, Local history
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SLIDE 2. Holy Trinity Gerasimo-Boldinsky monastery.
The Holy Trinity Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery is located in the Smolensk region. It is located 15 kilometers east of the city of Dorogobuzh on the shore of an artificial lake, which was built in the floodplain of the Boldinka River. The old Smolensk road runs not far from the monastery. The Boldinsky Monastery is the most ancient of the existing and operating monasteries in the Smolensk region. It was founded by St. Gerasim in 1530.
SLIDE 3 The founder of the monastery is Reverend Gerasim.
The Monk Gerasim Boldinsky was born in 1490 in Pereyaslavl Zalessky. He was a novice of the Goritsky Monastery under Elder Daniil of Pereyaslavl. Gerasim helped the elder in building temples and cells, performed feats of fasting and prayer, served the poor brethren with his craft - he was a shoemaker.
Saint Gerasim, having received the blessing of the elder to become a hermit, settled near the city of Dorogobuzh in the Smolensk land, in a wild forest inhabited by snakes and animals. The saint was attacked many times by robbers, but he patiently endured all the insults and prayed for the offenders. To feed himself, he hung a box on a tree near the road: those passing by put pieces of bread there, but sometimes these pieces were also taken away by other poor people, for which the monk only thanked God. Subsequently, the guardian of his pieces appeared to him - a raven; if an unkind person approached the box, the raven raised a cry and, flying, beat his wings on the face of the unwanted visitor, and even pecked out the eyes of predatory animals and put them to flight.
According to a special vision, he went to Boldin Mountain, where a huge oak stood at the source. Local residents beat him with sticks and wanted to drown him, slandered him to the governor of Dorogobuzh, and bribed him to drive the elder away. The governor wanted to put Gerasim in prison as a tramp. The Monk Gerasim patiently endured the bullying, remained silent and prayed. The royal envoy from Moscow, seeing Saint Gerasim, bowed and asked for his blessing, since he had previously seen the saint together with the Monk Daniel from the king. The governor was frightened, asked the elder for forgiveness, promised to protect him from attacks, and donated to him for the construction of the monastery. From that time on, Saint Gerasim began to receive those wishing to perform monastic feats, and the brethren gathered to him.
In addition to the Boldin monastery, the Monk Gerasim founded a monastery in the city of Vyazma in the name of John the Baptist, and not far from Dorogobuzh he restored a small monastery that had existed since the end of the 15th century, in the volost village of Svirkovy Luki on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Built a temple in honor of Christmas Holy Mother of God(according to other sources, Vvedensky and Nikolsky churches). In 1547, the monk founded the Trinity-Vvedensky Monastery in the Bryansk forests.
SLIDE 4 Relics of St. Gerasim of Boldinsky.
The relics of St. Gerasim are hidden in the Trinity Cathedral in Boldino. Every day a prayer service is served with the reading of a special prayer to St. Gerasim. In the 20s of the 20th century, the relics were lost and the monastery was partially destroyed. During the Great Patriotic War, all the monastery buildings were blown up, only the wooden church of St. Gerasim survived. In 1991, it was consecrated and the restoration of the monastery was blessed by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, now His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The relics of St. Gerasim were found on July 17 (N.S.) 2001 in the Theological chapel of the destroyed Holy Trinity Cathedral at the beginning of the restoration of the temple. Now the relics of the saint are in the newly built Holy Trinity Cathedral.
SLIDE 5-7 Northern entrance to the monastery, fence, Holy Gate.
Western Gate.
Southwestern Tower.
The fence is made of brick walls that cover the entire territory of the monastery. It was restored in 1993. In the northern wall of the fence there is the Holy Gate, rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century. Arched gates and gates on other sides of the fence look much simpler.
SLIDE 8-10 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 the monk Nicholas, from noble family Arsenyev. The monastery's income and expenditure books mentioned the church master Terenty, who supervised the construction work. 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 cathedral housed an ancient, revered image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The temple was blown up in 1943. In 1991-2000, excavations of the temple ruins were carried out.
