The main attraction of the ancient Russian city of Pereslavl-Zalessky can rightfully be called the Nikitsky Monastery, which is one of the oldest in Russia. Founded before the Tatar invasion, it witnessed many key events in our history and, together with all the people, survived the hardships of the Horde yoke, the years of the Time of Troubles and the Bolshevik hard times.
Church on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo
About when the Pereslavl-Zalessky Nikitsky Monastery was founded, rather vague information has been preserved relating this event to the first decades that came after the baptism of Russia. From a literary monument of the 15th century, called the Book of Degrees, it is known that the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir transferred control of the Rostov-Suzdal lands to his son Boris.
It is further said that around 1010, the young prince, together with Bishop Hilarion, eradicating paganism on the lands subject to him, founded several churches on the shores of Lake Pleshcheyevo. It is generally accepted that a community was created around one of them, transformed over time intoNikitsky Monastery. This was an important step towards establishing Christianity in these lands.
First monastery saints
There is no mention of the monastery in the historical documents of the pre-Mongolian period, but in the 15th century the life of its first saint Nikita the Stylite, who once labored here, was compiled, and it clearly indicated that he lived in the 12th century, and this also confirms the early dating the foundation of the monastery.
After the blessed death of the saint, his relics received the gift of miracles. It is known, for example, that many historical figures received healing through the prayers offered before them. Among them was the young Prince of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich and the son of Ivan the Terrible Ivan, the same one who was subsequently killed in the heat of anger by his own father.
Among the inhabitants of the monastery there were great ascetics who later founded other monasteries of Pereslavl-Zalessky. The most famous among them is Saint Daniel, canonized as a saint. He is the creator of the Trinity-Daniel Convent.
Formation of the material base of the monastery
Until the beginning of the 16th century, the Nikitsky Monastery hardly stood out among other monasteries that had appeared in the Rostov-Suzdal lands by that time. The inhabitants lived exclusively by their labors, being content with only modest incomes from the services they performed and occasional donations from pilgrims.
Their financial situation improved somewhat only in 1515, when the Pereslavl deacon Evstafiy, who received through prayersbefore the relics of St. Daniel, healing from a fatal illness, made a significant donation to the monastery treasury. With this money, a wooden church was built, consecrated in honor of the miracle worker who saved him, and attracting many pilgrims with its glory.
In 1521, the Nikitsky Monastery was blessed by the Prince of Uglich Dmitry Ioannovich, who presented him with a village that was part of his estate. The main monastic donor was the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III - the father of Ivan the Terrible. By his order and with the funds allocated by him, the Nikitsky Cathedral was erected on the territory of the monastery in 1523.
The monastery under Ivan the Terrible
From this time on, the monastery flourished, peaking during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky), whose abbot Vassian enjoyed the favor of the tsar, occupied a very important place among other monasteries. Suspicious and inclined to see treason everywhere, the tsar intended to use the powerful monastery walls as a spare oprichnina fortress if, for any reason, his main citadel, Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, would lose its reliability.
Construction of a new Nikitsky Cathedral
It is known that Ivan and members of his family repeatedly visited the Nikitsky Monastery, making multi-day pilgrimages to it. The tsar's generous contribution is the new building of the Nikitsky Cathedral, erected on his orders and with his money, which replaced the old one built by his father. Former buildingtook the place of the southern aisle in it, consecrated in honor of St. Nikita the Stylite, so revered by him. By his own command, a number of other structures were also erected that did not reach us, or survived, but changed their appearance.
In 1564, the tsar personally arrived at the solemn consecration and presented the new cathedral with a massive chandelier made of bronze and distinguished by a high artistic finish. His wife, Anastasia Romanovna, who accompanied him on the trip, presented an embroidered image of St. Nikita the Stylite, made by her own hands. The main and most valuable gift of the sovereign was the numerous estates that he donated to the monastery and created a reliable material base for its existence.
Years of Great Troubles
The years of the Time of Troubles became a difficult test for the monastery. Like many monasteries of Pereslavl-Zalessky, it was repeatedly attacked by enemies. In 1609, with the help of local residents, the brethren managed to withstand the siege and drive the enemy away from the walls of the monastery, but two years later, the Lithuanians, led by Lev Sapieha, managed to capture the monastery.
