Holy Trinity and Svirsky Monastery. Holy Trinity Alexander Svirsky Monastery
WITH
The Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Alexander of Svirsky made a strong impression.
This is Orthodox monastery is located in the Leningrad region, 21 km from the city of Lodeynoye Pole on the shore of Lake Roshchinskoye.
There will be two posts about this monastery. The monastery consists of two separate monasteries - Troitsky and. They stand opposite each other at a distance of only 300 meters. This post is about Trinity (above is a link to Preobrazhensky). The monastery still belongs to the state, but is controlled by the Russian Orthodox Church.
There is a large car park here. There is a whole ancient settlement behind this wall, but now you will see everything for yourself...
From the middle of the 17th century, the Vvedeno-Oyatsky Monastery was assigned to the monastery.
"Representation" of the convent)))
Cafe "Pilgrim"... by the way, the pastries here are simply amazing... very tasty.
In the fall of 1918, the monastery was captured and plundered by security officers, and its rector, Archimandrite Evgeny (Trofimov), was shot in the city of Olonets.
During the years of Soviet power, the monastery was used as the Svirlag Gulag. One of the prisoners is the famous philosopher A.F. Losev. There were children's and disabled homes here.
For some time, the monastery housed a technical school, and since 1953 the Trinity complex has housed a psychiatric hospital.
The restoration of the monastery began in 1997. Behind the powerful walls of the former fraternal building there is still a psychiatric hospital.
Old Sloboda.
And this is the second “fortification” of the Transfiguration Monastery or “New Sloboda”))) there will be a next post about it.
View of Roshchinskoye Lake.
The monastery was founded by Saint Alexander of Svirsky at the end of the 15th century in the sparsely forested Olonets region among the settlements of pagan peoples - Karelians, Vepsians, Chuds. Soon Alexander Svirsky had students.
Even during the life of the founder, the monastery took shape as two connected, but independently located complexes (branches): Trinity with fraternal cells and Preobrazhensky - next to the cemetery. They are connected by a road running along the lake.
In the 23rd year of the saint’s settlement in the desert, an event occurred that was forever included in the annals of church history. Alexander Svirsky was visited by the Divine Trinity. A great light appeared in the temple, and Alexander saw three men coming down to him. From their lips the saint heard the command: “Beloved, as you see Him speaking with you in Three Persons, build a church in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial Trinity.” .
Trinity Cathedral (XVII century).
Here you can shoot any historical film... you don’t even need to make scenery, everything is like in the Middle Ages, there are not even electrical wires.
Church of the Intercession with a refectory (XVI century)
Three-tent belfry (XVII century).
Everything is being restored quite actively, part of the monastery is in the woods.
Church of the Intercession Holy Mother of God- the oldest building of the monastery. It was built with the participation of Alexander Svirsky himself in 1533 with donations from Tsar Vasily III.
I went inside... restoration work is still going on here.
As I understand, this temple is still under restoration... the iconostasis is already standing, but the icons have not yet taken their places.
In 2012, with the blessing of the Bishop of Tikhvin and Lodeynopol Mstislav, the Festive Bishop's Choir was created. It consists of graduates of higher musical institutions of the CIS countries. Among the compositions performed: ancient Byzantine chants and Znamenny chants, liturgical music of the 19th-20th centuries, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian folk songs.
And how the monks sing here... I was lucky to catch the singing, but I only filmed the very ending, I couldn’t resist. I took it off secretly, from the stomach)))
View from the window.
Place of exploits...
A year before his death, the monk called all the brethren to him and appointed four monks after him: Isaiah, Nicodemus, Leontius and Herodion to elect one of them as abbot. Rev. died Alexander was born on August 30, 1533, 85 years old, and according to his dying will, he was buried near the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the right side of the altar. In 1547, Alexander Svirsky was canonized.
After 107 years and 7 months from the date of the death of St. Alexandra, namely in April 1641, abbot of the Svirsky monastery Abraham and his brethren, intending to build a stone church over his grave in accordance with the royal command, dismantled the dilapidated church in the name of the saint, where the tomb placed over his body was located. When they were digging a ditch for the eastern side of the church, the shovel of one of the monks suddenly hit the lid of the coffin. The find was reported to the abbot, and he, having gathered all the brethren, hurried to inspect the coffin. As soon as they opened the top board of the coffin, a fragrance suddenly filled the air; The clothes on the person lying in the coffin - the mantle and the schema - were intact, and a wooden staff also lay nearby. The body turned out to be undecayed, and part of the beard was visible from under the material covering the face. These were the relics of St. Alexandra. The abbot immediately ordered a new coffin to be made and, after transferring the holy relics into it, he transferred them to the Church of St. Nicholas.
Soon the abbot sent monks to report this event to Metropolitan Athos of Novgorod, and he, in turn, reported the news to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. In 1644, the holy relics were transferred to a precious shrine, donated to the monastery by personal order of the king.
After the revolution, the relics were taken by the Bolsheviks to Lodeynoye Pole, after which in 1919 the shrine with the relics was sent to Petrograd. At the same time, the destruction of false relics was staged in front of witnesses, but the true remains of St. Alexandra were transferred to the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of Health.