SLIDE 11-13 Bell towers of the Holy Trinity Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery.
Between the cathedral and the refectory, at the end of the 16th century, a high three-tier bell tower was erected, which, according to the 1744 inventory, had a “strike clock.” In 1587, master Ivan Afanasyev 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 weighing 50 pounds (819 kg), cast in 1861, to a small one weighing 25 pounds (10.2 kg). In the middle tier there was a sacristy in which valuable utensils were stored. 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 restoration site of the SSNRPM. Since the fall of 1990, the bell tower has been used for its intended purpose.
SLIDE 14-17 Church of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple.
The wooden refectory church in honor of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in the 1530s. The stone two-story refectory Vvedensky Church with a cellar chamber was built in the 1590s. In 1843, under the rector, Abbot Nikodim, a chapel was built in honor of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh on the second floor of the refectory, next to the Vvedensky Church. 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 A.E. Kopeychikov’s team. Revived from the ruins, the Vvedensky Church was consecrated by Metropolitan Kirill on December 4, 1997. Metropolitan Kirill performed the Divine Liturgy on the day of memory of St. Gerasim in the church in 1998. The iconostasis and painting of the Vvedensky Church and the refectory on the second floor were carried out by Belarusian masters, under the leadership of S. Petrov.
SLIDE 18-19 Church of Tikhon of Zadonsk.
On the site of the first cell of St. Gerasim, near an ancient oak tree, 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 regular services in the monastery were resumed in October. The roofing work and gilding of the iconostasis were carried out by the team of A.E. Kopeychikov. Metropolitan Kirill consecrated the temple in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in May 1991. Before the restoration of the Vvedensky Church, all divine services were held there.
WITH LYDE 20 Chapel, burial place of respected monks.
SLIDE 21 An oak tree planted by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
SLIDE 22 Wells of the monastery.
SLIDE 23-24 Monastery garden
SLIDE 25 Compound in Dorogobuzh: Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
SLIDE 26 Compound in Safonovo (Smolensk region): Compound in Safonovo: Church of St. Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles
The parish in the city of Safonovo was formed in December 1988. The stone church in honor of the 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 built for 1,500 people, with a three-tier 27-meter bell tower. There are five bells on the bell tower, the larger one weighing 500 kilograms. Particular assistance in the construction of the temple was provided by the chairman of the Safonovo City Executive Committee P. S. Osipov. Most of the housekeeping work was carried out by the parish elder N.K. Zolotukhina. The 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. For the labor incurred, Abbot Anthony (Mezentsev) was awarded a club. By decree of Metropolitan Kirill dated July 11, 1994, the Vladimir parish was transformed into a metochion of the Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery. The iconostasis of the temple was made by Safonovsky carvers, based on the model of the iconostasis of the Church of the Intercession 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.
SLIDE 27 Thank you for your attention!
The gold-embroidery workshop of the autumn lacemaker looked beautiful under the bright rays of the last days of the “Indian summer”. A barely noticeable breeze with a slight rustle separated the chiseled leaves from one another, showing the sun how a master checks his work in the light, otherwise it generously watered them with gold paint. And the sky in its sparkling blue through these colors, carvings and shapes made my head spin.
From the east the monastery is surrounded by a grove; in ancient times there were mighty, ancient oaks in it, “bolds” in Slavic, but now they have been diluted, and now another growth is childishly crowding towards the monastery. That is why, in the purple and gold of maple, birch and oak foliage, the monastery shines as if in a precious frame. A small lake with reed banks exactly reflects the snow-white walls, and its inhabitants - goose families - swim right through the temples and towers. Shy, fluffy fawn sheep graze along the shore, and a brooding cow with red spots. And in this gold donated to the world, you also feel undeprived, and therefore your soul is carefree.
Almost five hundred years ago, invisible bells rang over that oak grove. This ringing was carried by the wind, and only one monk passing by heard it. The wanderer was attracted by this unusual sign. He climbed the hill, looked around, and decided to stay here. He found an oak tree - so ancient and great that a man could easily fit in its hollow, and he settled in it, simply - he needed so little.
