Donetsk region, Svyatogorsk monastery: history, rector, relics and shrines

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

The first mention of the Svyatogorsk monastery in the Donetsk region is found in documents of the 16th century. The monastery is located on the right bank of the Seversky Donets. The article describes the history of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra.

Foundation

The first monks on the territory of the modern Svyatogorsk monastery in the Donetsk region appeared in the sixteenth century. In one of the historical documents of 1526, these places are called "Holy Mountains". Briefly told about them in the notes of Sigismund Herberstein. The exact date of foundation of the Svyatogorsk monastery in the Donetsk region is unknown. Most likely, it falls on the middle of the XVI century. It is known for sure that in 1624 the clergy received the right to use this land. And fifty years later, the monastery was plundered by the Gentiles, namely the Crimean Tatars.

Abolition of the monastery

After the invasion of the Crimean Tatars, the monastery was partially restored. Resumed, of course, and the work of the temple, located on its territory. However, at the end of the 18th century, the monastery was abolished due todecree of Catherine II. The land and lands that belonged to him went to the treasury. For a long time, representatives of the Potemkin family owned the nearby villages. The monastery has been in a state of disrepair for more than half a century.

Rebirth

In 1844, Tatyana Potemkina filed a petition to the emperor, in which she asked to restore the work of the monastery. Nicholas I complied with her request. The monastery was restored, and over the next seventy years it reached an unprecedented prosperity. The monastery became one of the largest in the empire. When did it change its status and turn into the Svyatogorsk Lavra, known throughout the country? In the second half of the 19th century, this question was raised several times. On the territory of the monastery there were brick workshops, trading shops, a mill, believers from nearby provinces came here. But the status of the Lavra was given to the monastery much later - at the beginning of the 21st century.

Soviet era

By the beginning of World War I, more than 600 novices lived within the walls of the monastery. The history of the Svyatogorsk Monastery includes both joyful and tragic pages. The sad ones tell of the 20s of the last century, when a new government was established in the country, and temples, churches and monasteries were mercilessly destroyed. Fyodor Sergeev, who used to sign the name Artyom, played a significant role in the fate of the monastery. In honor of this political figure, many objects of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions are named. One of the central streets of Donetsk bears his name. At the suggestion of Sergeev, some monasteries were not completely destroyed, but used,of course, for completely different purposes.

The relics and shrines of the Svyatogorsk monastery were destroyed in the early twenties. Fortunately, the Bolsheviks did not blow up the historical buildings. In 1922, on the territory of the Svyatogorsky Monastery in the Donetsk region, a rest house was established, intended for the working people of Donbass.

Nineties

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the monastery was returned to believers. First, several novices from Donetsk settled on its territory. In 1992, the Holy Assumption Cathedral was given to the monastery, which over the past decades has been looted, desecrated, and turned into a cinema. Part of the temple has been converted into public toilets. The old building itself is divided into two floors.

The number of brothers increased significantly in the mid-nineties. Restoration began, the restoration of the temple. In 2003, all the historical buildings that once belonged to the monastery were transferred to the monastery. For several decades they belonged to the sanatorium.

The Abode was being revived very actively, which had a beneficial effect on the spiritual life of the entire region. Finally, in 2004, the monastery received the status of a Lavra. For believers in Ukraine, this event was of great importance. The Holy Assumption Svyatogorsk Lavra became the third Lavra in the country. It is worth saying that 17 of the monks of this monastery were canonized as saints. Today the Lavra is the spiritual center of the eastern part of Ukraine and the south of Russia.

About all the abbots of the Svyatogorsk monasteryit is, of course, impossible to tell. During the long history of the existence of the Svyatogorsk Lavra, there were many of them. In addition, information about many of them has been lost. But it is worth saying a few words about those about whom something is known.

Joel Ozeryansky

The abbot of the monastery came from a Cossack family. Asceticism in the monastery of Svyatogorsk. In 1663 he took part in the founding of the Kuryazhsky monastery. But soon he returned to Svetogorsk again. In 1679, Ozeryansky had already become rector. There were few novices then, about thirty. Ozeryansky gave a lot of effort to the arrangement of the monastery. During these years, Tatar raids were not uncommon. Not only the monastery itself suffered from them. The abbot and several novices were once captured, where they spent more than two years. The exact date of Ozeryansky's death is unknown. In the 19th century, a failure occurred in one of the crypts. The relics of Joel were found incorrupt. In 2008, Ozeryansky was canonized.

Arseniy Mitrofanov

This clergyman was the abbot of the monastery in the first half of the 19th century. He was born in 1805 in the Oryol province. At the age of 27 he went to the Solovetsky Monastery, where he lived for only a year. In 1835 he entered the Glinskaya Pustyn. Arseniy Mitrofanov became abbot of the Svyatogorsk monastery in 1844. Died fifteen years later.

Trifon Skripchenko

This is the last abbot of the Svyatogorsk monastery in the era of the Russian Empire. In 1922 he wasarrested for hiding church property and sentenced to two years in prison.

Today, Arseniy Yakovenko is the abbot of the monastery.

The monastery today

Svyatogorsky Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is visited annually by thousands of pilgrims. To date, the Assumption Cathedral, the Pokrovsky Church and the bell tower have been completely restored. The Skete of All Saints can be called a real monument of wooden architecture.

There are more than a hundred novices in the monastery. More than 800 refugees found shelter here in the summer of 2014.

The Lavra is located in a picturesque place. It already from afar attracts the eyes of everyone who comes to Svyatogorsk. Residents of various cities of Ukraine and Russia come here every year. On Easter, the monastery is especially crowded. The caves are closed on public holidays. Housing prices during this period in Svyatogorsk rise sharply.

Tours

The monks who appeared here back in the 16th century settled on the chalk mountains. Today this mountain is riddled with passages and cells. You can get here only with a guide. Photography is prohibited. Before heading to the Svyatogorsk Monastery, you should find out if the entrance to the cave is open these days. Unless, of course, her visit is included in the program. Tour guides tell amazing stories. For example, that one of the entrances was dug literally under the Seversky Donets River. But this tunnel, of course, is closed to tourists. First of all, because of its danger.

Svyatogorsky Monastery is located on the very hill. There are two options for the way up. The first one is quite short, it will take no more than thirty minutes. But sometimes it is open exclusively to the clergy. On a long road, along a serpentine, it will take at least an hour to climb to the monastery. But it's a long way to go. After all, an amazing view of the city and the Lavra opens up from a height.

On the territory of the monastery, the rules are, of course, quite strict. There are signs everywhere to remind you of the prohibition of photography. According to tourists, strict rules, first of all, concern the appearance of women. But most likely, the authors of such reviews do not visit monasteries very often, and therefore the numerous prohibitions seem too harsh to them. Nevertheless, before visiting the Svyatogorsk Lavra, you should familiarize yourself with the rules. The territory of the monastery is under the protection of the Don Cossacks, who monitor the observance of order.

There is also a rather interesting museum dedicated to the history of the monastery. The entrance fee is no more than 50 rubles. You can take pictures in the museum, but for a fee, which, however, according to reviews, is symbolic. In the museum, tourists also buy all kinds of souvenirs.