Location: 17 km Northeast of Volokolamsk, Moscow Oblast Map
Established: 1479 by Joseph Volotsky
Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery
is located 17 km Northeast of
Volokolamsk in Moscow Oblast in Russia. It was established in
1479 by Joseph Volotsky. Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery is a medieval Russian
Orthodox convent that was founded in 1479 by Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk.
By the middle of the XVI century, the monastery became one of the
richest in Russia, as it was patronized by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The
oldest building of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery is a monumental
refectory, built in 1504. It is an one room, structure, modeled after
the Moscow Kremlin's Faceted
Chamber. North side of the refectory is believed to be a burial site
of Malyuta Skuratov. He became famous as one of the worst henchmen of
Ivan the Terrible. Fortunately for Russians he was killed in 1573 during
a siege.
Assumption Cathedral of Joseph-Volokolamsk Monasterywas built in the
late XVII century at the expense of the deacon Zachariah Silin. The
Cathedral is a square in layout and richly decorated with tiles,
friezes, columns, domes with the original tent roof. Inside the
cathedral is dominated by miraculously preserved carved iconostasis of
the XVII century adored by golden columns. Basement of the church also
holds a crypt with the body of the monastery founder, Saint Joseph of
Volokolamsk. Most of church's frescoes date back to the early 20th
century. It was painted by Palekh masters in pseudo- medieval style.
Five-domed Gate Church of St. Peter and Paul was completed in 1589
thanks to contributions of Malyuta Skuratov that he left to the
monastery in his will. It is largely kept its historic appearance and
undergone very few changes.
Outside defensive wall and towers date back to the middle of the XVII
century. New walls replaced military medieval fortifications that were
badly damaged during the Time of Trouble in the late 16th and early 17th
century. At the time of the construction these walls and towers were
still used for military defense, but monastery residents added figural
polychrome brickwork and tiles to improve its appearance and make it
more festive.
At the end of the XVII century, the monastery bell tower was erected
reaching a height of 10 levels. Its height was only five meters below
bell tower of
Ivan the Great in the Moscow
Kremlin, what was the tallest building in
Moscow for several centuries. The
bell tower was blown up during the World War 2. Today only few ruins are
visible today under a protection of a wooden canopy.
Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery had always a dual service. On one hand it
was a religious convent. But on the other hand premises of Joseph-Volokolamsk
Monastery served as a dungeon for political and war criminals. In
different times it house political prisoners like Vasily Shuisky,
artists like Maxim the Greek, Polish and Napoleonic French prisoners of
war.
The monastery was founded in 1479 by St. Joseph in the name of the
Dormition of the Mother of God. It belonged to the Novgorod diocese.
The funds for the construction of the monastery were given by Prince
Boris Vasilyevich Volotsky (1449-1494). After Boris Vasilyevich's death,
his son Fyodor Borisovich became prince, with whom Joseph had
disagreements. In February 1507, Joseph, who was personally acquainted
with Grand Duke Vasily III, appealed to him and Metropolitan Simon of
Moscow with a request to transfer the monastery to the Moscow diocese.
This resulted in a conflict with Archbishop Serapion of Novgorod and
Pskov.
In the XV century, the First stone cathedral was built. In
its place is now the Cathedral church of the Dormition of the Mother of
God (1688-1696), built in the style of the Moscow Baroque.
In the
year of the monastery's foundation, the first wooden church appeared in
it, which was replaced by a stone cathedral in 1486. It was painted by
the painter Dionysius. In 1490, an octagonal bell tower was built next
to the cathedral — the prototype of the bell tower of Ivan the Great in
the Moscow Kremlin. In its lower tier there was a temple of the Smolensk
Hodegetria (1495).
The main surviving buildings date back to the
XVI—XVII centuries. Other buildings include the Refectory with the
Church of the Epiphany (1504), the gate church of the Holy Apostles
Peter and Paul (1679), the hermitage with the Church of All Saints
(1856-1860). Stepan Polubes, known for his work in the New Jerusalem and
Solotchinsky monasteries, worked on the creation of tiled ornaments.
In 1543, Gury became the abbot of the monastery. He ruled the
brotherhood for nine years, and St. Herman took vows at the monastery
with him. After the conquest of Kazan in 1552 and the establishment of
the episcopal see there, Gury was elected archbishop by lot.
