Architectural monuments of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery Holy Storozhevsky Monastery

The Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery is, apparently, the third oldest building in the Moscow region. This cathedral, the size of an ordinary church, dates back to 1405.

The cross-domed, four-pillar, single-domed temple is one of the few surviving monuments of Moscow architecture at the turn of the 16th-15th centuries.

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03. Unlike the Assumption Cathedral in Gorodok and many other surviving churches of this era, the Nativity Cathedral was restored with the restoration of zakomari and ceilings along them, although in the 18th-19th centuries the roof was also made hipped. Almost the same reconstruction exists for the cathedral on Gorodok, built literally a decade earlier; As far as I know, this appearance, in particular the zakomar, is disputed in the scientific community.

04. Stone carvings in the form of belts and characteristic portals are also present, and the portals are even painted (it is assumed that this was the case in the Middle Ages, and they began to completely whitewash only later)

05. And such “plug-in” elements, I think, date back to the 17th century, not earlier - but more like the mid-18th century.

06. In the 1650s. a single-domed Savvinsky chapel, covered with a closed vault, two porches and a western porch were added to the cathedral on the southern and western sides. Above the southern porch there is a sacristy, originally connected by a covered passage to the royal palace.

07. Inside the southern porch

08. The iconostasis and part of the icons have been preserved from the 17th century; the walls, pillars and vaults are covered with frescoes from 1656, made by a group of royal craftsmen led by Stepan Ryazants and cleaned in 1970-1971. from later entries.

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Coordinates: 55.728018°N 36.816262°E

Photos from 2008-2009

On the quiet shores of Moscow
Churches crowned with crosses,
Old chapters shine
Above the monastery walls.
Stretched all around in the hills
Never felled groves,
They have been sleeping there for a long time
Saint's holy relics.

A. S. Pushkin dedicated this poem
Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

Zvenigorod. I’ve been wanting to go there for a long time, and it just happened to be a free weekend... 46 km west of Moscow in a picturesque location on a hill is the city of Zvenigorod. And 1.5 km from Zvenigorod on Storozhevaya Mountain is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. A beautiful, ancient, holy place! As with many monasteries, there is an interesting combination of different architectural styles.

Temples and chapels of the monastery:

1. Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1404-1405)
2. Gate Church of the Life-Giving Trinity
3. Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (in the belfry) 1650
4. Church of the Transfiguration (1693)
5. Chapel-gazebo (1998)
6. Chapel over the Holy Spring of St. Savva
Other buildings of the monastery:
7. North Gate
8. Streltsy Chambers (XVII-XVIII centuries)
9. Refectory chamber (1652-1654)
10. Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (XVII century)
11. Fraternal corps (2nd half of the 17th century)
12. Tsarina's chambers (XVII century)
13. Refectory with a chapel in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (1807)
14. Monastery building
15. Treasury building (2nd half of the 17th century)
16. Red Tower (XVII century)
17. Water tower (XVII century)
18. Usova Tower (XVII century)
19. Zhitnaya Tower (XVII century)
20. Towers and walls of the fence (2nd half of the 17th century)
21. Monument to St. Savva Storozhevsky (2007)

A little history

The monastery was founded in 1398 on the high bank of the Moscow River on Mount Storozhe, which was a defensive fortification of the Moscow principality. The monastery was founded by the Monk Savva, the Zvenigorod wonderworker, one of the first disciples of the Monk Sergius of Radonezh, at the request of the Zvenigorod Prince Yuri Dmitrievich, the second son of the Great Moscow Prince Dimitri Donskoy. Initially, the monastery had wooden walls (tyn).

Around 1405, the white-stone Nativity Cathedral was built, at the entrance to which the Monk Savva, canonized, was buried.

In 1650, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree on the construction of a new monastery ensemble on Mount Storozhe, which began the second construction period in the monastic history. Already in the spring-autumn of 1649, the necessary construction work was carried out in the Nativity Cathedral and the paintings were done anew.

In 1650–1656 the main buildings and fortress walls were built (length 760 m, height 8–9 m, thickness about 3 m) with 7 towers, of which 6 have survived to this day. Temples were built in the monastery fence: the gateway in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1651 –1652), later reconsecrated in honor of the Life-Giving Trinity; Preobrazhensky (second half of the 17th century), as well as the belfry and the Refectory Chamber (1650s), the Tsar's Palace and the Tsarina's Chambers (1650s), the fraternal and cell buildings and other buildings.

In 1812, the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery shared the fate of many Russian monasteries, but, despite the general ruin of the monastery, the relics of St. Savva remained untouched.

In 1918, in Zvenigorod, as a result of the actions of local authorities who requisitioned part of the monastery’s property, an armed conflict occurred, resulting in casualties. The abbot of the monastery, Abbot Macarius (Popov), clergy, and laymen were convicted in the “Zvenigorod case.” In March 1919, the blasphemous opening of the relics of St. Savva caused protests from the brethren and residents of the city. Arrests followed. The relics of St. Savva were confiscated and the monastery was closed.

During Soviet times, the monastery housed various institutions: military units, a sanatorium, and a museum.

