Valdai. Iversky monastery

Article from 6 -th volume of the "Orthodox Encyclopedia" (p. 515-520).

(Novgorod and Staraya Russian diocese), on one of the islands of Lake Valdai. 3 km from the town of Valdai, Novgorod region.

17th century

The idea of founding a monastery in honor of the Iberian Icon of St. Theotokos ("Portaitissa") arose at Bud. Patriarch Nikon, probably during the years of rectorship in the Novospassky Moscow mon-re. In 1648 archim. Nikon asked Archim. Pachomius of the Iberian Monastery on Mount Athos, complete the list from the miraculous icon and send it to Moscow along with the plan of the Iberian monastery, “in order to build a similar one in Russia, according to the location of the onago.” According to the testimony of the archdeacon. Paul of Aleppo, Nikon intended to build a monastery in Athos architectural traditions, he wanted to sew the vestments of the brethren according to "Greek customs". In the beginning. In the 50s, already being the Metropolitan of Novgorod, during one of his trips to Moscow, Nikon drew attention to the surroundings of Valdai Lake, favorable for the construction of the monastery. In 1652, traveling to Solovki for the relics of ssmch. Met. Philip, Nikon had a vision - ssmch. Philip blessed Nikon to build on one of the islands of the Valdai lake. monastery. After being placed on the Patriarchal throne, Nikon told the tsar about his intention to found a monastery in honor of the Iberian Icon and received support. An island was soon chosen (“not particularly large, but very beautiful, surrounded by fisheries”), and in Aug. 1653 The Patriarch sent to Valdai a "worthy old man-builder" - archim. Novgorod Holy Spirit Monastery Jacob and "with him the boyar son from his Patriarchal house and other people needed for construction, giving them enough gold, silver, church utensils and books for the new monastery" ( Shusherin. S. 52).

By the autumn of 1653, a warm wooden church was built in the name of St. Philip, Mr. Moscow, and the cathedral church. in honor of the Iberian Icon, 28 Sept. In 1653, Nikon granted the Cathedral the image of the Mother of God (“enclosed with chasing, gilded with stone” - Acts. No. 18). Soon a wooden belfry, fraternal cells, and household services were installed. Royal letters 17 Nov. and 8 Dec. 1653, May 6, 1654, etc. in addition to the palace village. Valdai with the lake were attributed to the monastery "forever motionless" several. Novgorod rows, Borovichsky monastery with lands, Korotsky Pokrovsky and Lissitzky monasteries with lands in Derevskaya Pyatina, Starorussky monastery with lands and old Russian salt pans, with. Borovichi, Vyshny Volochek, pits Vydropuzhsk, Edrovo, Yazhelbitsy, etc.

Together with the Kutein monks, many artisans moved to Valdai from Orsha, Mstislavl, Kopos (Kopysi) and others, who in 1655 began to produce colored tiles for V. m. from local clay; at the head of this production was the "philistine from Kopos" Ignat Maksimov. Tiles were sold, in particular, to the Tikhvin Big and Zelenetsky Mon-ri, the Novgorod Bishop's House. In 1658, the best of the masters were transferred to the New Jerusalem monastery, but in 1663-1666. the tiling business in V. m. was continued. Up to now time partially preserved tiles on one of the architraves of the rector's building, erected in the 80s. 17th century

During the years of the primacy of Nikon, V. m. was under his special patronage. In March 1654, the Patriarch sent a charter to the monastery (not preserved), in the same year the abbot was granted the rank of archimandrite and the right to perform divine services “in a service cap, with a policeman, and with a sulk, with ripids, and with a carpet, and with autumn” (Acts No. 40), the Patriarch made numerous contributions to the monastery: books (The Works of St. Gregory the Theologian and Synodik - in 1655), liturgical and household utensils (chalice, a set of 6 silver glasses, silver and gilded feet now housed in the New Jerusalem Museum). There are also known contributions to the V. m. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (a silver censer and a star, now in the New Jerusalem Museum), Patriarch Joachim (altar Gospel, ed.: M., 1681). Monastic peasants and servants were removed from the judiciary of local orders and zemstvo chiefs and were under the jurisdiction of the abbot of the monastery in all cases, except for murder, robbery, theft, these grave crimes were dealt with in the order of the Grand Palace, duties collected from the monastic estates were also received there . All monastic buildings in towns and villages were freed from public lodging and supply, the mon-ry did not pay trade duties. In the 1st floor. 60s 17th century the number of brethren of V. m. increased to 200 people. After the deposition of Patriarch Nikon at the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667. all the monasteries founded by him, including V. m., were transferred to the jurisdiction of diocesan bishops, then closed, as organized “not according to the charters of the holy fathers”, the brethren were sent to other monasteries, the estates entered the treasury. But already in 1668, its rector, Archim. Philotheus with the brethren, the monastery again received all the privileges and land holdings.

During the 2nd half. 17th century active construction was going on in the mon-re. In May 1657, the construction of the 2nd stone monastery church began - in honor of the Theophany of the Lord with a refectory, in the porch of the church there was a chapel in the name of St. Nil Stolobensky; the refectory located to the right of the cathedral closed the monastery square from the north. In 1668-1669. to Epiphany Ts. utility rooms were added from the north. In 1670-1671. south of the wooden c. St. Philip (1653) with a refectory (since 1672 it was called a hospital), a wooden church was built. St. Jacob Borovichsky, which burned down in 1700 along with the hospital, and in its place (in the north-east corner) by 1708 a stone church of the same name with a 2-story building of hospital cells was erected. Filippovskaya c. moved to app. St. gate (built in 1656, rebuilt in 1874-1875). South of the Bogoyavlenskaya Ts. a stone 3-tier bell tower (1679-1689) with 13 bells was installed; to the left of it - a 2-storey stone wing of fraternal cells (1679-1689); in app. parts of the mon-rya - a 2-storey fraternal building on the cellars ("Nikonovsky"); 2-storey stone building of living cells adjoining the Patriarchal Tower (1683-1689). In 1684-1689. to the east of the bell tower, a stone rector's building was erected, to the west - the Archangel Gate with a stone gate over the gate. arch. Michael (1683-1689); in 1685-1689 - the Mikhailovskaya (Patriarchal) tower, in which economic services were arranged, in 1686-1688 - the treasury building, which connected the Mikhailovskaya tower with the Mikhailovskaya c.

XVIII - beginning. 20th century

To the beginning 18th century V. m. fell into decay, in 1712 it was assigned to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra under construction, in 1730 it again gained independence (part of V. m.'s property remained in the Lavra sacristy: 4 gold altar crosses, priestly vestments with pearl mantles , mitres adorned with diamonds and pearls, 2 large bells and many household items). K ser. 18th century V. m. owned 7113 peasants and 4275 dess. arable land; in 1764, all the estates of the mon-rya were transferred to the College of Economy, V. m. was assigned to the 1st class. 5 monasteries were assigned to the mon-ryu, the mon-ry had courtyards in Moscow and Novgorod.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. active construction and restoration work continued in the mon-re. In a fire on May 11, 1704, the Assumption Cathedral was damaged. Iberian Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of St. Jacob Borovichsky were taken to the c. arch. Michael and were there until the full restoration of the cathedral in 1710. In the middle. 18th century the old murals were knocked down and the cathedral was repainted. In 1747, the Church of the Epiphany was rebuilt and divided into 2 floors; in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. In the 1st third of the XVIII century. a fraternal corps was erected, which joined the c. arch. Michael. By this time, the monastery was divided by buildings into 2 parts: east. (monastic square with temples and main buildings) and west. (household yards). In 1731-1763. instead of wooden monastery walls, stone ones with towers were built: Cooking, Kvasovarennaya, Blacksmithing and South-East.

