The Nizhny Novgorod region is proud of its history. There are many unique and even mystical places, one of which is the city of Sarov. Long years it was forbidden even to mention this place. The location of the city was strictly kept secret. Today, crowds of pilgrims strive to visit such a blessed place and touch the local shrines.
History of the Sarov desert
The Sarov Hermitage was founded by John of the Vvedensky Monastery. From his generous godfather he received as a gift three dozen acres of land in the city of Sarov (in the past - the Sarov settlement). He immediately sent a letter to Moscow asking for permission to build a church on this land. It is difficult to find a better place for such a building. It would seem that nature itself in these places was filled with peace and holiness. Moreover, the good location made it easy to get to Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Vladimir.
Soon, the Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage was formed on this land. A special decree of Peter I allowed the construction of a church Holy Mother of God and its Life-giving source where there used to be a Mordovian settlement. The construction of the church took only 50 days. June 29, 1706 is considered the official date of the foundation of such a monument as the Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage.
Sarov caves
The construction of the monastery was accompanied by the construction of an underground city, which was also built thanks to Hieroschemamonk John. At that time he lived in one of the mountain caves. Then the caves grew, and cells were arranged in them for solitude and immersion in prayer. In 1711, the Church of St. Anthony and Theodosius was erected underground.
The Sarov desert was filled with life. Novices and monks came here from all cities. All were given work. Someone conducted services, someone was engaged in the construction of new cells, someone picked berries and mushrooms. So gradually, around the church was formed whole city, which served as a prototype of the monastery.
At that time, John drew up the rules of the monastery, following strict rules. Sarov was known as the Academy of Monasticism. After staying at the Monastery, the ascetic monks moved on, spreading the Sarov charter. Almost all of them were subsequently assigned by abbots or treasurers in various monasteries.
The life of Seraphim of Sarov
The Sarov Desert was glorified by the greatest Seraphim of Sarov. His father was engaged in the construction of the temple, but his sudden death did not allow him to reach the final goal. After the death of his father, Seraphim (by birth Prokhor) and his mother Agafya continued the construction of the cathedral. Once a miracle happened at a construction site. Mother overlooked little Prokhor, and he fell from great height but survived. WITH early childhood Prokhor sincerely believed in the Lord and honored him. During a serious illness in a dream, he saw the Most Holy Theotokos, who promised to heal him. Soon it happened.
Since then, Prokhor has firmly decided to devote his whole life to the Lord. In 1776 he came to the Sarov Monastery. Eight years after being tonsured a monk, Prokhor was given the name Seraphim, which meant "fiery."
Hermitage
Several years later, Seraphim moved to live in the forest near the monastery. He simply dressed, ate what he found in the forest, and fasted more often. He spent every day in endless prayer and reading the Gospel. Not far from his cell, Seraphim built a small vegetable garden and an apiary.
Several years later, Seraphim Sarovsky imposed on himself austerity in the form of a three-year silence. After he briefly returned to the monastery, but after 10 years he left it again.
This way of life endowed Seraphim of Sarov with an extraordinary gift of perspicacity and the ability to heal people. Thanks to him, several women's monasteries were opened. The icon "Affection" was the last image that Seraphim saw in his life.
The saint was buried near the Assumption Cathedral.
In 1903, Seraphim of Sarov was ranked among the Since then, the place where the saint lived is sometimes called the desert of Seraphim of Sarov.
Holy Dormition Monastery
The Sarov Hermitage is famous for the Holy Dormition. The construction of the temple was laid in 1897, when Seraphim of Sarov was not yet canonized. Initially, the construction of the cathedral was glorified. Since the temple was erected over the elder's cell, it was called that. After the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov, the temple was immediately consecrated. This is the first cathedral in Russia
Inside the church, the saint's cell was located, as the most expensive shrine. The iconostasis looked pretty simple. It was possible to make a detour around the cell and even go inside. Later, the cell was painted and a small dome was placed on it. It took the form of a chapel.
In 1927 the cathedral was closed. It was turned into a theater. In 2002, restoration work began, and already in August 2003, divine services began to be held in the church again.
How to get there?
From Nizhny Novgorod, buses leave for Diveyevo from the Shcherbinka bus station. There is also a stop for minibuses at Moskovsky railway station, which also travel in this direction. Getting there by car, you can also visit the ancient city of Arzamas.
Sightseeing bus tours are regularly carried out from Nizhny Novgorod to Diveyevo. You can book a tour and find out more about this amazing place.
