In the history of the Syandem Assumption Convent there were many events that can be treated differently. On the one hand, the trials that have fallen to the lot of the monastery since its founding can be considered punishment. And on the other hand, the special attention of the Almighty to those who decided to serve Him in these hard-to-reach places. After all, it is said: "Whom I love, I will punish." Today it is calm and quiet here, and nothing reminds of the dashing times when foreigners destroyed temples and killed monks… But it was not always so. Let's look into the depths of the centuries.
Years of apprenticeship
The Syandem Assumption Monastery became a women's monastery at the beginning of the last century (1909). And before that, the Syandem desert burned down and was reborn, like a Phoenix bird. The monastery is located near the village of Syandeba, between the lakes Roshchinskoe, which is also called Bannoe or in Finnish Kyulyujarvi, and Syandebskoye. itOlonetsky district in the Karelian Republic. And in the old documents, the monastery was called "Afanasyevo-Syandemsky Hermitage".
Its founder was a native of these places, St. Athanasius of Syandem. The desire to serve the Lord led him to Valaam. There he met his spiritual mentor, the holy Reverend Alexander of Svir. The stubbornness and self-denial of the young man attracted the attention of the teacher, and the two ascetics became worshipers. This means that they made the most intimate appeals to the Creator together in one of the caves of the Valaam Islands. However, after some time, the Monk Alexander retired to the forests on the Svir River, where he spent seven years in complete solitude.
Foundation of the monastery
After seven years of seclusion, the Monk Alexander of Svir began to build a skete. And then Athanasius joined him in order to again receive instructions from the hegumen. During this period of time, the Mother of God appeared to the Monk Alexander, which was witnessed by his prayer book.
In 1533, the Monk Abbot reposed, and Athanasius with several disciples went to the forests of Karelia, to the very place where the Syandem Assumption Convent is being restored today. The beauty of these places was indescribable, and it was here that the Syandem Desert was founded.
It was ten versts to the nearest settlement, and twenty versts to Olonets. The Olonchans allowed Athanasius and the monks to settle in these places, realizing that this would be a boon for all the inhabitants. Archbishop Pimen of Novgorod blessed the construction of a chapel inhonor of the Life-Giving Trinity, near which eight cells for monks were placed.
In the spring they began to plow the plot. However, out of envy, the inhabitants of Olonets slandered the monk before Pimen, saying that he built the hermitage by force, without their consent. Athanasius went to the Svir Monastery, and the place he chose was empty.
In the Svir Monastery
Athanasius returned to the monastery, which was once headed by his mentor. He was elected abbot, and probably during this period he received the priesthood. In any case, in 1577, in the documents of the monastery, he is called a priestly monk.
But in the same year, Athanasius (now the former abbot of the Alexander-Svirsky monastery) submits a petition to the Novgorod Archbishop Alexander. The monk asks for permission to build a temple of the Life-Giving Trinity and a monastery attached to it on the site of the Syandemskaya Hermitage. And for the needs of the brethren, allocate land for arable land. The archbishop blessed the undertaking of Athanasius. This is how the Syandem Monastery was formed.
Mansion Development
Time passed, the monastery grew, and the labors of the monks bore fruit. After some time, the Svir hermitage was unrecognizable: food and necessary household appliances were presented in abundance at the monastery courtyard. And the temples erected at the monastery were striking in their splendor.
Hegumen Athanasius was for the brethren not only an example of diligence, but also a spiritual mentor. He himself had a long conversation with the Monk Adrian Andrusovsky, who was also a Schemamonk of Valaam. He founded a monastery on the shores of Lake Ladoga,so there was a distance of 20 versts between the two interlocutors.
Reverend Athanasius of Syandemsky left his monastery prosperous, already at a very old age. He was buried at the cape of Lake Roshchinsky. And some time later, a church of Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria was built over the final resting place of the founder of the monastery.
