The main churches of the Sarov monastery. Diveyevo Seraphim Sarov Monastery
Seraphim of Sarov (in the world Prokhor Isidorovich Moshnin, in some sources - Mashnin; July 19 (30), 1754 (or 1759), Kursk - January 2 (14, 1833, Sarov Monastery) - hieromonk of the Sarov Monastery, founder and patron of the Diveevo Convent. Glorified by the Russian Church in 1903 as a saint on the initiative of Tsar Nicholas II. One of the most revered Orthodox saints.Popular veneration of the Sarov elder far outstripped his official canonization. Because of this, many images of the elder dispersed throughout Russia, like fragments of the stone on which he prayed - long before the appearance of canonical icons. The monk himself reluctantly agreed to pose, saying: “Who am I, poor thing, to paint my appearance from me?”
Seraphim of Sarov with his life (icon, early 20th century).
Born in 1754 in Kursk, in the family of a wealthy eminent merchant Isidor Moshnin and his wife Agathia. I lost my father very early. At the age of 7, he fell from the bell tower of the Sergius-Kazan Cathedral under construction on the site of the previously burned down Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, but remained unharmed. At a young age, Prokhor became seriously ill. During his illness, he saw the Mother of God in a dream, promising to heal him. The dream turned out to be true: during the procession of the Cross, an icon of the Sign was carried past his house Holy Mother of God, and the mother brought Prokhor out to venerate the icon, after which he recovered.
Painting by priest Sergius Simakov. Fall from Prokhor's bell tower
Moshnina.
In 1776, he made a pilgrimage to Kyiv to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where Elder Dosifei blessed and showed him the place where he was to accept obedience and take monastic vows - the Sarov Hermitage. In 1778 he became a novice under Elder Joseph at the Sarov Monastery in the Tambov province. In 1786 he became a monk and was ordained a hierodeacon; in 1793 he was ordained a hieromonk.
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. Unknown artist, 1860s - 1870s. Kept in the Church-Archaeological Cabinet of the Moscow Theological Academy. In this portrait, St. Seraphim is depicted as relatively young.
In 1794, having a penchant for solitude, he began to live in the forest in a cell five kilometers from the monastery. As a form of ascetic deeds and exercises, he wore the same clothes in winter and summer, got his own food in the forest, slept little, fasted strictly, re-read holy books (the Gospel, patristic writings), and prayed for a long time every day. Near the cell, Seraphim planted a vegetable garden and built a beekeeper.
In the 19th century, several scenes from the life of the monk arose, which were repeated in a variety of lithographs and popular prints. One of them is “Standing on a Stone.”
A number of facts from the life of St. Seraphim is quite remarkable. Once, for three and a half years, an ascetic ate only grass. Later, Seraphim spent a thousand days and a thousand nights in the feat of pillar-building on a stone boulder. Some of those who came to him for spiritual advice saw a huge bear, which the monk fed with bread from his hands (according to Father Seraphim himself, this bear constantly came to him, but it is known that the Elder also fed other animals).
Unknown artist. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov.
St. Seraphim feeds a bear. Miniature in copper enamel technique of the early 20th century, Rostov. Stored in the Central Archive of the MDA.
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov feeding a bear. 1879
Workshop of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery. E. Petrova. Lithography. RSL
Of the more dramatic events, the case of the robbers is known. According to the life, some robbers, having learned that rich visitors often came to Seraphim, decided to rob his cell. Finding him in the forest during daily prayer, they beat him and broke his head with the butt of an ax, and the saint did not resist, despite the fact that he was a young and strong man at that time. The robbers found nothing for themselves in his cell and left. The monk miraculously returned to life, but after this incident he remained severely hunched over forever. Later these people were caught and identified, but Father Seraphim forgave them; at his request they were left without punishment.
In 1807, the monk took upon himself the monastic feat of silence, trying not to meet or communicate with anyone. In 1810 he returned to the monastery, but went into seclusion until 1825. After the end of the retreat, he received many visitors from monastics and lay people, having, as it is said in his life, the gift of clairvoyance and healing from illnesses. He was also visited by noble people, including Tsar Alexander I. He addressed everyone who came to him with the words “My joy!”, and at any time of the year he greeted him with the words “Christ is risen!”
M. Maimon. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov and Emperor Alexander I. 1904
He was the founder and permanent patron of the Diveevo Convent. In 1831, the saint was granted a vision of the Mother of God (for the twelfth time in his life) surrounded by John the Baptist, John the Theologian and 12 virgins. He died in 1833 in the Sarov Monastery in his cell during kneeling prayer.
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. XIX century. Kept in the Church-Archaeological Cabinet of the Moscow Theological Academy. A picturesque portrait by an unknown artist. Probably a copy of a lifetime portrait.
The main written source of historical information about Elder Seraphim is the biography of Elder Seraphim, compiled by the Sarov hieromonk Sergius. The latter, since 1818, collected and recorded testimonies about two Sarov ascetics: Seraphim and schemamonk Mark. In 1839, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, with the assistance of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), “A Brief Outline of the Life of the Elder of the Sarov Hermitage, Schemamonk and Hermit Mark” was published, in which the first 10 pages were dedicated to Schemamonk Mark, the remaining 64 pages were “Spiritual Instructions of the Father Seraphim."
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. 1840 Lithography. ISO RSL. One of the first lithographic images of the saint. Probably the lithograph reproduces a lifetime portrait of an old man, where he is represented walking into the “small hermitage.”
The first “Tale of the Life and Deeds” of Elder Seraphim was published in 1841 in Moscow, signed by I. C. In 1844, in the XVI volume of the Mayak magazine, a more detailed story about Elder Seraphim was published - its author was not identified, but Moscow Metropolitan Philaret in a letter to Archimandrite Anthony attributed this work to a certain George (probably the abbot of the Nikolo-Barkovskaya hermitage, who lived under Father Seraphim as a guest in Sarov under the name Guria; in 1845 this legend was published as a separate book in St. Petersburg.
Saida Munirovna Afonina. Prayer for the gift of a source. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov.
In 1849, the hieromonk of the Nizhny Novgorod Pechersk Monastery Joasaph, who lived in Sarov for 13 years under the name of novice John Tikhonov, published even more detailed tales, which, with additions, were republished in 1856. In the 1850s, a book also appeared in which the tales of the elders Seraphim and Mark were again combined. Finally, in 1863, at the request of the Sarov Monastery - according to its archival documents and eyewitness accounts, the most complete image of the life and exploits of Elder Seraphim was published; the author of this work, N.V. Elagin, was indicated only in the 5th edition, in 1905.