Today the Sarovskaya desert is a museum. Anyone who wants to visit a truly holy place can visit it.
Sarov monastery
| Monastery | |
|
Sarov monastery |
|
| Sarov Monastery. General form to the Assumption Cathedral. G. | |
| Country | Russia |
| Town | Sarov |
| Coordinates | 54.926111 , 43.325 54 ° 55'34 ″ s. NS. 43 ° 19'30 ″ in. etc. / 54.926111 ° N NS. 43.325 ° E etc.(G) |
| Denomination | Orthodoxy |
| Diocese | Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas |
| Type of | Male |
| Date of foundation | early 18th century |
| Famous inhabitants | Seraphim Sarovsky |
Sarov Monastery (Sarov Dormition Empty)- a former men's monastery, founded at the beginning of the 18th century in the city of Sarov, Tambov province (now Sarov is part of the Nizhny Novgorod region). It is known as the place where the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, a venerated Orthodox ascetic and saint, asceticised.
History of the monastery
The first hermit monk who settled on Sarov Mountain was the Penza monk Theodosius, who came to the "old settlement" in 1664 and set up a cell for himself here. Having lived here for about six years, Theodosius decided to retire to Penza. Around this time, monk Gerasim from the Krasnoslobodsky monastery settled in the "old settlement". For some time, both hermits lived together, but soon Theodosius "departed" to Penza, and Gerasim was left alone at the "old settlement". After living here for some time, Gerasim retired to the Krasnoslobodsky monastery, apparently out of fear of thieves and robbers, who began to do him "many dirty tricks."
Soon after Father Gerasim, hieromonk Isaac settled in the "old settlement", who became the founder of the Sarov desert. Soon Isaac had companions, and Father Isaac filed a petition for the establishment of a monastic monastery in Sarov.
In 1705, Prince Kugushev, the owner of the "old settlement", donated a plot of land between the Satis and Sarovka rivers to Father Isaac for the future monastery. In January 1706, Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky of Ryazan granted Fr. Isaac's petition to build a church on the “old settlement”. On April 28, 1706, Father Isaac laid the foundation stone for a wooden church in honor of the icon Mother of God"Life-giving source". On June 16, 1706, the consecration of the new and first temple of the Sarov monastery took place.
In 1731, due to the weakening of his forces, the first abbot of the monastery, Father Isaac (who by that time had accepted the rank of hieroschemonship and became hieroschemamonk John), renounced the abbot and chose his disciple Dorotheus as his successor.
Of the subsequent rectors, Father Ephraim was especially revered, innocently accused of high treason and spent 16 years in exile in the Orenburg fortress. During the famine of 1775, Father Ephraim, being the abbot of the monastery, ordered the opening of the monastery granaries in order to help the needy laity.
During his lifetime, Elder Ephraim chose his successor, hieromonk Father Pachomius. It was during the reign of Father Pachomius that Prokhor Moshnin, the future father of Seraphim of Sarov, arrived in Sarov.
In 1906, the Sarov Monastery celebrated the 200th anniversary of its existence. Many guests came to celebrate the anniversary. The Sarov Hermitage has become a generally recognized shrine in Russia.
After the revolution of 1917, the economy of the Sarov monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated. By the end of 1925, a decision was made to close the monastery, and in March 1927, a government decision was made to liquidate the Sarov monastery. The property of the monastery, along with the buildings, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod department of the NKVD.
On the basis of the Sarov Monastery in 1927, a children's labor commune was created. In November 1931, the labor commune was closed. After her, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult prisoners was organized in the village. This colony was also closed in November 1938.
Spiritual revival of Sarov
The possibility of restoring the monastery was expressed
Notes (edit)
Links
- Monastery before the revolution // from the book of S.V. Bulgakov "Handbook of a clergyman", Moscow, 1993, pp. 1539-1541
- Centenary of the canonization of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. Sarov today. Photo galleries
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
The female Orthodox Serofimo-Diveevsky monastery is located in the village of Diveevo. People from all regions of Russia and other countries come there to venerate the relics of Seraphim of Sarov. The name of this saint is associated with numerous miraculous healings.
From the history of the monastery
A small village, owing its name to Murza Divey, appeared in the middle of the sixth century. These lands, complementing the princely title, were granted by Ivan the Terrible. The village was located on crossing pilgrim roads... Travelers heading to the Sarov Monastery stayed in a wooden local church in honor of Archdeacon Stephen and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The wanderer of Melgunova Agafya Semyonova also arrived there.