According to the staff of the Department of Normal Anatomy of the Military Medical Academy, during the years of the revolution an exhibit appeared in their museum, which remained unregistered in the extensive catalogs of the museum. Such a position of an “exhibit” in such a museum was an exceptional phenomenon, and this was clearly done to hide the relics. Probably, not only the evil will of the Bolshevik leadership was at work here, but also the good will of the head of the department V.N. Tonkov, who by his convictions was not a “militant atheist.”
And only in December 1997 the relics were returned. After this, a long examination procedure began. The first thing that scientists immediately dismissed was the version of artificial mummification of the body. The examination report, which clearly indicates natural mummification, was signed by leading specialists of the Military Medical Academy. The volume of this study took 45 pages of typewritten text, and its general conclusion is that the examined body is, without a doubt, the relics of St. Alexander Svirsky. But they are kept in the neighboring Preobrazhensky Monastery; there will be a next post about it with photos of the relics that stream myrrh.
And you can even walk under the building...
Entrance to the Trinity Cathedral...
Filming is allowed inside. Was amazed...
Large-scale social work is not carried out here, lectures are not held famous people, and the priests serve are the most ordinary ones. A parish as a parish... But no, life at the Nativity of Christ monastery of the Holy Trinity Alexander Svirsky Monastery is in full swing, and almost everyone - from the manager to the parishioner - has something to tell about themselves and their participation in the life of the community.
Previously, he was the rector here. Now I have decided to take the leadership into my own hands - we are going to build a new church, a fraternal building, in the courtyard. And now he decides all the important issues. Well, I solve smaller everyday problems. It is impossible, for example, to distract the bishop about purchasing food. There is enough work - this includes organizing the cleaning of the external territory and the temple, the lives of workers, and solving other current issues.
Father Kirill is a native Petersburger. He studied at the seminary in the correspondence department. For a long time he helped in the Church of Elijah the Prophet on Porokhov and in the church at the hospice on Svetlanovsky Prospekt, where, he says, he is well remembered.
The idea of taking monasticism was born a long time ago, and as soon as such an opportunity arose - various kinds of circumstances stopped holding me back - I took monastic vows. They ordained me here, in the courtyard. But I came here to serve recently - two months ago. Of course, there is already a team of employees and a good professional choir here. Many parishioners have been here for a long time, from the very beginning of the existence of the metochion. But, it seems to me, quite a lot of people also left behind the previous abbots.
Bishop of Tikhvin and Lodeynopol Mstislav (Dyachina):
The Nativity Church in the Nevsky district of St. Petersburg is the metochion of the Holy Trinity Alexander Svirsky Monastery, and, according to its status, it must be headed by a clergyman in the monastic rank. As the holy archimandrite of the monastery of St. Alexander, I also manage the monastery courtyard. I know his needs and problems well. The economic and other activities of any monastery farmstead are special and unique. Our metochion bears part of the burden of the diocesan administration: many priests are not very comfortable going to Tikhvin, many kilometers from St. Petersburg, to resolve certain issues. The building for diocesan management, transferred to us by Governor Alexander Drozdenko and the government of the Leningrad region on the day of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Assumption Cathedral of the Tikhvin Mother of God Monastery in the presence of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, is now at the stage of repair and restoration. Therefore, the temporary functioning of the metochion also as the administrative center of the diocese is very convenient. There is a unique cave church in the name of St. Alexander, Abbot of Svirsky, the office of the diocese, the reception room, the accounting department, the monastery shop and the diocesan warehouse. It is much easier for the head of the diocese, the bishop, to communicate with representatives of government authorities and various organizations. So far, most of the petitions signed by me to various authorities have been granted; not all, but most. This is especially true now, when the construction of a new temple and fraternal buildings is planned. The project is ready and awaiting approval. We hope that the new church will become spiritual support for the residents of the area, a holy place that will unite Orthodox Christians in common prayer and sacraments. In terms of capacity, it will not be inferior to the existing church, which is completely filled with parishioners on major holidays. When the metochion was just opening, a room was needed, first of all, for the prayer of those believers who lived nearby. At that time, it was the only Orthodox church in Vesyoly Poselok. The temple is also necessary for all those who cannot, for some reason, come to the monastery of St. Alexander. Divine services in our courtyard are performed daily, according to the monastery charter, and cover the entire daily circle - these are Vespers with Matins, hours, Liturgy, and also services are performed: prayers, memorial services and the Sacrament of Baptism. Every day, the priest on duty accepts confession, conducts public and preparatory conversations, and answers various questions. people coming. The liturgy in the courtyard lasts longer than in parish churches; at the evening service all kathismas, stichera and other liturgical texts are read. Prayer is our main activity. Obediences, labors, any deeds begin with her and end with her. While feeding on spiritual food, we do not forget about maintaining physical strength - we have a wonderful refectory, an excellent cook. Cleaning, repair work, keeping the territory clean and tidy, improvement of the temple - all this is carried out by the efforts of the brethren, workers and caring parishioners. Now we lack the necessary buildings for a full-fledged economic life of the farmstead. Together with the new church, we are going to build residential buildings, utility and work buildings: the inhabitants of the monastery periodically come to St. Petersburg - these are students of theological schools, and those who need the necessary treatment and medical supervision. The farmstead is the first step for those who want to renounce the bustle of the world and devote their lives to God. This is the place where a person undergoes the necessary testing, where a person, as a worker, first tests himself and his strength in work, obedience to the abbot and brethren, in observing the monastic rules. In my understanding, any metochion should be a real monastery in its internal and external structure. Our calling is to lead a person to God, to introduce him to the unique modern world monastic spirit, way of life, special experience of prayer, charter and traditions. This is what we strive for with all our might. Glory to the Lord, it is precisely those people who come to us who consciously choose for themselves a difficult monastic path that bears many good fruits.SAILOR ALONE WITH HIMSELF
Before connecting his life with the Church, Igor Litovko, a native Petersburger, worked in the navy and left the service as a naval reserve officer. Long flights, the absence of fuss and worldly worries contributed to thinking about the universe and one’s place in it. After Igor left this job and the birth of his children, a gradual, conscious path to God began. “Children change us, we become kinder, more sensitive to others, our souls open,” he notes.