Part of the relics of St. Savva Storozhevsky was preserved in the Uspensky family. In 1985, the shrine was transferred to the Moscow St. Daniel Monastery.

In 1995, the monastery was revived. During the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the monastery in 1998, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II solemnly transferred the relics of St. Savva to it.

Monument to St. Savva Storozhevsky.

Savva Storozhevsky - reverend of the Russian Church, founder and first abbot of the Mother of God of the Nativity (Savvino-Storozhevsky) monastery in Zvenigorod, Zvenigorod wonderworker, one of the most famous Russian saints, spiritual ascetic of Russia, “patron of kings” and “defender of Moscow”, healer, seer , “a refuge for all sinners.”

Northern gate of the monastery.

The largest building of the monastery is the four-story building of the Refectory with a glacier, a well and a dining chamber. It is characteristic that already in the 17th century glass, rather than mica, was inserted into the windows, and heating was installed in the room.

Chapel-gazebo.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary immediately attracts attention. He's great. And not so much from the outside as from the inside. It is functional, it does not have particularly rich decoration, but there is a powerful aura and an amazing spirit of the Time.

Refectory Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan (yellow building) 1807

The chambers of the king and queen were impressive, but you just can’t envy how they lived in those days, especially the queen, her whole life was spent within these four walls and in the church, although who knows, maybe she lived very well... For the convenience of the queen, the chambers connected by a passage with the neighboring gate church, which became a house church. Next to the red and white Trinity Church, where the museum’s funds are now located, are the Tsarina’s Chambers - Queen Mary of Miloslavskaya. The hipped front porch is decorated with thick jug-shaped columns. The creators found a simple solution for the color scheme of the building: the red color of the brick from which it is made contrasts well with the whiteness of the carved stone. This elegant structure differs sharply from the huge, majestic, but cold royal palace located opposite.

The palace (chambers) of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich entered the history of Russian architecture as one of the most significant monuments of civil architecture of the mid-to-late 17th century. Built in the 1650s for pilgrimages to the sovereign’s monastery. Due to the difficult terrain and the significant size of the building (the length of the façade is about 100 m), construction took several decades.

Zhitnaya Tower. The walls and towers were built in four years (1650–1654).

Angel at the top of the Zhitnaya Tower.

The monastery ensemble is completed by a four-tiered belfry with three tents and a clock tower. In 1930, the Savvino-Storozhevskaya monastery lost almost all of its bells. 11 small and 5 large bells were removed and sent for melting. There are only 2 bells left on the belfry - the large Blagovestny and the sentry bells. The Great Blagovestny was taken from the monastery in 1941. The bell weighed about 34 tons. According to the official version, when trying to remove the bell from the belfry, it fell to the ground and broke. However, there is another version, according to which the bell was blown up directly at the belfry. Be that as it may, fragments of the bell were scattered throughout the monastery - several fragments and part of the bell tongue were found.

By the way. Previously, the entrance to the monastery was in a different place, next to the Tsarina’s Chambers, through the Red Gate. The Red Tower is currently under restoration. Go down the steps and enter from there. A completely different impression. Behind the Red Gate there is a small front courtyard. From here two staircases led to the main square. The first, wide, intended for guests of honor, passed through the basement of the Trinity Church, the second, for ordinary visitors, narrower, went north of the Trinity Church. The entrance from the courtyard to the first staircase is decorated with white stone columns, decorated with rosettes and wall paintings.

View from the observation deck down to the pond.

Along the paths along the slope we go down to the well of St. Sava.

Monk Sava's monastery

Not far from the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery is the Savvinsky monastery, in which the Monk Savva performed his feat of prayer more than 600 years ago. This place is no less a landmark of Zvenigorod than the monastery itself. I will not be mistaken if I say that many who come to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery do not even suspect that there is a monastery two kilometers from it.

On the territory of the monastery there is a chapel-font over the spring of St. Sava. A wonderful bath, and most importantly, the nature around is extraordinary. The bathhouse is large, separate, everything is very nice... It’s really worth coming here. Blessed place!

A little history

According to legend, the Monk Savva often retired to a small cave, dug or discovered by him not far from the monastery, for solitude and prayer. In the 1860-1870s, a church was erected above the cave in the name of St. Savva of Storozhevsky, and next to it the ensemble of the monastery monastery was built. Initially, it was called the “dormitory department” and was a whole monastery with two churches, cells and economic services, surrounded by stone walls with turrets.

Savvinsky Monastery suffered greatly during Soviet times, many buildings were destroyed. After the war, families of military sanatorium employees lived here.

On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the repose of the Zvenigorod Wonderworker, the saint’s cave was restored, the surviving buildings were restored, monastery life was revived, the source of St. Savva was restored, and a bathhouse was built. There is a monastery on the territory of the monastery.

The path running past the temple leads directly to a small monastery with a church in the name of St. Sava.

Near the entrance there is a cross with the inscription “In memory of the deceased brethren of the holy monastery.”

You can look behind the fence of the monastery only by climbing the stairs to the hill.