After the fire of 1825, construction and repair work was carried out in the mon-re, which changed the original appearance of many others. buildings. During the repair of the Assumption Cathedral in the 30s. 19th century a significant part of the painting was lost, a new painting was made in the technique of oil painting by the Ostashkov masters I. and A. Mitin; in the 2nd floor. 19th century 2 more repairs of the temple were carried out with the renewal of painting. In 1830-1831. on the spot walls, a living building was built, and then a building for stable cells. In the 60s. 19th century in the southwest In the corner of the monastery, a stone hospice building was built in place of the wall. In 1873-1874. the stone gate church was dismantled. St. Philip and a new temple of the same name was built in its place. In con. 19th century a stone tomb chapel-vault was erected in the monastery garden. In the 19th century the stone horse and hospitable towers and the system of courtyard walls were also built anew.

The abbots and inhabitants of the V. m. were Bud. bishops: Aaron (Eropkin), Damaskin (Askaronsky), Anthony (Znamensky), Theophylact (Rusanov), Justin (Vishnevsky), Ambrose (Protasov), Ambrose (Rozhdestvensky-Veshchezerov), Vladimir (Uzhinsky). Among the elders of V. m., the silent monk is known. Pachomius († 1886), who acquired the gifts of prayer and clairvoyance. Dr. revered ascetic was the rector V. m. archim. Lavrenty (Makarov; 1854-1876), who previously served as the governor of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Archim. Lavrenty established religious processions with the miraculous Iberian Icon of the Mother of God in Valdai, Demyansk, Borovichi and in the districts of Novgorod and neighboring provinces. In 1848, after the procession, the strongest cholera epidemic stopped; in memory of this event, in 1849, by the decision of the Synod, the annual procession from the monastery around the city of Valdai and the celebration of prayers from July 28 to August 6 were approved. Processions were also made on patronal feasts - the Assumption of the Mother of God, Epiphany, on the day of memory of St. Jacob Borovichsky (October 23). In 1858, under the care of archim. Lawrence, a new reliquary was made for the relics of St. Jacob, a new golden riza with precious stones for the Iberian icon. At archim. Lawrence, the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral was gilded, all monastery churches and residential buildings were repaired, and a hotel for pilgrims was built. After the discovery in 1861 of the relics of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in the homeland of the saint in the village. Korotsky, Valdai u. was founded by women. cenobitic community, in the creation of which Archim. Lawrence took an active part. Archim. Lawrence is buried in the west. porch of the Assumption Cathedral.

To the beginning 20th century under V. m., there was a literacy school for 10 orphaned boys who lived in mon-re. By 1918, the number of brethren V. m. was approx. 70 people - monks and workers, the monastery owned approx. 5 hectares of monastic lands and 200 hectares of orchards, orchards, arable land, pastures.

1917-2003

Belfry of the Valdai Iberian Monastery. 1679-1689 Photo. 2002

The last rector of V. m. before the closing of the monastery was archim. Joseph (Nevsky), consecrated in 1921 as Bishop of Valdai, vicar of the Novgorod diocese. In June 1918, the brethren and parishioners of the V. m. resisted a police detachment that was trying to describe and seize the monastery's food supplies, archim. Joseph managed to prevent bloodshed. In the autumn of 1918, the golden riza from the miraculous Iberian icon, other ancient precious utensils, and things of Patriarch Nikon were seized from the V. m. 1919 the valuables were returned to the monastery. Soon, the monastery workers, united in a "working committee", seized the keys to the monastery storerooms and began to manage in the mon-re. In 1919, the V. m. was transformed into the Iverskaya labor artel. At the same time in the premises app. The Nikon Museum was placed on the wall, which was headed by the archaeologist D. D. Franz, from 1924 - I. F. Lukashevich (a guide to the museum was published in 1920). By the decision of the collegium of the Petrograd department for museum affairs on February 22. In 1921, the buildings of the V. m. "with all the church property located in it, were recognized as having exceptional historical, domestic and artistic significance." At the same time, a public opening of the relics of St. Jacob (their present location is unknown). In 1927, the labor artel at the V. m. was liquidated for "connection with the Iberian miraculous icon." The abbot was arrested and exiled to Rybinsk, then lived in the city of Valdai, 6 former. residents of V. m. 30s served in the villages of the Valdai region. The monastery premises housed a museum, workshops, in 1941-1945 - a hospital, then a home for the disabled - participants in the war, a forest school for children with tuberculosis, from the 70s - a recreation center. By the beginning of the restoration work in 1959, most of the buildings of the V. m. L. E. Krasnorechev.

In 1991, the V. m. was transferred to the Novgorod diocese, and the igum became the first governor. Stefan (Popkov). In the same year, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' visited the monastery. His Holiness the Patriarch served a prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral in front of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God. Divine services began to be performed in the Church of the Epiphany. By Aug. In 2003, the Assumption Cathedral and the Epiphany Church were restored in V.M., in which 2 altars were consecrated: in honor of the Epiphany and St. Nile of Stolobensky, the gate church of St. Philip of Moscow, bell tower, Nikonovsky building, fraternal cells. Located in present. time in the monastery of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God - one of the lists from the miraculous icon, which was preserved in the Valdai church. apostles Peter and Paul and was transferred to the monastery (modern location of the ancient miraculous icon unknown). By Sept. 2003, approx. 30 inhabitants, the duties of the governor were performed by the priest. Nikandr (Stepanov). A museum of the history of the monastery is being created in the mon-re.

Arch.: SPbFIRI RAS F. 181 [Archive of the Valdai Iversky Monastery]; GA Novgorod region F. 481. Op. 1. D. 427, 956 // RGADA. F. 280. Op. 3. D. 203 [Officer's inventory of the Valdai Iversky monastery, 1763].

Lit .: Iversky Valdai Monastery - past and present. B. m., b. G.; Description of the first-class Iversky Bogoroditsky monastery of the Novgorod diocese. SPb., 1844; Dubinin. Bell production in Valdai // Tr. comis. on the study of handicraft industry in Russia. 1882. Issue. 8. Dep. 4. S. 146-149; Biography and letters in Bose of the deceased father Archim. Lavrenty, rector of the first-class Iversky Bogoroditsky Valdai Monastery. M., 1887; Silin P. M. The celebration of the consecration of the cathedral church in the Valdai Iberian Mon-re. Novgorod, 1898; He same. Valdai Iversky Bogoroditsky Monastery. SPb., 1892; He same. East description of the Valdai Iberian Svyatoozersky Bogoroditsky Monastery. Novgorod, 1889. Borovichi, 19123; Ilyin M. A. On the history of architectural composition Rus. mon-ray of the 17th century // Ezheg. Institute of Art History. M., 1954. S. 279-297; Alferova G. IN. On the issue of construction activities Patr. Nikon // Architectural heritage. 1969. No. 18. S. 30-34; Sivak WITH. AND. Ivan Isaev - builder of the Iversky Monastery // PKNO, 1978. M., 1979. P. 456-458; she same. Apprentice stonework Afanasy Fomin // Architectural Heritage and Restoration. M., 1984. S. 236-246; Belonenko IN. WITH. From the history of books in the Iberian monastery in the 17th century. // Lit-ra Dr. Russ: Source study. L., 1988. S. 197-207; Istomin E. G., Krasnorechev L. E. Iberian miracle. L., 1982; Valdai Iversky Svyatoozersky Bogoroditsky Monastery / Author-comp. N. N. Gervais. St. Petersburg, 2002; Vdovichenko M. IN. Cathedral of the Valdai Iberian Monastery // Novgorod Antiquities. M., 2002. S. 256-279; Rogozhkin E. AND. Personal belongings and contributions of Patriarch Nikon from the fund of precious metals of the New Jerusalem Museum // Nikon Readings in the New Jerusalem Museum: Sat. Art. M., 2002. S. 47-56.