Igor began his service in the Church in 2000 in the Church of St. Joasaph of Belgorod in the village of Pargolovo. It so happened that Father Igor’s wife, Mother Olga, was already working at this parish as a regent of the church choir, and the rector, Archpriest Viktor Sorokin, needed assistants, because the construction of the temple was underway - and the future priest became involved in parish life. The late priest Nikolai Mochalkin provided great assistance in the spiritual development of Father Igor’s family. This amazing man and true confessor blessed the future Father Igor to complete the Leushinsky courses in church reading, and then the diocesan courses. (Mother Olga graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology of the Russian Academy of Arts in the same years.)
Then the future priest became an altar server and reader in the Church of Elijah the Prophet on Porokhov. He labored as a reader and in the assigned church at the hospice on Svetlanovsky Prospekt. His eldest son Konstantin, studying at St. Petersburg State University, helped his dad at the altar, and his youngest daughter Ksenia sang with her mother in the choir. Seeing how much the whole family loved worship, Father Nikolai blessed Igor to prepare for admission to the St. Petersburg Seminary, ordination and service at the monastery courtyard.
Now he conducts catechetical work with people who were baptized in childhood but are far from the Church.
They themselves have children, they want to baptize them, or, conversely, someone asks them to become godparents. This is a miracle! Thanks to the kids, there is an opportunity once again, years later, to hear the Word of God, receive communion, and receive answers to spiritual questions. We have to explain to them the very foundations of Christianity, but do it in such a way that they do not again alienate themselves from the Church, depriving themselves of Communion for 10–15 years, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
TRIP FROM MOSCOW TO ST. PETERSBURG
Serves in the temple for four years. He himself comes from Kalmykia, after school he studied at road transport and culinary colleges. Archbishop Justinian of Elista and Kalmyk blessed him to study at the Moscow Theological Academy. And he entered there in 2005 - at that time there was a large shortage of students in St. Petersburg theological schools. St. Petersburg residents asked Muscovites, who traditionally have high competition, to send them 20 students to make up for the lack of students. Maxim was among them. Thus began the St. Petersburg page of his life. In St. Petersburg, he served as a reader in the Prince Vladimir Cathedral, where he was also involved in Sunday school and youth groups. Therefore, at the farmstead he was entrusted with the same duties.
Our Sunday school is located at the nearby Alexander Nevsky gymnasium, and not only I, but also other priests teach there. But youth ministry is precisely my prerogative. We try to meet once a week to discuss current issues.
IN THE FIRST ROWS
He was born in Ukraine into a believing family, was baptized in infancy in the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and was raised in the Christian faith, for which he is very grateful to his parents. In junior school, the deacon recalls, the following incident happened to him:
I sang in the church choir, and one teacher found out about it and told the principal. She decided to bring my parents to justice. In my diary they wrote that they were expecting my parents to go to school, but for what offense it was not indicated. When my mother came to school, she had a long conversation with the director and, leaving her, said: “Don’t touch others either. The time will come, and you will stand in the first rows in the temple.” That's what happened in the end. Many people who persecuted the Church later ended up in the temple.
Father Sergius says that his parents always wanted their son to become not a boss or a businessman, but a servant before the Throne of God. At the same time, they themselves were workers: their mother was a construction foreman, and their father was a carpentry foreman.
From a very early age, Father Sergius's parents accustomed him to church life.
Many childhood memories are associated with the parish Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was in our city. On Sundays we went there with the whole family by bus, but on Easter it was more difficult: the authorities canceled all flights on that day, and the church could only be reached on foot. But we went to every Easter: my mother collected eggs and Easter, and we walked through the empty night streets to the festive service. The temple was full, believers even stood on the street! And what a joy: we prayed all night, walked back, greeting each other with tears, “Christ is Risen!” - “Truly he is risen!”
UNION OF BRICK AND WATER
For every holiday, the interiors of the temple are decorated with fresh flowers. This is largely the merit of florist Larisa Zadernovskaya, a long-time parishioner. In the utility rooms of the farmstead, a room has been allocated specifically for her work.
Once a young man came to the church and approached the rector with an offer to decorate the service with flowers for a small fee, recalls Larisa Zadernovskaya. “Father,” we say, “for a small fee we can handle it ourselves.”
Previously, Larisa worked as a hairdresser, and she also had to do hairstyles with fresh flowers. But this was probably the end of Larisa’s contact with floristry. However, the artist’s talent will manifest itself in any field, so it was not very difficult for her to master a new direction on her own. Larisa managed to get into training courses with the famous florist Galina Kondratyeva, who even decorated Kremlin events. She also studied with St. Petersburg masters. In general, now Larisa’s works decorate every major church service. The parishioners are happy to help her.