From here you have a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

It is better to buy souvenirs in the monastery, and not on the approaches to it or in the parking lot: there is more choice and it is cheaper. The store sold bread, cakes, pies, tea and coffee. I advise you to buy monastery onion bread, very tasty kvass and mead.

The monastery is “beautiful, well-kept and famous”; in recent times it has attracted a huge number of people, especially on weekends and holidays.

Summary: It’s worth a trip to relax your soul and enjoy nature.

The cathedral is one of the oldest surviving temples on Moscow soil (1404-1405). Erected during the lifetime of St. Savva Storozhevsky, who was buried at the entrance to the cathedral, on the right.

Built on the site of a wooden church made of white stone - limestone in the traditions of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture; four-pillar, cross-domed, with a mosquito net. White stone for the construction of the temple was mined in the upper reaches of the Moscow River.

In the second half of the 16th century, after the glorification of St. Savva at the Moscow Cathedral in 1547, the chapel of St. Savva was added to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the southeastern side.

In the 17th century, when the relics of the Zvenigorod wonderworker were discovered (in 1652), a tradition developed of reverent veneration of three places associated with the memory of the Saint: the shrine itself with the holy relics; burial place and an old oak shrine in the Savvinsky chapel. Especially revered icons of the saint hung here, and unquenchable lamps burned. Initially, the shrine of St. Sava was wooden and placed in a cast openwork tent. According to the promise of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his son Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich donated a silver shrine to the monastery. Later, first a wooden and then a bronze canopy was built over it.

Renovation of the monastery under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the middle of the 17th century. began with the Nativity Cathedral, to which galleries were attached, the southern one with the Tsar’s chapel on the second floor, later connected to the Tsar’s Palace. In this room in the 18th - early 20th centuries. there was a rich monastery sacristy. The glass cabinets here housed sacred books, precious crosses, vessels, censers, panagias, and vestments. The phelonion of St. Petersburg was kept with special care. Savva Storozhevsky. In addition to church antiquities and contributions to the monastery, the sacristy contained the clothes of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, and Princess Sophia.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin is a unique monument of monumental painting of the 15th-20th centuries. The surviving fragments of the earliest paintings of the temple date back to the 15th century. and belong to the masters of the circle of St. Andrei Rublev. Color layers from the 16th century were discovered on the facades.

After the Time of Troubles, the cathedral was renovated in 1649 by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The walls of the temple were re-painted by 29 royal paid and stern icon painters, led by Stepan Ryazants and Vasily Ilyin. The names of all participants in the work, which lasted only the warm season (spring - autumn) of 1649, are known.

Paintings from subsequent times have been preserved on the walls of the temple: 18th century, 1835, 1913.
Revealing the pictorial layer of the mid-17th century. carried out by a team of the highest category restorer D.E. Bryagin in the 1960s - 1980s.

Work to save the most ancient paintings of the cathedral (paintings of the altar barrier, etc.) was carried out by the Research Institute of Restoration using a specially developed method by the head. Department of the Stroganov School V.P. Brown.

In the 1990s, as part of the Zvenigorod Museum, a team of monumental painting restorers was created under his leadership, whose efforts brought the gallery paintings out of disrepair and restored the Savvinsky chapel and its vestibule.

For the 600th anniversary of the monastery, work in the temple was carried out under the leadership of museum restorer of the 1st category S.P. Loseva.

Iconostasis of the cathedral from the mid-17th century. represents one of the peaks of the ancient Russian icon painting tradition. Strict canonical writing allows you to forget the vanity of everyday life, remaining alone with the Lord in prayerful exaltation.

The five-tiered iconostasis was created by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the 1650s by the famous icon painters (royal isographers) of the Armory Chamber Stepan Ryazants (Rezants), Karp Timofeev, Yakov Kazants and others. Silver embossed, so-called basmen, frames were made simultaneously with the icons in the workshops of the Armory Chamber.

In the 19th century The preserved altar doors with images of Archdeacons Stephen and Lawrence were painted, as well as new frames for the chapels and columns.
During the years of the revolution, all the icons of the local rank, the precious decoration of the lower tier of the iconostasis and the Royal Doors were lost, but the upper rows of the iconostasis were practically not damaged.

The miraculously preserved icons of the ancestral, prophetic, festive and Deesis ranks, as well as the precious decoration of the iconostasis, were put on state registration in the Zvenigorod Museum in 1960.

In 1969-1975 in the workshop of the restorer D.E. Bryagin, located in the Moscow Novo-Devichy Convent, a study and complete restoration of icons and frames was carried out. The selfless work of the brigade D.E. Bryagin's work on the preservation and conservation of icons was continued by the restorers of the museum A.L. Melnichenko and M.B. Seleznev, with whom the iconostasis was installed in the Nativity Cathedral in 1998.

The architectural restoration of the unique monument of early Moscow architecture was carried out under the leadership of architects V.I. Fedorova, L.K. Rossov (the roof of the cathedral was restored at the turn of the 1960s-70s) and V.M. Pustovalov.