In
the XVI century, kings began to go to the monastery to pray. The
monastery also became a place of imprisonment for the enemies of the
sovereigns and heretics, monk Vassian Kosoy (in the world Prince Vasily
Ivanovich Patrikeev-Kosoy), Maxim the Greek, Tsar Vasily Ivanovich
Shuisky, heretics Matvey Bashkin and Vasily Kuritsyn were imprisoned in
it; a prominent figure of the schism Gerasim (Firsov) spent his last
years here.
During the Time of Troubles, the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery supported
the government of Vasily Shuisky. In 1606, the monastery was besieged by
Bolotnikov's troops.
In 1609-1610, the monastery was besieged by
Polish troops. In 1610, the monastery was occupied by a detachment of
Colonel Rozhinsky, an associate of False Dmitry II — the "Tushinsky
thief". In March 1610, there was a small skirmish between Poles and
monastery servants and peasants in the monastery. Fighting them off,
Rozhinsky unsuccessfully fell on his side shot through near Moscow. The
wounds opened, and a few days later Rozhinsky died. His detachment,
which remained under the command of Captain Rutsky, was driven out of
the monastery by Russian-Swedish troops led by Voivode Valuev and
General Gorn. In memory of this event, cannons recaptured from the Poles
were left to the monastery, from which fireworks were fired on holidays.
The defeat of Dmitry Shuisky's troops near Klushin by Sigismund's
army on June 24 (July 4), 1610 and the uprising in Moscow led to the
fall of Vasily Shuisky. On July 17 (27), 1610, Vasily IV Ioannovich was
dethroned and forcibly tonsured a monk by part of the boyars,
metropolitan and provincial nobility (see Semiboyarschina), and refused
to pronounce monastic vows himself. The boyars sent the former tsar to
the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery, where he was detained for some time in
the German Tower, and his brothers to the Belaya Fortress, from where it
was more convenient to transport them to Poland.
In September
1610, Vasily Shuisky was extradited (not as a monk, but in secular
clothes) to the Polish Hetman Zholkevsky, who took him and his brothers
Dmitry and Ivan to Smolensk in October, and later to Poland.
During the Russian-Polish war at the beginning of the XVII century,
Polish prisoners of war were held here, and during the Patriotic War of
1812, French prisoners were held there. From 1777 to 1823, the monastery
had a school for the children of priests.
The relics of St.
Joseph rest in the monastery; Princes John and Theodore Borisovich
Volotsky are also buried; Metropolitan Daniel, exiled here by John the
Terrible; Archbishop of Novgorod Theodosius; head of the oprichniks
Malyuta Skuratov (Grigory Lukyanovich Skuratov-Belsky); landowner of the
village Yaropolets N. I. Goncharova (mother-in-law of A. S. Pushkin).
The monastery had a large library containing books, manuscripts,
charters, deeds and other documents from the XV century. Ancient objects
were kept in the sacristy.
In February-March 1858, peasant unrest
began in the central provinces in connection with rumors about the
"will". In the spring of 1859, sober unrest began — a mass protest in
1858-1859 by the tax-paying population of Russia against the tax-paying
system in connection with an increase in the indirect tax on vodka. So,
on May 31, 1859, in the Volokolamsk district of the Moscow province, a
crowd of three thousand people smashed drinking establishments at a fair
near the Iosifo-Volokolamsk Monastery.
1895 — the rector
Archimandrite Sergius.
1903 — rector Archimandrite Gerontius,
treasurer and economist — Hieromonk Irakli.
1907 — rector
Archimandrite Nifont, treasurer — Hieromonk Irakli, acting steward —
Hierodeacon Meletius, dean of the monastery — Hieromonk Pavel. The
number of brothers is 65 monks.
1908 — the same, but the
treasurer is Hieromonk Paphnutius.
Until 1917, the monastery was
the venue for fairs of the Kaleevskaya volost of the Volokolamsk
district.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the monastery was
transformed into the "Joseph Agricultural Labor Commune". The monks
unanimously elected their treasurer, Hieromonk Paphnutius, as the
chairman of the commune.
In 1922, the commune was liquidated and
the monastery was closed. The ancient manuscripts, documents and books
of the monastery were mostly transported to Moscow and are currently in
the RGADA, GIM, RSE, as well as in St. Petersburg - in the archive of
the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Russian History of the
Russian Academy of Sciences.