For two years before that he lived in the forest thicket. Not alone, he also had neighbors, and not only birds and wild animals - not far away a trade road wound among the forests, and whoever carried money through this wilderness fell under a robber raid; These dashing people were the most restless neighbors. They tried to drive him away many times, even beat him, but he endured everything and prayed. “Why did I, a sinner, leave Pereslavl, from Elder Daniel,” he thought, “after all, I myself asked for silence and solitude. Surely I won’t tolerate such small sorrows, but will they, the damned ones, destroy Christian souls?” I lived with this.
From childhood, from the age of 13, an elder tonsured him as a monk and named him Gerasim. He also determined obedience, to be a “shoemaker” - to sew shoes for the brethren and for the poor residents of God’s House. And over time, for his godly disposition, the young monk gained respect not only in the Pereslavl monastery, but also in the capital city itself. Because of this, after twenty years of obedience, Gerasim was blessed to become a hermit, and went into the forests. Didn't like human glory.
But even on Boldinaya Mountain his life did not become calmer. Local residents who lived under the mountain found out about Gerasim. They were wild in character, like forest robbers; in the Orthodox faith they were not admonished - only the Smolensk principality moved away from Lithuania: so the peasants, without any reason, became worried about their possessions. They began to drive the monk away - the village men would come and start beating him with sticks and mocking him. And one day they tied him hand and foot and dragged him to the lake to drown, almost abandoned him, but one said: “If we kill him, we will have to answer for ourselves, it’s better to take him to the governor of Dorogobuzh, and we won’t forget the gift, everything will be settled.” And so they did. The governor of the beaten Gerasim scolded him and put him in prison as a tramp, so he began sweeping the streets and doing all kinds of menial work - without reproaches, and with prayer. One boyar, who had arrived to the governor from the tsar, found him doing just this one day. He recognized Gerasim, they saw each other when he and the elder came to the Tsar; his elder, Daniil of Pereslavl, was the Tsar’s confessor. The boyar bowed to Gerasim at the waist and took his blessing, and he, with the broom, blessed him. The governor got scared, immediately released his prisoner, repented to him, gave him letters of protection, and even begged him to take a donation. From that time on, they began to respect Gerasim and come to his oak tree for advice and blessings. There were also those who, having heard about the hermit, came to him and talked about the salvation of the soul, remained, sharing monastic labors with him.
The monk gladly received all the guests, built a church to pray for people’s needs, and then went to Moscow to ask permission to found a new monastery. He walked on foot for four hundred miles along the Smolensk road, because the monk had never moved otherwise than on foot in his entire life. I reached the capital for the holiday - the long-awaited heir John Vasilyevich was born to the sovereign. And at the baptism of the baby, Gerasim met his elder among his successors. They talked about who was being saved, asked each other for prayers, and went their separate ways.
After general joy, the Emperor kindly received Gerasim, talked to him, bestowed a royal charter, and even generously bestowed gifts on the new monastery. With the royal money they erected a temple and fraternal cells. They were built by all the new brethren, led by Abbot Gerasim. But even after becoming abbot, the monk retained the strictness of his life - as before, he ate only water with bread, and worked with everyone on an equal basis: he ground rye, baked bread, chopped wood, looked after the sick, and even performed services... Sleep when? - the curious asked. And they didn’t notice this about him; if he dozed, it was not while lying down.