For the 600th anniversary of the monastery, its shrine - the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary - was splendidly decorated. Work in the interior of the temple to restore the iconostasis, install a new shrine and canopy was carried out by the architects of the monastery T.N. Kudryavtseva and novice Irina Timofeeva under the leadership of Fr. Houri.

On August 22, 1998, the holy relics of its founder were solemnly returned to the monastery. Now in the cathedral, as before, to the right of the Royal Doors there is a shrine with the incorruptible relics of St. Savva of Storozhevsky. Every day the brethren and parishioners gather here for prayer singing, and the Reverend hears the prayers of everyone - cases of miracles do not stop to this day.

The temple contains especially revered and miraculous images: the icon of St. Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, painted for the monastery on Mount Athos in the monastery of St. Panteleimon in 1912, the icon of the Royal Martyrs is presented for veneration with an ark containing a particle of the stone of the Holy Sepulcher and particles of the relics of the holy saints.

Literature:
Veresh S.V. Masters of the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod. M.: Publishing house Zebra E; Zvenigorod: Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, 2007.

Kondrashina V.A. Treasures of the Zvenigorod Museum. Catalog. /M/, /1991/.

Kondrashina V.A. Iconostasis of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery by the Tsars
Isographers of the mid-17th century // Zvenigorod for six centuries. Collection of articles / Ed. V.A. Kondrashina, L.A. Timoshina. M.: URSS, 1998. pp. 387-405.

Losev S.P. About the restoration in the Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery // Orthodox art and the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Materials of scientific conferences dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, December 17, 1997 and September 22, 1998. Zvenigorod, 1998. pp. 88-89.

Melnichenko A.L. Restoration of the mid-17th century iconostasis of the Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery // Orthodox art and the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Materials of scientific conferences dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, December 17, 1997 and September 22, 1998. Zvenigorod, 1998. pp. 84-87.

Nikolaeva T.V. Ancient Zvenigorod. Architecture. Art. M.: “Iskusstvo”, 1978.

Ognev B.A. Moscow architecture of the late XIV and first quarter of the XV centuries.

Dissertation// To the 600th anniversary of the Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Comp. E.A. Belov. M.: “Summer”, 2008 (Chapter II. Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery). pp. 277-311.

Palkina D.Yu. Arguments in favor of re-dating the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery // To the 600th anniversary of the Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Comp. E.A. Belov. M.: “Summer”, 2008. P. 13-26.

Pustovalov V.M. The main stages of the construction of the Nativity Cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery // Zvenigorod for six centuries. Collection of articles / Ed. V.A. Kondrashina, L.A. Timoshina. M.: URSS, 1998. pp. 323-347.

Tyutyunnikova I.V. Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod: Guide. M.: Northern Pilgrim, 2007.

Yasnova L.Yu. On the history of restoration of wall paintings and icons of the 1650s in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery: 1959-1979 // Zvenigorod for six centuries. Collection of articles / Ed. V.A. Kondrashina, L.A. Timoshina. M.: URSS, 1998. pp. 406-412.

Date of publication or update 12/15/2017

Book of the Hermitage of St. Sava

Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

Address of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery: Moscow region, Zvenigorod, Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery.
Please note that the monastery does not have any other postal address- even on the official website www.savvastor.ru. The monastery is located on the outskirts of Zvenigorod, and you can only find it by following a driving map - for example, this one.
How to get to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery by public transport: from the Belorussky railway station to the Zvenigorod station, then by bus No. 23, 51 to the Monastyr stop.
By bus from the station. Kuntsevo metro station to the city of Zvenigorod, then by bus No. 23, 51 to the Monastyr stop.
Bus schedules are in useful links.
How to get to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery by car: along Minsk or Novorizhskoe highway.
Photo album of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery.
A story about a trip to Zvenigorod to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery.
Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery: http://www.savvastor.ru/
View on Yandex map:

During the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the monastery of St. Savva became the Lavra, and its abbots became archimandrites. The monastery becomes “the sovereign’s own pilgrimage site” and is controlled directly by the Secret Prikaz - the royal personal office.

1656 - the arrival of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch, one of the Ecumenical Patriarchs, to the monastery.

1667–1668 - in honor of the arrival of the Ecumenical Patriarchs in Moscow, bellmaker Alexander Grigoriev casts the largest monastery bell - the Great Blagovestny - weighing 2125 poods (approx. 35 tons) right on the territory of the monastery near the Belfry. The bell had an unusually beautiful, thick and melodic ringing; according to legend, it was heard even in Moscow. Another tower appears on the Belfry for the hour bell, taken by the Tsar from Smolensk and donated to the monastery.

View from the Nativity Cathedral to the belfry.

1674 - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich equalized the importance of the Savvin Monastery with the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

1680 - Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich fulfills his father’s dying will and accompanies to the monastery a silver shrine for the relics of St. Savva, made by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the masters of the Armory Chamber. The monastery under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich is called “the sovereign’s room” and “first-class”.

1682 - during the Streltsy revolt, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna with Tsarevichs Peter and Ivan Alekseevich and Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna took refuge in the monastery for two weeks. Under Tsars Peter and John Alekseevich, the monastery was subordinate to the Monastic Sovereign Chamber.

