Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery in Veliky Novgorod

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery is an Orthodox male monastery located 20 kilometers south of Veliky Novgorod. It is located on the river Veryazh, in the place where it flows into the Ilmen. In this article we will talk about the history, architecture of the monastery, options for how to get to it.

History

Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery was founded at the beginning of the 15th century. The first mention of it in chronicles dates back to 1408. It is connected with the fact that the Orthodox novice Mikhail Klopsky appears in the parish, after whom the monastery was named as a result.

At the same time, there is another version of the origin of the name of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery in Veliky Novgorod. Some researchers claim that the Veryazh River and the nameless stream located in the area on which the monastery stands are shaped like a bug.

Today the main shrine of the monastery is the relics of Mikhail Klopsky, which are under a bushel in the southern aisle of the Trinity Church.

After the Bolsheviks came to powerthe monastery worked until 1934, after which it was closed.

The persecution of the monks began already in 1918. Then a school was organized at the monastery, and the communists forbade serving prayers. After the revolution, the monastery parish was abolished. However, this did not mean the end of spiritual life in this place. In 1922, a government commission seized all the valuables that were in the use of the community. Everything was transferred to the Novgorod Museum.

In the mid-1920s, the monastery was at the center of the renovation movement. The priest Nikolai Letitsky appeared, whom the local authorities opposed in every possible way. As a result, the priest was removed. After the closing of the cathedral on the territory of the monastery for worship, the keys to it were handed over to museum workers.

The Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery was revived in 2005. The buildings were returned to the Novgorod diocese. Now its restoration is underway, it is being conducted under the direct supervision of Abbot Jacob (Efimov).

Architecture

The center of the architectural ensemble of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery in Veliky Novgorod is the three-domed four-pillar Trinity Cathedral. It was supposedly built in 1560. Over time, galleries with a bell tower, which have not survived, and picturesque aisles were added to it.

Following the fashion that existed during the reign of Ivan IV, in the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery, the Trinity Cathedral was made multi- altar. Since at least 1581, there has been a stone church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a refectory. Just by this timeinclude her first mention in the annals.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the appearance of the cathedral underwent significant changes. The temple became five-domed, a bell tower and cells were built on the territory of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery.

During the Great Patriotic War, the refectory church was almost completely destroyed. In 1960 the cathedral was mothballed. Nikolskaya Church still remains in ruins.

Location

There is no exact address at the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery. To get to it, you need to go south from Veliky Novgorod.

With your car, you should leave the city along the P56 highway. Then after 11 kilometers turn left following the sign leading to the monastery.

Who is Mikhail Klopsky?

The Orthodox monk, after whom this monastery was named, was a holy fool. According to one version, he was related to Dmitry Donskoy. Was either the grandson of the boyar Dmitry Mikhailovich Bobrok Volynsky, or the illegitimate son of the Mozhaisk prince Andrei Dmitrievich, brother of Dmitry Donskoy.

It is known that Michael officially renounced power and fortune, taking upon himself the feat of foolishness for the glory of Christ. He left Moscow on foot. He showed up at a monastery in the Novgorod Republic wearing only rags.

He spent the next 44 years of his life in the monastery. During this time, the saint became an example of strict observance of the monastic charter and ascetic feat. According to his life, he had the gift of foresight and prophecy. He also became famous for denouncing the rulers, not paying any attention to their status and origin.

For example, he predicted the victory of Ivan III and the fall of Novgorod. Also, miracles performed by him include the discovery of a previously unknown source on the territory of the monastery, which came in handy, since the novices suffered from the drought that formed that year.

Mikhail Klopsky died in 1453 or 1456. He was canonized at the Makarievsky Cathedral almost a century later. The Orthodox Church honors his memory on January 11.

Trinity Cathedral

Trinity Cathedral is the main decoration of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery in Veliky Novgorod. This is a monument of Novgorod architecture of the first half of the 16th century. The construction has preserved the construction and architectural traditions that developed during the independence of the Novgorod Republic.

