In Russia, there are currently a large number of monasteries restored from ruins after the "management" of the revolutionary masses. And many of them are named after the consecration of the main temple in honor of the icon "The Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary". It is executed in the style of an orant, that is, with arms spread out in both directions, symbolizing prayer intercession. Such an image has been known since ancient times.
Each Znamensky monastery has its own history, and it is never prosperous. However, common to all monasteries is the moment of rebirth almost from the ashes. Get to know some stories.
Vladimir region
In the city of Gorokhovets, located on the left bank of the Klyazma river, there is the Holy Znamensky Monastery. He became a female monastery relatively recently - on May 28, 1999. This happened with the blessing of the Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal Eulogius. The monastery is protected by the state as an object of cultural heritage.
The date of its foundation still raises questions, but according to one version it was 1598. This was a fateful moment for Russia, in view of the fact that the last Rurikovich (Tsar Fedor Ioannovich) died. And, as you know, the Time of Troubles began. However, God's providence brought the monks to these places, which became the first brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Znamensky. The construction was carried out at the expense of Peter Lopukhin, who came from the merchant estate, as well as citizens and townspeople. All the buildings at the time of foundation were wooden, which is not surprising: there was no shortage of forests in Vladimir land.
The date of construction of the stone church of the Sign of the Virgin is 1670. Since that time, the monastery in its independent position lasted another 23 years. However, due to its small number (23 monks), by decree of Peter I was annexed to the Assumption Florishcheva desert.
But "God is high, but far from the king," and therefore no one was in a hurry to disband the monastery, it even continued to expand. 10 years after the sovereign's decree, a bell tower was added to the Church of the Sign of the Virgin, and then another church named after the Apostle John the Theologian was added. And only in 1749 the Znamensky monastery still became part of the Florishchevsky monastery.
In the XVIII century, the monastery was already surrounded on all sides by a stone fence, in the corners of which towers towered. In addition, buildings were built for household needs and premises for the fraternity. The complex of the Znamensky Monastery was exactly what we can see today (adjusted for revolutionary "transformations").
Twentieth century
At the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, the Gorokhovets desert was updated in the process of restoration work. So she met the "new" times in all its glory. Well, then everything was as usual: liquidation and robbery in 1923, and transfer to the Gubmuzey as an “exhibit”. Since that time, the active exploitation of the territory of the monastery begins: a paper mill, a straw warehouse, warehouses, and even a state farm for livestock were located here. In these years, the fence of the XVIII century ceased to exist.
In a dilapidated state, the remains of the St. Znamensky Monastery in 1994 were returned to the church. Then the bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal Eulogius (Smirnov) the territory of the monastery was annexed to the Trinity-Nikolsky Monastery. It was planned to equip a monastery here, in connection with which some buildings were restored as far as possible.
In autumn 1995, a church was consecrated in honor of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian. But later, the plans of the Russian Orthodox Church changed, and a convent was formed on the site of the monastery. The nun Raisa (Shibeko) became his abbess and then abbess (in 2006). Under her leadership, the monastery gradually comes to life.
The address of the monastery: 601460, Vladimir Region, the city of Gorokhovets, Znamensky site. If you want to stay here for a few days, then you need to contact the monastery by phone listed on the site.
Stone mountain
In the Lipetsk region there is the Yelets Znamensky Monastery. Today it is a women's monastery, but it has not always been so.
On this territory in 1628 there was a monastery of the Trinity Monastery. The place was called Stone Mountain. And the first wooden church named after the icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin was erected here, and cells soon appeared for the monks of the Trinity Monastery, who chose strict solitude. The five elders who lived here in 1657 did not think that anyone would disturb them. However, after a quarter of a century, St. Eletsky returned the schemers to the Trinity Monastery. And there were reasons for that.
Bishop of Voronezh Mitrofan in the same year founded a convent at the site of a monastery.
The Age of Catherine
Church possessions have long been a stumbling block between secular power and the Russian Orthodox Church. Catherine II decided to dot all the "i" and published in February 1764 the "Manifesto on the Secularization of Monastery Lands". According to him, all church possessions were subject to transfer to official jurisdiction. In addition, some of the monasteries, due to their small numbers, were subject to closure, and the rest were ranked in 3 classes.
