According to ancient legend, on the night of November 24 (December 4), 1658, a miracle was revealed to the pious sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich: during a rest after a hunt in the Ermolinsky Groves, near Moscow, the great martyr Catherine of Alexandria appeared before him and announced the birth of her daughter. Upon returning home, the happy father gave the newborn the name of a holy evangelist, and at the place of her miraculous appearance, he ordered the founding of a monastery, later called the Catherine Deserts. Having learned a series of ups and downs, the monastery has survived to the present day and today is one of the leading spiritual centers of Russia.
Sovereign brainchild
As in most Russian monasteries, the earliest buildings of the Catherine desert were wooden, but already in 1664 the construction of stone structures began. From archival documents it is known that during the first three years all construction work was supervised by Ivan Kuznechik, an archer of the regiment of the boyar Artamon Matveev. Within three years, the construction of the main buildings was completed, and their interior decoration began. It is worth noting that the money for this charitable cause was not taken from the treasury, but from the personal funds of the sovereign. Thus, the Catherine’s Desert monastery, created near Moscow, whose photos are presented in the article, is rightfully considered to be his brainchild.
State owned cloister
In the first decades after its founding, the monastery was entirely supported by the state, since it did not yet have any villages or land that could provide residents with a constant income. The only source of livelihood was the so-called ruga - regular deductions from the Order of the Grand Palace.
It was a kind of salary to the monks who prayed incessantly for the king and the Fatherland. They began to pay it at the behest of the same Alexei Mikhailovich. However, from archival documents it follows that the prayers were offered regularly, but sometimes the money arrived with great delays, and then the brethren of the monastery, according to the compiler of the annals, "fell into great need."
The period of prosperity and prosperity
But the Lord is merciful, and even generous people in Russia have never been translated. Gradually material wealth came to St. Catherine’s deserts. According to the church inventory, compiled in 1764, its inhabitants owned vast lands occupied by arable land, forest and designated for haying.
In addition, the document mentions a lot of precious church utensils, as well as icons in silver with gilding. The gilded ark is especially noted in which the relics of St. Catherine and some other holy martyrs were stored. The monastic brethren also possessed a very extensive library containing the works of prominent church fathers.
The improvement of the monastery in the second half of the XVIII century
It is characteristic that during the reign of Empress Catherine II, who, as is known, pursued a policy of secularization, that is, the rejection of monastic and parish lands into state ownership, the Catherine deserts not only did not suffer, but further strengthened her well-being.
So, in the 60s of the XVIII century, the main monastery cathedral was erected and the gate church was renovated, several fraternal buildings were built, and the territory was surrounded by a stone fence. Such a large-scale construction work was carried out thanks to the assistance of the outstanding religious figure of that era, Metropolitan of Moscow Plato (Levshin) and the vigorous work of the rector of the monastery, hieromonk Melchizedek.
The robbery of the monastery
In the history of the monastery of the first half of the 19th century, a very unfortunate incident was also noted, proving that there were always people who were able to trample both God's and earthly laws. It began with the fact that in the early 1930s, the rector of the Yuryev Monastery located near Moscow, Archimandrite Photius donated a very valuable thing as a gift to the Catherine Desert - a fox cross decorated with diamonds, the cost of which amounted to 10 thousand rubles in bills - a huge sum for those times .
This was done in order to financially support the brothers in faith in a difficult period for them, however, the jewel was not sold by them and was stored in the monastery sacristy for several years. It was she who attracted the attention of intruders who penetrated in the summer of 1835 under the guise of pilgrims into the territory of the monastery and committed a daring robbery.
Fortunately, the villains did not manage to find the pectoral cross, but, leaving the monastery walls, they took away with them many valuable items of church utensils, among which were silver salaries and vestments torn from the icons. Two valuable historical relics, also stored in the sacristy, were left untouched - two battle banners of the Russian army during the war of 1812, transferred to the monastery by one of his trustees - Prince Peter Volkonsky.
Subsequent construction work
In the 19th century, hieromonks Misail and Arseny played a prominent role in the arrangement of the monastery and the development of its economy, one of which was rector from 1842 to 1870, and the other, becoming his successor, held this position for the next two decades. With them, the old church of the apostles Peter and Paul was renovated and re-consecrated, the main monastery cathedral dedicated to the great martyr Catherine was rebuilt, the gate church was reconstructed and frescoed.
