Sretensky Monastery in Moscow: choir, shrine, hotel

The Sretensky Monastery in Moscow is inscribed in the pages of Russian history, the initial of which refers to the reign of Basil I (son of Dmitry Donskoy, who died in 1382). For 36 years of his wise reign, the Moscow principality has been strengthened and expanded, and Moscow itself has never been conquered by anybody.

History of the name of the monastery

In translation from the Greek language "meeting" means a meeting. Kuchkovo field took its name from the boyar SI Kuchka, a hereditary Vyatich who did not obey Dolgoruky. The semi-mythical boyar Stepan Kuchka was executed, and Moscow was built on the lands he owned. It was here, on the Kuchkov field, that in 1395 the Muscovites met the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God, sent by the procession from Vladimir to Klyazma. The road that went to the center of the capital, and on which this event happened, was called Sretenka, and the monastery erected here in memory of the legendary event, Sretensky. Legendary because the next day, for no apparent reason, Timur-Tamerlane, who had ruined the Yelets, turned his troops from the walls of the defenseless capital. Basil I immortalized this event, having built in 1397 on the site of the meeting of the procession of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow.

Priceless shrine

On the account of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, there are two other legendary deliveries from the invaders. One occurred in 1451, when the Horde prince Mazovsha, the great grandson of Tokhtamysh Khan, burned all the Muscovite villages, and on the eve of a decisive assault he fled from the walls of the capital after a night sortie of citizens with an icon. The second refers to the year 1480 (deliverance from Ahmat, standing on the river Ugra). The Vladimir icon of the Mother of God is written, according to legend, by the Evangelist and Apostle Luke during the life of Mary on the table of the table, at which the Holy Family was dining.

The Patriarch of Constantinople, Luca Chrysoverg, whose reign at the beginning of the twelfth century was marked by extensive church and legislative activity, sent a list from this icon to Yuri Dolgoruky. After the Sretensky Monastery was founded, in Moscow, on August 26, the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God, the savior of the capital from the conquest of Tamerlane by its troops, was delivered from the Assumption Cathedral on August 26.

Monastic buildings, surviving to the present day

Originally erected buildings of the monastery were not preserved. From old buildings that survived all the wars and upheavals, to this day survived the five-domed cathedral, built in 1679 with the money of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, half-brother of Peter I. Fedor III, together with his wife Agafia Semenovna Grushetskaya, especially took care of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. After the death of both in 1706, the southern side-chapel of the Nativity of John the Baptist was arranged. In the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Sretensky Monastery in 1680, the tsar's matrimonial couple were placed the images of their patrons - St. Theodore Stratelates and Martyr Agathia. Icons are located at an equal distance from the royal gates.

Role in national history

In general, this monastery played in the fate of the Romanov dynasty not the least role - it actively contributed to the coming to power of Mikhail Fedorovich, the first Russian tsar, the bearer of this family name. All the prayers of the upper strata of Russian society began, as a rule, in this monastery. And in the XIX century, here also, although temporarily, was the Piously Sacred Department. And the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, relating to the shrines of the monastery, thrice rescued Moscow from enemy capture and destruction.

Frescoes of the monastery

Despite its importance, the Cathedral of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God until 1707 stood unmarked. This year, thanks to the donations of S.F. Griboyedov, an archer colonel, frescoes appeared in the temple, well preserved to the present day and represent one of the last masterpieces of Old Russian art in the capital. Who painted the walls of the cathedral, is unknown, since in the fire of 1737 in the monastery burned all the documentation associated with the work of talented artists, the professionalism of which says the original thematic construction of frescos and perfection of performance.

Black History Pages

The tragic events for the monastery came in the 20s of the XX century. The only recognized throughout Soviet Russia from 1922 to 1926 was a church movement called "Renovationism", which, in essence, was an adaptation to the new government for the purpose of survival. It actively fought against Patriarch Tikhon. As soon as the Sretensky Monastery in 1923 passed from Renovation to patriarchal jurisdiction, problems began, and in 1925 the monastery was closed. Until the year 30, many buildings of the monastery were ruthlessly demolished. Motivation - the expansion of the street, one of the central, because the Sretensky Monastery, whose address in Moscow - Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, 19, was in the heart of the capital. Among the destroyed buildings were the temple of St. Mary of Egypt, and the Church of St. Nicholas. They are not restored. The shrines of the monastery were disbanded in museums. Only thanks to chance, the old icon "The Exaltation of the Cross", which appeared in the Antireligious Museum, is preserved and is in the Tretyakov Gallery. The remaining buildings housed dormitories of NKVD officers. The worship cross, erected in 1995 in memory of the tortured victims, says that people were killed in the holy land of the monastery.