Most of the inhabitants were killed, the buildings were looted and burned, and Abbot Misail, who miraculously escaped, became a wanderer. To this day, in the Pereslavl Historical Museum, you can see two Lithuanian cannons that have survived from those times and took part in the siege of the monastery.
Revival of the monastery
The restoration of the monastery began immediately after the accession to the throne of the first tsar from the Romanov Dynasty - the sovereignMikhail Fedorovich. He and his father, Patriarch Filaret, made large financial donations, thanks to which they were able to immediately begin work.
During the next reign, already under Alexei Mikhailovich, at his expense and donations, in 1645 the walls and towers surrounding the monastery were rebuilt. At the same time, the Church of the Annunciation was laid, which has survived almost unchanged to this day.
In 1698, Peter I visited the Nikitsky Monastery. Having lived there for several days, the sovereign confirmed by his decree the permission issued to the monastery by his father for the right to fish in Lake Pleshcheyevo. At that time, this was a considerable royal favor, since the lake was rich in fish, and there were enough applicants for its monopoly fishing. The period of the reign of Peter the Great also includes the construction of the Chernihiv chapel on the territory of the monastery, which is considered the last example of the Old Russian style in Pereslavl.
Following tenses
In the 17th century, the monastery did not have a chance to endure serious upheavals. Even the difficult for many monasteries during the reign of Catherine II, which was marked by the secularization (withdrawal) of church lands, he survived without much loss. Construction continued on its territory. In particular, a chapel was added to the previously erected Church of the Annunciation, and a chapel was erected over the pillar, standing on which, according to legend, St. Nikita prayed day and night.
This pillar played an important role in the life of the monastery. He and the iron chainswhich the holy ascetic once wore to mortify the flesh, were demonstrated for many centuries as the greatest shrine, and they attracted many pilgrims to the monastery, contributing to the replenishment of the monastery treasury. There was a time when a stone cap was shown along with them, the same purpose as the chains, but in 1735 the Moscow church authorities seized it.
The last serious construction was carried out at the beginning of the 19th century, when the gate church erected back in the time of Ivan the Terrible was dismantled, and a bell tower was built instead, which can still be seen today.
Communist Years
The coming XX century swept through the monastery with the same ruthless "red wheel" (the expression of A. I. Solzhenitsyn) as throughout long-suffering Russia. The monastery was closed, and from its property, what could not be plundered was transferred to the museum. The monastery buildings were used for a variety of needs - from a rest home for scientists to a women's colony.
In 1933, an iconostasis of the 16th century was publicly burned in front of the building of the former Nikitsky Cathedral for the purpose of atheistic propaganda. Many other most valuable icons of the Nikitsky Monastery also perished in the fire. Pereslavl-Zalessky, like the whole country, was engulfed in those years by a large-scale anti-religious campaign, which resulted in a blind trampling on the very spiritual foundations of the life of the people.
A long way to the revival of the monastery
In the seventies, when both Stalin and Khrushchev'spersecution of the church, in the Nikitsky Cathedral for the first time in many years, restoration was carried out. How the work was carried out can be seen from the fact that shortly after that, on August 2, 1984, just on the day when the Orthodox Church celebrates Ilyin's Day, its central chapter collapsed. It took another ten years to restore it, and the cathedral was finally opened already in perestroika times.
From that time on, serious restoration work began, which was headed by the newly appointed rector, Archimandrite Dimitri (Alexei Mikhailovich Khramtsov). The Nikitsky Monastery, in essence, experienced its second birth. It was necessary not only to give the former appearance of its buildings, but also to reproduce the interior design, as well as re-paint the walls.
Now these works are mostly completed, and the Nikitsky Monastery, whose address is: Yaroslavl region, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Nikitskaya Sloboda, st. Zaprudnaya, 20, reopened its doors. As in previous years, thousands of pilgrims come here to venerate its shrines, the main of which is the relics of St. Nikita the Stylite, and everyone who cares about our history.
