Simonov monastery was founded in the second half of the XIV century and was considered one of the most significant and rich in the territory of the Moscow region. Now it is located within Moscow, in the Southern Administrative District of the capital.
Wealthy people donated solid monasteries cash, it was visited by crowned persons. Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was even assigned a cell in which he liked to retire from worldly affairs. On the territory of the monastery there was also a necropolis, where eminent figures of art and Russian culture, as well as representatives of revered noble families, found eternal peace.
What is the story about
The monastery was founded by the Monk Theodore, who was the nephew and devoted disciple of His Holiness Sergius of Radonezh. Construction work began in the XIV century on the lands, which were donated to a good cause by the Moscow boyar Khovrin. During his monastic vows, he was named Simon. From this name came the name of the monastery.
During its complicated centuries-old history, the monastery was not only the spiritual cradle of Orthodoxy, but also an important outpost providing protection on the approaches to the southern borders of Moscow. It was well fortified, and more than once its walls became an obstacle holding back enemy hordes. However, during the Time of Troubles, the richest Simonov Monastery suffered barbaric ruin and devastation.
By decree of Her Majesty Catherine II in 1771, the monastery was abolished. This time coincided with the outbreak of the plague, which engulfed Moscow and mowed down hundreds of its inhabitants. The monastic premises became a haven for isolated patients. Only a little more than two decades later, thanks to the intercession of A. Musin-Pushkin, the monastery regained its church status and began to live its former life.
In the 1920s, during the Soviet period, the Simonov Monastery again had to go through liquidation. For 7 years, the museum's expositions were located here, and even in one of the temples it was allowed to conduct a church service.
But in the 30s, by decision of the government commission, the monastery walls, five churches, the bell tower and other buildings were demolished. More than two thirds of the entire architectural ensemble has been lost forever.
What can be seen in the monastery today
Everything returns to normal. In the 90s of the last century, the monastery again returned to the bosom of the church and began to revive. Partially, work was undertaken to restore some buildings.
Unfortunately, only a small part of the ancient buildings has survived to our time: fragments of the southern fortress wall with several surviving towers, refectory buildings: an old and later building with a church, a fraternal building and a number of outbuildings.
The surviving monastery walls, which included part of an older fortress structure, erected, according to scientists, by Fyodor Kon, date back to the 30s, and three towers - to the 40s of the 17th century. Special attention attracted by the corner tower called "Dulo". Its top is crowned with a tent structure with a sentinel two-tiered superstructure. The “salt” tower is architecturally similar to the “Dulo”, but much more modest in size and decor. The smallest tower is the Blacksmith's, it is located in the pyasle, that is, in the preserved wall, has a pentagonal shape and is also equipped with a small viewing point in one tier.
The structure of the refectory is designed in the Moscow Baroque style and decorated with paintings that imitate faceted stonework. main facade completed with a stepped tong, characteristic of Western European architecture. A small church adjoins the refectory. The outbuildings and the Kelar building are now used as workshops.
Simonov Monastery is of spiritual, architectural and historical value, attracting numerous believers and curious tourists.
One of the most affected Moscow monasteries and one of the most significant in the history of the capital. The Simonov Monastery was lost by more than two-thirds; its cathedral, one of the oldest in Moscow, was destroyed in the 20th century. And yet, fragments of its history have survived to this day, as if showing what an irrepressible thirst for destruction can lead to.
Initially, the Simonov Monastery was founded in 1370 a little further from its current location - where the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Stary Simonov is now located. Its founder was St. Theodore, a disciple and nephew of St. Sergius of Radonezh. And the monastery received its name not from the temple, but from the monastic name of the boyar Stepan Khovrin, who donated land to create a monastery and accepted monasticism in it with the name Simon. In 1379, the monastery was moved a little to the north and no longer changed its location. At the same time, the construction of the stone Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God began, completed by 1405. In the 16th century, the existing stone walls: the architect, presumably, was Fedor Kon, the creator of the Smolensk Kremlin, the walls of the White City in Moscow and the Small Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery. The walls and towers of the Simonov Monastery are a masterpiece of Russian fortification; it took part in battles more than once and withstood enemy sieges. The Dulo, Salt and Blacksmith towers that have survived to this day were rebuilt in the 1640s. The monastery was abolished in 1771 to accommodate the plague quarantine, but in 1795 it was restored again at the request of Count Musin-Pushkin.
The center of the monastery ensemble was the massive five-domed Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God. To the south was a refectory built in 1677 at the expense of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich with the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on the basis of an old building. In architectural terms, it was a very unusual building: in addition to the quadrangle of the church, a wide observation tower stood out, from which the tsar admired the views of Moscow and its environs. Its facades were decorated with windows with architraves of complex shape; from the west, it was crowned with a decorative stepped composition with Dutch motifs. Above the western gates was the Church of the All-Merciful Savior, built in 1593 in memory of the victory over the Crimean Khan Kazy Giray, and above the eastern gates was the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. From the north, as part of the monastery wall, there was a bell tower built at the expense of the merchant Ivan Ignatiev in 1835-1839 according to the project of the architect K.A. Ton - the creator of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Finally, at the building of the monastery hospital there was a single-domed church of St. Alexander Svirsky.