After the annexation of Veliky Novgorod to the Muscovite state, there is a tendency in architecture to assimilate the "Moscow rules". Since then, they have become decisive in the appearance of Novgorod stone construction.

Changes are noticeable in the restructuring of the Trinity Cathedral on the territory of the men's Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery at the beginning of the 16th century. Many researchers associate the construction of this temple with a visit by Ivan the Terrible in 1568.

Many thrones becomes one of its distinguishing features. It is characteristic of most temples of that time. In the dedication of the aisles, they see a special ideological program of the king, since the temple was built according tohis order and partly at his expense. The dedication of the chapels to Theodore Stratilates and John of the Ladder indicates the desire to obtain patronage for the sons of Ivan IV - Fedor and John. And in the rest of the dedications, a set of prayer themes, traditional for the ruler, can be traced. They are associated with the appeal to the Mother of God, the Trinity and John the Baptist.

The Trinity Cathedral of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery was significantly rebuilt in the 19th century. In the western part, two more decorative domes appeared, the bell tower disappeared, and wall paintings were updated.

As a result of excavations carried out by Soviet archaeologists in the late 1980s, it was established that during the construction of the Trinity Cathedral on the territory of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery in the 16th century, the masonry of the original stone cathedral, along with the foundation, was almost completely chosen. Experts managed to find only two small fragments dating back to the beginning of the 15th century.

St. Nicholas Church

Another attraction of the monastery is St. Nicholas Church with a refectory. This is a unique architectural monument of the 16th century. Currently, it is almost destroyed, its condition is considered catastrophic.

The vault of the church is on the verge of collapse. Experts fear that very soon the only opportunity to study this monument will be archaeological excavations.

The date of construction of St. Nicholas Church remains unknown. It is believed that it appeared either during the time of Ivan the Terrible, or already much later than his death - in 1632.

Modernresearchers tend to date earlier.

Famous abbots

During the existence of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery, it had many leaders who played an important role in its development and the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. From 1414 to 1421 the monastery was headed by Theodosius, later elected archbishop.

The life of Mikhail Klopsky indicates that he arrived at the monastery under Metropolitan Photius, and then stayed when Theodosius became abbot in it.

According to the chronicle, it was during this clergyman that the Holy Trinity Church was placed in the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery.

There is evidence that Theodosius helped the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements in the famine years, was associated with Prince Konstantin Dmitrievich, who arrived in Novgorod in 1419. It was the son of Dmitry Donskoy, who chose Theodosius as his confessor. He regularly visited the monastery, gave money for the construction of the Trinity Cathedral.

In 1421 Theodosius was elected archbishop. He headed the diocese for two years without ordination, until the people of Novgorod forcibly removed him from the pulpit. After that, Theodosius returned to his monastery, where he died two years later.

Gerasim (Ionin)

Among the abbots was Gerasim (Ionin), who became known for serving in the Solovetsky Monastery. It was after the Novgorod monastery that he was transferred to Solovki in 1793.

In a new place, he proved himself, demanding from the novices a thorough implementation of the charter,petitioned for the abolition of the division between the monks of the remnants of annual income, as well as the resumption of the hostel on the basis of the procedures established by Abbot Zosima the Wonderworker.

In 1796, Gerasim was sent to rest, having appointed a pension. He died at a ripe old age in the Sophronian Hermitage.

Gerasim (Gaidukov)

Gerasim (Gaidukov) was the head of the monastery from 1806 to 1817. It is known that he took monastic vows in 1795. In the first years of the 19th century, he worked on the construction of the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery, which belonged to the St. Petersburg diocese. Then he was transferred to the Vologda region.

Becoming the abbot of the Mikhailo-Klopsky Monastery, he was elevated to the rank of hegumen. In 1815 he published a brief description of the monastery.

But this was not the last place of his service. In 1817, Gerasim became archimandrite, he was transferred to the Skovorodsky monastery of the Novgorod diocese. Then he also led the Nikolo-Vyazhishchsky and Valdai Iversky Monastery.

He died in 1829 and was buried in the cathedral church of the Iversky Monastery.