History of the Divnogorsk Monastery

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

Divnogorsky Monastery is a monastery located in the Voronezh region, in the Liskinsky district. It was founded in the middle of the 17th century by monks from the Hetmanate and Little Russian Cossacks. There is a version that there was a monastery on the site of the Divnogorsk monastery as early as the 12th century.

Backstory

According to legend, where the Divnogorsky Monastery is located today, in the 12th century there was a monastery founded by the Greek skimonks Joasaph and Xenophon, who arrived on Russian soil from Sicily as a result of Catholic persecution. The monks allegedly built a cave where the Divnogorsky Monastery is located today.

However, there is no written confirmation of this version. Moreover, in those days there were constant clashes between Russian troops and Tatars, which ruled out the existence of the monastery. Most likely, the monks who arrived from Sicily built a skete here, but the monastery appeared later.

Foundation of the monastery

Holy Assumption Divnogorsky Monastery - this is the official name of the mainsights of the village of Tubsanatorium "Divnogorie". In the fifties of the 17th century, the construction of fortifications and ground structures began here, which were supposed to save Russian settlements from Tatar raids. The territory was surrounded by a wooden wall, cells were built. Then the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared here. The year of foundation of the Divnogorsk Assumption Monastery is considered to be 1653.

At first, there were no more than 15 novices here. Abbot Guriy became the abbot. The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker burned down five years after the completion of construction. A new one was soon erected in its place. Around the same time, the Church of John the Baptist was built and lit.

Divnogorsky Monastery is a cave monastery. It was hard to live in a grotto soaked with lime. The monks built cells nearby, and a high fence was erected around the monastery. It was then the only cave monastery on the banks of the Don.

Settlements located near the monastery appeared relatively recently. In the 17th century, when the Divnogorsky Monastery was founded, there were practically no settlements here. The monks had a hard time. The rector turned to Moscow more than once for help, and, finally, he was given a sum from the treasury and a mill.

On the path of the Tatar invasion

The choice of the site of the monastery, given the situation at the end of the 17th century, could not be called successful. The monastery was often attacked by the Tatars. Under Abbot Tikhon, part of the brethren left the monastery. They went to quieter places - towest of the Don River. There, over the river Psel, the fugitives founded a monastery, which the uninvited guests from the Golden Horde could no longer reach.

In the summer of 1770, the monks of the Divnogorsk monastery witnessed battles between the Cossacks led by Stepan Razin and the tsarist troops. Here the main events of the Peasants' War unfolded. The rebels were hit hard. They left the bank of the Don. But the departure of the rebels did not bring peace to the novices of the Divnogorsk Monastery.

The monks who stayed in the monastery despite the danger from the Tatars had to learn the basics of self-defense. On the bell tower they installed iron and copper pipes. In case of danger, they hurriedly took refuge in a cave, which had several exits. In 1677, the Tatars attacked the monastery again, after which the monks spent a long time restoring their buildings.

Becoming

By the end of the 17th century, the monastery became the center of enlightenment and the fight against schism. There was a good library for those times. In 1686 the rector became archimandrite. One of the monks went to Cherkassk, where he preached for two years. True, the locals did not greet him cordially, and the monk had to return to his native monastery without s alt.

Decades after the founding of the monastery, these places were no longer so deserted. Residents of Little Russia rushed here, who settled and influenced the local culture. The settlers took part in the expansion of the monastery.

A certain general who sailed in 1696from Voronezh to Azov, saw the monastery from afar and left enthusiastic notes about it in his diary. He was struck by a small structure equipped with cannons, squeakers and had fortifications that, it would seem, no enemy could overcome.

Peter times

The great reformer visited this monastery in 1699. By the time Peter arrived, the number of monks had been increased to forty people - the king considered the inhabitants of holy places to be idle people, and therefore he closed small monasteries. According to the memoirs of Vice-Admiral K. Kruys, Peter dined with the monks. True, the monks regaled the guest exclusively with fish, because there was nothing else on their ascetic menu. After dinner, the king deigned to shoot from the cannons. Every time the monks heard a shot, they plugged their ears and left.

Under Catherine II

In the second half of the 18th century, many monasteries were deprived of their land holdings. Only seven monks served in the Divnogorsk monastery. In 1788 the monastery was closed. The brethren transferred to other monasteries of the Voronezh diocese. The restoration of the monastery began in the first half of the 19th century.

XX century

In 1903 the monastery celebrated its 250th anniversary. However, after 15 years it was plundered by the Red Army. In 1924 the monastery was closed, and the monks were drowned in the river. The representatives of the new government also sent the library there.

On the territory of the monastery in the Soviet years there was a Rest House, and during the Second World War the invaders stagedmilitary hospital. In 1960, a tuberculosis sanatorium was opened here.

The revival of the Divnogorsky Assumption Monastery began in the nineties. Worship services are held every day. Restoration work is still underway on the territory of the monastery.