According to ancient legend, on the night of November 24 (December 4), 1658, a miracle was sent down to the pious sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich: while resting after a hunt in Yermolinsky Groves, near Moscow, the Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria appeared before him and announced the birth of a daughter. Upon returning home, the happy father gave the newborn the name of the holy evangelist, and ordered the founding of a monastery on the site of her miraculous appearance, which later received the name Catherine's Hermitage. Having known a series of ups and downs, the monastery has survived to this day and today is one of the leading spiritual centers in Russia.
The sovereign's brainchild
As in most Russian monasteries, the earliest buildings of the Catherine's Hermitage were wooden, but already in 1664 the construction of stone structures began. It is known from archival documents that during the first three years all construction work was led by Ivan Kuznechik, the archer of the regiment of the boyar Artamon Matveev. Within three years, the construction of the main buildings was completed, and their interior decoration began. It is worth noting,that the money for this charitable cause was taken not from the treasury, but from the personal funds of the sovereign. Thus, the monastery of Catherine's Hermitage, created near Moscow, the photo of which is presented in the article, is rightfully considered his brainchild.
Resident maintained by the state
In the first decades after its founding, the monastery was entirely supported by the state, since it did not yet have any attached villages or land that could provide residents with a constant income. The only source of livelihood was the so-called ruga - regular cash transfers from the Order of the Grand Palace.
It was a kind of salary to the monks who constantly prayed for the Tsar and the Fatherland. They began to pay it at the behest of the same Alexei Mikhailovich. However, from archival documents it follows that prayers were offered regularly, but the money came at times with great delays, and then the brethren of the monastery, according to the compiler of the chronicle, “fell into great need.”
A period of prosperity and prosperity
But the Lord is merciful, and generous people in Russia have never been translated. Gradually, material we alth came to St. Catherine's hermitage. According to the church inventory, compiled in 1764, its inhabitants owned vast lands occupied by arable land, forests and allotted for haymaking.
In addition, the document mentions a lot of precious church utensils, as well as icons in gilded silver settings. especiallythere is a gilded ark in which the relics of St. Catherine and some other holy martyrs were kept. The monastery brethren had a very extensive library, containing the works of prominent church fathers.
Beautification of the monastery in the second half of the 18th century
It is characteristic that during the reign of Empress Catherine II, who, as you know, pursued a policy of secularization, that is, the rejection of monastic and parish lands into state ownership, the Catherine Hermitage not only did not suffer, but even more strengthened its well-being.
So, in the 60s of the 18th century, the main monastery cathedral was erected and the gate church was renovated, several fraternal buildings were built, and the territory was surrounded by a stone fence. It was possible to carry out such large-scale construction work thanks to the assistance of the outstanding religious figure of that era, Metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin) and the vigilant labors of the rector of the monastery, Hieromonk Melchizedek.
Robbing the monastery
In the history of the monastery in the first half of the 19th century, a very unfortunate incident was also noted, proving that there have always been people capable of trampling both God's and earthly laws. It began with the fact that in the early 1930s, Archimandrite Photius, rector of the Yuryevsky Monastery, located not far from Moscow, presented a very valuable thing as a gift to the Catherine's Hermitage - a pectoral cross adorned with diamonds, the cost of which was 10 thousand rubles in banknotes - huge for thosetimes the amount.
This was done in order to financially support the brothers in faith in a difficult period for them, but the jewel was not sold by them and was kept in the monastery sacristy for several years. It was she who attracted the attention of intruders who entered the territory of the monastery under the guise of pilgrims in the summer of 1835 and committed a daring robbery.
Fortunately, the villains could not find the pectoral cross itself, but, leaving the walls of the monastery, they took with them many valuable items of church utensils, including silver salaries and chasubles torn from icons. Two of the most valuable historical relics, also kept in the sacristy, remained intact - two battle banners of the Russian army during the war of 1812, transferred to the monastery by one of its trustees, Prince Peter Volkonsky.
Following construction work
In the 19th century, hieromonks Misail and Arseniy played a prominent role in the arrangement of the monastery and the development of its economy, one of whom was rector from 1842 to 1870, and the other, becoming his successor, held this position for the next two decades. Under them, the ancient church of the Apostles Peter and Paul was renovated and re-consecrated, the main monastery cathedral dedicated to the Great Martyr Catherine was rebuilt, the gate church was reconstructed and painted with frescoes.