Portals of the doors of the Nativity Cathedral.

Patterns of the portal of the doors of the Nativity Cathedral.

1693, May 29–30 - 17-year-old Peter I visited the monastery and even celebrated his birthday here. A funny fight was staged near the monastery walls.

1693 - the warm stone Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, attached to the monastery refectory, was consecrated (under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, there was a wooden church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir on this site). Funds for the construction were given by Tsarevna Sofia Alekseevna in memory of her salvation during the Streltsy revolt of 1682, the so-called. "Khovanshchina". At the same time, the old iconostasis from the Nativity Cathedral was moved to the temple. According to legend, it was the “Rublevsky iconostasis”.

Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Carved porch of the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

1699 - after the suppression of the Streltsy revolt, 100 rebellious Streltsy were kept in the monastery under the strictest conditions (presumably in the basement of the Tsarina's Chambers). “Keep them in that monastery in prisons, shackled and bound, and in prisons, clean out their cells and not let anyone near them and give them no ink or paper.”

1700 - Tsar Peter Alekseevich transferred all affairs of the Savvin Monastery and the monasteries attached to it to the jurisdiction of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In spiritual affairs, the monastery was directly subordinated first to the Metropolitans, then to the Patriarchs. Upon the establishment of the Synod, the monastery came under its direct jurisdiction.

1713 - in commemoration of the soul of Princess Sofia Alekseevna, the explanatory Gospel of 1698 was given to the monastery.

From 1721 to 1775, the monastery was stauropegial and subordinated directly to the Holy Synod.

Galleries of the monastery walls.

Galleries of the monastery walls.

In 1729, Tsarina Evdokia Feodorovna, the first wife of Peter I, visited the monastery, and at about the same time, Duchess of Mecklenburg Ekaterina Ioannovna, sister of the future Empress Anna Ioannovna.

1740 - Empress Elizabeth Petrovna visited the monastery.

1742 - the second wooden floor of the Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich burns down and is rebuilt in brick using completely new, Western-style construction techniques - a suite of halls.

1743 - the monastery was transferred to the management of Moscow Archbishop Joseph Volochansky.

On the territory of the monastery.

1749 - Empress Elizabeth Petrovna visited the monastery.

1762 - Empress Catherine II Alekseevna visited the monastery.

1764 - when the monasteries were divided into three classes, the Savvin Monastery was classified as one of the first-class stauropegial monasteries with a staff of 33 monks.

In 1775–1799, the monastery was ruled by the Archbishop of Moscow (later Metropolitan).

1775 - Empress Catherine II Alekseevna visited the monastery.

1778 - captivated by the beauty of the monastery and its picturesque surroundings, Catherine II decides to renovate the monastery, which had fallen into disrepair, and commissions the French architect Legrand to design a country palace on the territory of the monastery. According to the project, the eastern wall, the Red Tower, the Sergius (Trinity) Church and the Tsaritsyn Chambers were to be demolished. Catherine, apparently, did not like the project, and she changed her decision to build a country palace here. Instead, many renovations were carried out at the monastery during this time.

The inscription on the fence: “altar part of the Church of St. John Climacus, do not climb or go beyond the fence.”

The wooden tents of the fortress towers are replaced with metal ones built in the Baroque style. The roof covering of the Nativity Cathedral is being replaced with a flat, hipped one. The top of the cathedral walls are being painted, and the murals are being renewed. A second wooden floor is being built above the central part of the Tsarina's chambers - the "Bishop's Chambers". The northern part of the Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the western tower “Bolnichnaya” are being dismantled due to their disrepair. The western part of the Fraternal Corps is being dismantled, and in its place the Small Cell Corps is being built.

1781 - over the shrine with the relics of St. Savva Storozhevsky had a wooden canopy installed at the expense of Count N.V. Sheremetev.

1782 - Hospital wards and St. Church are dismantled. John Climacus. A second floor is being built above the Brotherhood building. The facades of all buildings facing the Main Courtyard are decorated in pseudo-Russian style.

1799–1919 - the abbots of the monastery are the bishops of Dmitrov (later Mozhaisk), who were vicars (closest assistants) of the Metropolitan of Moscow.

1800s - the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, according to the design of the architect Borisov, is being rebuilt as a Theological School.

1806 - the vaults of the 17th century Refectory Chamber collapsed, the building was rebuilt and adapted to the needs of the Theological School.

In 1807, the Kazan refectory was added to the Sergius (Trinity) Church above the Sheremetev family crypt.

1812, August–September - Viceroy of Italy, Crown Prince, stepson of Napoleon Eugene Beauharnais stays in the Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and on the very first night, according to legend, the Monk Savva appeared to him and promised to save his life if he protected the cathedral from being plundered by the French soldiers, and also (according to family legend) predicted to the prince that his children would live in Russia. Beauharnais fulfilled the request of the holy elder and was the only one of Napoleon’s military leaders who remained alive and not even wounded and lived a long and happy life.

1825 - The Sergius Church is reconsecrated in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity, and the Trinity Church on the Belfry - in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The corner tower, in which a guest refectory for the guests of the monastery is equipped.