Return to the Church

Until the year 90 in the building of the cathedral was the All-Union Art Research and Restoration Center. Grabar. In 1991 the monastery was returned to the Orthodox Church, after which its revival began - old buildings were restored, new buildings and a bell tower were built. A large publishing house works on the monastery territory. At the catechetical courses 400 people study. 40 monks and novices live within the walls of the monastery. It should be noted that on December 4, 1925, literally before a complete closure, in the Sretensky Monastery, the future patriarch Pimen (in the world Sergey Izvekov), who died in 1990, was tonsured into a rassophore with the name of Plato.

The strict beauty of the monastery

All the buildings in the center of the capital, which in recent years has been surprisingly transformed, correspond to its new appearance, including the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. The photo, placed below, speaks eloquently about his present strict beauty. Naturally, one of the oldest monasteries that played a significant role in the fate of Russia, located in the center of the capital, pays much attention to the leadership of the Orthodox Church. In addition, since the monastery is a stauropegic monastery, the Patriarch of Moscow is his ruling bishop and mentor. The term "stauropegic" means insubordination of the monastery to local diocesan authorities. Such monasteries and laurels are administered by the patriarch. Until 1918, the monastery, located in the heart of the capital, on Bolshaya Lubyanka Street (formerly Sretenka), had the status of a supernumerary monastery, existing without state support. Today, the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow is a stauropegic monastery.

The cause of particular pride

Everything in the monastery corresponds to its high rank. Many can be proud of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. Choir of the monastery (not choristers, but the choir itself) is its peer, and is known not only to parishioners and lovers of sacred music. Already in the 17th century the Sretensky choir and its singers were recognized, as they accompanied solemn city-wide processions. Having survived hard times, the collective, reborn together with the monastery, began to acquire new features, corresponding to the time, and was finally formed by 2005. It is headed by a graduate of the Russian Academy of Music Nikon Stepanovich Zhila. Since childhood he has been a chorister of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Along with services, the choir's soloists conduct concert activities and record albums. Each of the 30 soloists has a wonderful music education - either "Gnesinka", or the Moscow Spiritual or Sretinskaya Seminary. There are students of the Moscow Academy of Choral Art and the Moscow Conservatory. According to the testimony of admirers and connoisseurs, the talented leader "turns the consonance of voices into a living organ". In the choir there are soloists with world names - Dmitry Beloselsky and some others.

Revered icons and relics of the righteous

The shrines of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow are represented primarily by the relics of the Holy Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky) - a bishop and theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church, an icon with a part of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In addition, the remains of the Monk Maria of Egypt, the saints John Chrysostom, Basil the Great and Nicholas the Miracle-Worker are kept here. To the shrines is the negative (the face on the Shroud) and the positive (in the photo) of the exact replica of the Shroud of Turin executed in full size, which is in the crypt of the cathedral. It is consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow Alexis II as the Image of the Savior. The revered list of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God completes the list of shrines of the Sretensky Monastery.

Unselfishness for the glory of God

People who work unselfishly and voluntarily for the glory of God are under Orthodox monasteries, but are not novices-these are the so-called laborers. The Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, like other church institutions, needs their help. Employees differ from pilgrims, and from novices. Basically, these are people who are only preparing to devote themselves to the church completely. There is a provision about employees in which certain requirements are imposed on them, and it is not recommended to violate them. Usually, workers come to monasteries for a certain time, and they, of course, need a place to live. The Sretensky Monastery in Moscow under the name Podushkin was intended for this purpose. But, unfortunately, in 2012, in the fall, she was in the center of the scandal because of the fact that the list of services provided, according to law enforcement agencies, included intimate. The governor of the Sretensky Monastery called the information slander.