In addition to the Boldin monastery, the monk built three more monasteries, and he encountered all the robbers on his way. One day he came to the most criminal den on the outskirts of Vyazma. The people of Vyazma suffered a lot from these murderers, so they fenced off their houses with a high fence, and at night they did not sleep, they all went on patrol. The rich boyar indulged the robbers, and there was no justice for them. So the Monk Gerasim became her. Without embarrassment, he came to bandit gatherings and exhorted them to reform. At first, of course, they beat him, threatened him, persecuted him, then they began to listen, and then a miracle happened - hardened hearts softened under the holy word, and three terrible robbers - Dobrynya, Lyuty and Opta repented, and turned from the life of a demon to the life of an angel - they became monks . This is how the St. John the Baptist Monastery arose near Vyazma, right on the site of the brothel. There was also the Vvedenskaya Hermitage on the Zhizdra River, which the monk founded at the request of the locals, and the Nativity Monastery near Dorogobuzh. And everywhere he personally worked on buildings, gathered the brethren, and then appointed hegumen from among his disciples. “Everything in the monastery should be common,” he taught. “There is no need to keep anything in the cell except clothes, and even those should be simple, made of cloth. You should also not have intoxicating drinks in the monastery, even for guests. It is better to feed everyone together.” - the abbot, brethren and guests, and the same food. No one should be kicked out of the monastery, even for sins, they must be helped to correct them." The monk established an unusual administration in his monasteries - to help the abbot - a council of 12 elders, the wisest, so that, “in case of something”, he could correct the abbot himself, who is also a man - anything can happen. However, Gerasim had someone to leave his monasteries to, he raised bright lamps of faith: Arkady the recluse and Anthony, the first bishop of Vologda, both glorified by the church as saints, and other disciples founded monasteries themselves, imitating their teacher. Our venerable father Gerasim reposed on May 1 (14), 1554, when he was 66 years old from birth, but his monastic life and exploits were more than half a century.
And through the heavenly prayers of the elder, the monastery continued to flourish. A little later, the Trinity and Vvedensky churches and the bell tower were built, and each building was an architectural masterpiece. The monks of the Boldinsky Monastery were famous for both the height of their spiritual life and their learning. From Boldin began the path of St. Theoktista of Tverskoy, St. Rachel Borodinskaya, and other, less famous ascetics. Ordinary people in great numbers came to Saint Gerasim with their infirmities, and soon everyone who prayed received consolation in troubles and healing from illnesses. And on patronal holidays, a fair took place near the monastery walls - and because of such proximity to the shrine, people’s festivities went on decorously, without deception or excess.
But the brethren did not remain in peace for long - the Boldinskaya monastery was destined to endure many sorrows. In 1611, during the Polish yoke, the monastery fell into Jesuit hands, and only fifty years later the Orthodox were able to return it. Two centuries later, in 1811, the monastery was ravaged and desecrated by Napoleon's passing army, and the French turned it into a prison for Russian prisoners. After another hundred years, in 1922, by order of the Soviet government, the monastery was closed and turned into an anti-religious museum. The younger monks were dispersed, and the older brethren got jobs in the museum - some as caretakers, some as janitors, but they lived in the village. At first it was still tolerant - they didn’t even take away the Trinity Cathedral, where those “janitors” and “caretakers” served God. Only in 1929 did the red authorities find out that the director of the museum was conducting a little atheistic propaganda, warming up the monks, spreading obscurantism, so they exiled him to the camps with the remnants of the brethren and Abbot Paphnutius.
And then the war broke out, there were fierce battles here - the whole land of Smolensk was scorched by fire, watered with blood and tears. And the local partisans bothered the fascists a lot, and the partisan headquarters and warehouses were located right in the Boldinsky Monastery. In retaliation for this, the Germans, retreating in 1943, blew up the monastery. And all that remained of the great and glorious monastery was a huge pile of stones from the 16th century.
 Photo from the book "Russian Monasteries" |
It was in 1989 that Father Anthony came to see her. He had barely built the temple of Prince Vladimir in the regional center of Safonovo, which is fifty miles from Boldin, when he was sent here. There was only one bell tower here, restored in the 1960s by restorers for its beauty and antiquity. First of all, Father Anthony repaired the small temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, which was the best preserved of all, and adapted it for divine services - he believed that the revival of the monastery should begin with the revival of prayer. And so it happened.
Helpers soon gathered and began to dismantle the ruins and build again, not realizing that by worldly standards the matter seemed hopeless. And so, in December 1997, in the midst of severe Russian frosts, the newly rebuilt huge Vvedensky Church, two-story, was solemnly consecrated. Everything was restored according to Baranovsky’s drawings, he still saw this temple intact, and defended his graduation project on the Boldin monastery. So they built an exact copy of the 16th century, and two years later they managed to paint it. Then the abbot's building and cells were restored, where they now live.