IN THE CIRCLE OF EATERS
The food at the farmstead is unexpectedly delicious. Most likely, the fact is that the cook here is a real professional. Marina Melnikova worked in the restaurant until the owners decided to close the establishment. It was necessary to look for a new job.
It's not that I'm afraid to go to a new place. But getting used to another team again is quite difficult. I first came here as a participant in courses to help codependents. And there I somehow heard that the rector, then he was Father Sergius Lyavda, was asking for help: he needed a cook. And I agreed.
Marina Melnikova says that getting used to the new menu was not easy. If the restaurant has meat dishes every day, then here it was necessary to switch to fish. Another feature is “regular visitors”. In a restaurant, people come and go, but here, day after day, the circle of diners is the same. You have to show more imagination so that the dishes don’t get boring.
Other parishioners help Marina prepare lunches. She also has a shift worker who cooks on Mondays and Tuesdays. But Marina Melnikova almost never has to attend services, because by the end of the Liturgy the table needs to be set. The way out of the situation is as follows: in the kitchen in the corner there is a small tape recorder that broadcasts the service directly here.
WHILE TEARS ARE COURSE
Who is often the first person someone who comes to church turns to? That's right, to the workers of the church shop. They are asked questions, they are the first to bear their joys and sorrows. More often - sorrows. All her life Alla Tupitsyna worked in an elementary school. She loved her job very much, but, as she says, over time the feeling came that perhaps enough was enough. Almost immediately she came to the temple. At first she helped with cleaning, and then the abbot said: “Well, we finally need to get down to serious business.” Since then she has been in the store, accepting and distributing goods.
For a long time I didn’t think about the spiritual side of life at all,” Alla recalls. - But one day my mother and I went to the Lavra to buy a gift for my younger brother. For some reason it seemed to us that the Bible was what he needed now. Mom went into the cathedral, and I stopped at the large Crucifixion right after the entrance. And the tears flowed. They just flowed and that’s it. Of course, I didn’t go to church for a long time, but still this incident awakened me to a new life.
Alla Tupitsyna still misses school. He is very happy when he sees his own people in the shop former students who themselves have already become fathers and mothers.
But there are no regular parishioners among them,” she laments a little.
RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING WITHIN COMPETENCE
At the Nativity Compound there is a lot of work related to the technical support of its life. The person responsible for this is Vladimir Belov.
It seems - what's wrong? There should be little work on the farmstead, but in fact it’s the other way around,” he says. - Something constantly needs to be repaired, adjusted: gas, electricity, alarm systems, these endless trips to authorities, coordination with officials, a lot of work with documents.
Vladimir is a radio engineer by profession. But he worked in many places and with many people, even managing his own company selling computer equipment.
Probably the Lord specifically led me here, to the courtyard. It seems like you work and work, and the position is normal, but the office is falling apart. Once I changed jobs, another... At first I was a parishioner, then I was asked to help, then I ended up at the altar, and so, gradually, I began to do what I do now.
Vladimir Belov says that the main difficulty in his work is multitasking. Often these tasks overlap, or even completely contradict each other.
"BEARD" AND OTHER WORKERS
There is a very special category of workers in the farmstead - laborers. There are not many of them, at the moment there are only three. Pavel helps in the kitchen. He doesn’t say anything at all about himself, not even where he’s from. This is understandable - usually people do not become laborers because of a good life.
“He is an indispensable assistant,” says chef Marina Melnikova. - Washing dishes, peeling vegetables. This is a very large amount of work.
Nikolai Korneev is engaged in the repair of everything that is in one way or another connected with electricity: wiring, lamps, spotlights. For this purpose, he was given a separate workshop behind the temple. Together with Pavel, Nikolai Nikolaevich lives in a monastery house on Oktyabrskaya Embankment - there are simply no separate living quarters in the courtyard.
Another worker, Alexander Ivanov, who was given the nickname “Beard,” lives in his own apartment. Some time ago he suffered a stroke and partially lost his ability to work. The disabled man had nowhere to find a job, so he came to the farmstead, helping in the carpentry and metalworking workshops, looking after the farmstead cats and dogs.
The manager of the farmstead, Hieromonk Kirill (Shvedov), explains that not everyone can become a worker at the farmstead. It is necessary, firstly, to have all the documents with you, and secondly, medical certificates that the person is not sick with anything dangerous to others, for example, tuberculosis. By the way, in order to become a worker at the monastery itself, you often also need to pass an interview at the monastery. And only when the manager gives the go-ahead, do you go to the monastery. But it is not always possible to understand at first glance whether a person is really ready for monastic life or not:
When I was still living in the monastery, a man came to us and said: “After an interview at the farmstead, here are my clothes, my motorcycle, I will work.” We tell him: “Come on, rest a little, take a closer look at us, we’ll take a closer look at you.” We gave him a day to rest. They treated the person humanely. And he left the next morning. Why? What I didn’t like was that we didn’t harness him right away. This is how the enemy tempts you in different ways.
