Located in a wooded area near the old Smolensk road, on the shore of an artificial lake, arranged in the floodplain of the Boldinka River. It was founded in 1530 by Gerasim, a monk of the Goritsky monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky. The first building here was the wooden Trinity Church with Sergievsky chapel, consecrated in 1530. In the 1580-90s. the main stone structures of the monastery were created. The dominant feature of the new ensemble was the Trinity Cathedral in the center of an elongated rectangular area. To the southwest of it is the refectory chamber with the Church of the Introduction. The bell tower was erected in the middle of the site, bounded from the east by the cathedral, and from the south by the refectory. In the monastery's income-expenditure books for 1592, the name of the church master Terenty is mentioned several times. The famous "sovereign master" Fyodor Kon, the builder of the Smolensk fortress, was also associated with the monastery. In 1594 and 1606 he and his stepson made large financial contributions to the monastery. As a result of the Polish-Swedish intervention, the monastery was occupied by the Jesuits from 1611 to 1655. In 1656, it again became Orthodox, but major construction work was no longer carried out in it. In the 1770s a brick fence of the monastery was built to replace the previously existing wooden one. In the beginning. 19th century the monastery was plundered by parts of the Napoleonic army, which turned its premises into a prison for Russian soldiers, and the Trinity Cathedral into a stable.
At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. a small brick church (“chapel”) was erected on the site of the cell of St. Gerasim. At the same time, the Holy Gates of the fence were remade and small residential and outbuildings were built, including the rector’s house and a prosphora. At the beginning of the 20th century, architect P.D. Baranovsky (1892-1984) carefully studied the buildings of the monastery and, on the basis of archaeological measurements, drew up restoration projects.In the 1920s, under his leadership, the refectory chamber and the hipped church of the Introduction were structurally strengthened, the decorative elements of their facades were restored - kokoshniks at the base of the tent and cornices. A museum was set up on the territory of the monastery.It was closed - simultaneously with the local community of believers - already in 1929. During the Great Patriotic War, the headquarters of the Soviet troops and repair weapons workshops were located in the monastery.When retreating in March 1943, the Nazi invaders blew up the main buildings of the monastery: The Trinity Cathedral, the refectory chamber with the Church of the Presentation and the bell tower is the oldest monastic ensemble in the Smolensk region, which fragmentarily preserved the original works of architecture of the 16th-17th centuries. In 1964, under the leadership of P.D. Baranovsky, restoration work began. Since 1969 they have been led by A.M. Ponomarev. After the transfer of the ensemble to the Russian Orthodox Church (1990), new buildings with an ahistorical appearance were erected here, the silhouette of the Church of the Presentation was distorted, and ruins still remain from the cathedral (data for 1997).
Refectory. A two-story building with the Church of the Introduction and the Kelar Chamber attached to the eastern side, similar to the refectory chambers of the Pafnutyevo-Borovsky Monastery and the Assumption Monastery in Staritsa. The first floor was restored in 1975; the second and northern porch - in 1997. The brick walls are covered with lime plaster. Between the floors there was a profiled belt. The first floor windows on the western wall are framed with rectangular architraves. The Vvedenskaya Church ended with a monumental brick tent over a small octagon. At the base of the tent there was a belt of kokoshniks (two per edge). The current wooden tent is as much as six meters lower than the original one and is barely visible behind the kokoshniks. It is completed by a high helmet-shaped cupola. The restorers hope that with the advent of the necessary funding, the historical appearance of the tent will be restored. Inside the premises of the first floor of the refectory were occupied by a warehouse, kitchen and other household needs. The main room on the second floor is a square one-pillar chamber. Openings in its eastern wall lead to the Church of the Introduction and the Kelar Chamber. The interiors had tiled stoves.
Fence. In the form of a brick wall, it covers the entire territory of the monastery. The lost balustrades, the completion of the walls and four corner towers were restored in 1993. The walls on the outer side were dissected by shovels into balustrades, into which shallow shaped niches were inscribed. In the northern wall of the fence are the Holy Gates, rebuilt at the beginning. 20th century in Russian style. The arched gates and wickets on the other sides of the fence (in places shifted) are much simpler.
Prosphora. A small rectangular one-story brick building near the northern wall of the monastery. In the southern and eastern walls, two window openings with arched lintels were cut. The main plane of the facades is designed as a shallow rectangular niche. On the western side there was a wooden pier, which was replaced in 1990 by a brick extension.
Abbot's house. Wooden one-story building near the eastern wall of the monastery. The rectangular frame was sheathed with boards. In the hipped roof on the western side (along the main facade) a large dormer window was arranged. The six windows of the western façade were decorated with overlaid carvings. The building burned down in 1984, and in 1993 the current building was erected on the old foundation in the same volume. During construction work 1991-97. the former house of the treasurer (to the east of the refectory chamber) was adapted for fraternal cells, and two new cell buildings appeared - in the northeastern and western parts of the monastery territory.