Available memoirs about Seraphim of Sarov and collections of his statements clearly describe the elder as a supporter of the official church, hierarchy and the three-fingered sign of the cross. On the other hand, on icons St. Seraphim is usually depicted with a specially shaped rosary (flair), and in some cases, in Old Believer (pre-schism) monastic clothing (and an “Old Believer” cast copper cross). Lestovka, along which St. prayed. Seraphim, preserved among his personal belongings. According to some sources, the known difficulties with the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov were associated precisely with his sympathies for the Old Believers. Suggestions have been made about the origin of the elder either from co-religionists, or from crypto-Old Believers, with a subsequent transition to an “improvised” type of co-religion.
Painting by priest Sergius Simakov. Get back from where you came. (Seraphim of Sarov drives out the Mason).
Seraphim of Sarov did not leave any written works behind him at all. In the biographies written after the death of Seraphim, after 1833, the question of the Old Believers does not appear. In a later edition of 1863, 30 years after Seraphim’s death, the compiler and editor of this book was the censor N.V. Elagin, famous for his free “pious” and patriotic insertions and unceremonious editing of texts, “Seraphim’s conversations” with Old Believers appear, “ Seraphim's reasoning about the Old Believers; in one of these conversations, Seraphim teaches: “This is the Christian folding of the cross! So pray and tell others. This composition was handed down from St. Apostles, and the double-fingered constitution is contrary to the holy statutes. I ask and pray you: go to the Greek-Russian Church: it is in all the glory and power of God!”
V.E. Raev. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. 1830s.
Sayings attributed to Seraphim of Sarov:
Take away sin, and illnesses will go away, for they are given to us for sins.
And you can overeat yourself with bread.
You can receive communion on earth and remain uncommunicated in Heaven.
Personal signature of Seraphim of Sarov.
Whoever endures an illness with patience and gratitude is credited with it instead of a feat or even more.
No one has ever complained about bread and water.
Buy a broom, buy a broom, and sweep your cell more often, because as your cell is swept, so will your soul be swept.
More than fasting and prayer is obedience, that is, work.
Yu.I. Peshekhonov. St. Seraphim of Sarov.
There is nothing worse than sin, and nothing more terrible and destructive than the spirit of despondency.
True faith cannot be without works: whoever truly believes certainly has works.
If a person knew what the Lord had prepared for him in the Kingdom of Heaven, he would be ready to sit in a pit of worms all his life.
Humility can conquer the whole world.
You need to remove despondency from yourself and try to have a joyful spirit, not a sad one.
Out of joy a person can do anything, out of inner stress - nothing.
An abbot (and even more so a bishop) must have not only a fatherly, but even a motherly heart.
The world lies in evil, we must know about it, remember it, overcome it as much as possible.
Let there be thousands of those living in the world with you, but reveal your secret to one out of a thousand.
If the family is destroyed, then states will be overthrown and nations will be corrupted.
As I forge iron, so I have handed over myself and my will to the Lord God: as He pleases, so I act; I don’t have my own will, but what God pleases, that’s what I convey.
View of the Holy Trinity Seraphim - Diveevo Convent. Lithography.
Many of the now famous teachings of Elder Seraphim were drawn from the notes of the landowner Nikolai Aleksandrovich Motovilov, allegedly found by S. A. Nilus and published by him in 1903. However, the authenticity of some of the facts presented by Motovilov is disputed.
S. Ivleva. Conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and N.A. Motovilov. 2010
Popular veneration of “Father Seraphim” began long before his canonization, during his lifetime. Preparations for official canonization caused a political scandal and should be considered in the context of Nicholas II’s desire to overcome a certain “mediastinum” (in the words of General A. A. Mosolov), which allegedly separated the tsar from the people who “sincerely love him.”
Sergiy Simakov. Seraphim of Sarov blesses the family of Nicholas II.
The first document indicating the idea of official canonization is dated January 27, 1883 - the year of the coronation of Alexander III (January 25, 1883, the Highest Manifesto of January 24 of the same year was printed on the coronation of the reigning emperor, which was to take place in May of the same year): the head of the Moscow women's gymnasiums Gabriel Kiprianovich Vinogradov in a letter addressed to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K. P. Pobedonostsev, who had a reputation as a man close to the throne, proposed “to mark the beginning of the reign, before the sacred coronation of the Emperor, by the discovery of the relics of the pious saint, revered by all Russia, prayers were effective during his life, even more so now they will be successful for the great sovereign, when Seraphim stands before the throne of the Most High in the face of the Seraphim.” Pobedonostsev, apparently, disapproved of the proposal.
According to Count S. Yu. Witte, Nicholas II personally demanded canonization from Pobedonostsev, apparently at the insistence of his wife, in the spring of 1902 (according to official version, July 19, 1902). Count Witte also wrote about the role of Alexandra Feodorovna: “<…>They say that they were sure that the Sarov saint would give Russia an heir after four Grand Duchesses. This came true and finally and unconditionally strengthened the faith of Their Majesties in the holiness of the truly pure Elder Seraphim. A large portrait appeared in His Majesty’s office - the image of St. Seraphim.”
Icon embroidered by the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II. Venerable Seraphim of Sarov praying on a stone. Beginning of the 20th century. Sewing. Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka. Saint Petersburg. Signature: “This holy image is embroidered by the hands of the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.”
Pobedonostsev himself blamed Archimandrite Seraphim (Chichagov), who was then rector of the Spaso-Evfimievsky Monastery, for the fact that it was he who gave the emperor “the first thought about this subject.” General A. A. Kireev was of the same opinion, noting that the Chief Prosecutor considered Archimandrite Seraphim (Chichagov) to be “a great intruder and rogue”: he “somehow got through to the Sovereign, and then the Sovereign gave orders without permission.<…>Let us assume that Seraphim is indeed a saint, but it is unlikely that such an “order” corresponds not only to a correctly understood sense of religiosity, but also to the canons (even Russian ones).”
On January 11, 1903, a commission chaired by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow, which included Archimandrite Seraphim (Chichagov), examined the remains of Seraphim Moshnin. The results of the examination were presented in a secret, all-subtle report, which, however, soon became widely known to the reading public. Since there were expectations of the “incorruptibility” of the relics, which was not discovered, Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg had to make a statement in “New Time” and in “Additions to the Church Gazette”, where he stated the fact of the preservation of the “skeleton” of the Sarov elder and expressed his opinion that the presence of incorruptible relics is not necessary for glorification.
The coffin-deck in which Father Seraphim was buried.