My current March 8th took place in very interesting places - northeast of St. Petersburg, towards Svir and Olonets. And the main point of the day was definitely Alexander-Svirsky Monastery. In essence, complete monastery ensembles with ancient Russian architecture, so that at once you have a cathedral, and a refectory with a belfry, and all sorts of chambers, and towers with walls (this depends on the configuration) - not such an immense number. You can even calculate it at your leisure, and it will come out much less than it was before 1917, which is understandable. The northernmost of them are Solovetsky, Antoniev-Siysky, Krestny on Kiy Island, Kirillo-Belozersky, Ferapontov, Goritsky, Spaso-Prilutsky, Tikhvinsky Uspensky, Zelenetsky. Well, Svirsky will certainly be included in the top ten northern ones, which is also unique in that there are actually two monasteries here, two in one.
I'm not sure many people have a clear idea of this place. For some reason, there is very little specialized literature on the Svirsky Monastery; I have not seen architectural reconstructions or plans; with rare exceptions, I have not come across even cursory articles on the architecture of its monuments. In the Gogolitsyns’ well-worn book on the monuments of the Leningrad region, the photographs are completely mixed up, which makes it very easy to get confused about where everything is. The official website of the monastery will tell you about anything, but not about the architectural complex. It would seem that it is the website that should primarily guide pilgrims on where to run and what to worship. But there is not even a plan on which all the buildings would be indicated. But it is on Soborah.ru, to which respect. I suggest that after the trip you simply consolidate the material so as not to get confused in the future.
Firstly, you should not look for a monastery in places that are similar to its name, such as Sviritsa or Svirstroy. You won't find it. It is located in the village Old Sloboda, about 20 km north of the city of Lodeynoye Pole, already on the right (northern) bank of the Svir, but far away from the river, among forests and lakes.
Like the history of many ancient monasteries, this past is also connected with the fate, death and glorification of one ascetic, who gave the monastery life, name, and all subsequent glory. In this case it is Alexander Svirsky (1448-1533) , who lived for a long time and so correctly from the point of view of the church, that one day he was rewarded with a miraculous appearance not of just anyone, but of the Holy Trinity itself.For this he was immediately singled out among all Russian saints. Already 14 years after his death, he was canonized and immediately, under Ivan the Terrible, he almost headed a specially created pantheon of his own Russian miracle workers. One of the chapels of the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat (St. Basil's) was dedicated to Svirsky. It was only later that the relics were found, and it turned out that they were incorruptible. Special mention should be made about the relics. This is also an almost unique example in Russian Orthodoxy, when the body was preserved not in a mummified “dried” form (as can be seen in the Kyiv caves), but with preservation of the volume and density of the tissues. This reminded me of the embalmed body of the surgeon Pirogov, located in the crypt of his estate near Vinnitsa, but there it is the result of embalming and care, and Pirogov has been lying there since 1881. And here is truly an inexplicable phenomenon. The relics of Alexander Svirsky were preserved during Soviet times at the Military Medical Academy in Leningrad and returned to his monastery.
So, the monastery was founded on the shore of Lake Roshchinskoye in 1485 by the Venerable Alexander of Svirsky who came from Valaam, quickly gained fame and patronage of the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars, especially after the canonization of Alexander of Svirsky in 1547. The monastery was visited by Boris Godunov, Peter I, other sovereigns. In the XIX V. the monastery was called the “northern monastery”, 27 monasteries and a desert were subordinate to it, at one time St. Ignatius Brianchaninov and the first Optina elder Leonid lived in it. In 1918, the monastery was closed, the abbot was shot, the buildings were used as a prison, a home for the disabled, and a mental hospital. Reopened in 1997, partial restoration was carried out. The uniquely preserved incorruptible relics of Alexander Svirsky, discovered in 1641, were returned to the monastery in 1997. The monastery consists of two complexes that arose simultaneously, the main Trinity and the original cemetery Preobrazhensky, which now look like two independent monasteries.
This is the only clear diagram of the two ensembles that we were able to find. The legend is erroneous in places in terms of dating the buildings.
It is important to remember the basics. The first person to greet you from the entrance to the village is Trinity Monastery. This is the main and most significant complex from an architectural point of view. A monastery once arose on this site, and the first stone buildings were built. Here in the cathedral valuable paintings from the early 18th century have been preserved. Second, distant Transfiguration Monastery, architecturally less interesting, but valuable for the power of tradition and relics. He grew up in the place where the cell of Alexander Svirsky stood and where the Trinity appeared to him (there is now a chapel) and where they later began to bury monks. Those. it was originally a cemetery site. And it is there in the cathedral (in the left, northern aisle) that the relics of the saint are located. But there are no paintings and almost no bright architecture. Something like that.
Let's start with the Trinity Monastery.
Trinity complex
: originally five-domed (now one chapter), four-pillar Trinity Cathedral(1694-1698, replaced the cathedral of 1533, built by Kostroma craftsmen, outstanding interior frescoes 17o8-1713 Kostroma artel Leonty Markov, new iconostasis); Church of the Intercession with a refectory and belfry(around 1585, restored in 1969-1976, architect A.N. Miloradovich); three-tent belfry(1647-1674, restored with the restoration of the original completion in the 1970s, architect A.N. Miloradovich); Church of John of Damascus(1716-1718); buildings and walls XVII century, with subsequent reconstructions.
View of the Trinity Monastery from the bell tower of the Transfiguration Monastery. There are 200-300 meters between the two ensembles. Here, once again, it is clear that our ancient Russian architecture in its modern state is largely the fruit of the creativity of Soviet restorers. Whether this is good or bad is a separate question, but it should be accepted as a given. Please note that there are no three tents on the belfry, and in the refectory complex (on the right) there is neither a belfry tower nor beautiful chimneys. And only one cathedral has not changed since then.