Now there are already 15 monks in the monastery, and the same number of workers. In addition to new buildings, farming, and removal of rubble, through their efforts, an apple orchard was planted, for which the monastery has always been famous, and the life of St. Gerasim, regular baptisms and instructions in the Christian faith are carried out for the local population, for this reason people come to the monastery from all over the area, even where they have their own churches... But the main thing, of course, is not this, the main thing is the revival of spiritual work, for which in our The age of universal worldliness requires much more effort than in ancient times.
It is not for the laity to judge the height of the rank of equal angels. Only spiritually experienced people know this. But here’s what we can say: surprisingly warm memories remain of those from the brethren of the Boldin Monastery with whom we were lucky enough to communicate. And about the strict Father Evmeniy, who did not want to help us without the blessing of the abbot, and about the modest novice Dionysius, who received this blessing for us, and about the intelligent Father Zosima, who talked with us in detail about the ancient and new history monastery, and about the concentrated brother Sergius, who gave us a lift on the way back, and, of course, about Father Anthony himself - a hero with a huge, gray beard, and kind, attentive eyes. All of them exuded holy, artless and godly simplicity, uninvolved in the passions of a sinful world.
We stand with Father Zosima under the deep blue sky, between the Vvedensky Church, which has risen from the ashes, and the huge ruins of the Trinity Cathedral - it is the last in line to be restored. A tale flows from the lips of the monks about the deeds of the ancients, about the Monk Gerasim, the wind tugs at his thin beard, the bright autumn sun is reflected in his glasses. Father Zosima smiles and every word is filled with love for the monastery, for every stone, for every known and unknown inhabitant, for every big and small event.
You can’t help but look, listening to it, - from the monastery walls, in the distance beyond the Boldinka River, the forest is turning yellow, village huts are huddling together, the fields are spacious, the plowed land is smiling at the blue sky, and clouds are floating along it. If you look at it, it’s not clouds at all, but smoke from the chimneys of a chemical plant, pointing upward with dirty brick fingers from beyond the horizon. An alarming neighborhood, multi-colored smoke blows directly onto the monastery fields. We ask the priest: “Does such a thing must be harmful to the plants, the animals of the monastery, and the brethren themselves?” No, Father Zosima answers with a modest smile, special scientists came, took measurements and were surprised - all the indicators were normal.
And this is not the only way the Lord protects the monastery. For their labors, two great signs were revealed to the new brethren, strengthening them in their exploits and reminding them of the heavenly intercession of the glorious founder of the monastery.
The first is the ancient antimension of Abbot Paphnutius, miraculously preserved during the years of godless power and, upon revival, again found itself in the monastery. This marked the spiritual succession between the pupils of St. Gerasim and the new brethren.
There is a special story about the second sign. The holy relics of Elder Gerasim rested in secret for more than four hundred years, just under the stone Trinity Church. Many thousands of pilgrims visited that place with prayers and bows. When the monastery was closed, the Bolsheviks decided to arrange an “examination” of the venerated relics, i.e. desecration, in order to combat “religious opium”. They began to dig under the Trinity Church. After digging a meter, we came across a coffin. They were too lazy to dig further, but what they found was declared to be the remains of St. Gerasim Boldinsky and reburied them in another place. However, the believers did not believe them, and the place of the new burial of the “relics” was not revered by them. Already in our time, this has been confirmed scientifically - in 1998, an examination established that the remains found by the communists belonged to a five-year-old child.
At that time Fr. Anthony and his brethren cleared the ruins of the blown up Church of the Holy Trinity. Having cleared the limit to the floor level, it was decided, with prayerful boldness, to continue digging. This year, archaeologists also got involved. Centimeter by centimeter centuries and eras passed, the history of the monastery unfolded before our eyes, but everyone, with bated breath, waited to meet the founder himself.
