This monument of domestic architecture and history has long been well-deserved popularity and recognition. It is known that the Orthodox female Nicholas-Terebensky monastery (Tver region), founded in the 16th century, was initially male. Today, childless couples come here to beg for children.
They say that before the revolution, the Nikolo-Terebensky monastery was a cave monastery - here you can see the preserved arches of the underground temple of Alexander Svirsky. The remaining moves are not yet accessible to visitors - they were laid down due to the possibility of failure of the ground. On holidays and weekends, services are held in the Annunciation Church. According to eyewitnesses, in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the St. Nicholas-Terebensky Monastery in the Tver Region, in which regular services are not yet held, frescoes began to appear by themselves. Believers call them “living,” because the paintings from the life of Jesus Christ appearing on the walls of the cathedral are living wavering images. The visitors are especially impressed by the fresco on which the characters of The Last Supper clearly appear.
The place where the Nikolo-Terebensky Convent is located, according to reviews, is truly amazing. Everyone who comes here gets a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet here. Many admire the surrounding magnificent, truly Levitan landscapes - the picturesque bend of the Mologa River with its sandy banks and endless, boundless expanses of Russian.
Nicholas-Terebensky Convent (Maksatikha): Acquaintance
This monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church was founded in the 2nd half of the 19th century as a man’s in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker. Nicholas-Terebensky Monastery (photo is presented in the article) is located in the village of Truzhenik (formerly called Terebeni) of the Maksatikhinsky district of the Tver region. In the 30s of the twentieth century, the monastery was closed, but from the mid-90s it began to revive as a female.
Legend
According to one legend, back in 1492, the Russian landowner Mikhail Obudkov decided to build a church in the name of St. Nicholas in one of his villages called Terebeni. They chose a place suitable for construction, where they put the image of a saint. But several times the icon miraculously turned out to be near the Mologa River and a lake spread out nearby, on the banks of which several birches grew and there was a well.
The landowner saw in this amazing movement of the icon a miraculous sign and regarded it as the will of the Miracle Worker, which he did not consider possible to resist. On the place, which, as Obudkov understood, was indicated by the holy Pleasure, a small wooden church was built. Over time, the village of Terebeni was granted by the landowner to church servants for eternal remembrance of him and his family.
History: a wonderful find
At first it was a parish church, but soon a monastery was built near it. In troubled times, the monastery was devastated by the Poles. In 1611, the monk Onufry settled here, but soon he could not stand the emptiness of these places and left them. Desolation continued for about thirty years, until the very start of the construction of two chapels, Artemy and Abraham, a chapel (1641). During construction work, they discovered the miraculous icon of the Prelate, preserved intact and unharmed for forty years.
The happy monks instead of the chapel built a small wooden temple on this site. Thus, the Terebensky monastery was revived in its old place. The fame of the miraculous appearance of the image spread very quickly, the pilgrims arrived and did not skimp on sacrifices. Thanks to this, the monastery gradually became rich, flowering and well-maintained.
On the intercession of holy icons
In addition to the image of St. Nicholas, the monastery also stores the legendary Terebenskaya icon of the Mother of God. In the summer of 1654, a terrible epidemic of pestilence began in the capital, surrounding cities and villages of the Bezhetsk Territory. Bezhechans turned to God and His Most Holy Mother with pleas for forgiveness of sins and pardon.
Believing in the indestructible power of prayers and the intercession of St. Nicholas and the Virgin Mary before the Lord, a huge number of refugees arrived at the Terebensky monastery, where they were given the miraculous icons of the Hierarch and the Terebensky Mother of God. On the same day, with great hope and reverence, the holy icons were exhibited in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ (Bezhetsky Upper), the pestilence in the city and the whole region began to decline.
On holding the Great Bezhetsky Religious Procession
In gratitude to the Lord, the Theotokos and St. Nicholas, the Orthodox for three days served before the wonderful images of the service, after which the holy icons with great honors were placed in the Terebensky monastery. In memory of how miraculously the Bezhetsky Territory was relieved of pestilence, it was decided to make the annual procession with icons of the Terebensky Monastery in Bezhetsky Verkh. Since then, the icon of the Mother of God of Tereben has been revered as miraculous.
The Big Bezhetsky procession was resumed only in 1990. Since then, every year on July 6, the monastery celebrates as a great holiday. The icons are carried on hand to the village of Pyatnitskoye, where a water sanctuary is served at the source of St. Martyrs Paraskeva Fridays, after which they are taken to Maksatikha (district center) and to Bezhetsk.