Code of architectural monuments and monumental art of Russia. Smolensk region. Moscow, Nauka, 2001
Boldin Holy Trinity Monastery, 3rd class, 15 versts from the city of Dorogobuzh, by the Boldinka River. Founded in 1528 by the ascetic Gerasim Boldinsky, who died on May 1, 1554 and rests here. From 1611 to 1655 the monastery was in the hands of the Jesuits; renewed in 1656. The monastery houses the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"
The Boldinsky Monastery is the oldest of the monasteries existing and operating today in the Smolensk region. It is located about 15 kilometers east of the city of Dorogobuzh. Not far from the monastery is the old Smolensk road. The Boldin Monastery was founded by St. Gerasim in 1530. Gerasim set as his ascetic goal the creation of Orthodox monasteries on the lands that had passed from the Principality of Lithuania to the Muscovite state. Some time later, the Boldinsky Holy Trinity Monastery turned into a very influential and rich Orthodox monastery in the Smolensk region. The wealth of the Boldin Monastery grew and was replenished due to large donations from the boyars, grants from the sovereign of lands, and its own fairly active economic activity.
The monastery flourished in the late 16th - early 17th centuries. At that time, the monastery owned more than a hundred Russian villages and villages, several mills, airborne and hunting grounds, cattle yards, fishing grounds, in such cities as Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Moscow, Smolensk it had its own monastery courtyards and trading shops. At the very end of the 16th century, large-scale stone construction was launched in the Boldin Holy Trinity Monastery. The five-domed Trinity Cathedral, the refectory chamber with the Church of the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin, and the bell tower were erected.
The Time of Troubles, which fell at the beginning of the 17th century, and the invasion of the Poles dealt a big "blow" to the Boldin Monastery. From 1617 to 1654, the Dorogobuzh lands were under the control of the Kingdom of Poland, and Catholicism was the state religion in it. The monks of the monastery mostly left it during the Time of Troubles, and then the lands and the monastery itself were transferred to the Smolensk Jesuit Collegium (an educational institution of the Catholic Church).
After 1654, when Moscow again conquered the Dorogobuzh land from the Poles, the monastery was restored, but its possessions were noticeably reduced, and by the second half of the 17th century amounted to about two dozen villages. The year 1764 was marked by the fact that Empress Catherine II took away their lands from the monasteries, which were subsequently distributed to the nobles. This caused the decline of the monasteries, a very large number of which became inactive due to poverty. At that time, the Boldinsky Monastery was able to survive thanks to the charitable contributions of the parishioners, one of the major donors was Prince Andrei Dolgorukov.
The monastery experienced its heyday in the 70-80s of the XIX century. Hieromonk was appointed rector, and then Archimandrite Andrei (Vasiliev). In his management, for 24 years, all the temples and buildings of the monastery were restored and renovated, new Holy Gates, cells, buildings for household needs, a hotel, an abbot's house, a mill on the lake, a prosphora mill were built, a huge garden was planted. A stone chapel was rebuilt on the site where once was the cell of St. Gerasim (the founder), about 50 meters from the monastery. On the basis of ancient lists, Archimandrite Andrei wrote and published "The Life of St. Gerasim".
At the beginning of the 20th century (1919-1927), under the leadership of P.D. Baranovsky in the Boldin Monastery, restoration work is underway, a historical and art museum is being created. At the same time, a wooden church from the village of Usvyatye was transported to Boldino. At the end of 1929, the Soviet government by its order closes the Boldin Monastery. In the future, the Trinity Cathedral will be used as a granary, a separator for milk processing is installed in the chapel, the refectory of the Vvedensky Church will be converted into a collective farm cheese factory.
During the Great Patriotic War, the monastery served as one of the partisan bases, and repair shops were located right there. Retreating from the Dorogobuzh lands, German troops mined and blew up all the stone buildings of the monastery. The post-war years brought the ruins of the monastery to complete desolation. Brick from the destroyed buildings was gradually used by local residents for their own needs. Only in 1964, guided by the surviving photographs and measurements, under the guidance of P.D. Baranovsky, restoration and restoration work begins again. Now they are led by a student of Pyotr Dmitrievich - A.M. Ponomarev.