The annals of the Serafimo Diveyevo Monastery indicate that the woman stopped to rest in the local church. During her sleep, Bogorditsa appeared to Agafya, who indicated that she needed to stay in these places to build a stone church and found a female community. According to the Bible, it was in Diveyevo that the Heavenly Queen arranged her last lot after Kiev, Athos and Iberia.
The village at that time looked like a workers' settlement. There was no spiritual atmosphere on its territory. Agafya and her daughter settled near the village. After a while, Agafya's daughter fell seriously ill and died. In spite of grief and strong feelings, the woman nevertheless fulfilled the vow and began the construction of the church. To do this, she sold all her property, and began to build a temple with the proceeds. Upon completion of the construction, Agafya begins to develop the community. For this, land was needed.
For a long time they could not find the land they needed, but in 1780 the landowner Zhdanov sacrificed land for the women's monastery, which is located next to the church. On it, having received the blessing of the diocesan Vladimir authorities, Agafya builds three cells and encloses them with a fence. In one lived the mother herself, in the second - the novices, in the third there were guests. Agafya's contributions to the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in the Sarov Monastery were quite large.
Father Pakhomiy takes spiritual leadership over the sisters and agrees to provide food for the newly found community. In turn, the sisters sew clothes for the monks and do handicrafts. Agafya soon fell ill and died at the age of 55.
The first mention of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery was in 1808. His abbess at that time was Anastasia Kirillovna, who led a very strict lifestyle and demanded the same from the novices.
applied with a request to soften the charter for the monasteries of the monastery, but the request was not granted. After that, the Mother of God appeared to Sarov in a dream and indicated that it was necessary to create a new monastery, into which the sisters should go.
Since then, two monasteries have appeared in the village. Both under strict controls police officers. Reason for observation was the lack of registration. The communities were registered only in 1839. In 1942 they united into one community "Holy Trinity Seraphimo Diveyevo Convent".
Location of the Diveyevo monastery
The Monastery of Seraphim of Sarov is located in the south of the Nizhny Novgorod region on the banks of the Vichkinza River.
Serafimo Diveyevo monastery address map
Index - 607320, region - Nizhny Novgorod, Diveevsky district, Diveevo, Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky monastery. The pilgrimage center telephone number - 8 (831-34) - 434-45.
To get to the monastery, you need to overcome a certain path with several changes. Information for pilgrims wishing to offer a prayer to Seraphim of Sarov and bow to him (details can be found on the official website):
- Most in a convenient way arriving at the monastery will be through the city of Arzamas. Public buses run from its station to the monastery. The travel time will be no more than one and a half hours.
- From Moscow to Diveevo can be reached by car or train. For cars from Moscow, the road runs through Balashikha. You should turn to Murom, before reaching Vladimir. Then follow the signs through the cities of Navashino, Ardatov.
- By train from Moscow to st. Arzamas (Kazansky railway station) trains run daily.
Diveyevo monastery
Serafimo Diveevsky monastery photo
Temples Diveyevo
The Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky was under construction convent for a century and a half.
- First temple, which gave rise to the monastery - the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. It was built on the site of a wooden church. Construction lasted from 1773 to 1779. Mother Alexandra personally took part in its construction. This temple is three-altar. Summer two limits Kazan and in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker; warm winter limit - in honor of Stephen;
- To the temple with the permission of Seraphim of Sarov, the churches of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Nativity of Christ were added;
- In the years 1865-1875 in the center of the monastery, the five-altar Trinity Cathedral was erected - the heart of the Diveyevo monastery. It contains the relics reverend miracle worker Seraphim of Sarov. The temple was founded after his death, but even during his lifetime, Father Seraphim predicted that there would be a huge cathedral in Diveyevo;
- In 1907, the Transfiguration Cathedral was founded. Its construction was completed in 1916, the consecration of the throne took place on 03.09.1998;
- Along the line with the cathedral in the late nineteenth - early twentieth century, a five-tiered bell tower was erected.
Holy groove
Wikipedia says it differs from other monasteries by the presence of a special shrine. This is the Kanavka located around the monastery, along which the Most Holy Theotokos passed.
One of the elders most beloved by the people, Seraphim of Sarov, commanded to dig a groove. At the same time, he said that the antichrist would not be able to jump over it.