N. N. Gervais

Patriarch Joseph died in the year, Nikon was chosen to the patriarchal throne by the unanimous decision of the tsar and the Russian bishops. On July 25, Metropolitan Nikon was installed as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' by a bishops' council.

Foundation of the monastery

Having ascended the primatial throne, Nikon expressed his intention to found a monastery on Lake Valdai to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The sovereign approved the request of the Patriarch and allocated huge funds from the state treasury for the speedy construction of the monastery. In the summer of the year, the primate sent skilful architects, many people and building materials to the construction site, and by the autumn two wooden churches were built and ready for consecration. The cathedral church was consecrated in honor of the miraculous icon of the Iberian Mother of God, and warm - in the name of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow. The Patriarch appoints Archimandrite Dionysius as the first abbot of the monastery - "a man of skill and full of divine scripture, virtuous, gentle and meek ...".

The patriarch strove with all his heart to look at his offspring as quickly as possible. At the first visit to the monastery under construction, Nikon renamed the Valdai settlement into the village of Bogoroditsky, and also called Valdai Lake holy, having previously consecrated it and lowered the Gospel and the cross to the bottom. The monastery itself, in addition to the former name, was named Svyatoozersky.

To glorify the monastery, by order of the Patriarch, the holy relics of Jacob of Borovichi were transferred. The uncovering of the holy relics happened mysteriously, and in a mysterious way. As the Novgorod Chronicle testifies, in a year (according to other sources in a year), "in the village of Borovichi on the Msta River in the threshold on a bright week on Tuesday, a charred coffin appeared, and in it the body is imperishable, the essence of the dead. appearing at that place on the threshold". In a dream vision, the elders of the village revealed the name of the deceased. The saint called himself Jacob and reproached the people for his rejection. "And then the inhabitants of Borovichsky understood their unreasonable attitude towards those revealed to them through the arrival of the relics of the servant of God". A wooden chapel was built at the place where the coffin stopped, and very soon a healing spring gushed near the chapel. During the time from the appearance of the holy relics to their transfer to the Iberian monastery, twelve written testimonies of miraculous healings of various diseases have been preserved.

With the arrival of the Kuteinsky monks in the Iversky Monastery, new crafts appeared: printers, bookbinders, translators. Skillful craftsmen in wood carving, excellent icon painters appear. The production of colored tiles in Russia originates in the monastery. Partially preserved tiles on one of the windows of the rector's building have survived to this day.

Condemnation of Nikon and temporary closure of the monastery

The Iberian monastery did not stay in a flourishing state for long. At the Great Church Council in the year the Primate was condemned and deposed from the patriarchal chair. During the disgrace of Nikon, all of his monasteries: Iversky Valdai, Cross Onega and Resurrection New Jerusalem were closed. These monasteries were recognized as created "not according to the charters of the Holy Fathers", as a result of which the estates were taken to the treasury, and their construction was stopped. The Iberian brethren, together with the rector, were placed in different monasteries of other monasteries. However, already in the year the harsh sentence was canceled, and Archimandrite Philotheus and the brethren returned to the Iberian monastery, and all the previously selected privileges and lands were also returned.

Assumption Cathedral

The main building of the Iversky Monastery is the Assumption Cathedral, which has not lost its grandeur to this day. This is one of the largest buildings of the 17th century in Russia. The cathedral is notable for its simplicity and monumentality of architectural forms. The dedication of the cathedral in honor of the Mother of God and the presence of a miraculous icon in it initially determined the theme of the wall paintings inside the temple. Along with the traditional image from the New Testament, on the walls of the temple there are numerous scenes from the life of the saints of God associated with the grace-filled help of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The wall painting tells about the boundless mercy of the Mother of God to the human race and the miraculous power of her holy icons. An important place in the painting is given to events from the history of the Iberian Monastery on Athos: the taking of Mount Athos under the special protection of the Mother of God, the appearance of the Iberian Icon at the Holy Mountain and the procession to it along the waters of the monk Gabriel. The story of the advent of a list from the miraculous image to the Valdai Monastery is depicted. Numerous images of the most revered saints of God are placed on the columns.

The ancient painting of the Assumption Cathedral has not survived to this day. It was knocked down during repair work in the 18th - 19th centuries. The original painting was done - Messrs. monastery masters Matvey Karpov "with comrades". In the year the interior decoration of the Cathedral was damaged in the "great exorbitant fire", and was restored by the same master. In the middle of the 18th century, the cathedral was repainted, but a significant part of it was lost during new repairs in the 30s of the 19th century. The new oil painting was made by Ostashkov masters Ivan and Andrey Mitin. In the second half of the 19th century, the painting of the Assumption Cathedral was renovated twice. The interior view of the cathedral was perfectly complemented by a magnificent six-tier carved baroque iconostasis with icons of Matvey Karpov and Vasily Potapov. To this day, from the original decoration of the cathedral, forged door bars and carved oak doors of the 17th century have been preserved.

Pre-revolutionary state of the monastery

Despite the poor material side, the monastery was distinguished by the high pious and spiritual life of the brethren. Known for his exploits was the silent man Pachomius, who came to the monastery in the middle of the 19th century. He joyfully performed the most difficult obediences and died on his knees in prayer in his cell. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Lavrenty, gained particular fame. His spirituality, kindness and meek disposition, he won universal respect. He was a spiritual mentor not only for the brethren of the monastery, but also for many residents of Valdai and its environs.

Archimandrite Lavrentiy put a lot of effort into reviving the spiritual and economic life of the monastery. In the year a new shrine was made for the holy relics of Jacob of Borovichi. The miraculous Iberian Icon of the Mother of God was decorated with a new golden riza and precious stones. In the year the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral was gilded and renovated. Under his rectorship, all the monastery churches and residential buildings were repaired, many valuable utensils for the monastery were purchased. He also organized a "Hospital House", where he received numerous pilgrims and wanderers. The Iberian monastery fed thousands of people, and its supplies did not run low. The abbot received everyone, consoled them as best he could, arranged for an overnight stay, made sure that the pilgrims who arrived at the monastery were full and satisfied. “This is our duty to the Queen of Heaven,” Father Lavrenty said to the brethren.

The help of God, and the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, constantly manifested itself in various miraculous phenomena. In the year when the cholera epidemic raged throughout almost all of Russia, taking away numerous lives of people. Then the inhabitants of Valdai, seized with the horror of death, not relying on medical means, resorted to the prayerful intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. Taking the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, all the people, with a solemn religious procession and prayerful hope, carried it around the city. Prayers for deliverance from cholera were heard, and through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, the disease began to weaken, and then completely stopped. In memory of this event, the following year, the Holy Synod of the Government approved to make an annual religious procession from the Iberian Monastery around the city of Valdai with prayer singing. Processions were also made on patronal feasts: the Assumption of the Mother of God, the Theophany of the Lord, on the day of memory of St. Jacob of Borovichi. The processions were attended not only by residents of the surrounding towns and villages, but also by numerous pilgrims from distant villages. On such days, the number of pilgrims to the holy monastery reached 10-15 thousand people.

The inner monastic life was distinguished by a strict charter. In the monastery there was a strict selection of those wishing to devote their lives to God, but not everyone could withstand monastic obedience.

