Donskoy Monastery in Moscow โ history, photo, description, how to get there, map
The Donskoy Monastery is the home of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God. There is peace and tranquility in the house โ a powerful, high fence, an apple orchard, larches, linden alleys help to keep silence, which is not much in Moscow.
Story
2017 โ the history of the monastery is 426 years old. It was originally associated with the Don Icon of the Mother of God โ the shrine was in the camp of Russian archers preparing for battle with the Mongol-Tatar troops. The battle did not take place, because shortly before the start of the battle, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Khan Kazy-Girey left the battlefield. Then it was considered that such, one might say, an amazing outcome occurred due to the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and a cathedral was built on the site of the tent in which the icon was kept (later it was called the Small Donskoy).
Then another Don Cathedral was built nearby (it became known as the Bolshoi), the log fence was replaced by brickwork, in which the walls were replaced by towers (twelve in total), a bell tower with the church of Zechariah and Elizabeth, cells, family tombs, a chapel, chambers, a theological seminary were added, archimandrite chambers, churches of Alexander Lestvichnik, Archangel Michael, Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Svirsky, George the Victorious, John Chrysostom, Tikhon, Tikhvin Church.
The monastery had not only good, but also bad days:
The bad was replaced by good only in the 1990s โ a revival began. Today it is a monastery.
Necropolis โ โoldโ and โnewโ, a memorial to white soldiers
There are two cemeteries on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery: the old one (called the monastery necropolis) and the new one. Each of them has its own story.
The monastery necropolis is the last chamber for Russian nobles (Dolgoruky, Menshikov, Trubetskoy, Potemkin, Golitsyn), wealthy merchants (here is the unusual grave of Saltychikha, a wealthy landowner Daria Saltykova), many famous artists, poets, generals, composers, philosophers, historians, writers, architect Osip Bove, Russian scientist, creator of aerodynamic science Nikolai Zhukovsky. This place is called the most aristocratic resting place of Moscow. It so happened that during the reign of Catherine II, due to a plague epidemic, a decree appeared prohibiting burials in the city limits โ exceptions were made for high-ranking persons and big money.
A separate story at the memorial to white soldiers (located on the territory of the necropolis) is the well-organized burial place of the leaders of the โwhite movementโ Generals Denikin and Kappel, as well as the Russian philosopher Ilyin (their remains were brought to Moscow for reburial in 2005-2006). In 2009, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed to equip the tombstones, which was implemented with his help and for his personal funds. At the โnewโ cemetery, which appeared at the end of the 19th century, scouts, singer Maya Kristalinskaya, actress Faina Ranevskaya are buried. Here, in mass graves, the executed Lefortovo prison and the Lubyanka basement, the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War who died in Moscow hospitals are buried.
Architectural tomb
The Donskoy Monastery is not only the resting place of our ancestors, but also an architectural tomb. In 1934, a museum was created here, to which fragments of ancient monuments destroyed by the Soviet government were brought. Among the remains of the lost architecture are episodes of the temples of St. Nicholas and the Assumption, high reliefs from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Triumphal Gates of the Belorussky (now Brest) Station (they were brought disassembled, and 30 years later reinstalled on Kutuzovsky Prospekt), parts of the Sukharev Tower.
There is another attraction โ the remains of a tank column formed during the Great Patriotic War. With charitable funds from believers, 40 military vehicles were purchased. They were merged into a division named after Dmitry Donskoy. The restored cars were installed at the main entrance.
shrines
It so happened that there are two Don icons โ the most important shrines. One is the one mentioned above (which was in the streltsy camp). Before the battle, known to us as the Battle of Kulikovo, it was given by the Cossacks to Moscow Prince Dmitry. Now this icon โlivesโ in the Tretyakov Gallery (formerly in the Kremlin) and is annually brought to the monastery on its holiday (September 1). The second was written to order (at the request of Boris Godunov), it does not leave the walls of the monastery.
In the Donskoy Monastery (in its Small Cathedral) you will be able to see the only functioning chrism furnace in the possessions of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is run every three or four years during Lent to prepare the holy world. The special aromatic oil used in the sacrament of chrismation and the consecration of thrones is prepared in large quantities for all monastic parishes. It began to be prepared here after the revolution of 1917 (initially, chrism was prepared in the Cross Chamber of the Patriarchal Palace of the Moscow Kremlin (the old cruciform, marble-lined chrism furnace is still kept in it)).
A very important shrine is the relics of the All-Russian Patriarch Tikhon. He spent the last years of his life in prison in the monastery walls. The relics were found by chance during the restoration of the Small Cathedral from the consequences of a fire that broke out in the refectory. Patriarch Tikhon was canonized and canonized as a saint in 1989, that is, even before the relics were found (they were found in 1992).
Among the main spiritual shrines:
Where is it located and how to get there
The exact address is Donskaya Square, 1-3 (from the side of this street is the main entrance). The nearest metro station is Shabolovskaya. It is possible to contact the pilgrimage center at the Donskoy Monastery by phone 952-02-63.