The operating monasteries of Moscow. Women's monasteries in Moscow (photo)

Today on the territory of Moscow there are 22 operating Orthodox monasteries. Among them there are also male monasteries, and women's. Many of them are well known throughout the country, only Muscovites know about others. Therefore, today we will make a short excursion and try to tell you about some existing monasteries.

Pokrovsky Monastery

Without exaggeration, we can say that this ancient monastery is known far beyond the capital. He became widely known because of the relics of the old Matrona. The Orthodox believe that they have miraculous powers.

In 1635, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich founded the Intercession Monastery in Moscow. In those days, the territory occupied by the monastery was the outskirts, where there were "miserable houses" - a cemetery where homeless and beggars were buried not only from all over Moscow, but also from its environs.

About the monastery of information was preserved little. It is known that during the Russian-French war (1812) the monastery was ruined. It took seven years to restore it. In Soviet times, the Intercession Monastery in Moscow was closed. On the site of the cemetery was laid the park of culture and recreation, which exists today. For 70 years in the sacred premises of the monastery there were offices, a gym, a bank, a billiard room.

In 1994, the monastery of Matrona in Moscow (so often called the Pokrovsky Monastery) received the status of a nunnery. All limits have been sanctified anew.

Zachatyevsky Monastery in Moscow

The monastery in its present form was founded in 1584, during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich. On the territory of the church is the Savior Church, which for many years was the house church of the Rimsky-Korsakovs.

Until 1924, the church was not a monastery, but a parish church. In 1922, the Zachatyevsky Monastery in Moscow was plundered and destroyed. The monastery was restored only in 1991. The cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos was built and services are again in it.

The Donskoi Monastery

In a noisy and crowded capital, it's difficult to find quiet places where you could relax your soul. The existing monasteries of Moscow - this is the islets of calm and silence.

For the powerful walls of the Donskoy monastery does not penetrate the city vanity. Here there is peace and tranquility.

From the history of the monastery

There is a legend that in 1591 the troops of the cruel Khan Kazi Giray came close to Moscow. According to the decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich, the miraculous icon of the Don Mother of God was struck along the entire defensive line. When the sun rose, the Russian soldiers froze in amazement - the horde left its positions and fled from the walls of the city. In honor of the miraculous icon in 2 years built a church of stone. So here the monastery was founded.

Usually the monasteries of Moscow, photos of which you can see in our article, were built by several generations. In this sense, the Don monastery was no exception. In the 17th century, the construction of the Great Cathedral was started by the princess Sophia, her work was continued by Peter I. Charitable financial assistance was provided by the boyar Artamon Matveev, Bogdan Khitrovo and the family of Stepan Razin. In the same XVII century around the monastery was erected a wall. After the October Revolution, the monastery was abolished, but all its buildings were preserved. This is due to the fact that in the Soviet times the Museum of Architecture was located.

The main event in the history of the monastery is considered by many as an unexpected find of the relics of the Most Holy Tikhon - the patriarch of all Russia. Two years after his death (1925), the monastery was closed by the Bolsheviks. Rumors spread that Tikhon's body was burned in the crematorium, according to another version, it was reburied in the German cemetery. The mystery was solved in February 1992, a year after the start of the restoration work in the Donskoy Monastery. The participants of the excavations discovered the crypt of the patriarch.

In the necropolis of the monastery are buried famous people who played a big role in the history of the country - white generals Denikin and Kappel, writers Shmelev and Solzhenitsyn, as well as Odoyevsky, Chaadayev, philosopher Ilyin. Today the monastery is part of the group "Moscow's active monasteries".

Thousands of tourists and pilgrims annually visit this holy place. By prior request you can visit the bell tower and towers, the museum-cell of Patriarch Tikhon, a viewing platform.

Women's monasteries in Moscow

Today in the capital there are eight active women's monasteries. In all there are divine services, and some of them gladly accept pilgrims and tourists.