And so, at a depth of more than 3 meters from the floor level of the early twentieth century, the sacred remains of St. Gerasim Boldinsky were discovered. They rested in a large hollowed-out log (in ancient times there were coffins like this), and on the saint’s feet there were preserved leather shoes, which he himself had made. Gerasim was a Kozheshvet! His shoes survived almost half a millennium intact!
This great and joyful event happened on July 17, and three days later an official conclusion was given regarding the belonging of the found remains to the Monk Gerasim. That is why the Metropolitan of Smolensk gave his blessing to consider July 20 as the date of the discovery of his venerable relics.
The relics were placed in the revived Vvedensky Church, under the icon, the only one preserved from the ancient monastery. On the icon, Elder Gerasim and Nicholas the Wonderworker are holding the icon of our Kazan Intercessor for the Russian Land - the Mother of God. And in this icon are the answers to all our possible petitions: for the Fatherland, and for the health of our neighbors, and for those traveling, and for protection from robbers, and for pardon for the robbers themselves.
Outwardly, everything seems to be the same in the monastery, but they say that something invisible has changed. They didn’t heal any calmer or easier, but that’s not the joy. The Kingdom of God has become closer. Here they are - the relics, incorruptible, fragrant confirmation of this. There was already healing from the newfound shrine, one pilgrim from Dorogobuzh.
We drove back through the village. Boldino was crushed, decayed, it is dying, like all ancient peasant Rus'. From the two hundred courtyards that stood here in tsarist times, now there are barely twenty houses, and even in those old women only live out their lives, and no one will come into the temple, as if there was nothing nearby, if they remember, it will only be their youth in the Komsomol: " It was fun, they say, when there was a club in the cathedral."
The expanses of Boldino are passing by outside the window, the white walls are behind us, the village is behind us, the factory chimneys are getting closer and closer, but the thoughts are still there, in the church, and the soul is not just happy, but rejoicing - even today such a miracle happens that before our eyes, a huge, beautiful monastery grew out of the dirt and piles of construction debris, as if it were a visible guarantee that our souls, burdened by sins, can also be transformed by the grace of God.
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Trinity Boldin Monastery (Trinity-Boldin Monastery, Holy Trinity Gerasimo-Boldinsky Monastery) is a 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 Church of the Presentation (XIX century); the founder of the monastery Gerasim Boldinsky is second from left
The monastery was founded in 1530 by St. Gerasim Boldinsky. In the 16th century, the monastery repeatedly received gifts: lands from the tsar, large contributions from boyars and wealthy people; The monastery was also engaged in its own trade and fishing activities. By the end of the 16th century, the monastery owned more than 80 villages and hamlets in the Dorogobuzh district, about 20 monastic villages in other districts, mills, hunting and hunting grounds, livestock farms, and fishing grounds. Monastic farmsteads and trading shops existed in Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Smolensk, and Moscow. The monastery owned mills, hunting and hunting grounds, livestock farms, and fishing grounds.
Stone construction at the monastery began in the 1590s. Then the five-domed Trinity Cathedral (exploded, now almost restored), the bell tower (preserved), the refectory with the Church of the Entry of the Virgin into the Temple (preserved) and the walls (rebuilt) were built. 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 state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The monastery was deserted; later its buildings were transferred to the Smolensk Jesuit College. 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 riches: by the end of the 17th century it owned about 20 villages.
XVIII - early XX centuries
Bell tower of the Trinity-Boldin 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, teaching aids, works of spiritual and moral content, including the works of John himself, and translations from Latin.
In 1764, according to the manifesto signed by Catherine II (1764), all lands were taken away from the monastery. The monastery was greatly helped by a benefactor - Prince Andrei Dolgorukov.
The 1870-1880s saw a new flourishing of the monastery. Hieromonk (later archimandrite) Andrey (Vasiliev) was appointed rector. During his 24-year management of the monastery, all existing buildings and churches of the monastery were repaired and rebuilt, a new Holy Gate and a chapel were built on the site of St. Gerasim Boldinsky, wooden cells, utility buildings, a hotel for pilgrims, an abbot's house, a prosphora, a mill on the lake, a garden (700 roots) was planted. Based on two ancient texts, he 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. A historical and art museum has been organized in the former monastery buildings, the exhibition of which, among other exhibits, includes fragments of tiled stoves of the 17th-18th centuries, wooden sculpture collected by M. I. Pogodin. A wooden church from the village of Usvyatye was transported to the territory of the monastery.