“The Most Holy Synod, in full conviction of the truth and authenticity of the miracles performed through the prayers of Elder Seraphim, having given praise to the wondrous Lord God in His saints, the ever-blessing of the Russian Power, strong in forefathers’ Orthodoxy, and now, during the days of the blessed reign of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, as of old, who deigned to show through the glorification of this ascetic’s piety a new and great sign of His benefits to the Russian Orthodox people, presented His all-submissive report to His Imperial Majesty, in which he outlined his following decision:
1) the reverent elder Seraphim, who rests in the Sarov desert, is recognized as a saint, glorified by the grace of God, and his most honorable remains are recognized as holy relics and placed in a tomb specially prepared by the zeal of His Imperial Majesty for worship and honor from those who come to him with prayer,
2) to compile a special service for the Venerable Father Seraphim, and before the time of its preparation, after the day of glorifying his memory, to send him a service common to the venerable ones, and to celebrate his memory both on the day of his repose, January 2, and on the day of the opening of his holy relics, and
3) announce this publicly from the Holy Synod.”
In the summer of 1903, the “Sarov Celebrations” took place with a huge crowd of people and with the participation of the Tsar and other members of the imperial family.
Transfer of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov to the Assumption Cathedral of the Sarov Hermitage on July 18, 1903. Workshop of E. I. Fesenko. Odessa. Chromolithograph. ISO RSL.
Procession of the cross in the Sarov Monastery with the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. July 19, 1903 Workshop of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. Museum at the Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh. Moscow.
Canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Rev. Seraphim is widely revered among Orthodox believers even today. Miracles and healings were repeatedly reported at his relics, as well as appearances to his people (for example, St. John of Kronstadt writes about one of them in his book).
Pavel Ryzhenko. Seraphim of Sarov.
In November 1920, the IX District Congress of Soviets, held in Temnikov, decided to open the shrine containing the remains of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The speaker who demanded the opening of the relics was the famous Mordovian poet, translator of the “International” into the Moksha language Z. F. Dorofeev. On December 17, 1920, the relics were opened and a report was drawn up. In 1922, the relics were seized and transported to Moscow, to the Museum of Religious Art in the Donskoy Monastery. And in the church in honor of St. Seraphim, consecrated in 1914 in the Donskoy Monastery, one of the first crematoria in the USSR was built in 1927 (this crematorium was also called the “department of atheism”).
It is worth noting that the icon of Seraphim of Sarov was painted from his lifetime portrait, made by the artist Serebryakov (later monk Joseph of the Sarov monastery) 5 years before the death of the elder
In the fall of 1990, unknown remains that did not fit the inventory were found in the storerooms of the Museum of the History of Religion (in the Kazan Cathedral) in Leningrad. In December 1990, the remains were examined by a commission consisting of Bishop Evgeniy (Zhdan) of Tambov and Bishop Arseniy (Epifanov); The commission, guided by the act of examining the remains of Fr. Seraphim in 1902 and by the act of opening the relics, established that the remains were the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
On January 11, 1991, the transfer of the relics took place; On February 6-7, 1991, with the participation of Patriarch Alexy II, the relics were delivered to Moscow from the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and transferred in a religious procession to the Epiphany Cathedral. On July 28, 1991, a religious procession with the relics left Moscow, and on August 1, 1991, with a large crowd of people, the saint was greeted at the Diveyevo Monastery. On July 17, 2006, the Holy Synod decided to open the Assumption Sarov Hermitage. From July 29 to July 31, 2007, celebrations dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov were held in the village of Diveevo, Nizhny Novgorod region. They were visited by over 10,000 pilgrims.
In 1991, the famous sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov made and presented to the city of Sarov a monument to St. Seraphim of Sarov. The monument was erected in the Far Hermitage area, in the forest.
In September 2007, a prayer service was held for the first time by St. Seraphim as the patron saint of nuclear scientists. In 2011, a street in Batajnica, a suburb of Belgrade (Serbia), was named after Seraphim of Sarov; Previously, the street named after the saint was called “Partisan Bases”. In August 2011, a monument to the Holy Father the Wonderworker was consecrated in Yekaterinburg. The visit of Patriarch Kirill to Diveevo, planned for the celebrations of the 110th anniversary of the canonization of the saint, for which a reserve residence had been prepared, did not take place.
Monument to Seraphim of Sarov in the Kursk Root Hermitage.
Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage. Monastery
Russia, Nizhny Novgorod region, Sarov.
Chronicles indicate that the first hermit monk who chose Sarov Mountain for an ascetic life was the Penza monk Theodosius, who came to the Old Settlement in 1664. The successor of his exploits two decades later was the young monk of the Arzamas Vvedensky Monastery Isaac, later in the schema John. He had good organizational and economic skills, was well-read, eloquent and possessed the gift of persuasion. By 1700, John managed to organize a common life for the monks who wished to stay on Sarov Mountain. The first monks settled independently, and their settlement did not have any status. By 1706, John sought permission from Peter I and the blessing of the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Stefan of Yavorsky, to establish a monastery and build a church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and Her Life-Giving Source. In May 1706, construction of the church began, and already on June 16 of the same year, the first temple of the Sarov Hermitage was consecrated. This date is considered the founding day of the Sarov Monastery.
Then John began to write the rules of the Sarov monastery according to strict ancient models. Subsequently, this charter will serve as a model for many monasteries in Russia.
The underground church in the name of the Kiev-Pechersk wonderworkers Anthony and Theodosius was built in 1709, and was consecrated with the assistance of the princesses Maria and Theodosius, sisters of Peter I, it was they who sent the iconostasis, sacred vessels, books and donations for this temple. By 1711 it was ready cave city with an underground church.
The Sarov Monastery is a monument of monastic architecture of the 18th–20th centuries. Construction here took place in different years unevenly, and therefore a feature of Sarov’s architecture was a combination of different styles. There were nine churches in total in the monastery. The main shrine and decoration of the Sarov Hermitage was the Assumption Cathedral - the first stone building. Its external appearance was similar to the Kiev-Pechersk Assumption Cathedral. It was consecrated in 1777, and many Sarov abbots were buried near its walls. On the south-eastern side of the Assumption Cathedral, at the altar, two famous hermits of the Sarov monastery were buried - the Monk Seraphim of Sarov and schemamonk Mark the Silent.
The first church of the monastery, in honor of the Life-Giving Source, was rebuilt in 1752, and then in 1846. The main value of the cathedral was the especially revered and richly decorated icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and Her Life-Giving Source.
The last church of the monastery was founded in 1897, and was consecrated for the first time in 1903 in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In 1903, there were 70 monks and 240 novices in the monastery. Sarov Pustyn was a sociable non-staff monastery and was under the control of the abbot.