In Soviet times, when there was a mental hospital in the monastery, the windows of the fraternal building were mercilessly smashed, which is why it now looks like a Soviet barracks. Judging by the new double-glazed windows, no one is going to return the historical rhythm of the openings to the façade. Although, it must be said that this entire complex was transferred to the monastery quite recently, and major restoration work has not yet begun. All church life is now concentrated in Preobrazhenskoye, where the relics and pilgrims are. But there is still silence here, although the churches are open. All visible restoration is still Soviet, with some renovations in the form of green painting on galvanized steel. And immediately after the restoration there were ploughshare coverings.
The most valuable thing from an architectural point of view in the entire Svirsky Monastery (in both complexes) is Church of the Intercession with a refectory chamber and a belfry and a separate three-tented belfry standing nearby. These are the main masterpieces here, the earliest stone buildings. True, as it turned out from recent studies by D.A. Petrov, are not as ancient as was thought until recently. The Church of the Intercession with its refectory usually dated back to 1533 and was presented not only as the oldest stone building here (which is true), but also as the work of Alexander Svirsky himself, who shortly before his death began to rebuild the monastery “in stone.” This turned out to be untrue. Under Svirsky, only a cathedral was probably built, about which we know nothing, because it was replaced by the one that now exists. Petrov convincingly dates the refectory complex to around 1585, linking it in a number of typological and stylistic features with the refectory of the Klop and Tikhvin Dormition monasteries of the 1560-1580s. So the oldest building of the Svirsky Monastery turned out to be half a century younger than thought. But it didn't get any worse. This is a magnificent monument, moreover brilliantly restored by A.N. Miloradovich.
These northern monuments have a special place in the history of ancient Russian architecture. It’s not very clear where to insert them, for example, into the general course of lectures. Usually, after all, the architecture of the ancient Russian principalities after the collapse of Kievan Rus is given sequentially - the Vladimir-Suzdal school, then Novgorod and Pskov. Then early Moscow begins, a new stage with the construction of the Kremlin and Kremlin cathedrals by Italians. Then Italian influences in the 16th century, tented churches, multi-altar Grozny churches (St. Basil, Dyakovo, Staritsa, the cathedral of Avraamiev, Klopsky and Solovetsky monasteries), then the refined Godunov architecture of the 1580-90s (Bolshiye Vyazemy, the cathedral of the Borovsky monastery, Trinity in Khoroshevo , Krasnoe-on-Volga). And then the pause of the Time of Troubles and the revival of stone construction within the framework of the pattern of the 17th century. But at the same time, a huge layer of monuments in the northern and northwestern lands remains outside the scope of the conversation, primarily Novgorod in the interval between the conquest of Ivan III and the defeat of Ivan the Terrible, from the 1470s to the 1570s. Novgorod architecture of the 16th century was powerful and quite original, although it received a strong Moscow inoculation. V.V. Sedov and D.A. Petrov quite reasonably believes that even after the “sovereign pogrom” of 1569, the Novogrod artels, having left the devastated Novgorod, continued to work in the northern monasteries, reaching Solovki. To the east of Novgorod, this strong architecture was intertwined with the developed stone architecture of Belozerye and Rostov. So while Moscow, with the help of foreign architects, was generating new forms, a slightly different architectural tradition continued to live on a huge part of the state’s territory, with obvious northern Novgorod features, creating buildings of a high technical and artistic level. And in the Svirskorm Monastery we have one of these masterpieces.
The second masterpiece here - belfry, which fits well into the conversation about the transformation of the tent in the first half of the 17th century from a constructive to a decorative form.
Trinity Cathedral Its architecture is secondary and generally quite clumsy. The long-standing disassembly of the four chapters clearly did not benefit him; they are missing in the silhouette. The windows are torn apart, their chaotic leapfrog is especially amusing on the apses. But even behind these distortions one can discern a clear orientation towards the prototype - Iveron Cathedral of the Valdai Monastery, built by Patriarch Nikon in his first (before New Jerusalem) ambitious monastic ensemble. Marina Vdovichenko writes about this in her monograph. Probably the sample exudes a harsh image, in no way comparable to the decorative abundance of 17th century pattern work. It is known that Nikon’s cathedrals, especially the early ones (Valdai and Kiy Ostrov) were emphatically ascetic and resurrected the spirit of “ancient piety,” focusing on the forms of Grozny or even earlier monuments. From the Iversky Cathedral here is the general design and, of course, the solution of the gallery with a porch. But in general, the construction turned out to be much more primitive and cruder than its prototype.
From the cathedral porch you can see a small Church of John of Damascus beginning of the 18th century. But it doesn’t make a difference, it only sets off the massif of the cathedral with its miniature size.
A funny pillar supporting the arch of the gallery.
The inside of the cathedral is good murals invited Kostroma artel. It is interesting that such art was made in the 1710s only 300 km from St. Petersburg, which was built by European masters. The two Russias existed in parallel, and very close. Although the paintings seem archaic only at first glance, upon closer examination they reveal many Europeanisms introduced under the influence of Western engravings, which is characteristic of the Yaroslavl school of the 17th century, to which the Kostroma masters were also close.