Until 1929, the monastery was
geographically located in the Buigorodsky parish of the Volokolamsk
district of the Moscow province. After 1929, the monastery was located
on the territory of the Volokolamsk district of the Moscow region. Now
it is the territory of the Volokolamsk city district.
After the
closure of the monastery, an orphanage was located on its territory, and
the Detgorodkov Secondary School was located in the fraternal building.
The Assumption Cathedral was adapted as a cinema hall. The iconostasis
with ancient icons was blocked by a cinema screen.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the main part of the
orphanages was evacuated, many children died on the way.
On
September 30, 1941, Army Group Center launched an offensive against
Moscow (Operation Typhoon). They were opposed by the troops of the
Western Front of the Red Army. By mid-October 1941, fighting was
underway in the Volokolamsk direction. Its defense was entrusted to the
16th Army of Lieutenant General K. K. Rokossovsky. The territory of the
monastery was occupied by the troops of the Red Army.
By the end
of October 1941, the German troops of the 4th Army and the 4th Tank
Group shot down the formations of the Western Front from the Mozhaisk
line of defense almost along its entire length and gradually pushed them
back to Moscow.
According to the order of the Headquarters of the
Supreme High Command dated November 17, operational engineering group
No. 2 was tasked with creating anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers in
the main directions: Teryaeva Sloboda, Klin, Rogachevo, Dmitrov and
Istra, Solnechnogorsk, Yakhroma.
During the retreat of the Red
Army, the bell tower with the temple of the Smolensk Hodegetria (1495)
located in its lower tier was blown up, from which Moscow could be seen
in clear weather. The perpetrator of the explosion was Mikhail Koryakov,
a journalist and later a writer who described the explosion in his
books.
At the end of October, Wehrmacht units occupied Teryaevo,
the monastery, and all the surrounding villages.
On December 18,
1941, the territory of the monastery was liberated by soldiers of the
84th separate Marine Rifle Brigade of the 1st Shock Army of the Western
Front during the Klinsko-Solnechnogorsk offensive operation. After the
liberation, the orphanage returned to the monastery. (Irina Vasilyevna
Pozdeeva, in particular, grew up here.)
The monastery was
restored, but not completely. The unique bell tower has not been
restored yet.
It was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church on May 15, 1989; since
1999 it has the status of a Stavropol territory. Until November 2003,
the abbot of the monastery was Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev).
On
June 12, 2003, the relics of St. Joseph of Volotsky were discovered in
the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery and placed in a shrine in the lower church
of the Assumption Cathedral. The burial was uncovered by archaeologists
Yu. A. Smirnov, M. V. Frolov and P. E. Rusakov at a depth of 225 cm —
where, according to legend, the Monk Joseph Volotsky was buried. A
detailed medical and forensic study of the relics, with the blessing of
Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yurievsky Pitirim, was conducted by
Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Medical Sciences,
Professor V. N. Zvyagin; forensic experts M. E. Berezovsky, N. V.
Narina, S. A. Aunapu; anthropologist M. A. Grigorieva and other
researchers.
On June 12, 2004, the chains of St. Joseph Volotsky
were transferred to the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery, which had previously
been stored first in the historical, architectural and art museum "New
Jerusalem" in Istra, and then in the museum and exhibition complex
"Volokolamsk Kremlin". Currently, the chains are located in the
Assumption Cathedral of the monastery, near the southern wall and are
available for worship.
On June 14, 2004, Patriarch Alexy II
visited the monastery, which celebrated the 525th anniversary of its
foundation, and celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Assumption
Cathedral.
On June 14, 2009, a monument to St. Joseph was
unveiled near the monastery (on the south side) — a full-length bronze
sculpture three meters high on a two-meter stone pedestal. The sculptor
is Sergey Isakov.
On October 13, 2009, Patriarch Kirill visited
the monastery and celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Assumption
Cathedral.
Since December 2004, the monastery's vicar has been
Archimandrite Sergius (Voronkov).
There is a hotel for 120 people
at the monastery.