The destruction of the monastery began in 1918, when an instructor first arrived in Sarov from the district town of Temnikova with the right to establish a commune here. The monks, in turn, asked to organize a labor artel in the monastery with a charter reminiscent of the monastery charter. However, the Temnikovsky land department considered that the monks, due to their civic immaturity, were incapable of self-government and taking initiative in running a large farm on new socialist principles. In September 1918, the first OGPU task force arrived at the monastery demanding a contribution of 300 thousand rubles, and in November a one-time emergency tax in the amount of one million rubles was imposed on the Sarov Hermitage. Following this, a campaign began to open and destroy the relics of Orthodox saints. In November 1920, by decision of the IX Congress of Councils of the city of Temnikov, the commission opened the shrine containing the relics of St. Seraphim.
The economy of the Sarov Monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated, the relics of the venerable elder were taken away to an unknown direction. In March 1927, a government decision was made to liquidate the Sarov Monastery; the remaining property and buildings were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod NKVD department. From 1927 to 1931, a children's labor commune operated in Sarov. After its abolition, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult prisoners was organized in the village, which was liquidated in November 1938. The workshops that existed in the colonies before the war were converted into a plant for the production of shells. At the end of 1942, the plant began preparations for the production of new products - sets of parts for M13 projectiles for Katyusha rocket launchers. In the spring of 1946, a government decision was made to establish a “facility” on the site of the Sarov Monastery to create the first Soviet atomic bomb.
In September 1989, in Sarov, for the first time in 62 years of desolation on the Far Hermitage, a prayer service was served to St. Seraphim of Sarov. The Orthodox parish in Sarov was formed in 1990, although it was registered only in 1991, after the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim. In July 1992, the church in honor of All Saints, a former monastery cemetery church, was transferred to the parish of the city of Sarov. In 1999, the diocese was given a rebuilt Soviet time Church of John the Baptist. By August 2000, a chapel-altar was erected and consecrated on the Far Hermitage. In November 2002, the Church of St. Seraphim was returned to the diocese, which, after complete restoration, was consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov as a saint.
In 2006, on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage, the temple in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist was completely restored, the lower temple in honor of the holy prophet of God Elijah, a cave complex with a church in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Pechersk were built. On the Near Hermitage of St. Seraphim, a wooden church was built in the name of the Holy Spirit.
In July 2006, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church made the decision to resume monastic life at the Sarov monastery.
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The history of the Assumption Monastery begins in the 17th century, when the monk Theodosius, and then the monk Gerasim, settled in the deep Sarov forests at the confluence of two rivers - Satis and Sarovka. Repeatedly, these hermits observed miraculous phenomena: light descending from the sky to the place where cathedral churches were subsequently built, bells ringing from underground. Both ascetics predicted a great future for this place.
Later, the monk of the Vvedensky Monastery, located in Arzamas, came here, Isaac (in the world and in the schema John), who became the first builder of the Sarov Hermitage. Having settled in the forest, on the site of the prayerful feats of Theodosius and Gerasim, Isaac survived the fight against temptation, loneliness and other hardships of a hermit’s life. In 1692, he began to dig a cave in the mountainside, which served as the foundation of the Sarov Caves, which have survived to this day. Gradually, those who wanted to live a strict desert life joined Isaac and a monastic settlement was formed.
On June 16, 1706, the first church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Source” was consecrated. The temple was miraculously built in fifty days in a deep forest in the absence of Money. Residents of the surrounding villages came to the rescue and worked for free on the construction of the temple, donating church utensils, icons, vestments, liturgical books, and bells.
According to monastic tradition, the day of the consecration of the Church of the Life-Giving Spring was considered the day of the official founding of the Sarov Hermitage and was always solemnly celebrated in Sarov.
The ascetic Isaac, based on ancient Christian traditions, compiled the Charter of the monastery. The charter was strict and provided for the community of all property, a common meal, unquestioning submission of the brethren to the abbot, the choice of the abbot from among the tonsured monasteries, and obligatory love of hobbies. Church singing of the ancient type was also established - pillar chant, Znamenny chant. The music that sounded in the Sarov churches was recorded not with notes, but with hooks and performed in unison. Pilgrims who visited the Sarov Hermitage wrote that the melodies were ancient, very special, drawn-out, reminiscent of the wind that walked and rustled through the vast Sarov forest. Later, the Charter of the Sarov Hermitage was adopted by such monasteries in Russia as Sanaksarsky and Valaam, Florishcheva and Vysokogornaya Hermitages, etc.
The Sarov monastery became famous for its inhabitants and ascetics. The most famous of them are the builder Dorotheus, the builder Ephraim, Abbot Nazarius, Mark the Silent, and, of course, the holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov.
The luminary of the Russian land, the holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, came to the monastery at the age of 19 and spent his entire life asceticizing in the Sarov desert. By order of the Most Holy Theotokos, the monk provided special care to the Diveyevo monastery. Through his instructions and prayers, the Diveyevo community grew and strengthened; its nuns carefully preserved the instructions and predictions of the great elder. Now his holy relics, as a great shrine, reside in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Diveyevo Monastery.
More than forty monks from among the Sarov brethren were appointed abbots in other monasteries during the period from 1714 to 1873.
Under Abbot Nifont, who ruled the monastery for 33 years and died in 1842, the Sarov hermitage received its final external device. In total, nine churches, a bell tower, cell buildings, and numerous outbuildings were erected in the monastery.
The main shrine and decoration of the Sarov Monastery was the five-domed Assumption Cathedral, at the altar of which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov was buried. The cathedral was consecrated in 1744 in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God with a chapel in honor of the Archangel Michael and the Monks Anthony and Theodosius, the Kiev-Pechersk wonderworkers. A special feature of the Assumption Cathedral was the altar, built on the site of the old single-domed so-called Demidov Assumption Church. The middle part of the old church served as an altar, and the former altar served as a monastery sacristy, in which a large number of precious sacred vessels, holy crosses, Gospels, about 500 priestly vestments. The Gospel was also kept here - a gift from Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The cathedral had a carved, gilded, five-tiered iconostasis and many icons decorated with silver vestments. Since 1903, after his glorification as saints, the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov have resided here.
The Temple of Seraphim of Sarov was built in 1897-1903 on the site of a dismantled fraternal building, which included the cell of St. Seraphim. The cell itself was preserved within the scope of the new temple. The Sarov celebrations of 1903, dedicated to the glorification of Father Seraphim as a saint, ended with the consecration of a new church in the name of the Holy Venerable Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov.