Since 1991, the Boldinsky Holy Trinity Monastery has been transferred to the Orthodox Church. On the territory of the monastery, a stone wall with four towers, the Trinity Cathedral, a refectory chamber with the Presentation Church, a bell tower, a wooden abbot's house, a gatehouse at the Holy Gates, a stone cell building, a wooden chapel at the monastery cemetery, a stone treasury building on the basement were restored. During the restoration, the stone chapel was rebuilt into a temple in the name of St. Tikhon of Kaluga. The family grave of the Vistitskys was restored on the grounds of the monastery. Stepan (Stefan) Vistitsky rested here, he was the author of one of the first textbooks on tactics, his sons: Mikhail Stepanovich, major general, in 1812 was appointed M.I. Kutuzov, the quartermaster general of the entire Russian army, Stepan Stepanovich, a major general, at the end of 1812 led the Smolensk militia, liberating the Smolensk lands.
In the city of Dorogobuzh, the Boldinsky Monastery has its own courtyard, where a small wooden church has been erected, and is working on the opening of the Dmitrovsky Convent in Dorogobuzh.
Based on materials from the site http://www.dorogobug.ru/index.php/articles/193-boldinskiy-monastir
Saint Gerasim of Boldin, the founder of the monastery, settled near these places in 1528. Students began to flock to Gerasim; in 1530 he cut down the wooden Sergiev (later Trinity) church, the temple of the Virgin, and set up cells. This is how the Boldin Monastery with a strict charter arose. The monastery grew rapidly: already under Gerasim, there were 127 people in the brethren. The founder of the monastery, having managed to breathe life into 3 more cloisters, died in 1554 (66 years old) and was buried in the St. Sergius Church he created.
At the end of the XVII century. the monastery was already rich and famous, rebuilt the rarest ensemble of buildings in the province of the 16th century. The monastery even had a brick factory for its own needs. History has also preserved the names of monastery architects. The most famous of them is Fedor Kon, the builder of the city wall of Smolensk and the fortress of the White City in Moscow.
In 1611 the monastery was captured and destroyed by the Poles. Moreover, they gave the monastery to the Jesuits - it was released from “spiritual captivity” only in 1655. In 1812, having robbed the monastery, the French turned it into a prison for captured Russian soldiers.
At the end of the XIX century. the monastery slowly fell into disrepair. Forces of a small brotherhood, which in the beginning. 20th century already ruled by the abbot, it was not enough to maintain the order of the huge medieval temples. The tented Vvedenskaya Church was closed due to the danger of collapse.
The monastery had three churches. In the chapel of St. of the apostles of the Trinity Cathedral there was a cancer, where the relics of St. Gerasim. In the same aisle, the recluse Arkady, who labored in the monastery in the con. 16th century Another shrine of the monastery was the ancient Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In the basement of the cathedral was placed the family crypt of Prince. Dolgorukov. The monastery owned the Alekseevskaya chapel, built in honor of the birth of the Heir Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
After the revolution, the Boldin Monastery continued to operate - 13 monks remained in it. In 1921 P.D. Baranovsky began restoration here. Unfortunately, not only Baranovsky was interested in the monastery. In 1922, the authorities confiscated the monastery's property, blasphemously opened the relics of St. Gerasim. In 1928, the restoration was stopped, and a year later all the monks and the director of the museum were repressed. "Working communes", agricultural artels moved into the monastery.
During the Great Patriotic War the monastery was destroyed. But P.D. was alive. Baranovsky. Having measured the ruins, he noticed that the ancient buildings had collapsed not brick by brick, but by large fragments - they could be “assembled” again. In 1964, restoration began. Baranovsky died in 1984, having managed to see only the refectory revived. But his work continued. In 1987, the bell tower was already raised. The architect-restorer P.D. Baranovsky - A.M. Ponomarev.
On May 14, 1990, the first church service took place in Boldino - Vespers in the church of the 19th century. on the site of the cave of St. Gerasim. And a year later, on the feast day of St. Gerasim, the monastery itself was revived. Igum was appointed as his viceroy. Anthony. Today there are 20 inhabitants in the monastery.
Preserved and revived: the refectory and the bell tower (1585-1592); fence and tower (XVIII century); treasurer's house (XIX century); hegumen's house (XIX century); prosvolan (XIX century); walls of the monastery with turrets in the corners (XVIII century). A new fraternal building was built in 1994.
Based on materials from the site http://russian-church.ru/viewpage.php?cat=smolensk&page=19
This article proposes the history of the creation of the shrine and a description of this outstanding monument of Christianity.
Historical information
The Boldin Monastery was founded through the efforts of the Monk Gerasim. On the 9th day of May 1530, this man performed the consecration of the first wooden Trinity Church.
The location of the monastery Gerasim chose the bank of the rivulet, where amazing age-old oaks grew. Previously, they were called bolds, so the area became known as Boldinskaya. The habitat of Gerasim soon became widely known. The brethren actively replenished their ranks, and soon almost 130 people lived with him.
The life of the Monk Gerasim was interrupted in the year 67. He was buried in the first aisle created by this man. The venerable deeds in which Gerasim distinguished himself served as a pretext for classifying this Christian as a saint.
