Home Rack Holy Trinity Hermitage in Strelna Gymnasium. Holy Trinity St. Sergius seaside hermitage in Strelna. In the name of Rev. Sergius

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Holy Trinity Hermitage in Strelna Gymnasium. Holy Trinity St. Sergius seaside hermitage in Strelna. In the name of Rev. Sergius

Trinity-Sergius Primorskaya Hermitage

St. Petersburg, Strelna, St. Petersburg highway, 15

Approaching Strelna from the capital, the pilgrim already from a distance on the left side of the road noticed among the greenery of the surrounding gardens and fields golden crosses and domes, multi-colored walls and roofs of the monastery, which was founded in 1732 by Archimandrite Varlaam (Vysotsky, 1665-1737) at the 19th verst of the Peterhof road ), rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra near Moscow. Empress Anna Ioannovna, whose confessor was Varlaam, donated the former manor of her sister, Princess Ekaterina Ioannovna, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, for the monastery.

In 1735, Varlaam moved a wooden church to the monastery from St. Petersburg, erected wooden walls, cells and a stone building for the governor, in which Catherine II learned of her husband’s abdication. According to the design of P. A. Trezzini, the cells were built of brick in 1756-1760, and by 1764 four towers appeared at the corners of the walls. In the same year, the monastery, where about 11 monks lived, separated from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and began to be governed by its own archimandrite, but monastic life proceeded according to the traditions of the Lavra. In 1819 the monastery was assigned to the Revel Vicariate.

The heyday of the desert began in 1834, when Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), the author of the famous “Ascetic Experiences,” was appointed its governor. A year later, he connected the fraternal buildings with a gallery, in which he set up a refectory, put the household in order and repaired the churches. The monastery choir under him was led by the famous spiritual composer Rev. P.I. Turchaninov, who in 1836-1841 was a priest in neighboring Strelna.

The work of his mentor was continued in 1857-1897 by Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), who, having received an artistic education, decorated the hermitage with beautiful buildings and brought its spiritual state to a very high level. He was buried in the St. Michael's chapel of the Church of the Resurrection. The confessor of the brethren, Jerome, was also very famous at that time in the capital. Gerasim, a graduate of the capital's university, died in 1897.

The monastery had chapels:

Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - at the monastery gates, rebuilt in 1844-1845 by A. M. Gornostaev, who also erected a granite fence in 1868-1871;

The Tikhvin Mother of God (with a revered image), which the same architect built in 1863 at the altar of the Trinity Cathedral over the grave of the founder of the desert. The spiritual composer Schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), an associate of Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), was also buried in it. The honorable remains of Varlaam, Michael, Ignatius Jr. are now in the Sergius Church;

Rudnenskaya - on the shore of the Jordanka pond in the eastern part of the monastery, which for the ancient and revered icon of the Rudnenskaya Mother of God was erected in 1876 by D. I. Grimm in imitation of the Nikon monastery in New Jerusalem. On August 1st there was a procession of the cross to her for the blessing of water.

The Tikhvin and Rudny chapels were destroyed during the last war.

The church of St. was also assigned to the desert. Andrei Kritsky, built according to the design of architect. M. M. Dolgopolova and consecrated in 1903 at St. Sergievo at the shelter of the Brotherhood of Zealots of Faith and Charity, and the five-domed Sorrow Chapel, built in the village. Sergievo in 1904-1905 in Russian style.

Many valuable historical portraits and paintings were kept in the abbot's chambers. The last rector of the hermitage before the revolution was Archimandrite Sergius (Druzhinin), the future Bishop of Narva, who was shot in 1937 in Yoshkar-Ola.

Since the time of Catherine II, the dead from noble and well-born families were buried in the monastery cemetery: the princes of Oldenburg, Apraksin, Myatlev, Naryshkin, Chicherin, Stroganov, Durasov, etc. The descendants of Suvorov and Kutuzov, Chancellor A. M. Gorchakov, poet I. P. Myatlev, architects A. I. Stackenschneider and A. M. Gornostaev. Some chapels and crypts were genuine works of art. Not far from the monastery there was a cemetery for the poor.

In 1964, it housed the Police School, which destroyed the remains of the cemetery and a number of buildings. In 1973, the ancient complex was placed under state protection, and on March 29, 1993, a decision was made on its gradual transfer to the diocese (this process was completed in May 2001). There is a lot of work ahead to restore the transferred buildings.

Not far from the Konstantinovsky Palace there is a monastery - the Holy Trinity Sergius Seaside Hermitage with a rich and dramatic history.
Historians of St. Petersburg called the desert “the pearl of Russian history, architecture and spiritual culture.”

Pustyn was founded 19 versts from St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, on lands transferred in 1734 by Empress Anna Ioannovna to her confessor, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Varlaam (in the world Vasily Vysotsky). In November of the same year, the Empress allowed the wooden Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God to be transported from the country house of Queen Paraskeva Fedorovna on the Fontanka and ordered it to be consecrated in the name of St. Sergius the Wonderworker of Radonezh. The consecration took place on May 12, 1735. Wooden cells were built for the brethren, and a stone outbuilding for the abbot. In June 1735, Anna Ioannovna visited the hermitage and donated liturgical books to the new church.

