The holy mountain Athos and Palestine have always been the ultimate dreams of Russian pilgrims. Pilgrimage in pre-revolutionary Russia was equated with a feat, because the planes did not fly, the railway was a luxury, and not everyone had horses. Therefore, the Orthodox, wishing to go on a trip to Mount Athos or to the Holy Sepulcher, were preparing for long pedestrian crossings to the seashore in order to board the ship at the port to its destination.
Shrines were often worshiped by the whole family, having previously sold livestock and other property. The path was long and difficult, from the pilgrimage it was possible not to return. But people still aspired to the distant ideals of Christian purity.
Russians on the Holy Mountain
The Athos monasteries in which the Russian monks lived were financed and existed, including at the expense of the Russian Empire. In port cities, ships were loaded with provisions and delivered to the island by sea.
Often along with products passed notes with names, and the inhabitants of the monasteries and cells on Mount Athos prayed for those who supported the monks. At the end of the nineteenth century in Odessa there was a transit point for pilgrims and pilgrims - the Holy Ilyinsky Odessa Monastery. How to get to the monastery, travelers did not think, the monks met them at the port and escorted to the place.
Compound of the Russian monastery
The now revered Odessa saint Rev. Gabriel of Athos became the organizer of the pilgrimage center in 1884. In addition to prayer and church services, the inhabitants of the Holy Ilyinsky Odessa Monastery helped the pilgrims to draw up documents for entry to Greece and Palestine, provided shelter, where people gained strength after a long passage, and selected places on the ship.
The St. Elias Monastery, located on Mount Athos, was interested in attracting pilgrims, so in 1884 it was decided to purchase a house in Odessa. For about six years, travelers lived in it, who were helped in every way by the monks, who in turn came from Athos.
But the monks needed a temple, but there was no place for construction. In 1890, the Holy Synod allowed the monastery to acquire the right piece of land on which the church and buildings for the brethren and pilgrims were built by the forces of the Monk Gabriel and the inhabitants.
The Holy Ilyinsky Odessa Monastery was located at 79, Pushkinskaya Street. Soon novices and monks began to appear in the monastery, the need to keep watch on Mount Athos disappeared. And only the founder continued to instruct the fraternity and solve the current tasks of the compound.
Rev. Gabriel of Athos
The biography of the ascetic and founder of the Holy Ilyinsky Odessa Monastery describes the bumpy path of a simple Russian man from a poor peasant family. The monk received the first shoots of the Orthodox faith from his parents in early childhood. As a youth, at the age of twelve he remained an orphan. Further education and training of the boy involved teachers and teachers of the local school. The future abbot showed a keen interest in church and liturgical books, studied the lives of saints and the gospel.
By the end of the training, the young man became seriously ill. Feeling that his health leaves much to be desired, he made a vow to God - in case of recovery, go on a pilgrimage to Kiev.
The Lord healed his child, and Gabriel hastened to fulfill this vow. In the capital, the young man was so impressed by the beauty of temples and monasteries that he decided to devote his whole life to God. The first pilgrimage did not end for the founder of the St. Elias Odessa Monastery never. From Kiev, the young man went to Mount Athos, where a diligent young man was tonsured a monk.
The abbot's whole life was filled with sorrows and difficulties. He provided the monastery with provisions, medicines, was the captain of the ship going to Russia, visited the courtyard in Constantinople, developed the Athos monastery and built temples.
Rev. Gabriel, founder of the St. Ilyinsky Odessa Monastery (pictured), departed to the Lord in October 1901. In 1994, the honest relics of an old man were acquired.
Monastery Shrines
Archimandrite Gabriel brought from Athos the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Mammal", part of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the left foot of the relics of the Apostle Andrew.
The Mother of God-nurse, as this holy image is often called, helps in childbirth, in the subsequent feeding of infants. Orthodox women turn in prayers to the Queen of Heaven when children are ill.
Many books have been written about the help of believers in the particles of the tree of the Cross of the Lord. Anyone who turns to God with a pure heart will receive what he wants, if it is to his advantage.
timetable
In 1995, the monastery was returned to believers. Gradually, the number of monks and novices grew, and two years after the opening, the Odessa Diocesan Administration moved to the monastery. Today in the temples of the monastery daily services are held.
On weekends and holidays - the Divine Liturgy at six in the morning. On weekdays, at the same time, the monastic rule is read. At seven o'clock Matins, prayers and akathists are held. Evening services and polyeleis begin at 17.00.