Not far from the place where its younger sister river Sven flows into the wide and full-flowing Desna, rise on the bank of the wall of the monastery, which received its name from it and is known as the male Holy Dormition Svensky Monastery. Founded in 1288, it is one of the oldest and most famous in Russia.
The Pious Prince's Illness
A legend is connected with its foundation, which, as the inhabitants of the monastery assure, did not arise from scratch. She tells that the pious prince of Chernigov and Debriansky Roman Mikhailovich, who ruled these lands at the end of the 13th century, once suffered a serious illness - he began to go blind, so much so that every day the white light faded in his eyes. At that time there were no doctors at the princely court, but to turn to fortune-tellers and healers - God forbid! - a baptized person. What can he hope for? Only by the grace of God.
So the prince sent the archimandrite of the local monastery to Kyiv to bring him the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, through the prayers before which healing has already been granted to the suffering more than once. The word of a prince is law, and the man of God set off on his journey, taking with him five monks humble in heart, but verystrong in flesh - the times were turbulent, and anything could happen on the road.
A miracle on the river bank
The princely envoys were already sailing back along the Desna River and carrying the treasured icon with them, when a certain misfortune suddenly happened to them - the boat, which had so cheerfully cut through the river streams, suddenly froze in place, stopped by an unknown force. No matter how hard the rowers tried, no matter how hard they leaned on the oars, they could not move either up or downstream. Nothing to do, somehow got to the shore and spent the night.
In the morning they were missing - no icon, gone! They rushed to look, trying not to think about what reward awaits them for such service. But God is merciful - the loss was found. We found her among the branches of a mighty oak that stood at a bend in the river. Although the monks were shy, they did not dare to touch the image, but hurried to inform the prince about the miracle that had happened. He did not hesitate to appear and, falling on his knees, prayed for a long time. Then everything happened according to the laws of the genre - the prince received his sight and ordered to found a monastery on this place, which has survived to this day and is known as the Svensky Monastery.
By the way, a curious detail - in ancient times, the river Sven, which gave the name to the monastery, was called Pig, and the monastery, respectively, was called Pig, which was very dissonant and gave rise to inappropriate witticisms. To remedy the situation, in the 17th century it was decided to change only one letter in its name, but at the same time the entire river had to be renamed. Since then, the river Sven appeared on the maps, and with it the Sven Monastery.
Creation of the ReverendAlicia
The icon that so miraculously healed the prince became the main shrine of the newly formed monastery. On a wooden board measuring 68x42 cm, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted sitting on a throne and holding the Eternal Child in her arms, raising her right hand in blessing. On both sides of the throne, the saints of the Pechersk wonderworkers Theodosius and Anthony are depicted.
The authorship of the icon is attributed to St. Alipiy, who studied with Byzantine masters who worked in 1088 in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. These details are known due to the fact that after the revolution the icon ended up in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery and has survived to this day.
The Holy Assumption Svensky Monastery, formed among the dense forests of Bryansk, has become a cradle for many desert hermits. It is known that dozens of his monks, having asked the rector for a blessing, closed themselves off from the world in impenetrable thickets, built poor cells for themselves and spent their lives in fasting and prayer. In the monastery, they appeared only for confession and communion. This form of religious asceticism became widespread at the beginning of the 18th century and then continued for many years.
Protection of the formidable king
The first stone building of the monastery, and at the same time the surroundings of Bryansk, was the Assumption Cathedral, built by order of Ivan the Terrible. It is known that in the nature of the king, demonic cruelty was combined in an amazing way with extreme religiosity. Giving a fierce execution to innocent people, he could then stand all night long in prayers.for the repose of their souls.
Preparing for the Livonian War, the pious sovereign did not skimp on contributions to the holy monasteries. He did not bypass the Assumption Svensky Monastery, which at that time was both a fortified fortification and an important spiritual center. Archival documents have survived to this day, testifying to the donations he repeatedly made. In particular, in 1561 the Svensky Monastery (Bryansk) received a significant amount from him on the occasion of the death of his wife Anastasia. A little later, he contributed money for the construction of a temple in honor of the Pechersk wonderworkers Anthony and Theodosius.
Foreign villains raids
But apparently, the Lord did not bless the donations of the tsar-murderer - in 1583, the Lithuanians, with whom he waged war, captured the Svensky Monastery, and, having plundered everything that could be endured, they burned it. Miraculously, only the Svenska icon of the Mother of God survived. After that, the monastery was revived with long and hard work, but in 1664 God's wrath fell upon it again - this time it became the prey of the Crimean Tatars.
This time it was easier to raise the monastery walls from the ashes, since three years before that the monastery was assigned to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and from there all possible help came to the Bryansk region. Thanks to her, on the territory of the monastery in 1679, the over-gate Sretenskaya church was erected, which has survived centuries and has survived to this day.