Theotokos-Christmas monastery

This is one of the most ancient Moscow monasteries. It was founded by the mother of Vladimir the Brave, Grand Duke, and the wife of Prince A. Serpukhovsky in 1386. At first the monastery was in the territory of the Kremlin. Now the nunnery is located at: Rozhdestvenka, 20.

Novodevichy Convent

There are monasteries in the capital, widely known throughout Russia. These are very ancient monasteries of Moscow. Acting (on the map is clearly visible) the monastery is located not only in the center, but also throughout the city.

Novodevichy monastery is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in Moscow. It was founded in 1524 in honor of the return to the Moscow principality of the Russian city of Smolensk by Prince Vasily III. There is no consensus on the name of the monastery. According to one version, the abbess of the monastery had the name Devochkin. On the other - in the place of the present monastery was a field on which they selected beautiful girls and sent them to the Golden Horde. The most probable version - the monastery was meant for girls, the prefix "new" appeared only for the new and existing monasteries in Moscow to be distinguished from each other.

For a long time it was the richest and most privileged abode of Russia. In this monastery there were women from noble families. When tonsuring, they sacrificed their jewelry - gold, pearls, silver, sapphires and diamonds. By the middle of the 17th century, a magnificent ensemble in the style of the Moscow baroque was completely formed here. The towers began to decorate the openwork crowns. The second tallest bell tower and the Assumption Church were built. During his long history, he saw the Novodevichy Convent in his walls and lodgings, not of his own accord who crossed the threshold of the monastery. Here, boyar Morozova was in custody, Tsarevna Sofya, who was imprisoned in the monastery of Peter the Great, was transferred here to Yevgeny Lopukhin (shortly before her death) - the first wife of Peter I.

It can be considered a miracle that the monastery did not suffer in 1812. However, the fate that befell all the monasteries of Russia in the Soviet era, he could not be avoided. In 1922 it was closed and a historical museum began to operate on its territory.

All male and female monasteries in Moscow are historical and architectural monuments. The Novodevichy Convent was included in the UNESCO heritage list.

St. Daniel's Monastery

This is the first monastery in Moscow. It was erected in 1282 by Prince Daniel - the son of the legendary Alexander Nevsky. After 11 years, it was ransacked and destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols. For two centuries, only a tiny temple and a cemetery reminded of it. Greatness of the monastery found only in the times of Ivan the Terrible. In 1611 the monastery was set on fire by the decree of False Dmitry. It was rebuilt, but in 1812 it was again desecrated and looted. The magnificent ensemble, which we see today, was formed in the XVII - XIX centuries.

In Soviet times, the monastery was closed one of the last in Moscow. This happened in 1930. The cemetery was destroyed, in the Novodevichy and Donskoy monasteries the graves of famous Russian figures were transferred. A common phenomenon for that time, alas ...

The current monasteries of Moscow, returned to the Orthodox Church gradually. St. Danilov's monastery became the very first. This historic event occurred in 1983. Five years later, the main celebrations took place at the monastery on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus. Today, here is the residence of the Patriarch of All Russia.

Sretensky Monastery

This is perhaps the oldest Orthodox man's abode, located in the heart of Moscow.

It must be said that all operating monasteries in Moscow to some extent reflect the history of the Russian state. The Sretensky Monastery is no exception.

It was founded in 1397 in memory of a wonderful event. Prepared to attack the Moscow Khan Tamerlane in a dream saw the Mother of God, who strictly demanded that the invader leave the borders of Russia. After listening to the opinions of his advisers, the unconquerable Khan fled in horror from the Russian land the next morning.

In memory of the miraculous deliverance from the enemy at the place where the image of the Virgin appeared, the Sretensky Monastery was founded after a while.

At the end of 1925 the monastery was closed. In the period from 1928 to 1930, most of its buildings were destroyed. Later, a hostel for NKVD officers was organized here.

Today the monastery lives its measured life. Services are held in the temple. The Male Choir of the Sretensky Monastery is known all over the world.