In winter and summer, without ceasing, the sisters dug a groove until the very death of the father... Seraphim said that everyone who stays in Diveyevo from morning to morning will be happy, because the Queen of Heavenly Mother of God herself visits these places every day.
V Soviet time the groove was destroyed, but in 1997 its restoration began. On July 31, 2006, the groove was completely landscaped. According to the behest of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, people have been walking along the Canal for almost two centuries in the footsteps of the Queen of Heaven.
Hermitage of Blessed Paraskeva of Sarov
One of the places where visitors are interested to visit is the house of blessed Pasha (in the world Irina Ivanovna), which today has become a museum. The woman, immersed in prayer, led a hermitic life and worked for the good of the monastery. She was born in a peasant family and experienced a lot. Having received the blessing of Elder Seraphim, Pasha lived in Diveevo, first in a cave, which she dug herself, and then in a small house - a cell for more than 30 years. There is evidence that she knew how to foresee the future. The grave of blessed Praskovya is located at the Trinity Cathedral.
The museum has only three rooms, one of which is completely dedicated to the life of Seraphim of Sarov. In addition to documents and old photos, it contains a cover embroidered by the hands of the Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The veil was presented to decorate the ark with the relics of the saint. In the same place, visitors can see a precisely recreated fragment of the elder's cell. The furniture in it was once made by the monk himself.
In the second room, everything remained as it was under the blessed mistress: a collection of ancient icons, dolls, a table with a tea set.
The third room contains a collection of many personal belongings of the abbess: photographs, portraits, a collection of monastic clothes, including the festive attire of Praskovya Ivanovna.
As before the revolution, in the wilderness, nuns are unbroken reading the Psalter.
Holy springs
There are 6 holy springs in the vicinity of the Diveyevo monastery, five of them are located directly on the territory:
- The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God;
- Mother Alexandra;
- Iberian Icon of the Mother of God;
- icons of the Mother of God Tenderness.
It is not difficult to navigate the location of the sources. For this, a plan-scheme of the monastery is located at the entrance. For those wishing to plunge into the sacred waters, special clothing is required: for a woman - long shirt from thick fabric, for men - a short shirt. If there are a lot of people in the bath, you can plunge into the water using the footbridge or wooden ladders. Before that, you should spend some time in the chapel, immersed in yourself or in prayer.
The most distant source of Seraphim Sorovsky. It is located 15 km from Diveyevo. Every day at 13.00 there is a bus from the monastery. Tickets can be purchased at the pilgrimage center in advance.
A magnificent picture opens up before travelers: a hill with tall pines, at its foot a source, which formed a lake and bath houses, cut down from logs. They say that the shirt in which the pilgrims dive into the lake takes on a special medicinal properties... In the holy springs, the water is cold even in summer, but this does not stop visitors who sincerely believe in miracles.
When is the best time to go to Diveevo
At any time of the year, Diveevo is attractive in its own way. In spring, it is blooming apple and lilac trees in the monastery garden, enveloping the entire neighborhood with a wonderful aroma. However, when choosing Easter days for your trip, you should be prepared that there are a lot of pilgrims in the monastery at this time.
The most popular season for monastery guests is summer. The village looks festive and elegant during this period. because of the many colors that fill the front gardens and flower beds near the monastery buildings and hotels. And swimming in warm weather in the holy springs is a great pleasure. The only drawback is the queues in the changing rooms at the baths.
Autumn is magnificent in Diveevo. In the clear, still warm air, the ringing of bells and birdsong is clearly audible. Against the background of the unusually blue sky, the golden domes of the temples look in a special way.
And in winter, the monastery is never deserted. The water of the springs, in comparison with the winter temperature, seems almost warm and there are always people who want to enter the water.
When planning to visit Diveyevo, it is better to stay there for three or four days. During this time, you can better get acquainted with the monastery, visit temples, walk along the Holy Canal and venerate the relics of Seraphim. To fully experience the special atmosphere of a place filled with grace and holiness and plunge into a healing spring.
What to bring from Diveyevo
Returning from a trip, many bring gifts to their relatives and friends. Church objects are taken away from Diveyevo: icons, crosses, the Chronicle of the Holy Diveyevo Monastery.
The land so is highly appreciated by pilgrims. They believe that even a small handful of it will save its owners from diseases and troubles. The land is being recruited only in one place - behind the chapel of Seraphim of Sarov. There is a small embankment for this purpose.