History of St. Nicholas-Terebensky Monastery in Maksatikha (male)
Before the October Revolution, Nicholas-Terebensky Monastery owned 1,350 hectares of land. After secularization, the land continued to belong to the monastery, with only about forty monks who worked tirelessly. The monastery maintained a theological seminary in Tver, and helped orphans. In the 20s, the monastery ceased to exist. Pious inhabitants were able to preserve its shrines. In the mid-90s, after eighty years of godlessness and total reproach of faith, the restoration of the ancient Terebenskaya desert began.
Today
In 2004, the St. Nicholas-Terebensky monastery (Tver region) was given the status of a female. Nun Olga (Nazmutdinova) was appointed rector. The monastery has a center for training and medical rehabilitation of orphans. The monastery owns 640 hectares of land. It is planned to create an agricultural enterprise on the basis of which students could undergo practical training.
Objects requiring serious reconstruction have been preserved directly on the territory of the monastery: Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Nicholas Cathedral; underground church Alexander Svirsky; residential buildings; walls of the monastery. The outbuildings of the St. Nicholas-Terebensky Monastery (Tver Region) are completely destroyed. The Sretensky church was destroyed to the foundation.
Church of the Annunciation
This temple was founded in 1882. At first it was built along with cells and utility rooms, but soon the building was dismantled and a new one was built. Now it housed the library of the monastery, numbering hundreds of volumes of various art and theological books. It is known that the famous Chaliapin once sang here in the choir. Under Soviet rule, chickens were sold in the church building. Today the church has been restored and services are being held there.
St. Nicholas Cathedral
It is known that the wooden church of St. Nicholas, erected in the eighteenth century, was repeatedly rebuilt. The construction of the cathedral was finally completed in 1833. Its roofs were covered with white iron. The building had five domes, a two-tier bell tower decorated with a spire and a cross, the height of which reached seventeen fathoms (about 36 m), a cast-iron floor, carved gilded gates, a gilded iconostasis. The temple was consecrated in 1838.
At the temple there are two aisles. After the monastery was closed, the cathedral was preserved. This is explained by the fact that farm workers first used its building to store fertilizers, and then a gym was opened here.
Bell tower
According to archival information, the stone bell tower was erected in 1835 and consisted of 3 tiers: the first is a quadrangular; the second is octagonal with eight half-columns; the third is a quadrangular with eight columns. The bell tower had twelve copper bells, was covered with iron painted with copper, and was decorated with an iron gilded cross. The height of the bell tower reached 16 sazhens (approximately 34 meters). With a cross, its height was 17 fathoms (about 36 meters). Under the bell tower was a chamber for the storage of the monastery treasury. In 1996, the restoration of the bell tower began. Under the Soviet regime, not a single bell was left on it, all were lost. The issue began to be addressed in 1999. In 2000, new bells were cast and installed.
"Living frescoes"
According to eyewitnesses, after the first Divine Liturgy was served in St. Nicholas Cathedral, frescoes began to appear on its walls, which had not been touched by the human hand for many years.
First, fragmentary scenes of plots appear: parts of the face, flowers, clothes, then various pieces of coherent compositions. Under each of the frescoes you can read the inscription - excerpts from the Holy Scriptures. Mother Olga (abbess of the monastery) is sure that the restoration of ancient frescoes on the walls and arches of the cathedral is a divine sign. Specialists cannot give any clear explanations so far. Presumably, the authors of the wall paintings of the cathedral are Kalyazin painters Nikifor Krylov and Alexei Tyranov, who in the future became students of the famous artist A. G. Venetsianov, who repeatedly visited the monastery.
About the underground church of St. Alexander Svirsky
According to historians, in addition to the vast monastery, spread on the surface of the earth, there was also an underground one. In the 18th century, the church was built by the land of St. Alexander Svirsky. According to legend, in this monastery the saint began his feat of worship. It was him, the only one of all Russian ascetics, who had a vision of the Holy Trinity.
It is known that in one of the underground rooms was a temple, and the other was used as housing by hermit monks who did not go out into the white light. Under the entire territory of the monastery (about seven hectares) underground passages were dug. Currently, they are all laid down due to landslides. The descent into the earth is possible only in one room - where the image of the Blessed Womb is located. This icon is considered another miracle of St. Nicholas-Terebensky Convent. It is believed that childless couples should certainly go to this monastery and pray in front of its icons. Thanks to prayers in front of the wonderful icon of the Blessed Womb, many couples managed to have children. Childlessness, according to nuns, is sometimes sent to people as a test so that they turn to God.
How to get here?
How to get to the St. Nicholas-Terebensky monastery in the Tver region? This question is often asked by tourists and pilgrims. Address of the monastery: st. Sadovaya 24, the village of Truzhenik, Maksatikhinsky district, Tver region.
It is best to go by your own transport. For convenience, experts recommend using the GPS coordinates: 58.0090583983039, 35.6585080549121. For visitors: at the monastery there is a hotel for pilgrims.