There is nothing else to see in the Trinity Monastery, let's head to Preobrazhensky. From the outside it even looks more picturesque, with turrets in the corners, a vertical bell tower, and the dome of the gate church. It is also more well-maintained, because it was long ago transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and restored.Preobrazhensky complex
: two-pillar five-domed Transfiguration Cathedral(1641-1644, right aisle of Zechariah and Elizabeth 1661-1668 (the tent was lost, an extension was made from the west in 1795 in the Baroque style), left aisle of Alexander Svirsky 1716, the cathedral was seriously reconstructed in 1856-1857 and 1873-1874 - the roofs were changed , windows were cut, a western extension was made; in the cathedral relics of Alexander Svirsky); Holy Gate with the rector’s corps (1780-1791, architect M. Kiselnikov), Bell tower(1903-1904); buildings and fence XIX century
Despite the fact that the local stone cathedral is even older than Trinity, everything else was built much later and does not belong to the heights of architectural mastery. At the entrance, everyone is greeted by a long building in the classicist style with baroque platbands, designed by a certain Kiselnikov.
It's the same from the inside. On the left is a wonderful view chapel at the site of the apparition of the Trinity to Alexander Svirsky.
The main and practically the only architectural landmark here is Transfiguration Cathedral. Quite ordinary and provincial 17th century, very small in size. This soon caused the need for expansions, as a result of which the old cathedral became overgrown with extensions, like the bottom of a ship with shells. As a result, now the cathedral can only be seen from the apses. Five-domed (the windows of the central drum are ugly), with three apses, double-columned in the interior. The details on the facades are modest. Two side aisles. The one to the left of the apses - Zechariah and Elizabeth, southern. It is now difficult to identify, since the tented bell tower at the top was demolished during Soviet times. So now it is just a corner cubic building with 17th century decoration. The head now stands not above the chapel, but above the building located between it and the cathedral. Right (north) chapel of Alexander Svirsky also has no completion, but it can be identified by the extra, fourth apse. There, in this aisle, are relics of Alexander Svirsky.
On the western side, from the entrance, the cathedral is completely hidden by a large late vestibule, which actually became the main temple building. The space of the old cathedral was half turned into an altar part, hidden behind the iconostasis. The interior has not been preserved, everything here is new and somehow not particularly touching. There is a slightly unpleasant sterility in the white walls and identical wooden icon cases placed along the walls.
The old photograph clearly shows the hipped roof above the southern aisle, which was later lost. And the unpreserved porch between the chapel and the apses of the cathedral.
This is what the shrine containing the relics of Alexander Svirsky, destroyed by the Bolsheviks, looked like, placed in the monastery by the first of the Romanovs, Mikhail Fedorovich. The reliquary stood in the main room of the cathedral, and not in the chapel where the relics lie now. It can be seen that the cathedral was all painted. Now the walls are white.
Today, the relics of Alexander Svirsky are displayed more modestly. The photo is not mine, photography is not allowed there.
This hand ended its earthly life in 1533, and since then without any mausoleums. Hmmm.....
An interesting bell tower in the Byzantine style is the last thing built here until 1917. The monastery owes much of its splendor at the end of the 19th century to Abbot Agafangel, who turned it into a popular and well-appointed center of pilgrimage.
And finally, a couple of shots with views of the Trinity complex.
And this kind northern dog accompanied us.
Yes, and next to the Trinity Monastery there is a very decent cafe-bistro, where everything is quite European, and there is even mulled wine and cheesecakes. In my deep conviction, in such monasteries, as in a person, everything should be beautiful - both big and small, both external and internal. If only they could describe the architecture on their website...
Monastery of Alexander Svirsky Monastery Alexander Svirsky Monastery ... Wikipedia
Based on the river Svir (now Svirskiye Slobody, Lodeynopolsky district, Leningrad region) ca. 1493 by a local native peasant in monasticism Alexander (Svirsky). Originally existed as his hermitage settlement. In 1500 with the arrival of others... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia
Olonets diocese, in the vicinity of Olonets. Founded in the 15th century. St. Alexander Svirsky. It consisted of two monasteries: Trinity, erected on the site of the cells that once gathered around St. Alexander the brethren, and Preobrazhensky, built on the site ... ... Russian history
Contents 1 Last name 1.1 A 1.2 D 1.3 I ... Wikipedia
Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see Svirsky. Alexander Svirsky ... Wikipedia
ALEXANDER SVIRSKY- (Amos; 1448, village of Mandera, Obonezhskaya Pyatina of Novgorod land 08/30/1533), St. (memorial: August 30, church-wide celebration, April 17, local celebration on the day of the discovery of the relics in the Cathedral of Karelian Saints, in the Cathedral of Novgorod Saints, in the Cathedral... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia
ALEXANDROV SVIRSKY IN HONOR OF THE HOLY TRINITY MONASTERY- Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord (1641 1644) and c. Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth (1660 1668) Alexandrov Svir Monastery Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord (1641 1644) and c. Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth (1660 1668) Alexandrov Svirsky Monastery (S.... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia
Reverend, founder of the Alexander Svir Monastery; genus. around 1448 in Obonezhskaya Pyatina, in the village. Mandere, on the Oyati River, from the pious parents Stefan and Vassa, reposed on August 30, 1533. Having been taught to read and write, he is influenced by... Large biographical encyclopedia
Trinity (Holy Trinity) monastery monastery dedicated to St. Life-Giving Trinity. Contents 1 Belarus 2 Latvia 3 Lithuania 4 ... Wikipedia
Herodion, abbot of the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery- Herodion (1st half of the 16th century) - abbot of Alexander Svirsky of the Spassky Trinity Monastery, author of the Life of the founder of the monastery Alexander of Svirsky: “The month of August on the 30th day. The life and labors and partly miracles of the confession of the venerable and God-bearing father... Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Rus'
Books
- Holy Trinity Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, Solovyova I., Serebryakova E., Okhotnikova V.. Holy Trinity Alexander-Svirsky Monastery, founded by the holy chosen one of God, the Seer of the Holy Trinity, Rev. Alexander of Svirsky, for five centuries was spiritual and...