Dissolution and revival of the monastery
In November 1929, the monastery was officially closed. The Trinity Cathedral housed a granary, the Vvedensky Church housed a collective farm cheese factory, and the chapel housed a separator for milk processing.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Boldinsky Monastery was a base for partisan detachments; Repair workshops 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, restoration of the monastery began based on surviving measurements and photographs under the leadership of P. D. Baranovsky. They continue to this day (the leader is Baranovsky’s student A. M. Ponomarev).
In 1991, the Boldinsky Monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Currently, a stone wall with four towers, a bell tower, and a refectory with the Vvedenskaya Church have been restored. Other buildings include the abbot's wooden house, a guardhouse at the Holy Gate, a stone cell building, a stone treasury building on the basement, and a wooden chapel in 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 has been revived. Among the surviving burials 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 church) in Dorogobuzh; patronizes Dmitrovsky's opening convent in Dorogobuzh.
The current rector of the monastery is Archimandrite Anthony (Mezentsov).
Panorama of the Boldinsky Monastery
Boldinsky Holy Trinity Monastery is the oldest monastery currently operating in the Smolensk region. It is located 15 km east of Dorogobuzh, next to the Old Smolensk road. The monastery was founded in 1530 by monk Gerasim.
In the 1580-90s, large stone construction began in the monastery. It was during these years that the main monastery buildings were built - the Trinity Cathedral, the refectory with the warm tented Church of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple, the pillar-shaped three-tiered hexagonal bell tower, the walls of the monastery.
Due to its location near a busy route - the Old Smolensk Road - travelers, merchants, and royal ambassadors often stopped here. The Boldinsky Monastery reached its peak at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. At this time, the monastery owned more than a hundred Russian villages and villages, several mills, cattle and hunting grounds, stockyards, fishing, in cities such as Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Moscow, Smolensk, he had his own monastery farmsteads and trading shops.
The Boldinsky Monastery shared with the Smolensk land all the difficult periods of history associated with wars of conquest. During the Smolensk War, from 1611 to 1656, the Boldinsky Monastery was occupied by Jesuits. In 1764, according to a manifesto signed by Catherine II, all lands were taken away from the Boldinsky Monastery, like all monasteries in the Russian state. The Boldinsky Monastery was helped to survive by benefactors, of whom Prince stood out for his generosity. Andrey Nikolaevich Dolgorukov.
A century later, Napoleonic troops built casemates within the walls of the monastery for Russian soldiers, and the main cathedral was used as a stable.
In 1929, by order of the Soviet government, the monastery was closed. The Trinity Cathedral was given over to a granary, a separator for milk processing was placed in the chapel, and the Vvedensky refectory church was converted into a collective farm cheese factory.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Boldinsky Monastery was the headquarters of the partisans, and in March 1943, the retreating Nazi troops mined all the ancient buildings of the monastery: the Trinity Cathedral, the refectory chamber with the Vvedensky Church, the bell tower - and blew them up...
The revival of the Boldin monastery from oblivion 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 Vvedenskaya Church of the Boldin Monastery. In 1964, Pyotr Dmitrievich returned to Boldino again to begin the revival of an architectural masterpiece blown up by the Nazis. It was through his labors that the amazingly beautiful bell tower rose from the ruins based on surviving measurements and photographs.
In 1991, the Boldinsky Monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and resumed its monastic activities. Over the past years, the refectory with the Vvedenskaya Church and the stone wall with four towers, the Tikhvin Church, the wooden house of the abbot, the guardhouse at the Holy Gate, the stone cell building, the stone treasury building and the wooden chapel at the monastery cemetery have been restored. Near the Boldinsky Monastery there is a picturesque lake.