After the revolution of 1917, the economy of the Sarov Monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated. By the end of 1925, a decision was made to close the monastery, and in March 1927, to liquidate it. The property of the monastery, together with the buildings, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod NKVD department. On the basis of the Sarov Monastery in 1927, a children's labor commune of factory No. 4 NKT was created. In November 1931, the labor commune was closed. After it, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult prisoners was organized in the village. On February 11, 1943, the State Defense Committee adopted a decree to begin work on the creation of an atomic bomb. General leadership was entrusted to Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee Lavrentiy Beria. In February 1947, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, KB-11 was classified as a special security enterprise with the transformation of its territory into a closed security zone.
The revival of the monastery began in 1990, when the first Orthodox parish in the city of Sarov was registered. In 2002, the building of the church in the name of St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov, which housed a theater during the years of Soviet power, was returned to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. During the restoration work, the base of Father Seraphim's cell was discovered. Based on surviving photographs and descriptions, the cell has been restored today. On the centenary of the glorification of St. Seraphim as a saint in 2003, the temple was consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.
In 2006, in the year of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the monastery, the Decree of the Holy Synod announced the resumption of the Assumption Monastery - Sarov Hermitage.
Temples of the monastery
Temple in the name of the Holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov
Temple in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
Cave church in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius, Kiev-Pechersk wonderworkers.
Temple in honor of Saints Zosima and Savvaty Solovetsky
Chapel in the Far Hermitage
Shrines of the monastery
Cell of St. Seraphim of Sarov (restored)
Tomb (“Canopy”) of St. Seraphim of Sarov
The revered icon of the Mother of God, called “Quick to Hear”
The revered icon of the Mother of God, called “Tenderness”
The stone on which St. Seraphim of Sarov prayed for a thousand days and nights
House-cell of St. Seraphim of Sarov on the Far Hermitage (restored)
Monument to St. Seraphim of Sarov (sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov)
The Orthodox local history center “Istoki” operates at the monastery.
The first bell tower of the Sarov Hermitage was built together with the Assumption Cathedral and was in the center of the monastery territory. When the monastery began to expand, the monks demolished the rampart and filled in the ditch that remained from the Old Fort. They decided to combine the new bell tower with the main entrance to the monastery - the Holy Gate.
The stone bell tower, which has survived to this day, is the third in a row (the two previous ones were wooden) and is in the full sense the calling card of the city. Her image is also on the coat of arms of Sarov. The bell tower was built from 1789 to 1799 with donations from investors and, according to the original design, it was supposed to be five-tiered. But, apparently, there were not enough funds during construction, and the bell tower was built in four tiers. Its height is 81 meters.
There is a version that the design of the bell tower and the entire western facade of the monastery was made by the famous architect K.I. In blank. The first tier of the bell tower is a high arched opening, designed in the form of a triumphal arch with pilasters and a pediment. The main entrance to the monastery was painted with picturesque paintings on evangelical themes. Above the main entrance were the premises of the monastery library. It had two funds: a regular fund, where more than 7,000 volumes were stored, and a fund of especially valuable rarities, where approximately 700 manuscripts were kept, including the chronicle of the Sarov Monastery, written by the founder of the desert, Hieromonk John.
In the second tier of the bell tower there was a church in the name of St. Nicholas, consecrated in 1806. There were bells on the third and fourth tiers. The largest bell, weighing 1200 poods (more than 19 tons), occupied the third tier. It was cast in the monastery and called the "Thousandth Man". The fourth tier was occupied by 18 bells. Among them, the largest were bells weighing 550, 350, 213, 134 and 86 pounds.
The large bell was raised on May 9, 1829, on the temple holiday of St. Nicholas Church. The Sarov ringing had its own melody, its own sequence. Traditionally, the bell ringers in the Sarov monastery were blind monks. IN holidays bell ringing The Sarov monastery echoed for dozens of miles throughout the entire area.
After the monastery was closed, all the bells were removed. It is still unknown where the large bell is located. There is a version that it was sunk at the bottom of the Satis River.
A chiming clock was installed on the bell tower, made by the gunsmith and watchmaker Kobylin from Tula. The chime played the melody “Who will escape you, hour of death?” The minute bell reminded of the transience of earthly life.
The ancient mechanism has not been preserved and for a long time a simple clock (without a chime) was installed on the bell tower, which was driven by the 1961 mechanism. The bell tower itself served as a television broadcast tower in Soviet and post-Soviet times. Only in 2012 were the technical platforms and broadcasting equipment removed from the bell tower, and then a new dome was installed.
In December 2013, the restored gate church was consecrated. The service was led by Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. The temple appeared in all its glory. Alien structures, including floor coverings from the Soviet period, were dismantled, utility networks were replaced and new window blocks were installed. A major overhaul has been carried out. The church was not only restored, but also re-painted, since the previous painting was almost completely lost. The style chosen for painting is academic, as in the Zosimo-Savvatievsky Church.
In 2014, during restoration work, the Holy Gates were opened and a surviving painting was found. In Soviet times, a false ceiling was installed there, and the semicircles of arches on the western and eastern sides were glazed like windows. When everything unnecessary was removed, a vault was revealed with well-preserved paintings from the monastery period - ornaments and Christian symbols. And on the sides, above the doorways, are the remains of the plot painting. The plots suffered from huge floor beams, but big square the painting has survived.
In April of the same year, the bells for the recreated chimes were raised to the bell tower and the townspeople again heard the melodic chime of the clock. By August 2014, the bell tower had completely acquired its historical appearance and is now awaiting the return of the bells.
Cave church in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev-Pechersk Wonderworkers
Restored in 2011
The cave temple in the name of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev-Pechersk with a system of underground galleries is the most ancient monastic creation - it is more than 300 years old.
According to the manuscript of the founder of the monastery, Hieroschemamonk John, “The Legend of the First Residence of the Monks,” John began to dig a cave half a mountain from the Satis River above the source. Tired of work, he lay down to rest in a hut, and in a dream he had a vision. It was as if he found himself near the city of Kyiv, and Metropolitan Hilarion - the same one who once began to be the first to dig the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - blessed the work he had begun. The monks continued to dig caves and made several branches with small cells.
In 1709, a church was built in the dungeons. The maximum dimensions of the temple are 9 by 6 meters, the vault is supported by four columns, each more than a meter in diameter. Permission to consecrate the underground church was obtained with great difficulty. The locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky, allowed the opening of the church only on May 30, 1711, after the petition of the princesses Maria and Theodosia, sisters of Peter I. They also donated an iconostasis with icons, service books, pewter vessels for worship, vestments, money and the greatest precious shrine to the new church - fourteen particles of the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk wonderworkers, which were kept in it under the throne.
