The skit is ... Chernihiv and Nikolsky monastery

In the people there is a saying "In the hermitages, but in the same vanity." Skeet are conditionally closed settlements. They were created by monks and hermits. More about them you can learn from history.

History

In ancient times in Russia the sketes were dwellings, located far from any settlements, in impenetrable terrain. They were built by hermits who protested against reforms and the dominance of secular and religious authorities.

Skeet - it was a place of residence for the Old Believers, refugees, hermits. They built their own cells or wooden houses. They were fenced with a palisade.

There were such shelters in many countries of Eurasia. In Russia, a large number of settlements appeared after 988, when the introduction of a new official religion - Christianity - began. Other impulses for the creation of monasteries were the activities of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Soviet power.

Many monasteries were destroyed by the 18th century, and their former buildings were converted in the 20th century into museums, archives, warehouses. In modern times, the hermitage is monuments of antiquity, which have great cultural and historical significance. They are witnesses of a contradictory past and present.

Interpretation of the word

Skit is a concept that can be explained in different ways. There are several versions of the origin of the word:

• "Ascetic" is a word of Greek origin, which means a place for asceticism;
• From the name of the settlement in Egypt, in which the monks settled;
• From the old Russian "Skytanin," that is, the "hermit";
• From the old Russian word "whale", which means the integrity of something fragmented.

Modern sketes are created with cultural, historical and economic significance.

Chernihiv monastery

The skete was founded in the middle of the 19th century and very quickly became famous among pilgrims. There is a legend that in 1905 he was visited by Nicholas II, whom the elder Barnabas predicted martyrdom.

It is surrounded by forests. Originally called the Gethsemane skete. The exact date of its foundation was in 1844. At first it consisted of an old wooden church, brought from the village of Podsosene. When the cave cells appeared, it was called Chernigov skete. All of them have survived to the present day.

With the formation of the monastery is associated with the name of the holy fool Philip, who walked around many monasteries, but founded his underground shelter not far from the nascent skete. Over time, the cells began to appear on the surface, and below the ground the monks went down for prayer.

By the end of the 19th century, the architect Sultanov was commissioned to erect an upper temple over the caves, so as not to destroy the underground cells. Later, thanks to the efforts of the architect Lat'kov, the refined structure was supplemented by a stone five-tier bell tower.

The Life of Elder Barnabas

The worldly name of the elder is Vasily Merkulov. He was born in 1831 in a family of serfs in the Tula province. By the age of 20 he had gone to Sergius of Radonezh, having tonsured monks, he received the name Barnabas, meaning "comforter."

The monk possessed, in addition to the gift of consolation, the ability to spiritually reason to understand spiritual and worldly wisdom. Pilgrims often visited his cell, and the elder received them, listened to them, gave good advice, which often became prophetic. Barnabas predicted that there would soon be persecutions for the faith.

Spiritual children of the old man:

• Ivan Shmelev is a writer;
• The Monk Seraphim of Vyritsky;
• Konstantin Lavrentyev is a philosopher in the world, he is also a monk of Clement;
• Vasily Rozanov is a writer, philosopher.

The relics of the old man are kept in the Chernigov monastery, or rather in its main temple.

Historical name

The name Chernihiv monastery is associated with the icon of the Mother of God. It became famous in 1662 near the Chernigov Monastery. The monks prayed before the icon and this saved her from the Mongol-Tatars, who, thanks to an unknown force, fled away. Many copies have been created from the image of the icon.

One of these reproductions in 1852, Alexander Filippova gave a monastery, which became known as Chernigov, although many remember it as Gethsemane.

There is also another miraculous icon in it, which is called the "Unbreakable Wall". She depicts the Mother of God, surrounded by angels. People testify that new faces of angels continue to appear on the icon. Monks explain this by the fact that such, perhaps, was the design of the icon painter.

Nikolsky Skete

Located on the island of Valaam, one kilometer from the monastery. It leads to it the road laid as far back as the 18th century. The first monks were able to settle here at the same time. In the beginning there were twelve, their main occupation was fishing.

Monks also had to ensure that the island was not imported tobacco and alcohol by parishioners. If the visitors gave such things voluntarily, they were returned to them after leaving the territory of the monastery. With the removal of prohibited items on the territory of the island, they were taken away and thrown into the water.

The walls of the temple, which stands on the top of the island, painted monks who lived there. The main theme was the life of Nicholas the Wonderworker.