Bread rusks consecrated on the relics of the elder rye bread and oil in the summer is taken in the chapel of the monk, in the winter - in the narthex Transfiguration Cathedral... For crackers, it is better to bring a sachet with you; a bottle for butter can be purchased at the church shop. According to legend, if you add homemade ordinary bread to the consecrated bread crumbs, they will receive a particle of miraculous power.
The “Lesenki” biscuits, which are baked according to an old recipe, are popular. It can also be purchased at the store. It is inexpensive and tasty. Well, the monastic bread is above any praise.
Where to stay for the night
The choice of accommodation depends only on financial possibilities. It can be a rented room in the private sector and a monastery hotel, and a hotel room (from 2000 rubles), and a guest house (1500-3000 rubles). In the hotel complex "Diveevskaya Sloboda", stylized as beautiful log houses, in addition to accommodation and meals, they offer billiards and a sauna. There are guarded parking lots.
To stay at the monastery hotel, you need to contact the monastery pilgrimage center in advance; this can be done through the official website. Food and stay it is paid for by labor - obedience. Pilgrims perform their assigned work in the kitchen, in the indigenous workshop and in the refectory. They peel vegetables, clean up in the church and on the territory of the monastery, take care of the garden and the Holy Canal.
It is allowed to enter the territory of the monastery only in strict clothes. Women should wear a long skirt and headscarf; a man in trousers and a shirt. Neckline, mini-skirts, shorts are not allowed. If necessary, the necessary things can be bought in the shops near the monastery. There are no exceptions for children.
Obedience
If you are asked at the monastery to fulfill an assignment, and you cannot do it for some reason, the refusal to accept the wasps will be accepted absolutely fine. Any help is greatly appreciated. The work for the good of the monastery is necessarily rewarded by the Monk Seraphim!
Male Sarov Hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos Nizhny Novgorod dioceseThe chronicles testify that the first hermit monk who chose Sarov Mountain for an ascetic life was the Penza monk Theodosius, who came to the Old Settlement in the year. The successor of his exploits two decades later was the young monk of the Arzamas Vvedensky monastery Isaac, later in the schema John. By the year, Hieromonk John managed to organize a joint life of monks who wished to stay on Sarov Mountain. The first monks settled on their own, and their settlement did not have any status. By the year John had obtained the permission of Tsar Peter Alekseevich and the blessing of the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Stephen (Yavorsky), for the construction of a monastery and for the construction of a church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and. In May, the construction of the church began, and already on June 16 of the same year, the first temple of the Sarov Hermitage was consecrated. This date is considered the day of the founding of the Sarov Monastery.
Fr. John's activity was not limited only to the external arrangement of the desert. Together with the first church, a monastic community brotherhood arose. With unanimous consent, John began to write the charter of the Sarov monastery according to strict ancient models. In the year the charter was approved, and subsequently became a model for many monasteries in Russia.
For several years, the territory of the monastery was surrounded by a fence. After the construction of the first church, two more churches, a refectory, cells for guests were erected in the monastery, and by the year a cave city with an underground church was ready.
The first temple of the monastery, in honor of the Life-Giving Source, was rebuilt in, and then in years. The temple was distinguished by its vastness and an abundance of light, amazed by the skillful painting of the walls, the richness of the utensils, and the precious iconostasis. The main value of the cathedral was the especially revered and richly decorated icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and Her Life-Giving Source.
The oldest building in Sarov is the caves. The emergence of an underground city with streets, cells and an underground church belongs to the most early years Sarov Monastery. The underground church in the name of the Kiev-Pechersk miracle workers Anthony and Theodosius was built in a year, and consecrated with the assistance of the princesses Mary and Theodosia, sisters of Peter I, it was they who sent the iconostasis, sacred vessels, books and donations for this temple.
The last church of the monastery was founded in the year, for the first time it was consecrated in the year in honor of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
There were 70 monks and 240 novices in the monastery a year. Sarovskaya Pustyn was a sociable freelance monastery and was under the control of the abbot.
Closing the monastery
The devastation of the monastery began in the year when an instructor first arrived in Sarov from the district town of Temnikov with the right to establish a commune here. The monks, in turn, asked to organize a labor artel in the monastery with a charter reminiscent of the charter of a monastery. However, the Temnikovsky land department considered that the monks, due to their civil immaturity, were incapable of self-government and the manifestation of initiative in running a large economy on a new socialist basis.