The last rector of the Iversky Monastery before the revolution was Archimandrite Joseph (Nikolaevsky). In the year Archimandrite Joseph was ordained bishop of the city of Valdai.

Revolution. Closing of the monastery

After the events of the year, the situation of the monastery changed for the worse. From January of the year, the Soviet government constantly requisitioned bread, cattle, fish, as well as vegetables and fruits from the monastery. On June 15, a special detachment, by order of the county executive committee, arrived at the monastery to requisition "surplus bread." The monks sounded the alarm and the inhabitants of Valdai, who loved and revered the holy monastery, rose in revolt against such audacity. The entire population of the city, as one, went out into the street, seized the armory and dismantled weapons. The armed detachment that arrived on the island watched with alarm the growth of the people on the opposite shore. Archimandrite Joseph was invited to go with a detachment and calm the gathered Valdai people. The abbot agreed. When approaching the shore, the boats were fired upon, and an accidental bullet wounded the archimandrite. The injured abbot received medical assistance, and the requisition was urgently canceled. The next day, martial law was introduced in Valdai and armed forces were used to restore order.

In the autumn of the year, the Soviet government makes a new attempt to storm the Iberian monastery. At this time, the following were taken from the monastery: the golden robe from the miraculous Iberian icon, all the ancient and precious things of liturgical use. However, soon, by order of the Commissar of the People's Commissariat of Education, all things were returned, the campaign to seize church property would begin in a few years, and, of course, during that period the Iversky Monastery would be completely plundered. At the same time, the keys to the monastery storerooms and barns were taken away from the monks. A working committee was formed in the monastery, which demanded from the abbot his complete subordination in monastic affairs.

The Iberian Monastery was founded in 1653 by Patriarch Nikon. It burned many times, in 1927 it was closed and ruined. The icon of the Iberian Mother of God was taken out to no one knows where. Reopened in 1997

The monastery is located in one of the islands of the picturesque Valdai Lake, 3 km from the town of Valdai. There were 5 churches in the monastery: the Assumption Cathedral of the 17th century, the Church of the Epiphany, the church in the name of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the church in the name of St. Jacob of Borovichsky, in the name of the Archangel Michael and the church of St. Philip, Mr. Moscow.

According to the book: Handbook-guide "Monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church" / ed. Rudin and Kuznetsov. 2001

Iversky Holy Mother of God Monastery, 1st class, near the city of Valdai, on one of the islands of Lake Valdai. It was founded in 1653 by Patriarch Nikon on the model of the Athos Iberian Monastery. Here is part of the relics of the blessed Jacob of Borovitsky (see October 23). In the Assumption Cathedral, built by Patriarch Nikon, there is the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God brought here from Athos in 1656 (see March 31); the feast of this transfer takes place on February 12.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"

In 1652, on behalf of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod went to the Solovetsky Monastery to transfer to Moscow the relics of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow. The saint suffered during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in 1568 for denouncing the royal iniquities and cruelties. Nikon read the royal letter before the tomb of St. Philip and offered repentance on behalf of the king for the iniquity of his ancestor. Metropolitan Nikon returned with the relics of St. Philip to Moscow with a solemn procession. On the way, in a dream vision, Saint Philip appeared to him and blessed his intention to build a monastery in Valdai.

Having ascended the primatial throne, Nikon expressed his intention to found a monastery on Lake Valdai to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The sovereign approved the request of the Patriarch and allocated huge funds from the state treasury for the speedy construction of the monastery. In the summer of 1653, the primate sent skilful architects, many people and building materials to the construction site, and by the autumn two wooden churches were built and ready for consecration. The cathedral church was consecrated in honor of the miraculous icon of the Iberian Mother of God, and warm - in the name of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow.

The patriarch strove with all his heart to look at his offspring as quickly as possible. At the first visit to the monastery under construction, Nikon renamed the Valdai settlement into the village of Bogoroditsky, and also called the Valdai Lake Holy, having previously consecrated it and lowered the Gospel and the cross to the bottom. The monastery itself, in addition to the former name, was called Svyatoozersky.

To glorify the monastery, by order of the Patriarch, the holy relics of Jacob of Borovichi were transferred. A wooden chapel was built at the place where the coffin stopped, and very soon a healing spring gushed near the chapel. During the time from the appearance of the holy relics to their transfer to the Iberian monastery, twelve written testimonies of miraculous healings of various diseases have been preserved.

On February 24, 1654, in the cathedral church of the Iversky Monastery, a solemn transfer of the relics of the righteous Jacob from a dilapidated wooden shrine into a silver one took place. At the same time, arks were brought to the monastery with particles of the relics of the Moscow saints Peter, Jonah and Philip, and many other saints. In May of the same year, a royal letter was issued with the assignment to the monastery not only of Valdai Lake with islands, but also of numerous other land estates and monastic lands near the lying cloisters. The villages are also fixed: Valdai, Borovichi, Vyshny Volochek, and pits: Vydropuzhsk, Edrovo, Yazhelbitsy. Among Russian monasteries, there are not many monasteries that in a short time would be so quickly enriched with land and raised so quickly to the same level as the ancient monasteries.

In 1655, the brethren of the Belarusian Orsha Kuteinsky Monastery moved to the Iversky Monastery, numbering more than 70 people. The move was associated with the oppression of Orthodox believers by the Uniates. Natives of Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania later joined the Iberian Brotherhood. Hieromonk Dionysius II from among the brethren who came was appointed viceroy. Among the monks was the future Patriarch - Joachim, as well as Isakiy of Polotsk - the brother of Simeon of Polotsk. The monks moved with them to a new place all their property and printing house. With the advent of the Kutein monks, book printing and bookbinding began to develop. This was an innovation for Russia, since before that there was only one printing house in the country - the Gosudarev Printing Yard in Moscow. The new printing house is located in the corner Patriarchal tower of the monastery. Through the efforts of the brethren, two years later, they managed to establish a printing business, and during the 8 years of its existence in the monastery, the following was published: "Book of Hours", two editions, (1657 and 1658); "A Mental Paradise", a composition by monk Stefan the Holy Mountaineer with an appendix, which included Nikon's narratives: about the structure of the Iberian monastery on the Holy Lake and about the appearance and transfer of the holy relics of the righteous Jacob of Borovichi, (1659); "Brashno spiritual", (1661); letter of tsar Alexei Mikhailovich for salaries of estates and privileges to the Iversky monastery, (1665).

In 1656, the first building of the monastery was completed - the Assumption Cathedral. At the same time, a wooden fence with ten hipped towers and four gates was built. On December 16 of the same year, the cathedral church of the monastery was consecrated in a solemn atmosphere. Metropolitans Macarius of Novgorod and Krutitsy Pitirim, Archbishop Lavrenty of Tver, and numerous clergy from various dioceses of Russia arrived at the celebration along with the Patriarch. At the expense of the patriarch, a special bell was poured for this celebration by master Alexander Grigoriev. The bell weighed 1000 pounds, and had the image of Patriarch Nikon. Even the unfinished monastery struck the gaze of the pilgrims who arrived at the consecration of the monastery. A richly decorated copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God was also brought here from Moscow. The icon amazed everyone with its splendor and expensive decoration. The value of the decorations of this icon at that time reached more than 44,000 silver rubles. Patriarch Nikon forbade all icon painters to make lists and copies of it.

The monastery receives the status of a first-class one, and the number of brethren also increases to 200 people. The special position of the monastery was marked by the archimandrite rank of the abbot and his right to perform divine services in a miter, with a club, with ripids, on eagles and with autumn, and since 1759, Metropolitan Dimitry of Novgorod was allowed to wear a mantle with tablets and a bishop's staff. This advantage was enjoyed by the abbots of the Iberian monastery until its closure in 1919.