Achievements of the golden age
After the death of Gerasim, the monastery became even more popular. The spiritual life of the Smolensk region is concentrated here. Thanks to the receipt of large monetary donations under the constant care of the royal authorities, the monks were able to build stone structures.
The end of the sixteenth century was marked by the appearance on the territory of the Boldin Monastery:
- The five-domed Trinity Cathedral, to which are attached two symmetrical chapels in honor of such saints as John the Evangelist, Boris and Gleb.
- The room of the refectory chamber, where it is located in honor of such a big Christian holiday as the Entry into the Temple of the Virgin.
- A hexagonal structure of a pillar-like three-tiered bell tower.
All the described buildings of the Boldin Monastery became masterpieces that marked the golden age in Russian architecture.
The best of the best
The Boldinsky Monastery of the Smolensk Region has a lot of undeniable artistic merit. The best royal masters took part in their creation:
- Fyodor Kon, master of the sovereign;
- Terenty, church master;
- Postnik Dermin, icon painter;
- Stepan Mikhailov, icon painter;
- Ivan Afanasiev, lit.
The Boldinsky Monastery of the Smolensk region was famous for its learned men. whom the Monk Gerasim appointed during his lifetime, was called a painter. The next Boldino abbot, Anthony, Bishop of Vologda, managed to write a work on the life of St. Gerasim.
Hard times
The monastery of Gerasim of Boldin experienced a difficult time when the Jesuits captured it at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It took almost half a century to return the shrine to Orthodox Christians again. As before, the monastery was not deprived of royal attention and patronage. But it took time and money to return the buildings to their former luxury.
The next difficult period was the time of the capture of the monastery by Napoleonic soldiers. They kept their horses within the walls of the temple, setting up a stable there.
But the conflagrations dissipated, the monks whitewashed the walls, and to the sound of the gospel, the faithful again rushed to prayer.
rebirth
The Boldin Monastery is the venue for fairs that were held in honor of the patronal holidays twice a year - on the day of the Holy Trinity and the winter celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The end of the nineteenth century was marked by the construction of new cells made of wood, a hotel appeared where pilgrims could stay. With the help of Archimandrite Andrei, in addition to the above works, it was possible to restore the cell where the Monk Gerasim, the founder of the monastery, lived.
St. Boldin Monastery was also influenced by time. When the beauty of the buildings began to fade, at the beginning of the 20th century, the young restorer Pyotr Baranovsky proposed a unique method for carrying out restoration work. But the architectural monument began to be restored only in the thirties.
In parallel with the restoration work, Baranovsky began to create a museum.
At that time, due to the influence of the policy of the new Soviet government, the persecution of believers began, up to the desecration of the relics of Gerasim, the founder of the monastery. Years of godless power were lost to the restorers. Moreover, these people were repressed.
The Great Patriotic War brought new losses. Then the Nazis destroyed the buildings of the Trinity Cathedral, the bell tower, the refectory chamber and the Vvedenskaya Church.
Nowadays
In the mid-seventies, the already well-known restorer Pyotr Baranovsky again began construction work, which was continued by his student and assistant Ponomarev A.M.
And the restoration of the bell tower began, which was blown up by the Nazis during the war. This building was erected in such a way that the brickwork could be preserved, falling apart into large parts. Despite the fact that some fragments of the building weighed from 20 to 40 tons, the restorers used a method such as anastilosis - when the fragments were returned to their places.
At the end of the century, a significant event took place - the consecration of the restored Vvedensky refectory church, completely destroyed in the old days. This symbolized the victory of the Christian faith over all the invaders and enemies that made themselves felt during the existence of the monastery.
Summing up
The Boldin Monastery was founded at the beginning of the sixteenth century by the Monk Gerasim. This area immediately began to attract hundreds of novices to its territory. The monks were not only deeply religious, but also literate people who were able to write books about the history of the monastery buildings. In peacetime, the Boldin Monastery has always received the patronage of the kings and was considered the center of the spiritual life of the Smolensk region. But aggressive wars contributed to the destruction of shrines. It took centuries to restore them. Restorers were persecuted and repressed. But times have changed, and confidence in the inviolability of the Christian faith has been strengthened.
The monastery, created by the novice Gerasim, withstood the hard times of the wars of conquest. This area was originally the center of the spiritual life of the Smolensk region. The cultural and national life of Russians developed here. And so today the holy cloisters continue to be revived. Today the men's Boldinsky Monastery provides shelter to twenty-one novices. They are engaged in the restoration of buildings and the construction of new structures, take care of the apple orchard. The collection of spiritual treasures continues to this day.
Saint Gerasim is commemorated on May 14. It was this day that became commonly considered a general diocesan holiday, which will be celebrated annually.