In September, the first operational group of the OGPU arrived at the monastery with a demand to make a contribution of 300 thousand rubles, and in November a one-time emergency tax of one million rubles was imposed on the Sarov Hermitage. Following this, a campaign began to uncover and liquidate the relics of Orthodox saints. On November 17, by the decision of the IX Congress of Soviets of the city of Temnikov, the commission opened the shrine with the relics of St. Seraphim.
The economy of the Sarov Monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated, the relics reverend elder taken away in an unknown direction. In March, a government decision was made to liquidate the Sarov Monastery, the remaining property and buildings were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod NKVD Directorate.
Modern period
After the closure on the territory of the monastery, the Labor Commune of the N4 factory NKT (People's Commissariat of Labor) was created, the main task of which was labor processes"Until a year, about 3.5 thousand children lived in the commune. After a year, the commune was closed, and in its place a corrective labor colony for adolescents and adults of the NKVD system was organized.
Since November, after the liquidation of the NKVD colony, its production base is transferred to the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Mechanical Engineering. By his decision, the production of pressing equipment and high-explosive fragmentation shells of 152 mm caliber is organized in Sarov. The plant was reconstructed, constantly expanded, and in the year it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition and received N550.
In the period from - gg. here the production of shells for Katyusha rocket launchers was launched. Every fifth projectile fired at the enemy had a body made at the N550 factory.
In the year Sarov was elected by Yu.B. Khariton and I.V. Kurchatov to create a secret facility on its territory, the purpose of which was to create nuclear weapons. After a year, for reasons of secrecy, Sarov, or, as he was then called, " Locality KB-11 ", disappears from all maps for a long time. Its names are constantly changing: KB-11, Moscow Center-300, Kremlin, Arzamas-16. By the efforts of leading scientists, technicians and workers, headed by Yu.B. Khariton and I.V. Kurchatov, the secret object begins to function actively.
Revival of Church Life
On September 26, a prayer service was served in Sarov for the first time in 62 years of desolation on the Dalnaya Pustynka to the Monk Seraphim Sarovsky. An Orthodox parish in Sarov was founded in the city, although it was possible to register it only in the city, after the uncovering of the relics of St. Seraphim. On August 2, in the days of the transfer of the saint's relics to Diveyevo, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II visited the city. His Holiness the Patriarch consecrated a cross on the site of the Hermitage, where the monk asceticised, and a monument by the sculptor Klykov.
On July 14, a church in honor of All Saints - the former monastery cemetery church - was transferred to the parish of the city of Sarov.
In the year of the diocese, the beheaded and rebuilt in Soviet times Church of St. John the Baptist was transferred to the diocese.
Uspensky's story male monastery begins in the 17th century, when the monk Theodosius, and then the monk Gerasim, settled in the remote Sarov forests at the confluence of two rivers - Satis and Sarovka. Repeatedly these hermits have observed miraculous phenomena: light descending from heaven to the place where cathedral churches were later built, bell ringing, distributed from the ground. Both ascetics predicted a great future for this place.
Later, a monk of the Vvedensky monastery located in Arzamas, Isaac (in the world and in the schema John), who became the first builder of the Sarov desert, came here. Having settled in the forest, at the place of the prayerful exploits of Theodosius and Gerasim, Isaac withstood the struggle against temptations, loneliness and other hardships of a hermit's life. In 1692, he began to dig a cave in the side of the mountain, which served as the foundation for the Sarov caves, which have survived to this day. Gradually, those wishing to live a strict wilderness life joined Isaac, and a monastic settlement was formed.
On June 16, 1706, the first church was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring". The temple was miraculously built in fifty days in a deep forest with no funds. Residents of the surrounding villages came to the rescue and worked for free on the construction of the temple, donated church utensils, icons, vestments, liturgical books, bells.
According to the monastic tradition, the day of the consecration of the Church of the Life-Giving Spring was considered the day of the official foundation of the Sarov Hermitage and was always solemnly celebrated in Sarov.
The ascetic Isaac based on the ancients Christian traditions drew up the Charter of the monastery. The charter was strict and provided for the commonality of all property, a common meal, the unquestioning submission of the brethren to the abbot, the choice of the abbot from the monastic vows of the monastery, and compulsory love for strange things. Church singing of the ancient model was also established - pillar, znamenny chant. The music that sounded in the Sarov churches was recorded not with notes, but with hooks and played in unison. The pilgrims who visited the Sarov desert wrote that the tunes were ancient, completely special, lingering, reminiscent of the wind that walked and roared through the vast Sarov forest. Later, the Charter of the Sarov Hermitage was adopted by such monasteries of Russia as Sanaksar and Valaam, Florischeva and Vysokogornaya Hermitage, etc.