The Iberian monastery did not stay in a flourishing state for long. At the Great Church Council in 1666, the Primate was condemned and deposed from the patriarchal see. During the disgrace of Nikon, all of his monasteries: Iversky Valdai, Cross Onega and Resurrection New Jerusalem were closed. The Iberian brethren, together with the rector, were placed in different monasteries of other monasteries. However, already in 1668, the harsh sentence was canceled, and Archimandrite Philotheus and the brethren returned to the Iberian monastery, and all the previously selected privileges and lands were also returned.

After the events of 1917, the situation of the monastery changed for the worse. From January 1918, the Soviet government constantly requisitioned bread, cattle, fish, as well as vegetables and fruits from the monastery. In 1919, the monastery was transformed into the Iverskaya Labor Artel with a charter registered by the Soviet authorities. The artel consisted of 70 people, had 5 hectares of monastic land and 200 hectares - occupied by gardens, orchards, plowing, pastures. During the hungry years of Bolshevism, the monastery was engaged in works of mercy and distributed free bread to the local population. In 1927, the monastery was closed, and the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God in a gold and richly decorated setting was taken away in an unknown direction.

During the Soviet era, there was a historical and archival museum, a museum of local history on the territory. In the 1930s workshops were located in the monastery premises. In wartime, there was a hospital, then a nursing home for participants in the Great Patriotic War, and a forest school for children with tuberculosis. In the 70s, a settlement appeared on the island, and a recreation center was opened on the territory of the monastery.

In June 1991, by decision of the Executive Committee of the Novgorod Regional Council of People's Deputies, the Valdai Iversky Bogoroditsky Svyatoozersky Monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church and passed into the jurisdiction of the Novgorod diocese. And already on August 15, 1991, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II visited the city of Valdai. This event became a real spiritual holiday. He visited the Iberian Monastery, where he served a prayer service before the miraculous image of the Iberian Mother of God and gave his blessing for the restoration of the monastery.

On August 21, 2001, the official visit of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin took place, during which the architectural ensemble was examined. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin placed candles in front of the miraculous icon and donated to the monastery another list of the icon of the Mother of God of Iberia.

On January 12, 2008, His Holiness Alexy II Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral church of the Iberian monastery, before performing the rite of the Small consecration of the cathedral. After the liturgy, the Patriarch performed a prayer service, which was attended by Russian President V.V. Putin. On September 19, 2009, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', visited our Iberian Monastery.

The most important thing now is that historical traditions have not been interrupted, we have managed to defend one more Island of Orthodoxy. The Russian North is adorned with another pearl - the revived Iberian monastery. Its centuries-old transformed snow-white walls are majestically reflected in the mirror of the holy Valdai Lake, located in a unique natural national reserve. And what Russian heart does not rejoice at seeing this unearthly beauty!

Based on materials posted on the website of the Valdai Iversky Svyatoozersky Bogoroditsky Monastery

Rector's building with bell tower

The stone three-tier hipped bell tower with 13 bells was built in 1679-1689. In 1842 it was rebuilt by the architect Alexander Kharulin, and by the end of the century it already had 17 bells. The largest, cast in 1883 at the Smirnov bell factory in Valdai, weighed 7 tons. "Polyeleyny", weighing 3 tons, was cast in the same place. The oldest bell, weighing about 600 kilograms, was called "Nikon".

The rectory building, adjacent to the bell tower from the east, has two floors and cellars. Since the building stands on the slope of a ravine, on the south side the cellar walls rise above the ground to a considerable height of 2.5 - 3 meters and are perceived as another, third floor. Small fragments of decor that survived on the eastern facade remind of its former architecture. Unfortunately, only a single sample of 17th-century monastery tiles has come down to us. This is a tiled architraves on the eastern side of the Rector's building.

A new way of making multi-colored tiles was brought to Valdai by craftsmen from Belarus. Basically, they made stove tiles, which were widely used at that time in indoor stoves. Tiles were made with a slightly protruding bas-relief floral ornament. Brilliant watering with highlights, giving a play of light, gave it an elegant and festive look. The tile production became one of the largest at the monastery. In 1655, when construction was just beginning here, the rector reported to Nikon: “And the clay, sir, was found in the village of Bogoroditsyn (one of the names of the village of Valdai), good, and in that clay the townsman of Kopos, Ignat Maksimov, makes foot tiles, and for that a tiled hut was put up for him with the senmi.

In 1656, at the request of Nikon, sets of tiles "with different colors" for five stoves were sent to the patriarchal court in Tver. Tiled stoves were also installed in monastic buildings, in gostiny yards and in Valdai itself. Many tiles, apparently, went on sale, and were also sent from the monastery as a gift to high-ranking persons.

The monks took care of the expansion of the tiling business, improved themselves and learned how to make especially exquisite "tiles". In the monastic documents of the mid-60s of the 17th century, the name of the “pechar” (stove master who made tiles) “Yakushka Stepanov, son of Chervyakov” is often mentioned. He also taught the monk Selyvestre "how to put pink paint on tiles." Subsequently, Nikon took the best Valdai tilers to the Resurrection Monastery on Istra, which was under construction.

The northern and eastern facades, facing the square and the cathedral, were richly decorated with niches, vertical columns, horizontal bolsters, corbels, and tiled-brick window frames. The entire set of decorative elements was assembled into a wide frieze, stretching along the entire length of the eastern facade at the level of the window openings. And on the south side, the cellar walls are devoid of any decoration.

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One of the largest and most picturesque lakes in the Novgorod region - Valdai - comes almost to the very St. Petersburg tract. Far away, on the island, the buildings of the Valdai Iversky Monastery are clearly visible, and on the shore, descending from the coastal hills, the city of Valdai is located.

The Valdai settlement of the Korotsky churchyard of the Derevskaya Pyatina was first mentioned in the Novgorod cadastral books of 1495. At that time there were only two courtyards and the peasant "Yakushka Demikhov with his son Klimka" lived here. In 1754, Valdai was already a "sovereign village", where there were "40 households of merchants and artisans and 4 households of church cathedrals", and a decade later the number of households doubled. Valdai owes its growth primarily to the "sovereign road" Moscow-Novgorod. Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod drove along this road many times, and perhaps then he had the idea to build a monastery on one of the islands of Lake Valdai. This plan was implemented in 1652 when Nikon became the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

The Valdai Iversky Monastery is the first grandiose construction carried out by Patriarch Nikon. “Nikon, with his efforts, erected a new monastery near the city of Novgorod among the island, competing in this with the buildings of the royal masters,” wrote the 17th-century Syrian traveler Pavel Aleppsky about the Valdai Monastery. Indeed, fighting for the supremacy of spiritual power over secular power, Patriarch Nikon sought to erect buildings that surpassed the royal ones. All of them, in their design and, above all, in their names - New Jerusalem, the Holy Monastery - denoted an international orientation, Nikon's desire to expand the boundaries of the Russian Orthodox Church to the whole world. Thus, the Iversky Monastery on Valdai Lake became a symbolic repetition of the Athos Monastery of Iveri, traditionally considered the main Georgian monastery on the Holy Mountain. By creating the monastery of the same name in Russia, Nikon demonstrated the connection between the Russian and Georgian churches.