This fate did not pass the Elets Znamensky Monastery, which, in accordance with the decree, was subject to closure. On paper this was done, but the natives of the monastery refused to leave her. For about five years they continued to live, as before, but in 1769 a fire broke out in the city, which spread to the monastery.
So from the monastery remained ashes. In addition to the two old women who wished to stay, all the other nuns went to other monasteries. The life of 60-year-old Xenia and 80-year-old Agafia was difficult. They took refuge in the cellar, which only partially burned out. Somehow it was adapted for housing and spent all days in prayer for the revival of the monastery.
To help the elders, St. Tikhon sent the schemator Mitrofan. Agafya the first could not stand the harsh conditions and left this world. Ksenia was left alone, and therefore, in 1772, the nun Matrona Solntsevaya came from the Voronezh Women's Pokrovsky Monastery to support her. Residents of the area as much as possible helped to restore the monastery. They erected on the ashes a simple wooden church named after the Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Sign". That was the beginning of a parish consisting of 29 courtyards.
Revival attempts
Residents of Yelets and its environs repeatedly sent requests to Catherine II for the restoration of the monastery. It is known that in 1774 the request was refused by the highest command, since there were enough monasteries in Russia and there was no need to build new ones.
However, sovereigns come and go, but the Orthodox faith remains.
The number of natives of the closed monastery increased, and in 1778 they were joined in the future by the revered blessed schemnitsa Melania. She remained in the monastery for about 60 years, leading the life of a hermit. She was often visited by St. Tikhon. Being here for the last time in 1779, he determined the place of construction of the stone church in honor of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary “Sign” and blessed the nuns. Since 1804, the construction of the cathedral began, which continued even during the war with Napoleon.
The cloister was growing, despite the decree of the empress. By the end of the 18th century, there were already 40 nuns living here in 21 cells. This could not but worry the authorities, and in 1795 they took decisive actions to evict the natives, which was met by protests from residents and nuns. As a result, despite the available order, the illegal existence of the monastery remained unchanged.
Second discovery
Petitions to the highest name took effect, but already under Alexander I, who, by decree in 1822, allowed the existence of the monastery. Glafira Taranova, previously a nun of the Orlovsky Convent of the Introduction, was elected his abbess. At that time, there were 117 sisters and they lived in 46 cells. The active revival of the monastery began, as well as the construction of new buildings. The role of nuns in the life of the city also increased. In 1890, more than 100 girls became students of a church school. By this time, there were already 400 inhabitants, and about 150 buildings.
Shrines of the cloister
The shrine of the Znamensky Nunnery deserves special mention - the icon "The Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary". During the fire of 1769, she incredibly survived, just like in 1847, when not only the monastery, but also part of Yelets burned out. And today it is kept in the monastery, supporting the afflicted and praying for healing.
The image of Christ the Savior also survived the fire of 1769 and is miraculous.
In addition, there is the icon “Three-Handed” created on Athos, as well as the image of the Mother of God of Kazan, donated to the monastery by Saint Theophan the Recluse.
And still the monastery receives the blessing of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, whose portrait is kept by the nuns.
Tests and Recovery
To survive the revolutionary transformation of the monastery fell, headed by Mother Superior Anthony. The nuns' attempts to preserve the monastery were in vain. And at the end of the 1920s, everything happened according to the worked out scheme: the monastery was closed, the nuns were expelled or sent to camps, and the abbess was tortured to death in the dungeons of the NKVD. After 10 years, the Znamensky Cathedral was destroyed.
Since 2004, the gradual restoration of the Znamensky Monastery began. In the photo you can see how the appearance of the monastery is changing and the ruins are experiencing their rebirth. In particular, in 2009 there was a revival of the Znamensky Cathedral, which is the first stone church in the city of Yelets.
A simple listing of the restored buildings and temples of the monastery is enough. It:
- Church of the Savior Christ of Christ, where services are held today;
- the wooden church of the Miracle Worker St. Nicholas, restored by the works of the elets architect Novoseltsev;
- the chapel "Life-giving spring" in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of the same name, completely restored;
- also the bell tower and the fence of the monastery.
Today, the Yelets Monastery can be reached at: st. Slobodskaya, No. 2 "A".