The Boldin Monastery is nearly 500 years old. Its founder is the Monk Gerasim. On May 9, 1530, he consecrated here the first wooden Trinity Church with a chapel of Sergius of Radonezh.
Gerasim arranged a monastery near a small stream, among centuries-old oaks, from the ancient name of which “bolda” comes from the name of the area. The monastery of Gerasim became quickly known. Very soon the number of brethren reached 127 people.
Saint Gerasim died in 1554. Having lived for 66 years, he was buried in the aisle of St. Sergius of the Radonezh Trinity Cathedral in Boldino. For his charitable deeds in the frontier Russian lands, Gerasim was named the Wonderworker of Boldin and canonized as a saint.
Soon the monastery became the center of the spiritual life of the region. Large monetary donations and constant royal care allowed the Boldino monks to start stone construction. By the end of the 16th century, the five-domed Trinity Cathedral with two symmetrical aisles - John the Theologian and Boris and Gleb, a refectory chamber with a hipped church of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos and a hexagonal pillar-shaped three-tiered bell tower rose here. Each building was a masterpiece of the golden age of Russian architecture.
The undeniable artistic merits of the Boldino structures spoke of the participation of the best royal masters in their creation. Sovereign master Fyodor Kon, church master Terenty, sovereign icon painters Postnik Dermin and Stepan Mikhailov created here, the bell for the belfry was cast in 1587 in Moscow by the litter Ivan Afanasiev.
The monks of the Boldin Monastery were also famous for their scholarship. It is probably no coincidence that the abbot of the monastery, Joseph, appointed by Gerasim in 1554, was nicknamed the painter. And the next Boldino hegumen Anthony, who later became the bishop of Vologda, before his departure wrote the life of St. Gerasim.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 17th century, the peaceful course of life in the Smolensk region was disrupted. Captured by foreigners in 1611, the Boldin Monastery became a haven for the Jesuits.
After the expulsion of the Polish-Lithuanian invaders, the Orthodox monastery in Boldino was renewed in 1654, but has not yet reached its former glory, despite the attention of both Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his son Peter I.
The Boldin Monastery was also desecrated during the period of the Napoleonic invasion, when the French turned Orthodox churches into stables.
However, the smoke of the conflagrations dissipated, the monastery walls were whitened, and again the blagovest summoned the Orthodox to the church. Many people flocked to Boldino for fairs that took place on patronal holidays - on Trinity Day in summer and on the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in winter.
At the end of the 19th century, the active and enlightened abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Andrei, built new wooden cells and a hotel for pilgrims. Through his labors, the life of St. Gerasim was restored and published in 1893.
Years passed. Many of the ancient buildings of the monastery were distorted and lost their original splendor. In 1912, a young restorer Pyotr Baranovsky proposed a unique method of restoring an architectural monument. But the restoration could only begin in 1921.
Simultaneously with the restoration work, a museum was created on the territory of the monastery under the leadership of Baranovsky. Scientific restoration and museum work was organically woven into the natural monastic life.
The year 1922 has come. In May of this year, local authorities confiscated church property, and the relics of St. Gerasim were defiled. The museum construction begun by Baranovsky was gradually curtailed. In 1928, all restoration work in Boldin was stopped, and a year later the director of the museum and the remaining monks were repressed.
A terrible fate awaited the monastery during the Great Patriotic War. Boldino was one of the first settlements liberated by partisans in the still occupied territory as early as the beginning of 1942. The Germans responded with punitive operations. In retaliation against the partisans, the Nazis blew up in March 1943 the Trinity Cathedral, the bell tower, the refectory with the Vvedenskaya Church.
Only in 1964, Peter Dmitrievich Baranovsky managed to start construction work. Since the 70s, the restoration of the architectural appearance of the monastery has been carried out under the guidance of a student and closest assistant of the Baranovsky architect A. M. Ponomarev.
The first restored building of the monastery was the monastery bell tower, blown up during the war. Thanks to the rare strength of the brickwork, it did not turn into a pile of rubble, but fell apart into huge shapeless pieces, the weight of the largest fragments was 20-40 tons. This made it possible to restore the bell tower by the method of anastilosis, that is, by returning the preserved, scattered fragments to their places.
On December 4, 1997, on the feast of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Church, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad consecrated the restored Vvedensky refectory church. The temple was completely destroyed, and now, as a symbol of the victory of good over evil, of creative forces over destructive ones, it towers over the boundless Russian expanses.
Throughout Russian history, monasteries have been centers of the spiritual, cultural, and national life of the Russian people. Therefore, today the revival of Russia is impossible without the revival of its holy monasteries. In May 1991, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to renew the Holy Trinity Boldin Monastery and appoint Abbot Anthony (Mezentsev) as its rector. On December 4, 1997, on the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, hegumen Anthony was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
Today there are 21 novices in the monastery. Through their labors, monastery buildings are restored and built, an apple orchard is planted, for which the monastery has always been famous, but most importantly, spiritual life is being created within the walls of the monastery, spiritual treasures are being collected bit by bit.
