The Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow is one of the oldest convents not only in the capital, but also in Russia. It was a favorite place of pilgrimage for Russian tsars, a dungeon for noble women and is still full of secrets and mysteries.
Mystery of history
The Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow is one of the oldest churches not only in the capital, but also in Orthodox Russia. Not a single document has survived, even hinting at the time of its construction. The monastery inventory of 1763 reports: “And when this monastery was built, under which sovereign, and according to what state charter, and in which year, there is no exact news about that in the aforementioned monastery.” Modern architects and historians believe that the courtyard appeared in the 15th century, as evidenced by the preserved old foundation.
The legend about the construction of the monastery tells that St. John's Monastery was built at the behest of Elena Glinskaya, the Grand Duchess, who decided to erect a temple in honor ofthe birth of their eldest son John. The story has a continuation - supposedly the birth of the future king was accompanied by an unprecedented thunderstorm with a storm, which is why he had an appropriate temperament - spontaneous, and the nickname of the monarch - Dark.
The John the Baptist Monastery was mentioned in the will of Vasily I in 1423. At the end of the 15th century, the estate fell into decay, and a nunnery was built not far from the Vladimir Church.
According to another assumption, the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow appeared at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries and performed defensive functions. Being built on a hill (Ivanovskaya Gorka), it occupied the best position that ensured the security of the Great Posad and the Ionno-Zlatoustinsky Monastery (destroyed in 1930). date will help only a miracle or further searches of archaeologists.
Development
The first repair of the cathedral took place in the second half of the 15th century, it is believed that Tsar Ivan the Terrible contributed to the renovation. The Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow did not have its own estates and lived only on donations from parishioners and benefactors, of which there were many. The main funds for the maintenance of the monastery came from the royal family, this obliged the monastery to make certain concessions in relation to donors, which earned the farmstead a history full of secrets and mysteries.
By the beginning of the 18th century, a high stone fence and a gate church were built around the monastery, consecrated in honor of the Origin of honest treesLife-Giving Cross of the Lord. The cathedral was the center of the monastery ensemble. Stone buildings appeared on the territory by decree of Peter I, who ordered to replace all wooden buildings. The construction was carried out with state money.
The Napoleonic Company brought destruction to the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow. The fire of 1812 completely destroyed the monastery, and the threat of abolition hung over it. In 1860-1879, part of the cells and the cathedral were restored on the site of the old basements. The author of the project was the architect M. Bykovsky.
The revival of the monastery was facilitated by Lieutenant Colonel Elizaveta Mazurina, who posthumously donated 600 thousand rubles to a good cause. Her daughter-in-law, Maria Alexandrovna Mazurina, became the executor and executor of the will of the deceased. Through her efforts and diligence, the monastery acquired those forms that amaze with grace and beauty today.
Soviet period
The Ivanovo convent in Moscow after the revolution was one of the first to be closed, in 1918. Since 1919, a concentration camp was established on the territory of the monastery, which after a short time received the status of a special one. In 1923, the prisoners kept here were used for forced labor, and since 1927 a specialized department has been operating here, where criminal behavior and crime as a phenomenon were studied for scientific purposes. Since 1930, the Ivanovo camp became part of one of the labor colonies in Moscow.
By 1917, the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow was inhabited by 43 nuns, 33 novices and more than a hundred womentrial period. Before the closing of the monastery, everyone was evicted to a monastery farm near Moscow to work in the commune. In 1929, all private farms were nationalized, and those who did not want to agree to such a proposal were heavily taxed. The sisters had to sell all their property, and for two years they themselves had to do odd jobs. In 1931, by decision of the authorities, the sisters were imprisoned in Butyrka prison, after a speedy trial, they were all sent into exile in Kazakhstan.
By 1980, most of the former monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Under the altar in the basement there was a shooting gallery, a gym, a swimming pool, and a sauna were equipped on the territory. In the premises of the cathedral was equipped with archival storage. A sewing workshop worked in the clergy's house, and several other premises were occupied by Mosenergo services. All the buildings of the Ivanovsky Monastery in Moscow have not been renovated since 1917, which has led to almost a loss of cultural and historical heritage.
Rebirth
In 2002, the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. History made another turn, and the revival of the monastery began in the rank of stavropegial. Some buildings are still at the disposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. In the village of Ostrov, on the territory of a former noble estate, the sisters are equipping the courtyard of the monastery, where an almshouse is already operating.
