Savior-Bethan Monastery, Sergiev Posad: history, photo, address, how to get

The ancient city of Sergiev Posad, whose history dates back to the distant fourteenth century, is known not only to virtually every inhabitant of our country, but also to the majority of foreign tourists coming to Russia to look at its sights. Located just fifty kilometers from the capital, it enters the Golden Ring. The city is quite convenient to visit. Moreover, many people are eager to come here because of the fact that only one or two days are enough for exploring the main attractions of Sergiev Posad.

The name of this town was received on March 22, 1782 by the decree of Catherine II in honor of the founder of the local settlement of Sergiy Radonezhsky. And although in the Soviet years (from 1930 to 1991) the town was renamed Zagorsk in honor of the revolutionary VM Lubotsky-Zagorsky, after which his original name was returned.

Of course, the main attraction of this village is rightly considered the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius - a monastery, which is still in effect to this day. At the mention of Posada many people have associations with this beautiful temple, with its snow-white walls, gilded domes. They are evident already at the entrance to the city. But not only Sergiev Lavra has made this small town famous. The city is famous for its numerous shrines, which are visited annually by about five hundred thousand pilgrims. Each of them has its fascinating fascinating history. And one of them is the Savior-Bethan Monastery (Sergiev Posad).

History

It is located in the southeast of the city, about four kilometers from the Sergius Lavra. The Spaso-Vifan monastery in Sergiev Posad is a place that must be included in every excursion tour. It is also known under the name "Russian Bethany".

At the end of the eighteenth - the beginning of the nineteenth century, in a surprisingly beautiful scenic area among the woodlands on the very outskirts of Sergiev Posad in its eastern part several monastic hostels were founded. They were subordinate to the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. Hostels were intended for those who prefer prayerful solitude, which was unattainable in the conditions of the Lavra, crowded with numerous pilgrims.

The first of these was the male Spaso-Vifan monastery. Unfortunately, only a few buildings that have survived since then form the central part of the small village of Ptitsegrad. Only an attentive eye of the specialist notices certain consistency in the arrangement of these "fragments" of the once rather large architectural complex, which was widely known as the Spaso-Vifan monastery. Sergiev Posad has changed a lot since then. Today it has many interesting places, in which tourists first of all aspire to get, but then Moscow suburb of Bethany was considered the second most important sight of the city.

Building

It is believed that it was then the rector of the monastery, Archbishop Platon (worldly name Peter Levshin), who founded the Savior-Bethan Monastery (Sergiev Posad). The photos, which are stored in the city museum, testify that on this place there was a watershed earlier. It was a large piece of land between the Torgashi river and a fairly large pond in which the fish used for the needs of the Lavra were bred.

The place chosen for the monastery was called Korbukha. Before the railroad embankment was built here, from the territory on which the Spaso-Vifan monastery was built, the domes of the Troitsko-Sergius Lavra were viewed. The new desert was built four years: from 1783 to 1787th. It was a long rectangle stretched from east to west. The monastery was so named after the Palestinian Bethany - the place in which the miraculous resurrection of the righteous Lazarus occurred. The project of building was led by eminent architects V. Yakovlev and N. Odoevtsev. They were invited from Moscow specifically for the construction of a new monastery.

Completion of work

Unfortunately, few know for sure what the Spaso-Vifan monastery looked like (Sergiev Posad). Photo, few of the surviving in the local museum, indicate that the central composition axis was crowned by the Holy Gates. They ended with a bell tower. On the territory of the monastery there were also the Transfiguration Cathedral, the house church of Dukhov, four brotherly buildings, the house where Archimandrite Platon lived, and several guest cells.

According to the project, there was a necropolis on the general plan, as well as a stable and a coach barn. The whole territory on which the Spaso-Vifan monastery was built was surrounded by a powerful stone fence.

In 1787, when all construction work had already been completed, the rector of Lavra Platon was elevated to the metropolitans. Almost at the same time, from the Holy Trinity Monastery to the newly constructed Spaso-Vifan monastery, the photo of which is presented below, they carried a particularly revered shrine. It is a wooden coffin in which for almost two centuries the relics of Sergius of Radonezh were located.

Seminary

After the ceremony of his coronation in 1797, the emperor Pavel I was passing through Sergiev Posad. He, having first visited the monastery in Lavra, followed him to Bethany monastery. Here he was received by Metropolitan Platon. The emperor was so pleased with the state of this monastery that he immediately established by his decree to open a seminary in the monastery. In addition, he secured land for the Bethany temple and significant land. By another decree, the Spaso-Vifan monastery received the right to receive income from three mills that were leased. In memory of the visit to the monastery by the Emperor Paul, Metropolitan Platon placed an obelisk.

In 1800, for a seminary began to build a special building. And already on the sixth of August it was inaugurated. Two-story building with four towers was built in the shape of the letter "P" - in honor of Emperor Paul. In this new school began to receive young men, mostly children of priests. Education in the seminary could be obtained at one of the three available offices. These were grammatical-rhetorical, theological or philosophical directions. Metropolitan Platon personally knew every student. As the chroniclers testify, he took so great care of the students of the seminary that every day he followed the conditions of their residence. Apparently, that is why the Spaso-Bethan monastery was called by many "school".

There were a lot of people wishing to enter the Bethany Seminary, in which teaching was excellently delivered. Therefore, over time, it expanded. Already in the thirties of the nineteenth century it was a majestic building, created in the style of classicism.