On May 14, 1998, on the day of the memory of St. Gerasim of Boldin, a general diocesan feast was held for the first time in the Holy Trinity Boldin Monastery, which it was decided to celebrate annually. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, co-served by the clergy of the diocese, with a large gathering of pilgrims, celebrated the Divine Liturgy.
Holy Trinity Cathedral
The wooden cathedral church in honor of the Holy Trinity with a chapel in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh was built in the 1530s next to the first buildings of the monastery. The stone cathedral in honor of the Holy Trinity with chapels in the name of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian and the noble princes Boris and Gleb was built in 1585-1591, according to legend, at the expense of monk Nicholas, from the noble family of the Arsenievs.
The church foreman Terenty, who supervised the construction work, was mentioned in the monastery's income and expense books. The cathedral was painted with frescoes in the Byzantine tradition on scenes from the gospel parables by Moscow, sovereign icon painters - Postnik Dermin and Stefan Mikhailov.
The ancient, revered image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was kept in the cathedral. The temple was blown up in 1943. In 1991-2000 the ruins of the temple were excavated.
Church of the Introduction
The wooden refectory temple in honor of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple was built in the 1530s. The stone two-storey refectory of the Vvedensky temple with the Kelar chamber was built in the 1590s. In 1843, under the rector Abbot Nikodim, on the second floor of the refectory, next to the Vvedensky Church, a chapel was built in honor of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh.
The temple was blown up in 1943. The first floor was restored in the 1960s. Restoration work was carried out in 1995-1997. Part of the roofing work was carried out by the team of A. E. Kopeychikov. Resurrected from the ruins, the Vvedensky Church was consecrated by Metropolitan Kirill on December 4, 1997. Metropolitan Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the day of remembrance of St. Gerasim in the church in 1998.
The iconostasis and painting of the Vvedensky Church and the refectory on the second floor were made by Belarusian craftsmen, under the guidance of S. Petrov.
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Church of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
On the site of the first cell of St. Gerasim, near an ancient oak, in the 1890s, the brethren of the monastery erected a small stone church in honor of St. Tikhon of Kaluga. In 1990, it was restored, and since October, regular services have been resumed in the monastery. Roofing work and gilding of the iconostasis were carried out by the team of A. E. Kopeychikov. Metropolitan Kirill consecrated the church in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in May 1991. Before the restoration of the Vvedensky Church, all divine services were held in it.
Bell tower
Between the cathedral and the refectory at the end of the 16th century, a high three-tiered bell tower was erected, which, according to the inventory of 1744, had a “chiming clock”. In 1587, master Ivan Afanasiev cast a bell for the monastery in Moscow. In 1871, seven bells hung on the upper tier of the bell tower - from a large one of 50 pounds (819 kg), cast in 1861, to a small one of 25 pounds (10.2 kg).
In the middle tier there was a sacristy, in which valuable utensils were kept. The bell tower was blown up in 1943, restored from ruins in the 1980s with the participation of student construction teams of the Smolensk Pedagogical Institute and the Dorogobuzh site of the SSNRPM restoration. Since the autumn of 1990, the bell tower has been used for its intended purpose.
Church of St. equal to ap. Prince Vladimir
Monastery courtyard. Address: 215700, Smolensk region, Safonovo, Oktyabrsky lane, 4.
The parish in the city of Safonovo was founded in December 1988. The stone church in honor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir of Kyiv was built in 1989-1991 at the expense of the city administration and parishioners. The temple is arranged for 1500 people, with a three-tiered 27-meter bell tower. There are five bells on the bell tower, the larger one weighing 500 kilograms.
Special assistance in the construction of the temple was provided by the chairman of the Safonovsky city executive committee PS Osipov (+1993). Most of the household work was carried out by the headman of the parish, N.K. Zolotukhina. Roofing work, installation of domes and crosses was carried out by the repair and construction team of A.E. Kopeychikov.
The temple was consecrated by Metropolitan Kirill in December 1991. Hegumen Anthony (Mezentsev) was awarded with a mace for his labors. By the decree of Metropolitan Kirill of July 11, 1994, the Vladimir parish was transformed into a courtyard of the Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery. The iconostasis of the temple was made by the Safonov carvers, following the model of the iconostasis of the Intercession Church in the village of Dubrovo, Temkinsky district. The iconostasis was consecrated by Metropolitan Kirill at the Divine Liturgy on October 29, 1994. In 1997, the altar of the temple was painted.
The Boldinsky Holy Trinity Monastery, the oldest of the monasteries currently operating in the Smolensk region, is located 15 km east of Dorogobuzh, next to the Old Smolensk road. It was founded in 1530 by the Monk Gerasim.