In the 1830s, construction of monastery hotels began outside the Northern Gate of the monastery.

1837 - during a trip to Russia, the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, visits the monastery.

1839 - the son of Prince Eugene of Beauharnais, Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, comes to the monastery with Emperor Nicholas I and his daughter Maria Nikolaevna. In the same year, the Duke converted to Orthodoxy, married Maria Nikolaevna and remained to live in Russia.

1841 - the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, and his wife Maria Alexandrovna arrive at the monastery.

1847 - by the will of Nicholas I, 100,000 rubles were issued from the state treasury for the improvement of the monastery, and Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich granted 300 rubles for the installation of a canopy over the shrine of St. Savva.

1862 - at the expense of the merchant of the 1st guild, honorary citizen of Zvenigorod Pavel Grigorievich Tsurikov and the diligence of the abbot of the monastery, the Savvinsky monastery was built a kilometer from the monastery. Above the cave - the place of repentance and prayerful deeds of the Monk Savva - a stone church is being built in the name of the Monk and cells for four monks, fenced with a wall with three turrets.

August 23 - the second discovery and transfer of holy relics from the Moscow St. Danilov Monastery to the Savino-Storozhevsky Monastery in 1998.

October 8 (September 25, old style) and July 18 (July 5, old style) of St. Sergius of Radonezh

April 12 (March 30, old style) and the 4th week of Great Lent - St. John Climacus (not preserved hospital church).

Monk Sava's monastery.

The Monk Savva often retired from the monastery to a deep ravine, located a mile from the monastery to the north, for his feats of prayer and prayerful communication with the Lord. There, on the slope of a mountain under the shadow of a dense forest, he dug a cave for himself, in which he indulged with tears in the feats of prayer and contemplation on earth of the highest heavenly abodes. The memory of the place of his prayerful exploits was preserved for centuries.

In the 1860s - early 1870s, a church was erected above the cave in the name of St. Savva of Storozhevsky, and next to it the ensemble of the monastery Skete was built. Initially, it was called the “dormitory department” and was a whole monastery with two churches, cells and economic services, surrounded by stone walls with turrets.

The emergence of the Skete occurred thanks to the desire and diligence of several people: St. Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow, rector of the Savvina Monastery, Bishop of Dmitrov Leonid (Krasnopevkov), Zvenigorod merchant and manufacturer Pavel Grigorievich Tsurikov and the abbot of the Savvinsky monastery, Fr. Galaktiona. Funds for the construction of the Skete and its maintenance were donated by P.G. Tsurikov.

Life in the Savvinsky monastery was based on the rules of a strict communal charter, the introduction of which was associated with the name of Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov). Metropolitan Philaret diligently instilled in the monasteries a similar type of monastic life, which went back to the traditions of St. Sergius of Radonezh and his disciples. The metropolitan's vicar, Bishop Leonid, shared a special attitude towards communal monasteries.

The main credit for the practical implementation of the idea of the Skete belongs to the abbot of the monastery (from 1856 to 1887), Father Galaktion.

Monastery St. Savva was visited by reigning persons: Emperor Alexander II, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, as well as the Grand Dukes. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Moscow Governor-General, was distinguished by his special zeal for the monastery and the Skete.

The Church of St. Sava, built of brick and white stone “under the bells,” is an excellent example of revival in the 19th century. traditions of ancient Russian architecture. The interior of the temple had a carved iconostasis made of different types of wood - pink, walnut and Siberian birch. The temple was consecrated by Metropolitan Philaret on September 2, 1862. In addition, in the Skete there was a church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located on the second floor of the preserved two-story stone building. In both churches, icons of St. Savva Storozhevsky. The service in the Skete at the end of August 1889 was especially solemn, when the miraculous image of St. Sergius was brought there from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Sergius of Radonezh.

According to the charter, as monks of cenobitic monasteries, the brethren of the Savvinsky monastery received everything they needed from the monastery; they had no property rights, and monastic vows were fulfilled very strictly. Thus, the morning service always began at 2 a.m., the liturgy at 8 a.m., vespers at 3 a.m., and then the reading of the rules followed.

People often came to the elders in the Skete, seeking spiritual advice: “Here, in the midst of complete silence, live zealots of asceticism. However, pilgrims often come here too; some of them tearfully ask for advice and consolation from people experienced in spiritual life.” The elder of the Skete, Schemamonk Elijah, was the confessor of the Zvenigorod Anosina Boris and Gleb monastery. The monasteries were inhabited mainly by schema monks who took upon themselves the highest monastic vows - to pray tirelessly for the whole world.

The monastery had its own estate, which was maintained by the hands of the monks. The skete monks made various products - they wove rugs and carved wooden spoons.

The architectural ensemble of the Skete was finally formed by the beginning of the 20th century. It consisted of dozens of buildings, including free-standing wooden buildings on stone foundations, such as the dean’s cell, the brethren’s cell and a junk room, a refectory, a kitchen, and a one-story stone bathhouse.

Savvinsky Monastery suffered greatly during Soviet times, many buildings were destroyed. After the war, families of military sanatorium employees lived here.