Visits of crowned persons
The Svensky Monastery, reborn from the ashes, remembers the visits of many royal persons. It is known that in 1708Peter I visited it and even stayed for the night. The house in which the sovereign spent the night survived until the revolution, and it was shown to all visitors as a historical landmark. Another witness of the royal visit, the oak planted by the monks in honor of this event, still stands to this day, also attracting the attention of numerous pilgrims and tourists.
During one of her travels, Empress Catherine II visited the walls of the Svensky Assumption Monastery. Finding his main temple in a very dilapidated condition requiring immediate repair, she donated six thousand rubles, for which he was soon completely rebuilt. A more convenient, dry and high place in the center of the monastery was chosen for him.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Svensky Assumption Monastery (Bryansk) lived in peace and prosperity. As before, his treasury received generous donations from God-loving citizens and persons of the reigning house. Near the walls of the monastery there was a noise of a fair, which was one of the largest in the western part of Russia, and God-loving monks offered up prayers for the tsar and the fatherland. This continued until 1917.
The coming of dashing times
From the beginning of the twenties, the Bolsheviks who came to power began to gradually but systematically close the monastery. When a campaign to confiscate church valuables, allegedly aimed at fighting hunger, swept across the country, everything that was of interest to the new government was taken out of the monastery.
Church utensils collected there for manycenturies, the bells were removed and sent for remelting, and gold and silver salaries were ruthlessly stripped from the icons. It seemed that the times of the Lithuanian and Tatar invaders had returned. Systematic looting continued until 1926, after which the Svensky Monastery was closed.
The mortal sin of Captain Rykhlov and everyone who was with him
The next stage in the destruction of this historical and cultural monument began in 1930, when, by order of the city authorities, most of the monastery buildings were demolished. The Assumption Cathedral, so successfully rebuilt with donations from Catherine II, was also blown up. The blast wave also damaged the temple of the Pechersk Wonderworkers, which was located nearby, leaving only the lower tier of the previous building. Svensky Assumption Monastery (Bryansk) ceased to exist.
This act of vandalism was committed by a group of Soviet bombers. History has preserved the name of their commander - Captain Rykhlov. Over the years, he is no longer alive, and one can only hope that at the hour of death the Lord sent him repentance for his deed and did not allow him to depart to another world with a soul weighed down by this terrible sin.
Ruins returned to people
But the wheel of history does not stand still. Having swept through the country with all the hardships that fell to its lot in the 20th century, in the end it plunged Russia into the stormy ocean of perestroika. In 1992, the Svensky Monastery (Bryansk) was returned to the jurisdiction of the Church. By this time, of all the previous buildings, only the Sretenskaya and Transfiguration churches, which required major repairs, as well as the remains of the monastery walls and several former economic buildings, remained.facilities that were in disrepair.
Other structures were destroyed, and most of them did not even have traces left, and in the surviving ruins it was difficult to recognize the former Svensky Monastery (Bryansk), known from archival documents. The photos published in the article give an idea of the scale of the work carried out.
Services in restored churches
The restoration of the former architectural complex began immediately. First of all, major repairs and restoration were carried out in two surviving churches, which today in their original form have again become a place of regular worship, which, after long decades of oblivion, was resumed by the Svensky Monastery. The schedule of services held in them is slightly different from the schedule of other Orthodox churches.
On weekdays morning services begin at 8:00 am and evening services at 5:00 pm. On Sundays and holidays, a late liturgy is also held. It starts at 10:00. All additional services and religious processions held in the monastery in connection with various holidays can be found on its website. After restoration from the ruins of the temple of Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, completed in 2012, regular services are also held in it.
Currently, work is underway to restore the Assumption Cathedral destroyed in 1930. They began in 2005 with the analysis of the remaining ruins, as well as an engineering and archaeological survey of the foundation. Upon their completion in 2010, a Board of Trustees was establishedfrom representatives of state and public organizations, who led the restoration work. Since that time, the Svensky Monastery (Bryansk) has become a place where extensive construction has unfolded.
Pilgrimage to the monastery
Gradually the monastic life returns to its ancient walls. As in previous years, pilgrims rush here, wishing to bow to the shrine, which is still the Svensky Monastery (Bryansk) for Orthodox people. You can find out how to get to it in this publication.
It is recommended to take trolley bus No. 1 from the Bryansk railway station to the Telecentre and then take bus No. 7 to the monastery. Another option: from the bus station by bus number 7 or fixed-route taxis number 45, 36 to the Svensky Monastery stop. The photos attached to the article will help you accurately find out the purpose of the trip.