The ascetic activity of Gerasim was aimed at creating monasteries on the lands conquered by Moscow from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Soon after its foundation, the Boldinskaya monastery turned into the richest and most influential monastery in the entire Smolensk region.
In the 1580-90s, a large stone construction was launched in the monastery. It was during these years that the main monastic buildings were built - the Trinity Cathedral, the refectory with a warm hipped church of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, a pillar-like three-tiered hexagonal bell tower, the walls of the monastery.
The architectural ensemble of the Boldin Monastery was an outstanding masterpiece of Russian architecture, the only ensemble known to us from the era of the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich. The architecture and facade decoration of the Trinity Cathedral date back to the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Imagine, in a deep province there was a temple, in beauty and grandeur equal to one of the best cathedrals in Moscow.
The Boldinskaya monastery was located near a busy road - a tract leading to the western borders of Rus'. Streltsy, who went on a campaign, tsarist ambassadors, merchants stopped here. In the Life of St. Gerasim, a description of the miracle of the healing of the tsar's ambassador Mikhail Bezdnin in 1585, thanks to a prayer service at the shrine of the reverend, has been preserved. Those. even then the relics of St. Gerasim were known and revered as miraculous.
A big blow to the Boldin Monastery was inflicted by the Troubles of the beginning of the 17th century and the Polish invasion. From 1617 to 1654 The Dorogobuzh region was part of the Commonwealth, in which the state religion was Catholicism.
After Russia conquered the Smolensk lands from Poland in 1654, the Boldinsky monastery was revived, but could not retain its former wealth. In 1764, according to the manifesto signed by Catherine II, all the lands were taken away from the monastery (as well as from all the monasteries of the Russian state). This led to the decline of the monasteries, many of which were closed due to poverty. The Boldin Monastery was helped to survive by benefactors, of whom Prince. Andrey Nikolaevich Dolgorukov.
In 1929, by order of the Soviet authorities, the monastery was closed. During the Great Patriotic War, a partisan base was located here. In March 1943, when the front line approached Dorogobuzh, the Nazis mined all the old buildings: the Trinity Cathedral, the refectory with the Vvedensky Church, the bell tower - and blew them up.
The revival of the Boldin Monastery from non-existence is associated with the name of the outstanding architect-restorer P.D. Baranovsky. Baranovsky drew up the first restoration project in his life in 1912 for the refectory chamber with the Vvedensky Church of the Boldin Monastery. In 1964, Pyotr Dmitrievich again returned to Boldino, to his native Dorogobuzh region, to begin the revival of the masterpiece of architecture blown up by the Nazis. It was his labors, according to the surviving measurements and photographs, that the bell tower of amazing beauty rose from the ruins.
In 1991, the Boldin Monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and resumed its activities. Over the past years, the refectory with the Vvedenskaya Church and the stone wall with four towers, the Tikhvin Church, as well as the wooden house of the hegumen, the gatehouse at the Holy Gates, the stone cell building, the stone treasury building, the wooden chapel at the monastery cemetery have been restored.
In 2001, during the clearing of the southern aisle of the Trinity Cathedral, the relics of St. Gerasim were found. Now the shrine with the relics of the monk is in the Trinity Cathedral, restored in 2010. With the acquisition of the relics of its holy founder, the Boldin Monastery began a new stage in history.
Being a spiritual support for the life of Orthodox people, the Boldin Monastery also became the resting place for many representatives of such noble families of Russia as the princes of Zvenigorod, the nobles Pushkin, Pleshcheev, Godunov, Saltykov.
At present, the monastery necropolis has been restored. Among the surviving graves is the family tomb of representatives of the glorious Smolensk (Dorogobuzh district) noble family of the Vistitskys of the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries.
The tomb of the family of princes Dolgorukov was located in the Trinity Cathedral. Here are buried grandfather (Nikolai Vladimirovich) and grandmother (Ekaterina Andreevna), father (Andrey Nikolaevich) and two uncles (father's brothers: Nikolai Nikolaevich and Vasily Nikolaevich) of two prominent statesmen of Russia - the Minister of War (1852-1856), head of the III department of the Own His Imperial Majesty's office and chief of the gendarmes (1856-1866) Prince. Vasily Andreevich Dolgorukov and the famous Moscow governor-general (1865-1891) Prince. Vladimir Andreevich Dolgorukov.
At present, there is hardly another monastic abode in our Fatherland, which has been reborn to life, and active life, from complete destruction and desolation.
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Trinity Boldin Monastery (Trinity-Boldin Monastery, Holy Trinity Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery) is an Orthodox male Orthodox monastery of the Smolensk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in the village of Boldino, Smolensk Region, 15 kilometers from the city of Dorogobuzh.