Courses are open for the sisters, designed for several years, where they study Holy Scripture, catechism, Church history, Orthodox works and much more. In 2008 at the monasterya museum was founded, where the exhibits are objects found during restoration work, as well as archival materials that have been preserved within the walls of the monastery since the archive was placed. Some documents date back to 1918, when the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow was closed. Photo and video materials of past eras are also presented in the museum.
Special Shrines
The Ivanovo convent is so ancient that even the stones that make up the walls are sacred in it. The bright glory of the monastery in the 17th century was brought by the holy blessed Martha who lived here. She was honored in the royal family, and it was believed that after her death she continued to protect the house of the Romanovs. From 1638, her relics were tremblingly kept in the main cathedral, but after the revolution they were seized for burial at the Vagankovsky cemetery. The further fate of the shrine is unknown. To date, an elegant marble tombstone has been preserved.
Another extraordinary shrine of the monastery is the miraculous icon of St. John the Baptist with a copper hoop attached to its icon case. It is attached with a metal chain and is considered to be the measure of the head of St. John the Baptist. On the rim you can read a half-erased inscription made in Slavic script: "Great Forerunner and Baptist of the Savior John, pray to God for us." According to some statements, the age of the hoop is counted from the 19th century and was previously kept in the chapel of the monastery, which is recorded in the annals of the monastery. The hoop and the icon are considered sacred, they help believers get rid of many diseases.
Secular secrets of the monastery
The Moscow Ivanovo Monastery was not only a place of prayers or monastic deeds, but also a place of exile for women from noble families. Ivan the Terrible began the tradition of sending unwanted people to prison, exiling two of his son's wives to the monastery cellars. For many objectionable wives, the monastery became a place of forced tonsure, their relatives donated large sums to the sisters for the maintenance of noble prisoners and the monastery itself.
The Detective Department added gloomy fame, sending women implicated in political intrigues or criminal cases here. The monastery walls became the last refuge for schismatics, who, after being tortured and humiliated, under the guise of insane people, were sent to the stone cells of the Ivanovo Monastery under the supervision of nuns.
Famous prisoners
For some time the founders of the Khlysty sect Ivan Suslov and Prokofy Lupkin were buried in the monastery. Their graves were visited by Moscow apologists of the faith for a long time, until the trial of whips took place in 1739, after which the graves were dug up, the bodies burned and the ashes scattered to the wind.
One of the famous prisoners of the monastery was the ominous S altychikha (Daria Nikolaevna S altykova), who tortured more than 100 people in an estate near Moscow. The atrocities lasted for seven years and stopped only due to the personal intervention of Catherine II, who had just ascended the throne. S altykova was tried by a civil court in 1778 and sent to serve eternal imprisonment.
In the convent for herthey built a special cell - they dug a deep hole, over which they erected a wooden building without windows, only when they brought food, put a candle, it was all the light that she had seen for many years. During the monastic services, she was brought closer to the place from where prayers were heard, correspondence and conversations were forbidden. So she spent 11 years, after which they made a slight indulgence, transferring her to a cell with a small window through which those who wished could talk to her.
Another famous captive was Princess Tarakanova, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth. After spending forty years outside of Russia, after returning and talking with Catherine II, she retired to the Ivanovo Monastery. The princess lived comfortably in the monastery, in monasticism she received the name Dositheus. A cell was allocated for her in two rooms with a stove, a novice was assigned to serve, a considerable amount was allocated from the treasury every year, funds were received from numerous donors, most of the donations the princess spent on alms and donations. After her death, she was buried in the Novospassky Monastery, the tombstone appeared only 100 years later and has survived to this day.
This is not all the secrets of the monastery, anyone can learn more and visit the service today by visiting the Ivanovo convent in Moscow. Address: Maly Ivanovsky lane, building 2.
How to get there
The monastery holds daily divine services in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist or in the church of St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker. The morning liturgy is celebrated from 7:30 in the morning,Evening service starts at 5:00 pm. The Chapel of John the Baptist, where everyone can touch the miraculous image and the hoop, is open seven days a week.
Where is the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow? On Ivanovskaya Gorka in Maly Ivanovsky Lane, in house number 2. The nuns, by appointment, conduct excursions for everyone. the program includes visits to the temples of the monastery, the museum, which is part of the Ivanovo Monastery in Moscow. The address, how to get to the monastery - many people ask about this. You need to take the subway to the station "Kitay-gorod", then you should go along Solyansky passage and Zabelina street to Maly Ivanovsky lane, house 2. Contact phone - (495) 624-01-50.