On the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the repose of the Zvenigorod Wonderworker, the cave of the Venerable One was restored, the surviving buildings were restored, monastery life was revived, the spring of St. Savva was restored, and a bathhouse was built. On the territory of the Skete, the monastery, which is a communal monastery, carries out economic activities: there is a monastery garden, a barnyard and other services.

The Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery was founded by the Monk Savva at the end of the 14th century. A former student and confessor of Sergius of Radonezh, Savva lived most of his life in the Trinity Monastery in Zagorsk. In 1398, the Monk Savva left the Trinity Monastery and, at the invitation of Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod and Galich, moved to Zvenigorod, where from 1390 a stone church was built on Gorodok. Soon after his arrival, the Monk Savva, with princely help, built a small wooden church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church was built on top of Watchman Hill.

According to legend, the Monk Sava, having climbed the hill for the first time, stopped, struck by the beauty of the place and the view that opened up, and with tears fell to the ground in front of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos he had brought, asking the Heavenly Lady for blessings and intercession.

At the border of the 14th and 15th centuries, Prince Yuri Dmitrievich went to war in the middle Volga region against the Volga Bulgars. The Monk Savva gave his blessing to the prince for the battle and predicted victory in the campaign. Returning in victory, the prince hurried to the monastery of the Monk Sava to offer prayers of thanks. In gratitude for the prayers for a successful campaign, for the prophecy of victory, the prince granted several villages in the Ruzsky and Zvenigorod districts for the construction of the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery, gave funds for the construction of cells and the painting of the church. Everyone who lived on the monastery lands was exempt from taxes and duties. In 1405, on the site of a wooden church, Prince Yuri erected a large white-stone cathedral. The stone building of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the few that have survived to this day from the time of the Mongol invasion. The cathedral was painted by the disciples of Andrei Rublev and consecrated by the Monk Sava in 1407 on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That same year, in December, the Monk Savva dies. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the right side, under the western window. Almost a century and a half later, in 1547, the Monk Savva Storozhevsky was canonized at the First Macarius Council; December 3 (the date of the death of the elder) is included in the church calendar.

Bird feeders.

In 1430, the Monk Savva appeared in a dream to the abbot of the monastery Dionysius and ordered him to paint his image. Elder Avvakum, one of the disciples of the Monk Savva, described the founder of the monastery exactly as he appeared to the abbot. Abbot Dionysius painted the oldest icon depicting the Saint.
At the end of the 15th century, in 1492, the monastery passed to the Principality of Moscow, under the direct control of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III. This transition deprived the monastery of some benefits received earlier - duties and taxes returned to the treasury. At the same time, after this transition, the Savvino-Storozhevskaya monastery becomes a place of pilgrimage for the ruler and members of the royal family.
In the first half of the 16th century, a chapel was added to the southern side of the Nativity Cathedral in the form of a small one-domed church in the name of St. Savva of Storozhevsky. At the same time, a stone gate church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh and a refectory were built in the monastery. The monastery's economy is replenished by a dam with a mill and a pond.

Pay attention to the watch, it looks like a completely foreign object.

With the beginning of the Time of Troubles, difficult times began for the monastery. In 1606, the Polish detachment of False Dmitry I ravaged the monastery and surrounding villages. The invaders took money, food and horses. The then abbot Isaiah and the monks of the monastery were killed. Rumors about the plight of the monastery reached Tsar Vasily Shuisky and in order to help with the restoration of the monastery, in 1607 the tsar exempted the villages and villages of the monastery in Zvenigorod district from the Yamsk tax for a period of one year. In 1608, Marina Mnishek came to the monastery to worship the monk. The monastery met the end of the Time of Troubles devastated. The restoration of the economy was difficult and long. To help the monastery, in 1613, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich exempted the monastery from duties for transporting timber along the Moscow River.

In 1649 (according to some sources in 1650) during a hunt, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich had an apparition of the Monk Savva. Having encountered a bear while hunting, the king prayed to him for the appearance of a handsome old man. According to the chronicles, when the old man appeared, the bear ran away. After this miracle, the tsar issued a decree on the reconstruction of the Savvina monastery, including the painting of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the creation of a grandiose five-tiered iconostasis for it. Icon painters from the Armory Chamber were involved in the creation of the iconostasis. In 1651, the first bell appeared in the monastery. In memory of the miracle that saved his life, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1652-1656 invested a lot of effort in the arrangement and development of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Upon completion of construction, the territory of the monastery almost doubled, and there was a division into the front and utility courtyards. In the center of the front courtyard is the ancient shrine of the monastery - the Nativity Cathedral, which is overlooked by the facades of the Tsar's Palace and the Tsarina's Chambers, the Belfry, and the Fraternal Buildings that were built at that time. The entire composition is dominated by a four-tiered belfry. A special feature of the entire ensemble is the main entrance, designed in an original, “Byzantine” way. The territory of the monastery was surrounded by a high wall with seven towers. During the same period - the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich - the monastery became the Lavra, and its abbots became archimandrites. The monastery becomes the royal personal pilgrimage center, and its management is directly handled by the Secret Prikaz - the personal royal office. In 1668, the Great Annunciation Bell appeared in the monastery - the largest monastery bell, weighing 2125 pounds. The bell was cast by the sovereign bellmaker directly on the territory of the monastery, near the Belfry. According to legend, the melodic ringing of the bell was heard even in Moscow. Later, another turret appears on the Belfry. It houses a clock bell, brought from Smolensk by the Tsar and donated to the monastery.