Story
medieval period
Fresco "Cathedral of Saints" in the Vvedenskaya Church (XIX century); founder of the monastery Gerasim Boldinsky - second from left
The monastery was founded in 1530 by the Monk Gerasim of Boldin. In the 16th century, the monastery repeatedly received gifts: land from the tsar, large contributions from boyars and wealthy people; The monastery was also engaged in its own trading and fishing activities. By the end of the 16th century, the monastery owned more than 80 villages and villages in the Dorogobuzh district, about 20 monastic villages in other districts, mills, hunting and field lands, stockyards, and fishing grounds. Monastic farmsteads and trading shops existed in Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Smolensk, Moscow. The monastery owned mills, hunting and field grounds, cattle yards, and fishing grounds.
Stone construction in the monastery began in the 1590s. Then the five-domed Trinity Cathedral was built (blown up, now almost restored), the bell tower (preserved), the refectory chamber with the Church of the Entry into the Church of the Virgin (preserved) and the walls (rebuilt). According to the hypothesis of P. D. Baranovsky, the sovereign architect Fyodor Kon took part in the construction.
From 1617 to 1654, the Dorogobuzh region was part of the Commonwealth state. The monastery was deserted; later its buildings were transferred to the Smolensk Jesuit Collegium. The monastery was revived in 1654, when the Smolensk lands again became part of the Russian kingdom. The monastery was unable to retain its former wealth: by the end of the 17th century, it owned about 20 villages.
XVIII - early XX century
Bell tower of the Trinity-Boldina monastery
Vvedenskaya Church with a monastery refectory
At the beginning of the 18th century, Saint John (Maximovich) opened a printing house in the monastery. It published liturgical books, textbooks, writings of spiritual and moral content, including the works of John himself, translations from Latin.
In 1764, according to the manifesto signed by Catherine II (1764), all the lands were taken away from the monastery. The philanthropist Prince Andrey Dolgorukov provided great assistance to the monastery.
In the 1870s and 1880s, the monastery flourished again. Hieromonk (later Archimandrite) Andrei (Vasiliev) was appointed rector. During his 24-year management of the monastery, all the existing buildings and temples of the monastery were repaired and rebuilt, new Holy Gates were built, a chapel on the site of the cell of St. Gerasim Boldinsky, wooden cells, outbuildings, a hotel for pilgrims, the abbot's house, a prosphora mill, a mill on the lake, a garden (700 roots) was planted. He, on the basis of two ancient texts, wrote and published a new "Life of St. Gerasim".
In 1919-1927, restoration work was carried out in the monastery under the leadership of P. D. Baranovsky. In the former monastery buildings, a historical and art museum was organized, the exposition of which, among other exhibits, included fragments of tiled stoves of the 17th-18th centuries, a wooden sculpture collected by M.I. Pogodin. A wooden temple from the village of Usvyatye was transported to the territory of the monastery.
The abolition and revival of the monastery
In November 1929 the monastery was officially closed. A granary was located in the Trinity Cathedral, a collective farm cheese factory was located in the Vvedensky Church, and a separator for milk processing was located in the chapel.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Boldin Monastery was the base of partisan detachments; repair shops were located in the buildings of the former monastery. In March 1943, during the retreat, the Germans mined and blew up ancient buildings - the Trinity Cathedral, the Vvedensky Church and the bell tower.
In 1964, the restoration of the monastery began according to the surviving measurements and photographs under the direction of P. D. Baranovsky. They continue to this day (the leader is A. M. Ponomarev, a student of Baranovsky).
In 1991, the Boldin Monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
At present, a stone wall with four towers, a bell tower, a refectory chamber with the Vvedensky Church have been restored. Among other buildings - the wooden house of the hegumen, the gatehouse at the Holy Gates, the stone cell building, the stone treasury building on the basement, the wooden chapel at the monastery cemetery. The stone chapel was rebuilt into a temple in the name of St. Tikhon of Kaluga. Trinity Cathedral was consecrated by Patriarch Kirill in June 2010.
The monastery necropolis was restored. Among the surviving graves is the grave of the Vistitsky family, with a metal fence and two granite columns: Stefan Vistitsky and his sons - Mikhail Stepanovich (major general, in 1812 he was appointed quartermaster general of the Russian army), Semyon Stepanovich (major general, in 1813 year, who headed the Smolensk militia after General N.P. Lebedev; author of one of the first textbooks on tactics), Vasily Stepanovich (brigadier), Andrei Stepanovich (major general) and Dmitry Stepanovich (colonel).
The monastery has a courtyard (wooden temple) in Dorogobuzh; patronizes the opening of the Dmitrovsky convent in Dorogobuzh.
The current abbot of the monastery is Archimandrite Anthony (Mezentsov).
Panorama of the Boldin Monastery