The construction of the monastery began in the first year of Nikon's patriarchate. The builders sent by him in search of a place for a new monastery chose a small island on the Valdai Lake for the future monastery - "not very big, but very red and surrounded by fishing." Having cut down the forest that grew on the island, the builders began to build a large stone cathedral "with porches on the basement," as in the Solovetsky Monastery. The main Assumption Cathedral was erected by the architect Averky Mokeev, an apprentice stone worker from the Kalyazinsky Trinity Monastery, who later built the New Jerusalem Monastery near Moscow for Nikon. Blacksmith master Vaska Yakovlev Golovnya came from Torzhok, brick-makers and kilns came from Moscow. Brick-making was organized on the spot, and "working people" recruited for construction began to be taught construction crafts. In summer, on boats, in winter, across the ice of Lake Valdai, peasants carried stone and oak piles to the island. A refectory, a patriarchal palace, a bell tower were built. Many families of "craftsmen" were resettled from Belarus to Valdai, and one of them, "valuable craftsman" Ignat Maksimov from Kopys, organized the production of colored tiles here, which became known far beyond Valdai. The Belarusian roots of the inhabitants of the city were traced 100 years later, and academician Pallas, who visited Valdai in 1768, noted that "its cheerful inhabitants, by their pronunciation and some speeches, still somewhat express their Belarusian origin." And to settle the new monastery, the monks of the Orshinsky Kuteinsky Monastery from Orsha were transferred here, who brought a printing house with them, and in 1657 book printing began in the monastery. This was an innovation for Russia, since before that there was only one printing house in the country - the Gosudarev Printing Yard in Moscow. The new printing house was located in the corner Patriarchal tower of the monastery, and here Nikon printed his book "Mental Paradise".

In 1656, the first building of the monastery was completed - the Assumption Cathedral. At the same time, a wooden fence with ten hipped towers and four gates was built. On August 28, 1656, the cathedral was consecrated. Patriarch Macarius of Antioch was present at the consecration, but Nikon himself was not present. He gathered for his new monastery only in September, but the trip unexpectedly dragged on: in Tver, the patriarch suddenly fell ill and was able to arrive at Valdai only in December. With him came the queen with her household, as well as the higher clergy from the capital. Even unfinished, the monastery amazed everyone. "Truly, there is no one like him in the world," Pavel Aleppsky commented on the Iberian Monastery. The mighty snow-white cathedral, as if carved from a monolith, adorned a gilded five-tiered iconostasis and a huge "yellow copper" chandelier, specially ordered from abroad, "the size of a large tree, with flowers, birds and indescribable curiosities." The relics of St. Jacob Borovichsky. The shrine of the monastery was the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God - a copy of the one kept on Mount Athos. After listening to stories about the miracle created by Nikon, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich also gathered in the Valdai Monastery. The builders of the monastery hurried. Nikon sent letters to Valdai one after another, indicating what else needed to be done: to decorate the Assumption Cathedral "smoothly and decorously", "to order to cut well" the royal place - a carved canopy, to put new courtyards in the surrounding villages, and to repair the old ones. Averky Mokeev completed the construction of the refectory. Nikon sent a garrison to the monastery for protection - 200 archers with cannons. But man proposes, and God disposes - and careful preparation for the meeting of the king turned out to be in vain. As a result, a protracted conflict between the patriarch and the tsar soon began. Nikon defiantly left Moscow and retired to New Jerusalem, where he started a new grandiose construction. He demanded Averky Mokeev and other craftsmen from Valdai to come here. The construction of the Iversky Monastery came to a standstill. The last time Nikon visited the Iversky Monastery was in 1659. He lived here for several months and left Valdai forever, never seeing his brainchild completed. Only in 1666 was the construction of the bell tower completed, and only at the end of the 18th century the stone fence, the Holy Gates with the gate church of the Archangel Michael and the cells were built.

The main building of the Iversky Monastery, the Assumption Cathedral, has not lost its grandeur even 300 years later. This is one of the largest buildings of the 17th century in Russia. The building is characterized by simplicity and monumentality of architectural forms. The iconostasis and carved oak doors made by Belarusian craftsmen, who later took part in the construction of the New Jerusalem Monastery, have been preserved. The monastery is surrounded by walls with decorative turrets, on the spiers of which there are figures of trumpeting angels. The construction started by Nikon did not arouse enthusiasm among the local residents - Nikon attributed Valdai, previously a former palace village, to the monastery, and the Valdai residents could not forgive Nikon for this loss of freedom. Therefore, the day of liberation from monastic dependence - August 15 (28) - was violently and solemnly celebrated by the inhabitants of Valdai until 1917. Tradition connects this event with the name of Peter I, who once visited the Iversky Monastery on an August day. The founding of St. Petersburg gave a new impetus to the development of Valdai. By the end of the 1760s, it had become one of the largest settlements on the St. one of the reasons he called competition from the Valdai merchant peasants and coachmen. But by the end of the 17th century, the Iversky Monastery was completely impoverished and in 1712 was assigned to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Only in 1740 independence was returned to the monastery. And the descendants of the masters brought by Nikon to Valdai were reputed to be skillful artisans many years later.

Valdai was especially famous for the bell-casting craft, which made up a separate page in the history of Russian folk crafts. They say that under Ivan Vasilyevich III, or under Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, they brought from Novgorod the Novgorod veche bell, removed by order of the tsar, but it fell from the sleigh, rolled down the hill, and broke into small fragments, and the Valdai people picked up these fragments and began to pour their bells out of them. Large bells were also cast here, for example, for the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg, but the main products were still arched bells - sonorous, with a surprisingly clear sound.

From the book: Nizovsky A.Yu. "Orthodox churches and monasteries". - M.: Veche, 2005

Iversky Bogoroditsky Svyatoozersky Monastery - a copy of the monastery of Iveri on Mount Athos

Iversky Bogoroditsky Svyatoozersky Monastery was created under Metropolitan Nikon back in 1652. The monastery is located on one of the islands on the Valdai lake.

The Valdai Monastery was the first among the grandiose buildings that the patriarch carried out. The Iversky Monastery on Lake Valdai is, in fact, a kind of copy of the Athos monastery of Iveri, which was revered as the main monastery on the Holy Mountain. And it was precisely in this that the special strategy of the policy of Patriarch Nikon was concluded, he sought to expand the boundaries of the Orthodox Church of Rus' as much as possible, endowing grandiose buildings with loud names: New Jerusalem, the Monastery of the Cross.

The Assumption Cathedral in the Iversky Monastery was built by the whole world, in the literal sense of the word: for example, a blacksmith arrived from Torzhok, brick-makers and calciners were supplied by Moscow, the famous Ignat Maksimov, a master of magnificent colored tiles, came from Kopys in Belarus, his work subsequently became known far beyond Valdai.

Belarusian monks brought to Valdai all their property and even a printing house - a great value and an extraordinary rarity in Rus' at that time. Prior to this, the only printing house was only in Moscow.

And the Assumption Cathedral has not lost its scope and grandeur even today. And today, like 3 centuries ago, it is one of the largest buildings of the 17th century in Russia.

Sasha Mitrahovich 13.03.2016 10:22

Foundation of the Valdai Iversky Monastery

The founding of the Valdai Iberian Monastery is associated with the miraculous appearance of Patriarch Nikon. In 1652, he ordered the relics of the man killed on the orders of Ivan the Terrible and buried in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral to be transferred to. Metropolitan Nikon, accompanied by a large retinue, was determined to go for the remains of the saint. According to legend, during this journey “back and forth,” Metropolitan Philip appeared to Nikon in a dream and blessed his intention to build a monastery on Lake Valdai.

In the summer of 1653, work began on Valdai, and in the autumn there were already two new churches that smelled of fresh wood. One of them, warm, was consecrated in the name of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, the other - in honor of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.