After the death of the Metropolitan

At the end of 1812, after the troops of Napoleon, having retreated from Moscow, began to leave the Russian land, Metropolitan Platon completed his earthly journey. His burial took place in the Transfiguration Cathedral. And after his death, the Theological Seminary, which became the beloved "child" of the abbot, continued to develop. The monastery itself has undergone changes. On its territory were built several stone buildings intended for monks, novices and abbots, as well as buildings provided for the almshouse, and a hotel.

In the sixties of the nineteenth century a large enough five-domed church was erected on the site of the house Dukhov monastery. He was called Tikhvin. There were five thrones in the temple. At the beginning of the twentieth century, along with the Lavra and Chernigov skete, the Spaso-Vifan monastery began to gain popularity. How to get there today, you can see on the official website of the monastery.

Address

Today, all tourists who come to Sergiev Posad, must be taken to the Spaso-Vifan monastery. The address of Russian Bethany is Masliyeva Street, building 25. It is only three kilometers south of the Chernigov Gethsemane Skete.

Spaso-Vifan monastery, how to reach that, every believer who lives in Sergiev Posad knows, annually receives a huge number of pilgrims. Many of them come here by train or train. It is not difficult to get to the monastery from the railway station. This distance can be easily overcome on foot.

To do this, moving along the railway embankment to the north towards Aleksandrov, on the second railway crossing, turn right and go to Bethany Street. And on it, and on Ptitsegradskaya you can go straight to the Spaso-Vifan monastery.

How to get there by transport

To go to the monastery from the capital by car is necessary along the Yaroslavl highway. Before reaching the sign for Sergiev Posad, turn right towards Yaroslavl along the M8 highway. It should get to the sign "turn to the Vine". Then you need to move out of the way. Without reaching the Vine, turn left and follow the main road to the monastery.

Many travelers who study the route of the Golden Ring themselves are interested in the Savior-Bethan Monastery (Sergiev Posad). How to pass before him, any resident of the city will say. To do this is simple: you need to turn from the Troitsko-Sergius Lavra from the Red Army street to the right to Karl Marx Avenue. And then get to the territory of the monastery on Ptitsedradskaya.

In the Soviet years

After the revolution, the history of the Savior-Bethany monastery changed dramatically. Monks were allowed to remain in the monastery only in the status of members of the agricultural labor collective. However, seven years later the monastery was closed, however, in some rooms the servants lived until 1929. Most primonastyrskih buildings were given to the orphanage, and in the house owned by Metropolitan Platon, began to store expositions, which owned the historical and art museum Sergiev Posad.

In the early thirties of the twentieth century, the territory of Bethany was given to a poultry farm. It began to be called the Ptitsegrad. The Bolsheviks did not spare much of the old buildings. Some of them were dismantled allegedly because of the dilapidation, and others - because of the building material, for example, a very strong brick. So the Savior-Transfiguration church was destroyed. The same fate befell the building in which Metropolitan Platon lived, as well as the monastery fence, the Holy Gates, the gate stone belfry and the brotherly necropolis.

He was beheaded and transferred to the disposal of the House of Culture and the Tikhvin Temple. He was even used as an incubator for a while, and later as a cinema hall and dance floor. The dermatovenerologic dispensary was opened in the building of the seminary. About the once flourishing monastery in those years resembled only two or three surviving buildings.

Revival

In 1998, part of the monastery was transferred to the administration of the Lavra. From this moment, and its revival began. The surviving buildings were repaired, and the destroyed ones were rebuilt again. It must be said that restoration work continues today. To restore many elements, few old photographs, drawings and sketches that have been preserved are used.

Spaso-Bethan Convent today

The monastery is again surrounded by a fence with the Holy Gates. Above them is a stone bell tower. Performed in the pseudo-Russian style, it is a real decoration of the newly revived ensemble.

On the territory of the monastery the newly built Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral occupies a central place. This newly built oval temple was created in the likeness of that cathedral that existed earlier. It has two altars. The lower is consecrated for the glory of the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, and the upper is the Transfiguration of the Lord.

The temple was restored and its interior decoration, which was conceived by Plato. The altar is made in the altar. The believers gathered inside for the prayer see it as a small cave, like the one in which they buried Lazarus and above which Mount Tabor rose . In the temple to the upper semicircular throne rises a marble slab walled. It, decorated with flowers, plants and animal figures, imitates a mountain.

At the present time, partial repairs are also made in the Church of the Holy Spirit, where divine services are held. The restoration of the memorial house in which Metropolitan Platon lived continued. At the fence, next to the newly built Holy Gate, in 2012 a monument to the founder of the monastery was erected.

Operating mode

The Spaso-Vifan monastery is active. Life in it flows according to strict regulations. Since 2002, part of the territory of the monastery was transferred to the monastery of the monastery. You can get to the monastery any day of the week from half past seven in the morning until eight in the evening. Morning services start at 5.30 and 6.30, and evening - at 16.40. Sunday school provides classes for children from families of parishioners every week.

Own wine is the pride of the monastery. They are treated to all who come to the Savior-Bethany monastery. Sergiev Posad, reviews of which leave not only our compatriots, but also tourists from many European countries, amazes with an abundance of sights. One of them is the Russian Bethany, which has a small farmstead, which supplies the monastery with eggs and milk.