Volga city of Kostroma
The Znamensky Nunnery in Kostroma was founded relatively recently - in 1993 in July. Its main attraction was the Resurrection Cathedral on Lower Debra, built in 1645 by the local merchant Kirill Isakov. The story of the building could be the plot of an adventure novel. The merchant was trading with England, and once after returning from an overseas country, he found gold coins in one of the barrels instead of paint. He was a God-fearing man, and therefore everything that miraculously came to him, he determined for a good cause: the construction of the cathedral.
And the Znamensky Church (previously called St. George's), located south of the Resurrection Cathedral, was erected several years later, but taking into account its use in cold winters. At the beginning of the XIX century it was rebuilt, after which it was consecrated in honor of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary “The Sign”. His beauty was admired by contemporaries, including members of the imperial family, who climbed his bell tower in 1913.
The post-revolutionary history of temples is quite traditional: closure and destruction. But the Resurrection Cathedral was a little more fortunate, since in 1946 he received permission to send services.
The Znamensky Cathedral was restored according to archival drawings by the architect of the diocese Leonid Sergeyevich Vasiliev.
The shrines of the monastery are the lists stored here from the revered images of Theodore Mother of God and St. Nicholas, as well as the ark with particles of the relics of the saints of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
The monastery is located in the city of Kostroma on the street. Cooperation (Lower Debris), No. 37.
Kursk Shrine
Male Kursk Znamensky Bogoroditsky monastery has an ancient history. The date of its foundation is 1613, i.e., the height of the Time of Troubles.
The monastery is known for the fact that from 1618 to 1919 it was the place of storage of the “Sign” of the miraculous Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God revered by the Russian people. The story of her finding was truly associated with a miracle.
According to legend, the image was found by a certain hunter on the birthday of the Blessed Virgin (September 8) in 1295 in a forest, not far from the ancient Kursk settlement burned by the Tatars. A man raised the icon, and in that place a spring appeared at once. The hunter told his comrades about the miracle, and they set up a wooden chapel for the image of the Virgin.
Almost 100 years passed, and again the Tatars appeared on the Kursk land. The chapel was burned, the icon was cut into two parts, and the priest became a prisoner. However, he managed to get out of captivity (according to one version, he was bought out). Returning to his homeland, Father Bogolyub found a desecrated icon and connected its parts, which miraculously fused.
The last Rurikovich, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in 1597 ordered Moscow icon painters to add to the image of the Mother of God images of the Old Testament of hosts and prophets.
In 1615, the first of the Romanov dynasty, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich returned the updated icon to Kursk with the order that a monastery called the Root Desert be founded on the site of the burnt chapel, which was done.
And from 1618, from the Kursk Znamensky Bogoroditsky Monastery, the image of the Mother of God “The Sign” was transferred to the Kursk Root Christmas-Theotokos desert by the procession.
Since 1919, the image is located outside of Russia. Today, the original icon is stored in New York, at the Synodal Znamensky Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
As for the fate of the monastery, it largely repeats the history of many monasteries that experienced fires, destruction, and rebirth. After long trials that fell to the lot of the Kursk Znamensky Bogoroditsky monastery, it was opened in August 1992. You can find it at the address: Kursk, st. Lunacharsky, No. 4.
With the blessing of John of Kronstadt
The Seraphim-Znamensky monastery was one of the last built during the rule of the Romanov dynasty. A "farewell" temple on Moscow land was erected in 1913. The movement of the masses was already beginning and it wasn’t up to the soul ... However, the Schemen of Humor Famar (nun Juvenalia), at the behest of her heart and with the support of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, began the construction of the monastery in 1910 on the lands of the Intercession community. A little earlier, during a chance meeting with St. John of Kronstadt, she received his blessing for this good work.
The monastery was consecrated in 1912 by Metropolitan of Moscow Vladimir (Epiphany), who was martyred in Kiev in 1918, during the pogrom of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. In 1924 the monastery was closed, and the abbess was exiled to the northern camps, where she "earned" consumption, from which she later died. There are archival documents testifying to how, at the time of the monastery’s closure, mother Tamar told the commissioners: “Now you are seeing us off, but the time will come and we will see you off” ...
Today the monastery is working again at the address: Moscow region, the urban district of Domodedovo, the village of Bityagovo.
These were stories of just a few of the monasteries built in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God, the “Sign”, which is revered by all Christians as protective.