Services in the underground church continued until the 1730s. The ventilation system was imperfect, and wood and liturgical books deteriorated due to dampness. And after the resignation of the founder of the monastery, John, the church became inactive for many years.
In August 1778, Bishop Jerome of Vladimir came to Sarov Hermitage to consecrate the newly built Assumption Cathedral. While touring the monastery, he visited the underground church and expressed a wish to resume worship there. This required repairs. Penza landowner Nikolai Afanasyevich Radishchev (father of the writer A.N. Radishchev), who was present in Sarov at that time, expressed his readiness to help. He bought a marble altar plaque for the church, made in St. Petersburg. In addition, a cast-iron iconostasis was made, a ventilation shaft was brought up, over the exit of which to the surface a small dome with a dome and a cross was built. After repairs, Bishop Jerome consecrated the church on August 15, 1780.
Due to dampness, the iconostasis and church utensils in the Church of Anthony and Theodosius had to be renewed and replaced. Under Abbot Joseph (1872-1890), the cast-iron iconostasis was replaced by a silver-plated copper one with gilded copper icons. The iconostasis was 5.6 meters long and 2.1 meters high. Services in the church were held at that time only once a year - on the day of remembrance of the Kiev-Pechersk Wonderworkers. The caves served rather excursion purposes.
On July 18, 1903, during the celebrations for the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II visited the cave.
During Soviet times, the entrances to the caves were filled with construction debris. And only in 1992, as a result of excavations carried out by the Sarov Hermitage association, the entrance to the caves was found and an inscription was found carved on one of its pillars (the inscription was not preserved), which read “Summer 7199. From the Nativity of Christ 1691, May 14 This cave began to be dug. In the summer of 1711, on the 6th of May, this church of the Venerable Father Anthony Theodosius of Pechersk was sanctified in them.”
In 1995, the cave complex was transferred to the city museum. In 2000 - 2002, planned repairs were carried out. Over several years of work, more than 300 linear meters of underground galleries were manually cleared of alluvial soil, the entrance to the caves and an emergency exit were equipped, dangerous areas of the galleries were strengthened, ventilation shafts were restored, and electric lighting was installed at the main entrances of the complex. In 2003, a metal iconostasis was manufactured and installed in the Church of Anthony and Theodosius. In 2006, the cave complex was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
On September 6, 2011, Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas performed the rite of great consecration of the cave church in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk. Currently, the length of the restored underground passages is about 400 meters.
Cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the first stone building of the Sarov Hermitage. It was considered the main cathedral of the Holy Dormition Monastery from the moment of its construction and first consecration in 1744 until its destruction in Soviet times. In 1778, the temple was significantly enlarged and re-consecrated.
A distinctive feature of the interior of the Assumption Cathedral was a five-tiered carved gilded iconostasis with icons of Byzantine writing, the height of which in the middle was 19 meters, and at the edges - 27. According to legend, the drawing of this iconostasis was made by the architect Rastrelli.
Inside, the Assumption Cathedral was richly decorated with wall paintings on themes from the Old and New Testaments. Many Sarov abbots were buried near the walls of the cathedral. On the south-eastern side of the temple, near the altar, two famous hermits of the Sarov monastery were buried - the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov and schemamonk Mark the Silent.
In 1903, in the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a shrine with the relics of St. Seraphim was installed - the main shrine of the monastery. For the winter, it was solemnly transferred from the summer Assumption Cathedral to the “warm” one in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and her Life-Giving Source.
In 1925, the Sarov Monastery was closed. When the Sarov Hermitage was closed on April 5, 1927, the relics of the saint were taken to Moscow. The Assumption Cathedral began to deteriorate, and in 1951 it was demolished, and in 1954 the cathedral in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos and her Life-Giving Source was blown up.
During the explosion, almost all the foundations of the temple were destroyed, and later only thanks to the knowledge and experience of archaeologists from the Moscow company Simargl, under the leadership of Elena Khvorostova, who led the excavations, it was possible to determine the location of the cathedral, as well as clarify the location of the burials of Seraphim of Sarov and Mark the Silhouette.
In 1991, on the site of the temple, members of the historical association “Sarov Hermitage” erected a memorial stone, and in 2002 - a cross with a lamp. In 2004, a chapel built at the end of the 19th century was restored over the grave of St. Seraphim.
In March 2016, restoration of the temple began. It is noteworthy that the reconstruction began in the tenth year of the revival of the Sarov monastery, when the 25th anniversary of the bringing of the holy relics of Father Seraphim to the Nizhny Novgorod land was celebrated.
The project for recreating the Assumption Cathedral was carried out by Regional Engineering Center LLC, and during the development all the features of the soil foundation were taken into account, associated with the high karst hazard of the construction site, the proximity of the cave temple and industrial seismicity caused by the peculiarities of the production tests of the Sarov Nuclear Center.
On August 1, 2016, the solemn consecration of the foundation stone of the cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary took place. The service was performed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. Chairman of the Government of Russia Dmitry Rogozin, General Director of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education Vyacheslav Nikonov, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev, heads of the Federal Nuclear Center and the city of Sarov took part in the laying of the capsule at the foundation of the reviving Uspensky cathedral
Temple in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Restored in 2003
On the southern side of the monastery in 1903, a temple was built in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, imitating the architectural forms of the 17th century with brick decoration and covering with its vaults the cell in which the great elder lived and peacefully rested.
Every day
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
By: Mon., Tue., Wed., Thursday, Fri., Sun.
By: Sat., holidays
To: Sun., holidays
In 1903, the celebrations of the glorification of the Great Russian Elder gathered hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the Sarov Desert. Sovereign Nicholas II with members of the Imperial family and other high-ranking officials of the Russian state took part in those events, which resonated throughout Russia. The Russian people loved and revered Father Seraphim. According to historical data, in the period from 1903 to 1917. throughout Russia, more than 220 churches, chapels, monasteries, societies, educational and medical institutions, and shelters were consecrated or named in his name. And the very first of them was the temple above the cell of the Great Elder in our city.
The church building on Monastyrskaya Square has been preserved, but since 1949 it has housed the city theater.
For the upcoming celebrations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov in 2003, it was necessary to solve the difficult problems of returning the temple.
These works united the efforts of clergy and the Orthodox community, the authorities of Sarov and the Nizhny Novgorod region, managers and employees of many divisions of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center. At the final stage of work on the restoration of the temple and the preparation of celebrations, more than two dozen enterprises and thousands of people were involved in them. different corners Russia. The Nizhegorodinzhenerstroy enterprise was appointed as the state customer for the restoration of the temple; the Regional Engineering Center in the city of Vladimir acted as the general designer and contractor.
