were the birthplace of typography, writing, annals, and letters. Thanks to this, today scientists study and describe historical events of different periods. Monasteries are also a shelter for the afflicted, a shelter for the persecuted. In the old days, people who were objectionable to her could hide from power here. So the Resurrection Goritsky Monastery is part of the great history of the Russian State.
Annals
A chronicle about him was compiled in the 19th century. Studying it, we can conclude that there has long been a desert (graveyard). The revival that the Resurrection Goritsky Monastery survived is associated with the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Religious buildings were distinguished by modest beauty and grandeur. The Resurrection Cathedral is a monumental and oldest building in the monastery. Initially, he had two chapters. The remaining four on the sides, with iron drums, were created later. The upper part of the walls of the cathedral is decorated with northern decor. The temple is designed in a simple style. The bell tower was built in 1611 and rebuilt in the XVIII century.
The Resurrection Goritsky Monastery practically did not change the existing appearance, formed at the end of the XVIII century, to the present. And the layout of the cathedral complex has not been changed much since the 16th century. Internal alterations and small extensions were only of functional importance. Therefore, the Resurrection Goritsky Monastery preserved the main architecture. All buildings are grouped around the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, arranged in a spiral.
Foundation History
The monastery was founded in 1544 by Princess Euphrosyne Staritskaya. She was the widow of the prince Andrei Staritsky (native uncle of Tsar John IV of Grozny). At that time there was already a wooden Resurrection Church, which was replaced by a stone one. In 1563, as a result of denunciation, the princess was deprived of the royal disposition. She cut her hair as a nun, humbly taking the name of Eudokia. Together with her, they adopted monasticism and her entourage. Having settled in the monastery, the princess took care of its arrangement. Gold sewing workshops were transferred from the estate. The first abbess was old lady Anna. The fate of the founder is tragic. On September 11, 1569, by order of the tsar, Princess Nun Evdokia and Abbess Anna were drowned by guardsmen in the river. The legend about the Resurrection Goritsky Monastery says that they were put in a rich ship, heavily loaded with stones. It went to the bottom as soon as it set sail. The bodies of the nuns were discovered a few days later, floating against the stream. After they began to be revered as saints.
The tragic fate of the founder influenced the further share of the monastery. Famous husbands sent their disgusting wives there; exiled women from noble families lived here. In 1569, the monastery numbered 70 residents. Among the famous settlements were two wives of Ivan the Terrible - A. Koltovskaya and M. Nagaya. Princess K. Godunova, Princess M. Cherkasskaya and I. Miloslavskaya also lived here, later (1739-1741) E. Dolgorukova (daughter of A. G. Dolgorukov) lived here under the strictest supervision. Among the benefactors - Tsar Theodore Ivanovich (1597), the last of the Rurikovich.
According to the will of Maria Nagoy in 1611, a new stone church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine was erected in the monastery with the aisle of Tsarevich Dimitry and the bell tower. In December 1612, the monastery was ruined by Polish-Lithuanian invaders. In 1693 there was a strong fire, which destroyed most of the property and wooden buildings. There were only charred walls from stone temples. A monument of architecture was restored with the help of the Cyril Monastery. In the XVI century, under Peter I, the monastery became impoverished and lost all privileges.
Charter Features
The charter of the monastery was not like the others. It was determined by the unusual composition of nuns. In contrast to the generally accepted, in the monastery there was a charter under which each resident disposed of her own funds, had her own cell and kept her own household, corresponding to abundance. The connection between them was supported by general prayer and submission to the abbess. Each new nun paid a fee in the treasury for shearing and had to acquire a cell, which became her property. She could sell it or give it to someone at her discretion. Each individual also cared for food, with the exception of rare cases when it was a poor or infirm inhabitant. Then at the meeting of the old women a decision was made to issue a little help. As a result, such a peculiar charter, in the absence of state support, led the monastery to desolation.
Rebirth
In 1810, under the abbess of Mauritius Khodneva, a revival began. In a short time, a female Orthodox monastery began to flourish. A compulsory charter was introduced, it rallied the sisters. Under the gardens, they rented land and built a brick factory. New construction has begun. At the expense of the mother’s assistant, Mother Feofania organized weaving, painting and gold-sewing workshops. Over time, mother Feofania won great love and trust of the nuns. She worked very selflessly.
In 1845, Archbishop Leonid of Novgorod came to see Feofania personally. After that, a decree was issued on her transfer to the capital. The purpose of the translation is the foundation of a new monastery. Mother arrived in St. Petersburg with three sisters, and another 20 Goritsky nuns joined them. 10/28/1845 mother dedicated in the abbess. The hardworking nun was valued by the royal people. She died on July 18, 1861 and is buried on the south side in the Trinity Church. At the beginning of the XX century, the Goritsky monastery had the level of the third class, totaled about five hundred settlements and belonged to the Novgorod diocese. Today he is patronized by the Vologda diocese, which does a lot to restore the former glory of the monastery.
New severe challenges
After the 1917 revolution, the Kolos artel was created in it, in which the nuns worked, lived and prayed until the monastery was closed in the 30s of the last century. Prioress Zosima was shot. Disabled and elderly nuns were drowned on a barge in the White Lake, the rest were shot or exiled. Miraculously, the survivors lived in the only functioning Pokrovskaya (Undercity) church.
After the Second World War, the Resurrection Goritsky Nunnery was turned into the House of Disabled, functioning until 1973. Then the church buildings were transferred to the museum. And in the Trinity Cathedral housed the House of Culture, in the Vvedensky church - a tractor workshop, in the Intercession Church - the board of the farm. The Resurrection Cathedral as an architectural monument of the 16th century was transferred to the state farm.
A new revival began in 1996 through the efforts of the abbess Euphalia (Lebedeva), who, at the invitation of Vladyka Maximilian, arrived in Goritsy from the Krasnogorsk Pokrovsky Monastery (Zolotonosha, Cherkasy Region).
Today the monastery is experiencing its new birth. The monastery has a large farm; there is a farmyard and chickens. Most of the products made by the village do it yourself. Repair and restoration work is underway, ponds are being cleared. The cloister was transferred to the Vologda diocese.
Location and Pilgrimage
The monastery is located near the city of Kirillov, only seven kilometers from it. The monastery is located on the left side of the Sheksna River. It was built at the foot of Mount Maura, where the area is saturated with picturesque green meadows and the beauty of lakes. This is the village of Goritsy, Vologda Oblast. The small village in the summer lives at the expense of tourists and pilgrims who come here on an excursion. Cruise ships make a mandatory stop at these places. Tourists go to the Kirillo-Belozersky, Ferapontov monasteries and do not forget to visit the Goritsky monastery, less known, but very important in the cultural and spiritual layer that the Vologda diocese creates in the Kirillovsky district and the region, as well as for Russia as a whole. The monastery is visited by many pilgrims. Their number increases significantly in the summer. Residents of the monastery lead an active public life, communicate with local residents and visiting pilgrims, and conduct educational and pedagogical work.