Valdai Lake has long been notorious among the surrounding residents. It was said that at times unclean spirits rise above the surface of the lake, taking the form of disgusting monsters, and in the surrounding forests one can hear whistling, then laughter.

The patriarch took up the Valdai evil spirits with his characteristic energy. On one of his visits to the monastery under construction, he went ashore with all the clergy, served a prayer service, loaded the cross and the Gospel to the bottom of the lake and renamed the lake. Now it was to be called Holy. The name did not stick, but the bad reputation of the lake faded. Moreover, now they began to observe phenomena of a completely different kind.

There is no one like him in the world

The monastery developed rapidly. In 1654, the Patriarch ordered the relics of the righteous Jacob of Borovichi to be transferred here from the relatively nearby village of Borovichi, and at the same time sent silver reliquaries with particles of the relics of the Moscow hierarchs Peter, Alexy, Iona and Philip to Valdai. And in 1656, the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God was solemnly greeted in the monastery.

By this time, a magnificent stone cathedral dedicated to the Iberian image of the Most Holy Theotokos was already being completed on the island. Construction proceeded at a truly "Nikon" pace. In May 1655, the cathedral church was laid, and in December 1656 it was already consecrated. The building amazed the imagination of contemporaries: in a hitherto remote area, in the middle of a lake, a five-domed temple was erected, which would be fit to see in the capital city.

Specially for the consecration of the Iberian Cathedral, master Alexander Grigoriev cast a thousand-pound bell, commissioned by Nikon, on which the Patriarch himself was depicted, and inside the new cathedral was decorated with a five-tier carved iconostasis (Belarusian carvers must have worked on it) and a chandelier of “yellow copper” ordered abroad, "the size of a large tree, with flowers, birds and indescribable curiosities."

First class monastery

It is to this period that the second stage of landscaping work in the monastery belongs. Under Nikon, all the buildings of the monastery, except for the Iberian Cathedral and the warm Epiphany Church with a refectory, remained wooden. In the 1670s-1680s, stone construction continued, and by the beginning of the 18th century, the monastery as a whole looked about the same as it does now.

The main income for the monastery was brought by pilgrims, who flocked in large numbers to the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, which, when it was not worn around the surrounding villages, was in the Assumption Cathedral. By Tuesday of Bright Week, on the day of honoring the Iberian Icon, up to fifteen thousand people sometimes gathered in the monastery. The attention of pilgrims to the Valdai Monastery became especially zealous after 1848, when the Iberian Icon became famous as the deliverer of Valdai from the cholera epidemic.

By the beginning of the 20th century, there were about seventy inhabitants in the Valdai Iversky Monastery, and the monastery itself was a gratifying picture of well-being. Far away could be seen the domes of the Assumption Cathedral (not gold, they were gilded only in modern times), and far overflowed over the water the monastic bells and whistles.

Valdai Monastery after the revolution

On the field of the revolution, the communists took out everything they could see from the monastery. The keys to all storerooms and barns were taken away from the monks. From now on, members of the committee gave bread to the monks, and the rector did not have the right to take any action without the knowledge of the proletarian authorities. Since December 1918, the committee members forced young monks and novices to work in logging for the benefit of the state. The old and the poor also found something to do: they worked at the pumping station and in the kitchen.

In 1919, the monastery was transformed into a labor artel, the charter of which was registered in accordance with Soviet rules. It lasted eight years, after which it was closed.

After the dispersal of the artel, the monastery was first a museum, then workshops. During the war, the building of the monastery was occupied by a hospital, later - a home for disabled veterans and, finally, a forest school for children with tuberculosis. In the 1970s, it was decided to set up a recreation center on the picturesque island. All these successive owners did not care too much about saving the monastery churches. The Assumption Cathedral lost its iconostasis and - almost completely - murals. From its original decoration, only carved oak doors and wrought-iron front gates have been preserved.

Sasha Mitrahovich 28.11.2017 07:28

For many centuries, the Iberian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which, according to legend, survived the iconoclastic era, was the main shrine of the Athos Iberian Monastery, its guardian. But only in the 17th century, a list from it came to Moscow - in order to become one of the most famous and beloved here. The legend of finding the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God on Mount Athos The famous Iberian Icon of the Mother of God. . .

Sasha Mitrahovich 28.11.2017 07:33

There are many buildings on the monastery island. The first among them, both in seniority and in significance (after the Iberian Cathedral, of course), is the warm Church of the Epiphany with a refectory chamber. It was built under Patriarch Nikon, in 1657-1658. In the second floor of the temple, in 1747, a chapel was consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, and in the porch - the chapel of St. Nil Stolobensky. As for the Holy Spirit Chapel, it was notable for its royal doors, sent at one time by Patriarch Nikon for the wooden Iberian church.

A little further, above the inner monastery gates, rises an elegant church in the name of the Archangel Michael, built, like most of the buildings of the Iberian monastery, at the end of the 17th century. During its existence, the church has undergone quite significant alterations. It is known that initially it was crowned with a wooden tent, and not a baroque "lantern" with an onion dome. Inside, too, everything is changed: there are partitions, new doors and stairs. In addition, considering the inner space of the temple too high, it was divided in two by a wooden ceiling.

Above the outer monastery gates is a church in the name of St. Philippa, heiress of a warm wooden church that has been in the monastery since its foundation. The current building was built in the last quarter of the 17th century and, like the Archangel Michael Church, has survived to this day not without changes.

The “change” in appearance is also noticeable in the church in the name of the righteous Jacob of Borovichi, which occupies the northeastern part of the monastery complex. It is in the same connection with the two-story hospital building. Both the temple and the hospital cells, being the same age as the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk and Filippovskaya churches, were rebuilt, perhaps even more actively than they were, and now they have a very contradictory appearance.

Of the "civilian" buildings in the monastery, the rector's cells (the last third of the 17th century), which form a single ensemble with a bell tower, deserve the most attention. Currently, the building has two floors and a basement. There is a ravine on the south side of the building, so the basement walls rise about three meters above the ground and are perceived as another full-fledged floor.

The abbot's cells are of particular interest due to the surviving fragments of tiled architraves discovered during the restoration process. As it was possible to establish, once magnificently executed tiles decorated the facades of many monastic buildings. The Orsha monks brought the technology for their manufacture to Valdai.

In the first years of the existence of the Valdai Monastery, the production of "tiles" was constantly expanding. Masters tested new technologies and reached true perfection in the manufacture of tiles. Decorated with a convex floral ornament, brightly colored, they had an exceptionally elegant look.

Patriarch Nikon soon took the best Valdai tilers to the New Jerusalem Monastery, and after a while, the production of tiles in Valdai completely died out. And today, only the architraves of the rector's building remind of the original Valdai "tiled school".

Sasha Mitrahovich 28.11.2017 07:46

The Valdai Monastery is today one of the most comfortable in Novgorod. But even twenty years ago it would have made a completely different impression on the visitor.

In the early 1990s, it was scary to think how much money and effort would be spent on restoring the monastery. Many of those who came to the monastery then admit that they simply did not believe that something could be done with these ruins. The buildings were in complete desolation: the cathedral was destroyed, the monastery bell tower from the 1960s stood without a roof.

In the late 1980s, the idea of returning the Valdai Monastery to the Church had many opponents. It was supposed to make the island a resort and tourist area, and, apparently, only the calculation of the costs associated with the restoration of monastic monuments and the creation of appropriate infrastructure forced the authorities to abandon this idea.

Be that as it may, in 1991 His Holiness the Patriarch blessed the revival of the Valdai Iberian Monastery and served a prayer service in the cathedral church of the monastery before the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.