In addition, new fraternal buildings were erected and two hotels for nonresident pilgrims were built. Subsidiary farming has also expanded significantly. As can be seen from the surviving documents, by the end of the 19th century it brought an annual profit of up to 6 thousand rubles in silver, which at that time made the monastery one of the most wealthy.
On the wave of technological progress
Two significant events in the economic life of Russia itself had a very beneficial effect on the life of the monastery. The first of them - the completion of the construction of the Moscow-Kursk Railway in 1869 - simplified communication with the capital, and the second - the beginning of the operation of the Ryazan-Ural Line - significantly increased the influx of pilgrims.
This happened due to the fact that now the distance from the Catherine desert to the nearest station did not exceed two kilometers, and sufficiently comfortable travel conditions were provided for all visitors. Since that time, pilgrimages to the monastery began to be performed in whole parishes. It was especially crowded during the processions, which were regularly arranged for the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
Beginning of troubles and trials
All this had the most favorable effect on the welfare of the monks, but the 20th century, which brought many trials of the entire Russian Orthodox Church, did not spare them either. The trouble began with the fact that in 1908 the abbot of the monastery died at the hands of the Socialist-Revolutionary terrorists, and later, when the First World War broke out, the monastery was completely disbanded. At first, the vast land plot of the Catherine desert with the buildings on it was allotted to accommodate refugees from the western regions of Russia, and later the sisters of the Krasnostok women's monastery evacuated from Poland settled on its territory. The former owners of the cells went to different monasteries in the Moscow province.
Under the banner of socialism
In the Soviet period, the monastery suffered the same fate as many similar cloisters of long-suffering Russia. Soon after the Bolsheviks came to power, it was closed and converted into a prison for juvenile delinquents. A club was set up in the premises of the former church of Peter and Paul. Many of the natives - former Polish refugees - were arrested and sent to camps, from where most of them never returned.
In 1938, the former Catherine Deserts was transferred to the disposal of the most popular department in Stalin's time - the Main Administration of Places of Detention. Within a month, with the help of 800 workers, God's abode was turned into a prison for especially dangerous criminals, which meant the top party and business leaders who didn’t please the leader.
For this purpose, the remaining towers were demolished, the territory was fenced with several rows of barbed wire, and the former fraternal cells were turned into prison cells. The former Holy Gates were walled up, establishing instead of them a checkpoint guarded by sentries with dogs. They did not forget to equip a secret crematorium, in which the bodies of those who could not stand the conditions of imprisonment were burned. It is curious that the idea of creating a special NKVD prison in the walls of the monastery belonged personally to N. Yezhov, who, after his fall in 1939, was himself among its prisoners.
In 1949, in the territory adjacent to this closed facility, the NKVD formed the working village of Vidnoe, which later received the status of the city and the administrative center of the Leninsky district of the Moscow region. To this he is to this day.
Shrine Rebirth
The process of the return of property illegally taken from the Church, which began during the perestroika period, also affected the Catherine desert located in the city of Vidnoe, or rather, all that was left of it. Large-scale work to restore the desecrated shrine began in 1992 shortly after the appointment of Hieromonk Tikhon (Nedosekin) as its rector. Then the execution of all necessary documents was completed.
Several years of hard work and help from voluntary donors helped revive the monastic service in the monastery, which was interrupted shortly after the October armed coup. Today, as before, pilgrims from the capital and other cities of the country flock here to not only bow to the shrines, but also to receive full spiritual nourishment from her shepherds. One such recognized mentor is the monk Seraphim. In the Catherine desert, he regularly receives a lot of people who want to lighten the soul, throw off the heavy burden of sins and get wise advice. In 2010, a monastery dedicated to its history was opened at the monastery.
The main architectural dominant of the monastery complex is the temple, consecrated in honor of St. Catherine the Great Martyr. Its most ancient part, in which the refectory is located, was erected in 1787, and the later - in the second half of the XIX century. The gate church in the name of Demetrius of Rostov is also very interesting. She is a vivid example of late classicism in temple architecture.
Cottage village near the monastery walls
Today, the cottage village, which has a number of undeniable advantages, is also attracting many to the city of Vidnoe. Located at the edge of a relict pine forest, it is at the same time only 6 kilometers from Moscow. An important role is played by the highways passing near it, such as the Kashirskoye and Simferopolskoye highways, as well as highway number 40. You can drive from the capital to the Catherine’s Deserts in a matter of minutes. Houses with plots are sold at relatively low prices, corresponding to the economy class. The construction of the village is a rejoicing phenomenon for the monastery, as many new settlers will be among its regular visitors.