Currently, a version has been adopted, first expressed by the
candidate of art criticism Valentina Antonova, according to which the
Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God (having significant iconographic
differences from the original list from the image of the "Vladimir Icon
of the Mother of God" revered by the Russian Orthodox Church, made in
Byzantium in the XII century) was executed in Moscow in 1572 by order of
Malyuta Skuratov for the gate church of the monastery, which had not yet
been built by that time. This icon is in the collection of the Andrei
Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art and is represented in
its permanent exhibition located in the Church of Michael the Archangel
of the Savior Andronikov Monastery. Valentina Antonova explained the
donation of the icon in 1572 and other contributions to the monastery of
Malyuta Skuratov with a premonition of the abolition of the oprichnina
and Malyuta's fear for her own fate. Antonova calls the oprichnik's
attempt to atone for his sins before the Lord another reason for
Malyuta's generous contributions.
The Volokolamsk icon of the
Mother of God has been revered by believers as miraculous for centuries,
the day it was brought to the monastery became a church-wide holiday
(March 3), believers come to the image in search of solace, healing and
admonition. In the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery there is an
icon revered as a miraculous list, made in 2007.
Joseph Volotsky (1479-1515)
Daniel of Ryazan (1515-1522)
Gerasim (Lenkov) (1522) left the abbacy after two months
Nifont
(Kormilitsyn) (1522-1543)
Gury (Rugotin) (1544-1551)
Galaktion
(1552-1558)
Pimen (Sadykov) (1558-1561)
Babylon (1562)
Leonid
(Protasyev) (1563-1566)
Lawrence (1566-1568)
Leonid (Protasyev)
(1568-1573)
Tikhon (Hvorostinin) (1573-1575)
Euthymius (Turkov)
(1575-1587)
Varlaam (Belkovsky) (1587) 3.5 months
Euthymius
(Turkov) (1587) 5 months
Levky (1587-1590)
Joasaph (1590-1592)
Vassian (1593-1595, 1599-1601)
Gelasius (1595-1599)
Nile
(1602-1604)
Arseny (1605-1623)
Misail (1623-1624)
Levky
(1625-1634)
Macarius (1634-1641)
Zosima (1642-1652)
Job (1652-1654)
Tikhon (1654-1661)
Cornelius (1661-1666)
Savvati (1666-1668)
Hermogenes (1668)
Gerasim (1668-1673)
Cornelius (1673-1681)
Alexander (1682-1685)
Timothy (1685-1687)
Joasaph (1687-1688)
Ephraim (1689-1690)
Nicholas (1690-1694)
Alexy (1695-1702)
Herman (1702-1722)
Joachim (Chudovsky)
(1722-1723), (1728-1738)
Melchizedek (Borshchev) (1723-1727)
Sergius (Prozorovsky) (1727-1728)
Varlaam (1739-1745)
Bishop
Serapion (Lyatoshevich) (1745-1753) stayed at the monastery and managed
it; there was no archimandrite
Pankraty (Charnysky) (1753)
Pachomius (Simansky) (1753-1758)
Gennady (Dranitsyn) (1758-1760)
Adrian (1761-1766)
Varlaam (Sinkovsky) (1767-1773)
Pachomius
(Polyanitsa) (1773-1775)
Boniface (1775-1778)
Nectary
(Chernyavsky) (1778-1789)
Evgeny (Romanov) (1789)
Evgeny
(Rezantsov) (1794)
Viktor (Prokopovich-Antonsky) (1794-1799)
Justin (Vishnevsky) (1799)
Veniamin (Zhukov) (1800)
Irakli
(Evreinov) (1800-1804)
Yevgraf (Muzalevsky-Platonov) (1804-1808)
Gennady (Chelnokov) (1808-1810)
Vladimir (1810-1811)
Jonah
(Vasilevsky) (1811-1812)
Leonid (Zaretsky) (1812-1813)
Filaret
(Amphitheatre) (1813-1817)
Grigory (Postnikov) (July 29, 1817-1822)
Gennady (Baranovich) (1822-1825)
Gabriel (Ignatiev) (March 18, 1825 —
April 4, 1839)
Agapit (Vvedensky) (1839-1852)
Gideon (October
1852-1883)
Sergiy (Sveshnikov) (1883-1896)
Mikhei (Alekseev)
(1897-1901)
Gerontius (Kurganovsky) (March 1902 — November 26, 1903)
Nifont (1907-1908)
Innokenty (Bobtsov) (December 11, 1915-1920)
Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev) (1989 — November 4, 2003)
Feoktist
(Doroshko) (2003-2004) Interim Manager
Sergiy (Voronkov) (since
December 24, 2004)