In 2002, the building of the church in the name of the Holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov was returned to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese. During the restoration work, the foundation of Father Seraphim's cell was discovered. Based on surviving photographs and descriptions, the cell has been restored today.
One of the signs of attention to the upcoming event was a belfry of 8 bells, donated to Sarov in July 2003 and placed next to the restored temple. Among these bells, the largest, 4-ton, was donated by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin.
On July 30, 2003, during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov, in the presence of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' and representatives of all local Orthodox churches, the temple was consecrated, and now services are held in the restored Sarov Monastery.
Just like 100 years ago, the head of the Russian state was present at the celebrations in Sarov. This time it was the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin. And the words from the holiday message of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II resonated in the soul of every Orthodox person:
“Entering under the arches of the restored church on the site of the saint’s cell, we believe that the continuity of the Russian spirit, the continuity of our history, tragically refracted in the twentieth century, is now being recreated. ... We are returning together to our ancestral path, interrupted by revolutionary turmoil. ... Let it be established on this path Our Fatherland and our people. May the Russian Land never again be darkened by the darkness of God-fighting, hostility and strife.
Reverend Father Seraphim, pray to God for us!”
Temple in honor of Saints Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky wonderworkers
1745 - 1750
Restored in 2012
In 1745, construction began, and in 1750, the church was consecrated in the name of Saints Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky miracle workers. Since it was located next to hospital cells, it was also called the “Hospital Room”.
In that old monastery hospital, the Monk Seraphim, at that time still a novice Prokhor, lay sick for three years and there he was honored with a miraculous appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos with the apostles John the Theologian and Peter, who healed him of a serious illness. The miraculously healed ascetic himself collected money for the construction of this church. He, like a skilled carpenter, with his own hands made a throne of cypress wood for a real temple. Here he received Holy Communion until the end of his life.
In 1784, it was decided to move the temple to the northern slope, thereby freeing up the area in front of the “Holy” Gates. The church was built at the expense of Ivan Leontyevich Beketov and had “two floors”: below is the warm temple of Zosima and Savvaty, on the second floor there is a cold chapel in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The monastery leadership tried to equip the church: the floors were laid out from cast iron slabs, the iconostasis was gilded “with the best art, applied to the cathedral Assumption iconostasis, so that it would be no worse” (they entrusted this important task to the peasant of the Serpukhov district of the village of Khatuni, Nikifor Ilyin). In the altar there was a throne made by the hands of novice Prokhor Moshnin, the future ascetic Seraphim. The main altar was consecrated on August 16, 1787, the upper altar in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord was consecrated in 1789 during the arrival of the ruling bishop to the monastery.
During Soviet times, the temple was dismantled by hand in 1942, the justification being the lack of building materials.
Currently the temple has been restored to historical place. Preparations for construction began in February 2010. The cross on the dome was raised on July 29, 2011. The great consecration of the temple in honor of St. Zosima and Savvaty in the lower tier took place on May 26, 2012. In the upper tier - under the dome - is the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, consecrated on December 21, 2012.
Temple in the name of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
According to the story of Nikolai Motovilov, which he heard from Father Seraphim himself, the Reverend, emerging from seclusion on November 25, 1825, headed to the Far Hermitage. Near the Theological Spring, the Mother of God appeared to him with the apostles Peter and John the Theologian. The Mother of God hit the ground with her staff “so that a spring boiled out of the ground with a fountain of bright water.” At this place St. Seraphim dug a well. Through his prayers, the Mother of God promised to give healing power to the waters of this source.
At the edge of the mountain, a small log house without windows or doors was erected for the ascetic. It was possible to get into it by crawling under the wall. The shape of the current temple is reminiscent of this, the first building in the Near Desert.
To the source of St. Seraphim, many pilgrims flocked to the Near Desert, miraculous healings took place. The royal family visited here during the celebrations of 1903. And a year after these events, the long-awaited heir was born to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In 1903, a chapel and bathhouse were built over the spring.
During Soviet times, all this was destroyed, the source was concreted over. The Sarovka River was dammed and the Borovoye pond was formed.
“In 1991, members of the historical association “Sarov Hermitage” began searching for this holy place... As a result of searches and excavations, the site of the chapel above the source and the bathhouse was found. The building itself has not survived, but the foundations and lower rooms where the bathing took place were intact. These four rooms were led by steps lined with Metlakh tiles, the floor was covered with tiles with a very beautiful colored ornament...” (From A. Agapov’s book “Sarov-Diveevo”)
“Then a memorial stone and a worship cross were installed on the Near Hermitage; in 2003, a chapel was erected there, which was later dismantled. And in 2006, before the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Sarov Holy Dormition Monastery, construction began again on the Near Hermitage, but this time of a temple. The temple was built exactly on the historical site, only an altar and an entrance were added to it. The filled-in bathhouse is located closer to the pond, now this entire area has been transferred to the church and fenced... The Church of the Holy Spirit was visited by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the revived Sarov Hermitage in July 2006. And on August 27, Archbishop Georgy consecrated this temple...” (from the memoirs of Archpriest Lev Yushkov)
In the temple on the Near Hermitage there are icons painted in the icon-painting workshop of Pavel Busalaev with funds from the Seraphim of Sarov Foundation.
During the consecration of the temple in 2006, the first icon was transferred to it - St. Seraphim with hagiographic marks, 5 of which are new, not previously depicted. A year later they brought her a paired icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh with stamps, two of them are new.
Holy Dormition Sarov Hermitage- a men's monastery founded at the beginning of the 18th century in the city of Sarov in the north of the Tambov province in Temnikovsky district (now Sarov is part of the Nizhny Novgorod region). Known as the place where St. Seraphim of Sarov, a revered Orthodox ascetic and saint, labored.
History of the monastery
The first hermit monk to settle on Sarov Mountain was the Penza monk Theodosius, who came to the “old settlement” in 1664 and built his cell here. After living here for about six years, Theodosius decided to retire to Penza. Around this time, the monk Gerasim from the Krasnoslobodsky Monastery (according to other sources, the Arzamas Spassky Monastery) settled on the “old settlement”. For some time, both hermits lived together, but soon Theodosius “withdrew” to Penza, and Gerasim was left alone at the “old settlement.” Having lived here for more than a year, Gerasim retired to the Krasnoslobodsky Monastery, apparently out of fear of thieves and robbers, who began to do “many dirty tricks” to him (according to Leonid Denisov, the inhabitants begged him to become a builder for them), after which the “old settlement” became deserted again.
Around 1683, Hieromonk Savvaty and Monk Philaret came from the Sanaksar Monastery founded in 1659, but they soon returned to their monastery. The “old settlement” was deserted again.