- A Word about Man, Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Bishop Ignatius (in the world Dmitry Aleksandrovich Brianchaninov) is an outstanding scientist, theologian, preacher, ascetic, author of numerous spiritual works. He came from an old noble family...
The Holy Trinity Alexander Svirsky Monastery is located in the town of Staraya Sloboda, near the town of Lodeynoye Pole in the Leningrad region, Lodeynopolsky district.
The monastery is famous for storing relics of St. Alexander of Svirsky.
Venerable Alexander Svirsky was canonized just 14 years after his death, an honor only a few Russian saints have received.
After his canonization, witnesses of his righteous deeds and his disciples remained alive, therefore Life of St. Alexander of Svirsky written with great authenticity.
This monastery is the most famous and highly revered national shrine and a place to which almost every Orthodox Christian aspires.
Alexander Svirsky Monastery how to get there
We found out how to get to the Alexander Svirsky Monastery by car as part of our.
This monastery is also called the “Northern Lavra”.
When young Alexander reached maturity, his parents wanted to marry him, but he did not want to get married, and all his thoughts were aimed at entering a monastery. Alexander left home and went to Valaam; on the way he met Valaam monks and talked with them for a long time.
And so, on the way to Valaam, on the shore of Lake Roshchinskoye, after he crossed the Svir River, Alexander suddenly heard a mysterious voice that told him that he would have to create a monastery on this place.
The monk reached Valaam and spent 10 years there, but one day during prayer, Saint Alexander suddenly heard a divine voice, which directed him for his own salvation to the place shown to him before, in the southeast, on the banks of the Svir River.
Thus, the monastery owes its creation to St. Alexander of Svirsky.
The monastery is famous for the fact that the Holy Trinity appeared to St. Alexander of Svirsky here.
In the entire history of mankind, as sources testify, the Trinity God revealed himself to man only twice.
The first time this happened to Saint Abraham at the Oak of Mamre, it signified God’s great mercy towards the human race.
The second time the appearance of the life-giving Trinity happened here, on Russian soil, with the holy venerable Alexander of Svirsky.
At the site of the appearance of the Holy Trinity, there is now a chapel and you can take sand, which is consecrated by the site of the appearance of the Trinity.
The sand is specially poured here so that people can take it and apply it to sore spots.
Numerous cases of healing with the help of sand of Alexander Svirsky.
Sand is constantly added and it becomes holy in this place.
After the death of Alexander Svirsky, sick people came to the tomb, fell to it with faith and were healed of many bodily ailments, such as blindness, muteness, paralysis, infertility, demon possession, drug addiction and many, many other diseases.
That is why the monastery is famous the incorruptible relics of St. Alexander of Svirsky.
The incorruptible relics lie in the cancer and it is clear that these are the relics of a wonderful, unusual, some kind of unearthly person.
Body of St. Alexander of Svirsky incorruptible for 500 years.
U shrines with the relics of St. Alexander of Svirsky great miracles and healings from even the most serious illnesses have been performed before and are being performed in our time.
The relics of Alexander Svirsky in appearance resemble the living body of a very old man.
The relics are fragrant, this fragrance is caused by the flow of myrrh - the release of a fragrant liquid from the skin, which is called myrrh and when it evaporates, it emits a wonderful aroma.
This fragrance spreads throughout the temple when the holy relics are opened, and they are opened quite often, for large Church Holidays, which has absolutely no effect on the safety of the relics.
The relics of St. Alexander of Svirsky were found twice.
The incorruptible relics of the saint were discovered for the first time in 1641, when the old church over the tomb of Alexander Svirsky was dismantled. They were going to build a new stone church on this site.
When they opened the coffin, they discovered that in a completely intact coffin lay completely incorruptible body in imperishable clothes, and a fragrance spread around.
In 1918, the security officers, who were sent to liquidate the relics, shot the monks defending the shrine and opened the shrine with the relics, discovering the same incorruptible relics, which were eventually transported to Petrograd and placed in the closed anatomical museum of the Military Medical Academy.
In 1997, the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery initiated a search for the relics and, with God's help, in 1998 the relics were found for the second time.
The peculiarity of this 15th century monastery. is that it has two parts - Preobrazhenskaya and Trinity.
They are connected by a short road along Lake Roshchinskoye.
The well, dug by the Venerable Alexander of Svirsky, is located on the territory of the Holy Trinity Monastery, not far from the entrance to the Holy Transfiguration Monastery. Above the well there is the Overlying Water-Blessed Chapel, where anyone can reverently taste the holy water with faith and prayer.
A painting made in 1715 has been preserved in the Trinity Cathedral. The frescoes are said to be self-renewing and have never been restored.
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