Hard Times
Other times have come: the attack of the Swedes and the Principality of Lithuania in 1582 did not bypass the Syandem monastery. Then the Trinity Church was destroyed, and the abbot who headed the monastery was killed. The elders, anticipating evil, managed to immerse the lake with church utensils and bells, which are still there.
However, the dark days passed, and after 50 years the Trinity Church was rebuilt, the outbuildings were slowly restored. At that time there were seven elders in the monastery. However, the main consequence of the Livonian War was the almost complete loss of all documents testifying to the invaluable contribution to the foundation of the monastery of St. Athanasius.
Ashes of the monastery
1720 was one of the most unfortunate years for the monastery: a fire destroyed it almost completely. However, the painstaking work of the monks and workers made it possible to quickly restore the buildings of the monastery.
At this time, the imperishable relics of St. Athanasius were discovered along with the rosary and the permissive prayer in their hands. For several days everyone could see them, and then they were buried in the same place. A temple was erected over the resting place, insidewhich the founder of the monastery rests under a mahogany shrine.
Syandemsky monastery was expanded by 1723, as it included the Andrusovskaya and Zadne-Nikiforovskaya deserts.
But after 40 years, Catherine II started a secularization reform, as a result of which the desert ceased to exist for 63 years. As for the churches belonging to the Syandemskaya hermitage, in 1802 they were attached to the Tuksinsky parish, and in 1821 they moved to the Andrusovskaya monastery. This made it possible to revive monasticism.
Revival of the monastery
In 1827, the Valaam Monastery was headed by hegumen Innokenty. With his care and tireless efforts, the Syandem Hermitage began to revive. She was allocated land by decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, and the necessary amount was donated by the same abbot Innokenty, who also presented the monastery with an icon of the Vladimir Mother of God in a silver setting. The influential nobles did not remain indifferent to the fate of the desert. For example, the church at the monastery owes the decoration of the sacristy to Countess Anna Alekseevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya.
In 1852, the Syandemsky monastery received a gift from the hegumen of the Valaam Monastery, the icon of the miracle workers Sergius and Herman. At the time of the opening of the Syandem Monastery, there were two churches on its territory: a wooden one (Assumption of the Mother of God) and a stone one (Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria).
New Age
The beginning of the new XX century was marked by several transformations for the desert. Firstly, in 1902 it was recognized as independent, butthis could not change her extremely difficult financial situation.
As a result, in 1909 the monastery became the Syandem Assumption Convent, one of the main goals of which was enlightenment. As of 2011, 18 nuns lived in it, who could not fully ensure the restoration of the monastery from its dilapidated state.
However, then very cruel times came - the October Revolution came, and with it the fight against "opium for the people." Pustyn was closed, and all its property was transferred to the livestock farm. The stone church became the property of the Gushkal logging station.
The fighting of 1941 completed the destruction of the monastery started by the revolutionary masses. Not even the foundation survived.
Rebirth
The consequences of historical cataclysms for the Syandem monastery are sad. Many wooden temples erected during the time of its founder have been irretrievably lost. For example, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for the restoration of which in 1827 Emperor Nicholas I allocated a significant amount, was completely destroyed.
However, in 2013, with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Petrozavodsk and Karelian Manuil, the construction of a new Assumption Church began.
And yet, the spirit of St. Athanasius hovers over the place he once loved so much: in 2011, with the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the second birth of the Syandemsky Assumption took placeconvent.
He is the only one in Karelia, and the day of memory of his patron Saint Athanasius is considered May 2/15 and January 18/31. Abbess Varvara is the head of the monastery.
You can get to the monastery by different modes of transport. If you are traveling by regular bus, then from St. Petersburg or Petrozavodsk you should get to the city of Olonets. Next, it is better to hire a taxi, since you can get lost in your own car (the navigator indicates the route incorrectly).
However, it is best to take a taxi and go direct. For example, from Petrozavodsk to the Syandem Assumption Convent, you will spend about 2 hours and 30 minutes on the road.
Arriving here, you can immerse yourself in the wonderful world of untouched nature and quiet concentrated service to the Almighty.