Milestones of construction: the Russian prototype of the Greek Iveron

The idea of building an Orthodox monastery, which would be a kind of copy of the Iberian monastery on Athos, came to Nikon immediately after ascending to the patriarchal throne. According to the patriarch, during a trip to Solovki, he had a divine vision, which pointed to Valdai Lake as the future location of the monastery.

Funds for the construction were allocated from the state treasury, and in the summer of 1653 the foundation stone of the future monastery was laid on Valdai Lake. By autumn, two wooden churches had grown on Selvitz Island, and a year later the patriarch himself visited the construction site. According to legend, here Nikon for the second time had a divine vision, which was a pillar of fire. After this event, the patriarch decided to consecrate Valdai Lake by placing the Gospel and the cross on its bottom.

In 1655, the brethren of the Orsha Monastery settled in the monastery, bringing with them the traditions of printing and bookbinding. And almost 12 months later, the last building of the Valdai Iversky Monastery was erected - the main temple of the monastery, the Assumption Cathedral.

History of the Valdai Iversky Monastery: from the 18th century to the present day

From the beginning of the 18th century, the Iberian Monastery in Valdai gradually lost its significance, and already in 1712 the monastery was merged with the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which was just beginning to be built.

In 1764, in order to increase revenues to the state treasury, Catherine II signed the Manifesto on Secularization. According to this document, the land allotments of Orthodox churches and monasteries were seized, and 20 monasteries, including Iversky, were completely removed from state support. However, despite the official abolition, life in the Valdai monastery was still glimmering.

Real trials awaited the monastery after the Great October Revolution. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the local inhabitants had to share their already meager supplies with endless food detachments. In 1919 the monastery was declared a labor artel. About 200 hectares of the monastery's lands were cultivated by monks and novices, who were listed in official documents as workers of the artel. In 1927, a commission from the commissariat of agriculture decided that the monastery workers were paying too much attention to worship, as a result of which the artel was completely liquidated. Under the guise and confusion, the commissars removed from the monastery the image of the Iveron Mother of God - the main shrine of the monastery church. Now its place is occupied by a copy of the sacred image, made in the middle of the 19th century.

Until 1991, the premises of the Valdai Iversky Monastery were occupied by organizations of various profiles. Local history museums and workshops were also located here. At one time, a nursing home operated on the territory of the monastery, which was replaced by a special school for children with tuberculosis, and then a camp site.

In the 90s, the Valdai Iversky Monastery was again returned to the Novgorod diocese. By that time, almost all of its buildings were in a frankly deplorable state, so the monastery was to undergo a grandiose restoration. During the last stage of reconstruction and restoration work, the Assumption Cathedral acquired gilded domes, and its walls were again covered with elegant frescoes.

Today, among the restored buildings of the Valdai Iversky Monastery, the most original and interesting from a historical point of view are:

Assumption Cathedral;
Gate Church of Philip Metropolitan of Moscow
gate temple of the Archangel of God Michael;
Church of the Epiphany with a refectory;
Church of Iakov Borovichsky;
Viceroyal Corps;
Hip bell tower;
Treasury Corps;
Fraternal Corps;
Seating, Hospice and Stable buildings;
stone fence;
Nicholas tower;
chapel.

Iversky Bogoroditsky Monastery in Valdai: how to get there and what to be prepared for

You can visit the Valdai Iversky Monastery both as part of pilgrimage groups, and on your own, for example, by joining one of the tourist groups. To enter the territory of the monastery as a pilgrim, you will first have to receive a blessing for the trip from the rector of your temple, or in the diocese to which your church belongs. It is better to plan a trip in advance, as rooms in the monastery hotel are booked at least a month before arrival.

Being within the walls of the monastery, it is very important to understand the specifics of this place, and also, if possible, try not to violate the strict internal routine. If you decide to stay at a hotel on the territory of the monastery, then get ready to observe the monastic regime and do not discredit yourself with all sorts of delays (for a meal or a church service).

Be careful with your wardrobe choices. Exclude from it jeans, mini-skirts, shorts, as well as blouses with a frank neckline and other immodest things. Women and girls should take scarves or scarves with them to cover their hair, since usually its inhabitants (monks, novices) conduct excursion activities in the monastery. Well, for those who still forgot to take proper clothes with them, the monastery shop will help out, where you can buy modest scarves and skirts.

What to see and visit during the tour

There are several active churches on the territory of the Valdai Iversky Monastery, the main of which is the Assumption Cathedral. The construction was the first stone building of the monastery, erected in 1656 on the highest part of the island. They usually visit the church because of the unique frescoes of the 19th century, partly preserved and partly restored already in the early 2000s. The cathedral has five gilded domes (a total of about 3,000 gold plates were used to cover the domes) and is a striking example of temple architecture typical of the Nikonian period of construction.

The first stone building built after the Assumption Cathedral was the Church of the Epiphany, connected to the refectory. The architect Averky Mokeev, who had already managed to build the Assumption Cathedral, worked on the drawings of the building. The spacious and bright refectory hall, located on a high foundation, was skillfully “poured” into the wall of the Epiphany Church, forming an original architectural complex. By the way, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was in the Church of the Epiphany that the first services were held.

Another active monastery church is the Church of the Archangel Michael of God. The structure is distinguished by its relatively laconic appearance: galleries surround the single-domed, pillarless structure on three sides. During the Great Patriotic War, a military hospital was organized in it, as a result, most of the interior decoration and painting disappeared without a trace, and the premises themselves were very dilapidated. Restoration in 2007 somewhat improved the condition of the building, making it, if not ideal, then relatively satisfactory.

Against the background of other temples of the Valdai Iversky Monastery, the architectural appearance of the Church of Jacob Borovichi stands out noticeably. The unusual appearance is explained by the fact that the original temple was destroyed in a fire in 1700, and only a couple of years later a new stone structure grew on the site of the fire. A small square building with a round apse contained not only a temple, but also a refectory, as well as hospital wards. Over time, the building grew somewhat and acquired a second floor.

In the western wing of the monastery wall there is the gate church of Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow. This temple is the first to meet pilgrims, as it is located directly above the main gate of the monastery.

The Iversky Monastery also has its own museum, the first floor of which is occupied by a monastery shop and a dressing room. Here, everyone can purchase spiritual literature, icons and some products created by the hands of the monastery inhabitants. Climbing the stairs leading to the second and third floors of the building, you can get a closer look at the life of the main reformer of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Nikon, see household items of the monastic brethren, reproductions of icons and photographic documents.

Those who come to the monastery in order to strengthen their faith can attend daily services, perform the sacrament of baptism or wedding, order an absentee funeral or memorial service. Like excursions, they can be ordered at the church shop or by mail along with a cash donation (applications for commemoration are not accepted via the Internet).

Divine services in the monastery churches are held daily from 7:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 20:00. On Saturday-Sunday, as well as on holidays - from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00.

Visitors are also given the opportunity to venerate the holy relics. By the way, in the Iberian monastery there are 103 fragments of sacred relics, including particles of stone from the Holy Sepulcher, as well as a piece of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross.

How to get there

Iversky Monastery is located 10 km from the city of Valdai, which in turn is located on the 386th kilometer of the M10 highway, Moscow - St. Petersburg. You can get here by bus or by train Pskov - Moscow. You can get to the monastery from the city by water: daily the motor ship Zarya-211 runs between the Valdai pier and Selvitsky Island. The second, no less convenient option is a local taxi, which will take you over the road bridge to Ryabinovy Island, and from there, over another bridge, to Selvitsky Island.