From the walls of the monastery a road begins that leads to the foot of the hill on which the monastery stands. there is a holy spring down there.

During the offensive of the French army, Zvenigorod and the surrounding area found themselves on the path of Napoleon's troops. The French regiments stopped, for example, at the Bolshie Vyazemy estate. Legend has it that when in 1812, in the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, Napoleon's stepson Eugene Beauharnais stayed, on the very first night the Monk Savva appeared to him in a dream and promised to save his life, provided that Beauharnais was saved from destruction and desecration monastery In addition, the prince was predicted that his children would live in Russia. Beauharnais complied with the reverend's request, and subsequently, he was the only one of Napoleon's military leaders who remained alive and was not even wounded. A quarter of a century later, in 1839, the prince’s son, Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, came to the monastery and visited the monastery together with Emperor Nicholas I and his daughter Maria Nikolaevna. In the same year, the Duke converted to Orthodoxy and married Maria Nikolaevna, connecting his life and the lives of his descendants with Russia. This is how the second prediction of St. Savva of Storozhevsky was fulfilled.

With the beginning of the “new world”, difficult times came to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, as well as to many holy monasteries in Russia. In 1918, the new government opened the shrine containing the relics of St. Savva. The relics of St. Savva of Storozhevsky were the first to be desecrated by the new government. This event stirred up local residents and led to the “Zvenigorod” riot, during which the head of the surplus appropriation system and the commandant of the monastery, Konstantin Makarov, were killed. The revolt was brutally suppressed, and the monastery's economy was completely requisitioned. Left without land and without a farmstead, the monks were forced to live on the alms of parishioners. Over the course of six months, the number of brethren decreased fourfold – from 50 to 12 people.
In the spring of 1919, the shrine with the holy relics of Savva Storozhevsky was opened again and the relics of the saint were transported to Moscow. In 1922, the monastery received the status of an architectural monument of the 15th-17th centuries and came under the protection of the People's Commissariat of Education. The Museum of Church Antiquities becomes the “Museum of Church Antiquities and Landowner Life” and its collection receives exhibits from museum expositions from the Vvedenskoye and Ershovo estates. The museum occupies almost all the monastery buildings. The Museum of Church Antiquities and Landowner Life operated until 1927. After its closure, a colony for street children was organized on the territory of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. The monastery loses many icons - they are taken to Moscow for restoration, but after restoration the icons do not return to the monastery and their fate is unknown.
The colony for street children was closed in 1928. Rest houses are organized in vacated buildings and in buildings outside the walls of the monastery. A museum is reopening in the Nativity Cathedral, Trinity Church and several other buildings of the monastery. A branch of the museum opens in the Assumption Cathedral in Gorodok.

In 1930, the Savvino-Storozhevskaya monastery lost almost all of its bells. 11 small bells and 5 large bells were removed and sent for melting down. There are only 2 bells left on the belfry - the Great Blagovestny and the Sentinel. The Great Blagovestny was taken from the monastery in 1941. According to the official version, when trying to remove the bell from the belfry, it fell to the ground and broke. However, there is another version, according to which the bell was blown up directly at the belfry. Be that as it may, the fragments of the bell were scattered throughout the territory of the monastery and remained there - several fragments and part of the bell tongue were found.

As during the First World War, from 1941 to 1944 a hospital was located on the territory of the monastery. In the winter of 1941, during the Battle of Moscow, the front line passed just three kilometers from the walls of the monastery. During the entire war, not a single bomb exploded on the territory of the monastery, not a single shell fell, not a single stray bullet flew in. To prepare for the defense, trenches were dug in the Skete of St. Sava, traces of which have partially survived to this day.

In 1944, the Zvenigorod Museum of Local Lore opened again - already in the Assumption Cathedral on Gorodok, where it operated until 1946. In 1946, the Assumption Cathedral was returned to believers. Meanwhile, on the territory of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery there are several objects of the Ministry of the Armed Forces: a rest house, the Higher Air Force Officer School and a scientific unit conducting military developments. In the same 1946, the entire ensemble of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery was included in the “List of architectural monuments of the Moscow region subject to state protection.” Over the next three years, all the buildings of the monastery are transferred to the museum, and a security board is installed on the building of the Nativity Cathedral

On the eve of Easter, in 1998, the monastery received new bells, cast for charity in factories in Russia. In the same year, the 17th-century iconostasis was returned to the Nativity Cathedral and the shrine for the honorable relics of St. Savva was restored, which were returned to the monastery in August 1998. By a decree of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', August 23 is included in the Orthodox calendar as “the day of the second discovery of the relics of St. Savva of Storozhevsky, the Zvenigorod wonderworker, and their transfer to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery.”