The founder of the Sarov Hermitage was Hieromonk Isaac (in the world Ionann Fedorov, the son of the clerk of the village of Krasny Arzamas district), who, with the blessing of the abbot, left the Vvedensky Monastery and, together with the monk Philaret of the Sanaksar Monastery, settled in the “old settlement”. Soon Isaac had associates, and Father Isaac filed a petition to establish a monastic monastery in Sarov.
In 1705, Prince Kugushev, the owner of the “old settlement,” donated a plot of land between the Satis and Sarovka rivers to Father Isaac for the future monastery. In January 1706, Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky granted the request of Father Isaac to build a church on the “old settlement.” On April 28, 1706, Father Isaac laid the foundation for a wooden church in honor of the “Life-Giving Spring” icon of the Mother of God. On June 16, 1706, the consecration of the new and first temple of the Sarov monastery took place; this day (June 29 according to the new style) is considered the day of the founding of the Sarov Hermitage.
In 1731, due to the weakening of his strength, the first abbot of the monastery, Father Isaac (by that time he had become Hieroschemamonk John), abandoned his abbotship and chose his disciple Dorotheus as his successor.
Of the subsequent abbots, Father Ephraim (Korotkov), who was innocently accused of high treason and spent 16 years in exile in the Orsk fortress, was especially revered. Acquitted and returned to the Sarov Hermitage in 1755. During the famine of 1775, Father Ephraim, being the abbot of the monastery, ordered the opening of the monastery granaries to help the needy laity.
During his lifetime, Elder Ephraim chose his successor, hieromonk Father Pachomius. It was during the reign of Father Pachomius that Prokhor Moshnin, the future father of Seraphim of Sarov, arrived in Sarov.
In 1897, construction began on the temple above the cell of Seraphim of Sarov. The author of the project was the architect A. S. Kaminsky. After the glorification of the reverend elder in 1903, the temple was consecrated by Metropolitan Anthony of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.
In 1906, the Sarov Hermitage celebrated the 200th anniversary of its existence. Many guests came to celebrate the anniversary. The Sarov Hermitage has turned into a generally recognized shrine of Russia.
After the revolution of 1917, the economy of the Sarov Monastery was ruined, the shrines were desecrated. By the end of 1925, a decision was made to close the monastery, and in March 1927, a government decision was made to liquidate the Sarov Monastery. The property of the monastery, together with the buildings, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod NKVD department.
A children's labor commune was created on the basis of the Sarov Monastery in 1927. In November 1931, the labor commune was closed. After it, a correctional labor colony for teenagers and adult prisoners was organized in the village. In November 1938, this colony was also closed.
Spiritual revival of Sarov
On September 26, 1989, Sarov was visited for the first time by Archbishop Nikolai (Kutepov) of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, who served a prayer service with an akathist to St. Seraphim of Sarov in a distant hermitage.
In 1990, an Orthodox parish was organized in Sarov.
In the summer of 1991, the parish organized a year earlier was registered.
In November 1990, the second discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov took place in the Museum of Atheism and Religion in St. Petersburg. On January 11, 1991, the official transfer of the relics of the Russian Orthodox Church took place. On July 30, the holy relics of Father Seraphim were transferred to Diveevo.
In March 1992, the first priest, Priest Vladimir Alyasov, arrived in the city. On April 25, 1992, on Easter night, the first Divine Liturgy took place.
In February 1993, Metropolitan Nicholas consecrated the Church of All Saints, which a year earlier had been transferred from the Nuclear Center to the parish, repaired and restored; A Sunday school and Orthodox courses for adults began operating at the Temple.
In 1992 and 1993, Patriarch Alexy II visited Sarov on the days of the feast of Seraphim of Sarov.
On May 17, 1997, bells were installed on the bell tower, made according to calculations by one of the VNIIEF laboratories.
In 1998, the Federal Nuclear Center decided to transfer the building of the Church of John the Baptist to the parish. In the summer of 1999 such a transfer took place.
In July - August 2003, celebrations were held in Sarov on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov, which were preceded by significant preparation. On July 13, 2003, a cross was installed on the bell tower. On July 30, 2003, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II re-consecrated the church of St. St. Seraphim of Sarov. On the same days, Russian President V.V. Putin visited Sarov.
In 2005, the possibility of restoring the monastery was expressed.
On July 17, 2006, the Holy Synod decided to open the monastery. On July 30, His Holiness Patriarch Alexei II performed the rite of the Great Consecration of the restored temple in the name of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. The restored temple became the seventh active temple in Sarov.
On July 27, 2009, Archimandrite Kirill (Pokrovsky), dean of the Varnavinsky and Urensky districts, was appointed vicar. By this time, seven monks and three novices lived in the monastery.
On September 7, the building of the northern cell building was transferred to the monastery, in which Lately There was a children's art school. It is planned to house a spiritual and educational center in this building, and several rooms are allocated for the children's studio "Rodnichok" at the Orthodox creative association "MiR".
On September 9, 2009, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited the Far and Near Hermitages, the Church of John the Baptist, the underground Temple of Anthony and Theodosius of the Pechersk, the burial place of St. Seraphim of Sarov and the Temple of Seraphim of Sarov. Patriarch Kirill presented the Church of Seraphim of Sarov with an icon of the Savior with a commemorative inscription, and distributed icons with the image of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky to the people who met him.
On December 22, Archbishop Georgy held a meeting at which he summed up the results of the year in rebuilding the church in honor of Saints Zosima and Sabbatius: it took more than a year to vacate the premises and demolish the building built on the site of the temple, and develop design documentation. On the night of December 23, Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas celebrated a liturgy in the Sarov Cave Church in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk.
On June 29, 2010, Archbishop Georgy consecrated five icons for the temple in honor of the Holy Spirit, built on the site where the conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and Nikolai Motovilov about acquiring the Holy Spirit took place. The next day, Archbishop Georgy performed the ceremony of laying the foundation of a church in honor of the Venerables Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky.
On November 12, Archbishop Georgy performed the first prayer service in the church under construction in honor of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky. By this time, the walls and vault of the temple were erected. The consecration of the cross and dome took place on July 28, 2011; the next day the dome and cross were installed. The height of the temple under construction reached 47.5 meters. On May 26, 2012, Metropolitan George performed the rite of great consecration of the temple in honor of Zosima and Savvaty.
On July 17, 2012, television broadcasts began to be made from a new tower built with federal funds, and on July 18, the dismantling of old television and radio broadcasting equipment from the bell tower of the Holy Dormition Monastery began.
On December 21, Metropolitan George performed the Great Consecration of the chapel in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord on the second floor of the church.