In 2001, during the clearing of the southern aisle of the Trinity Cathedral, the relics of St. Gerasim were discovered. Now the shrine with the relics of the saint, which are considered miraculous, is in the Trinity Cathedral, restored in 2010. With the discovery of the relics of its holy founder, the Boldinsky Monastery began a new stage in history.
Currently, the monastery necropolis has been revived. Among the surviving burials 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.
Getting to the Boldinsky Monastery in the Smolensk region by car without knowing the road is not easy. It is better to join a bus excursion to the Boldinsky Monastery, which is organized by the Smolensk excursion center. It is planned to build a hotel for pilgrims in the Boldinsky Monastery.
Address: Smolensk region, Dorogobuzhsky district, village. Boldino
The Boldinsky Monastery is the most ancient of the existing and operating monasteries in the Smolensk region. It is located approximately 15 kilometers east of the city of Dorogobuzh. The old Smolensk road runs not far from the monastery.
The Boldinsky Monastery was founded by St. Gerasim in 1530. Gerasim set as his ascetic goal the creation of Orthodox monasteries on the lands that passed from the Principality of Lithuania to the Moscow State. After some time, the Boldinsky Holy Trinity Monastery turned into a very influential and wealthy Orthodox monastery in the Smolensk region. The wealth of the Boldinsky monastery grew and was replenished due to large donations from the boyars, due to the grant of lands by the sovereign, and due to its own fairly active economic activity.
The monastery flourished at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. At this time, the monastery owned more than hundreds of Russian villages and villages, several mills, cattle and hunting grounds, barnyards, fishing grounds; in cities such as Dorogobuzh, Vyazma, Moscow, Smolensk it had its own monastery courtyards and trading shops. At the very end of the 16th century, large stone construction began at the Boldino Holy Trinity Monastery. The five-domed Trinity Cathedral, the refectory with the Church of the Entry of the Virgin into the Temple, and the bell tower were erected.
The Boldinsky Monastery was dealt a big blow by the Time of Troubles, which occurred at the beginning of the 17th century and was caused by the invasion of the Poles. From 1617 to 1654, the Dorogobuzh lands were under the control of the Polish Kingdom, and Catholicism was its state religion. During the Time of Troubles, the monks of the monastery mostly left it, and then the lands and the monastery itself were transferred to the Smolensk Jesuit Collegium (an educational institution of the Catholic Church).
After 1954, when Moscow again reconquered 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 they 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, very a large number of who became inactive due to poverty. At this time, the Boldinsky Monastery was able to survive thanks to charitable contributions from parishioners; one of the major donors was Prince Andrei Dolgorukov.
And again the monastery experienced its heyday in the 70-80s of the 19th century. Hieromonk and then Archimandrite Andrei (Vasiliev) was appointed rector at this time. During his 24 years, all the churches and buildings of the monastery were restored and repaired, new Holy Gates, cells, buildings for household needs, a hotel, an abbot's house, a mill on the lake, a prosphora were built, and a huge garden was planted. On the site where the cell of St. Gerasim (the founder) once was, about 50 meters from the monastery, a stone chapel was built. Based on ancient lists, Archimandrite Andrei wrote and then published “The Life of St. Gerasim.”
At the beginning of the 20th century (1919-1927) under the leadership of P.D. Baranovsky, restoration work is underway in the Boldinsky Monastery, and a historical and art museum is being created. At the same time, a wooden temple from the village of Usvyatye was transported to Boldino. At the end of 1929, the Soviet government closed the Boldinsky Monastery by decree. In the future, the Trinity Cathedral will be used as a granary, a separator for milk processing will be installed in the chapel, and the refectory 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 led the ruins of the monastery to complete desolation. Local residents gradually used bricks from destroyed buildings for their needs. Only in 1964, guided by surviving photographs and measurements, under the leadership of P.D. Baranovsky restoration work begins again. And they are nearing completion, only now they are led by Pyotr Dmitrievich’s student - A.M. Ponomarev.
Smolensk Information Center of Culture and Tourism "Smolensky Terem" /