In addition, new fraternal buildings were erected and two hotels were built for out-of-town pilgrims. Subsistence farming has also expanded significantly. As appears fromsurviving documents, by the end of the 19th century it brought an annual profit of up to 6 thousand rubles in silver, which at that time made the monastery one of the most we althy.
Riding the wave of technological progress
Two significant events in the economic life of Russia itself had a very beneficial effect on the life of the monastery. The first of them - the completion in 1869 of the construction of the Moscow-Kursk railway - simplified communication with the capital, and the second - the start of operation of the Ryazan-Ural line - significantly increased the influx of pilgrims.
This happened due to the fact that now the distance from the Catherine's Hermitage to the nearest station did not exceed two kilometers, and all visitors were provided with fairly comfortable travel conditions. Since that time, pilgrimages to the monastery began to be made by entire parishes. It was especially crowded here during the days of religious processions, which were regularly arranged for the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
The beginning of troubles and trials
All this had the most favorable effect on the well-being of the monks, but the 20th century, which brought many trials to the entire Russian Orthodox Church, did not spare them either. The troubles began with the fact that in 1908 the abbot of the monastery died at the hands of the Socialist-Revolutionary terrorists, and later, when the First World War broke out, the monastery was completely disbanded. At first, a vast land plot of the Ekaterininsky Hermitage with buildings located on it was taken to accommodate refugees from the western regions of Russia, and later to itsThe territory was settled by the sisters of the Krasnostok Convent evacuated from Poland. The former owners of the cells have gone to different monasteries in the Moscow province.
Under the banner of socialism
In the Soviet period, the monastery suffered the same fate as many similar monasteries of long-suffering Russia. Shortly after the Bolsheviks came to power, it was closed and converted into a prison for juvenile delinquents. A club was set up in the premises of the former church of Peter and Paul. Many of the female residents - former Polish refugees - were arrested and sent to camps, from where most of them never returned.
In 1938, the former Ekaterininsky Hermitage was transferred to the disposal of the most popular department in Stalin's times - the Main Directorate of Places of Detention. Within a month, by the forces of 800 workers, God's abode was turned into a prison for especially dangerous criminals, which meant top party and economic leaders who did not please the leader.
For this purpose, the remaining towers were demolished, the territory was fenced with several rows of barbed wire, and the former fraternal cells were turned into prison cells. The former Holy Gates were walled up, instead of them a checkpoint guarded by sentries with dogs was installed. They did not forget to equip a secret crematorium, in which the bodies of those who could not stand the conditions of imprisonment were burned. It is curious that the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a special NKVD prison within the walls of the monastery belonged personally to N. Yezhov, who, after his fall in 1939,he himself was among its prisoners.
In 1949, on the territory adjacent to this closed facility, the NKVD formed the working settlement of Vidnoye, which later received the status of a city and the administrative center of the Leninsky district of the Moscow region. He remains so to this day.
Revival of the shrine
The process of returning property illegally taken from the Church, which began during perestroika, also affected the Catherine's Hermitage located in the city of Vidnoye, or rather, all that was left of it. Large-scale work to restore the desecrated shrine began in 1992 shortly after the appointment of Hieromonk Tikhon (Nedosekin) as its rector. At the same time, all the necessary documents were completed.
Several years of hard work and help from voluntary donors helped to revive the monastic service in the monastery, which was interrupted shortly after the October armed coup. Today, as before, pilgrims from the capital and other cities of the country flock here not only to bow to the shrines, but also to receive full spiritual guidance from its pastors. One of these recognized mentors is the monk Seraphim. In the Catherine Desert, he regularly receives many people who want to lighten the soul, throw off the heavy burden of sins and get wise advice. In 2010, a museum dedicated to its history was opened at the monastery.
The main architectural dominant of the monastery complex is the temple, consecrated in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. Its most ancient part,which houses the refectory, was built in 1787, and the later one - in the second half of the 19th century. The gate church in the name of Demetrius of Rostov is also very interesting. It is a vivid example of late classicism in temple architecture.
Cottage village near the monastery walls
Today many people are attracted to the city of Vidnoe by the cottage village under construction near the Ekaterininsky Hermitage, which has a number of undeniable advantages. Located on the edge of a relic pine forest, it is at the same time only 6 kilometers from Moscow. An important role is also played by the expressways passing near it, such as the Kashirskoye and Simferopolskoe highways, as well as highway No. 40. You can drive from the capital to the Ekaterininsky desert in a matter of minutes. Houses with plots are sold at relatively low prices, corresponding to the economy class. The construction of the village is a welcome development for the monastery as well, as many new settlers will be among its regular visitors.