The Sarov monastery became famous for its inhabitants and devotees. The most famous of them are the builder Dorotheos, the builder Ephraim, the hegumen Nazarius, Mark the silencer, and, of course, the holy Reverend Seraphim of Sarov.
Saint Seraphim of Sarov, the lamp of the Russian land, came to the monastery at the age of 19 and asceticised in the Sarov desert all his life. The monk rendered special care at the command of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Diveyevo monastery. Through his instructions and prayers, the Diveyevo community grew and strengthened, its nuns carefully preserved the instructions and predictions of the great elder. Nowadays, his holy relics, as a great shrine, are in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Diveyevo Monastery.
More than forty monks from among the Sarov brethren during the period from 1714 to 1873 were appointed abbots in other monasteries.
Under Abbot Niphon, who ruled the monastery for 33 years and died in 1842, the Sarov Monastery received its final external structure. In total, nine churches, a bell tower, cell buildings, and numerous outbuildings were erected in the monastery.
The main shrine and decoration of the Sarov monastery was the five-domed Assumption Cathedral, at the altar of which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov was buried. The cathedral was consecrated in 1744 in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God with a chapel in honor of the Archangel Michael and the Monks Anthony and Theodosius, the Kiev-Pechersk miracle workers. A feature of the Assumption Cathedral was the altar, built on the site of the old one-domed so-called Demidov Assumption Church. The middle part of the old temple served as an altar, and the former altar served as a monastery sacristy, which contained a large number of precious sacred vessels, holy crosses, Gospels, about 500 priestly vestments. The Gospel was also kept here - a gift from Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The cathedral had a carved gilded five-tiered iconostasis, many icons decorated with silver vestments. Since 1903, after being glorified in the face of saints, the relics of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov stayed here.
The Temple of Seraphim of Sarov was built in 1897-1903 on the site of the dismantled fraternal corps, which included the cell of the Monk Seraphim. The cell itself was preserved in the volume of the new temple. The Sarov celebrations of 1903, dedicated to the glorification of Father Seraphim in the face of saints, ended with the consecration of a new church in the name of the holy Reverend Seraphim, the miracle worker of Sarov.
After the revolution of 1917, the economy of the Sarov monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated. By the end of 1925, it was decided to close the monastery, and in March 1927, to liquidate it. The property of the monastery, along with the buildings, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod department of the NKVD. On the basis of the Sarov Monastery in 1927, a children's labor commune of the factory No. 4 NKT was created. In November 1931, the labor commune was closed. After her, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult prisoners was organized in the village. On February 11, 1943, a GKO decree was adopted on the start of work on the creation atomic bomb... The general leadership was entrusted to the Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee Lavrentiy Beria. In February 1947, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, KB-11 was classified as a highly restricted enterprise with the transformation of its territory into a closed restricted zone.
The revival of the monastery began in 1990, when the first Orthodox parish in the city of Sarov was registered. In 2002, the Nizhny Novgorod diocese was returned to the building of the church in the name of St. Seraphim, the miracle worker of Sarov, in which in the years Soviet power housed the theater. During the restoration work, the foundation of Father Seraphim's cell was discovered. Today the cell has been restored based on the surviving photographs and descriptions. On the centenary of the glorification of the Monk Seraphim in the face of saints in 2003, the temple was consecrated His Holiness the Patriarch Moscow and All Russia Alexy II.
In 2006, in the year of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the monastery, the decree of the Holy Synod announced the resumption of the Assumption Monastery - the Sarov Hermitage.
Temples of the monastery
Temple in the name of the holy Reverend Seraphim of Sarov
Temple in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
A cave church in honor of the Monks Anthony and Theodosius, the Kiev-Pechersk miracle workers.
Temple in honor of Saints Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky
Chapel in the Far Hermitage
Monastery shrines
Cell of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov (restored)
Tomb ("Canopy") of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov
The revered icon of the Mother of God, called the "Quick to Hearken"
The revered icon of the Mother of God, called "Tenderness"
The stone on which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov prayed for a thousand days and nights
House-cell of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov on the Dalnaya Pustynka (restored)
Monument to the Monk Seraphim of Sarov (sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov)
An Orthodox regional center "Istoki" works at the monastery