A number of Russian saints and famous bishops who went down in history began their monastic path in Simonov Monastery: Metropolitan of Moscow Jonah, Patriarch Joseph, St. Cyril of Belozersky. The monastery necropolis was full of famous names of Russian literature and art: S.T. and K.S. Aksakovs, A.A. Alyabiev and many others.
Near the Simonov Monastery there was a pond, which, according to legend, was dug by St. Sergius of Radonezh himself. However, it entered literature and popular memory under the name "Lizin's pond" thanks to the book by N.M. Karamzin " Poor Lisa»: main character works committed suicide because of the betrayal of her lover, throwing herself into this pond.
In 1920, the monastery was abolished, but the buildings were initially preserved: in some of them, a museum of fortification was arranged. However, by 1930 it was also closed, and on the night of January 21, 1930, most of the monastery, together with the Assumption Cathedral of the early 15th century, was blown up. This is the biggest loss cultural heritage Moscow in the 1930s. At the same time, the monastery necropolis was completely destroyed, only some graves were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. On the site of the destroyed part of the monastery, the Palace of Culture of the ZIL plant appeared, created according to the project.
Today we can see no more than a third of the monastery ensemble: out of six churches, only one remains - in the name of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. Three towers with dilapidated fragments of the monastery walls, the Kelar building, a refectory, a malt shop and treasury cells have also been preserved. These buildings were used for industrial purposes for a long time, fishing hooks and tackle were made here, so they are all in very poor condition. The building of the Tikhvin Church with a refectory, distorted by perestroika, was handed over to believers in 1995, and from that moment restoration is underway. The community here is special - for the deaf-mute and hard of hearing.
Moscow Simonov Monastery in honor of the Dormition Holy Mother of God , 1st class, stauropegial (invalid)The monastery got its name after the monk Simon, in the world boyar Stefan Vasilyevich Khovrin, who donated land for the monastery. On these lands - south of Moscow, ten miles from the Kremlin - the monastery was founded.
Initially, the Simonov Monastery was located somewhat lower along the Moscow River, at high road to Moscow, and Saint Theodore, striving to find greater solitude, chose another place for the monastery, not far from the old one. In the year the monastery was moved to its current location. In the old place, only the parish church of the Nativity in Stary Simonov remained, which has survived to this day.
At the same time, the stone church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was laid. The church was consecrated in the year. In the year the dome of the cathedral was badly damaged by a lightning strike. At the end of the century, the temple was rebuilt by one of Fioravanti's disciples on the model of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin.
The new walls of the monastery and part of the towers were built in the year, while the new fortress included fragments of the old fortress built by Fyodor Kon. The circumference of the monastery walls was 825 meters, the height was 7 meters. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower "Dulo" stands out, crowned with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower. The other two surviving towers - the five-sided Blacksmith's and the round Salt - were built in the 1640s, when the monastery's defensive structures, which had suffered during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt.
Three gates led to the monastery: eastern, western and northern. In memory of repelling an attack Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey in the year the gate church of the All-Merciful Savior was built. Over the eastern gate, the gate church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was erected in the year.
In the year, on a stormy night, lightning struck the cross of the main dome of the cathedral, and the dome caught fire. Being engaged in its repair, they began to rebuild the entire cathedral, for which the Grand Duke Ivan III allowed to invite the student of the architect Aristotle Fiorovanti.
Seventy years later, the cathedral was rebuilt a second time, and a hipped bell tower was erected next to it. As a result of alterations to XVII century the cathedral turned into a high cross-domed building with an entrance in the center of the western wall, on the other three sides it was surrounded by a low gallery. Two staircases led to the gallery from the east, and this especially emphasized the symmetry and solemnity of the building. Almost square at the base, the cathedral stood on a high basement of white stone. The top ended with a cross vault on four pillars. The ends of the vaults formed zakomari. In plan, the cathedral had the shape of an eight-pointed cross. Slit-like window openings were arranged in the light drum, at its base there were small keel-shaped kokoshniks. When the burnt head was being remade, the zakomars were closed, and decorative drums were placed in the corners. The cathedral became about five chapters of an onion form. The shape of the main entrance portal has also changed.
In the city, a sacristy was attached to the cathedral on the left side, and on the right - a chapel of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In the aisle there was an icon of the Lord Almighty, which belonged to St. Sergius of Radonezh. According to legend, it was in this way that the monk blessed Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his squad before the Battle of Kulikovo. In the sacristy there was a three-leaf fold, with which the Monk Sergius blessed the monks of Peresvet and Oslyabya before the battle. In the cathedral there was a magnificent five-tier gilded iconostasis, in which the Vladimir and Tikhvin icons of the Mother of God of the beginning of the 16th century were placed. At the end of the 19th century, the cathedral was renovated outside and inside according to the project of the architect K.A. tone. The mosquito cover was remade into a four-slope one, the windows were expanded, and the gallery was glazed. The temple was renovated during the year.
In January, the Cathedral of the Assumption, along with some of the other monastic buildings, was blown up. Historians and restorers tried to save this monument, pointing to its antiquity and frescoes of the 15th century found in the cathedral, but to no avail.
Church of John the Faster and Alexander Nevsky in the bell towerIn the year it was decided to build a new bell tower of the monastery with funds donated by the merchant Ivan Ignatiev. According to the original project, the bell tower was to be built in the classicist style according to the project of N.E. Tyurin, however, in those days, the movement for a return to more traditional architecture for Russia was already gaining momentum. As a result, by the year a five-tier bell tower 90 m high was erected in the “Russian-Byzantine style” according to the project of K.A. tone. The belfry, inspired by Ivan the Great, exceeded it by 9 m in height. The largest of the bells hanging on the belfry weighed 16.4 tons (1000 pounds). Clocks were installed on the fourth tier. The bell tower was one of the architectural dominants of Moscow of its time and visually formed a complete picture of the picturesque bend of the Moskva River downstream from the city.
In the year it was blown up and dismantled into bricks.
In the year the monastery was on the path of the troops of the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey, and the fire of the cannons standing on the walls participated in repelling the raid. In memory of this event, a small Church of the Savior was built above the ancient western gates.
Every year on August 1, on the day of the Origin (wearing) of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, a religious procession was made from the temple to the Moscow River to bless the water. The temple and its iconostasis were renovated, but the ancient royal gates and some icons were preserved, including the image of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos of the 16th century.
Simonov Monastery is a monastery founded in 1370 downstream of the Moskva River from Moscow by a disciple and nephew of Sergius of Radonezh - Fedor, a native of the city of Radonezh on the lands donated by the boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovrin (monastic name - Monk Simon - from which the name comes monastery). Many key events in Russian history are associated with the Simonov Monastery.
Simonov Monastery founded in 1370 by St. Fedor, a disciple of Sergius of Radonezh. In 1379 it was moved to its current location, only the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin remained in Stary Simonov.
In the 18th century, in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the burial places of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, Alexander Peresvet and Andrey (Rodion) Oslyaba, were discovered, which have survived to this day.
St. Sergius of Radonezh considered the Simonov Monastery a "branch" of his Trinity monastery and always stayed here during his visits to Moscow.
A whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders emerged from the walls of the Simonov Monastery: Cyril Belozersky, St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, Patriarch Joseph, Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop John of Rostov. In the 16th century, the famous non-acquisitive monk Vassian (in the world - Prince Vasily Ivanovich Kosoy-Patrikeev) and the theologian Maxim the Greek lived and worked in the monastery.
According to the chronicler, Simonov Monastery repeatedly served as "Moscow's shield against enemies." Per long years During its existence, the Simonov Monastery more than once took upon itself the onslaught of enemy hordes, was subjected to Tatar raids, during the Time of Troubles it was devastated and almost destroyed to the ground.
In former times, the monastery was one of the most famous and revered in Russia: a huge number of people and rich material contributions flocked here. The monastery was especially loved by Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, who had his own cell here for solitude.
Corner tower "Dulo". 1630
In 1771, the monastery was abolished by Catherine II and, on the occasion of the plague epidemic that had spread at that time, it was turned into a plague isolation ward. Only in 1795 was it restored to its original quality by the petition of Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin.
"Blacksmith" tower of the Simonov Monastery
After the advent of Soviet power in 1920, the monastery was abolished. In 1923, a museum was established in the monastery, which existed until 1930. The director of the museum, Vasily Ivanovich Troitsky, established relations with the church community: he allowed services in one of the temples of the monastery in exchange for the provision of watchmen and janitors at the expense of the community.
"Salt" tower of the Simonov Monastery
In January 1930, a government commission recognized that some of the ancient structures on the territory of the monastery could be preserved as historical monuments, but the cathedral and walls should be demolished.
The explosion thundered on the night of January 21, exactly on the sixth anniversary of the death of V. I. Lenin. Five out of six churches flew into the air, including the Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches, as well as the Watchtower and Taynitskaya towers with buildings adjacent to them. On working subbotniks, all the walls of the monastery, except for the south one, were dismantled, and all the graves on the territory of the monastery were wiped off the face of the earth. On the site of the ruins of the "fortress of church obscurantism", as the magazine Ogonyok wrote, the ZIL Palace of Culture rose in 1932-1937 ..
Thus, in the early 1930s, all the main buildings Simonov Monastery were destroyed. The Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin has been partially preserved. The church now houses a parish for the hearing impaired. Services are held with sign language translation