Rector's wing
To further expand the monastery and to run his household, Father Varlaam bought three more plots of land from different people. At first, the hermitage did not have a special staff of monks. Persons from the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery were sent here to perform divine services. Archimandrite Varlaam died in July 1737 and was buried in the monastery he founded. Anna Ioannovna, by a personal decree of January 30, 1738, ordered the description of the hermitages. After this, the church was considered ascribed to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In the first years of its existence, the new monastery was called the Primorskaya Trinity-Sergius Monastery Dacha. The external structure of the desert was carried out at the expense of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The life and activities of the brethren were also under the supervision and guidance of the Lavra.
In 1764, monastic states were established in Russia, according to which the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was separated from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On May 4, 1764, a decree was issued from the office of the Holy Synod, which stated: “The newly built hermitage located near St. Petersburg, along the Peterhof road, due to the lack of monasteries in St. Petersburg, should be assigned to the St. Petersburg diocese.”
Gradually, the monastery began to be built up according to a project developed by P. A. Trezzini. According to this project, two corner towers were finished, and the entire courtyard was paved with stone. In 1760, according to the design of F.B. Rastrelli, the abbot's cells were built. They had an art gallery, which, among others, contained two rare portraits of Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna.
The center of the ensemble was built in 1756 - 1760 under the leadership of B.-F. Rastrelli, designed by P. A. Trezzini, a stone five-domed church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity. It was small, accommodating only 600 people, decorated on the outside with baroque columns and pilasters, and on the inside with a high gilded iconostasis. The cathedral served as a prototype for many church buildings erected in the next two decades. The main chapel of the cathedral was consecrated on August 10, 1763 by Archimandrite Lawrence in the presence of Catherine II, who a year earlier, on the day of her accession to the throne (June 28), having stopped in the Sergius Hermitage on the way from St. Petersburg, received here the news of her husband’s abdication, and that there are no longer any obstacles to her accession. The heir to the throne was also present at the consecration.
Trinity Cathedral was famous for its icons, many of which were transferred to it from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra near Moscow. In a special icon case, made according to a drawing by Melnikov, there was a beautiful image of the Holy Trinity, painted in 1840 by Academician K. P. Bryullov, and the main shrine of the temple was the miraculous icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh in an expensive robe made in the workshop of F. A. Verkhovtsev. It was brought from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra by the founder of the desert. Two gilded silver crosses with particles of the relics of St. Sergius and the Great Martyr Barbara were kept in the sacristy.
Before the revolution, in the monastery, which had a capital of 350 thousand rubles, there were seven churches and about 100 brethren lived (and it started with 11 people), from whom, according to a long tradition, ship priests for the Russian navy were chosen.
In 1919, the cathedral was closed and adapted for economic needs. During the Great Patriotic War, it suffered and was blown up in the summer of 1962, although a project for its restoration was already ready.
Here's what's left of it now:

In 1859 - 1863 A. M. Gornostaev erected the Holy Gate with cells, a high hipped tower and the house church of St. Savva Stratelates, built at the expense of the headquarters captain M.V. Shishmarev in memory of his wife’s grandfather Savva Yakovlevich Yakovlev, who died in 1784 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. The church was not consecrated for unknown reasons.

In 1857 - 1897, the new rector of the hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius (Ivan Vasilyevich Malyshev), an artistically gifted man, decorated the hermitage with beautiful buildings and brought its spiritual state to a very high level. The largest building in the monastery at that time was the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, built in 1859. A. M. Gornostaev.

The temple could accommodate 2000 people. Academician N.A. Lavrov and M.N. Vasiliev took part in its interior decoration; the painting of the walls connecting the church with the refectory was done by the artist Belyakov and Ignatius Malyshev. The mosaic floor was made according to the design of A.M. Gornostaeva.
In the chapel, consecrated on July 4, 1857 in the name of Christ the Savior, there was a tomb of the counts Apraksin with 20 burials. The chapel in the name of the martyr Zinaida, consecrated on April 28, 1861, where there was an iconostasis made of pink cypress, had 33 burials of the Yusupovs. In addition, the princes Chernyshevs, Shishmarevs, Kartsevs, Stroganovs, Volkonskys, Shcherbatovs, Count Kleinmichel, and Baron Fredericks found their last refuge in the lower church.
Now the church is the only functioning temple on the territory of the monastery. Closed in 1919, partially destroyed and rebuilt, the temple is currently being restored and decorated.
Before the revolution, there were churches in the desert: the Most Holy Trinity, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Resurrection of Christ, Valerian (Zubovskaya), St. Gregory the Theologian (Kushelevskaya), Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kochubeyevskaya), Savva Stratelates (Shishmarevskaya).
The monastery had chapels:
- Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - at the monastery gates, rebuilt in 1844-1845 by A. M. Gornostaev, who also erected a granite fence in 1868-1871;
- The Tikhvin Mother of God (with a revered image), which A. M. Gornostaev built in 1863 at the altar of the Trinity Cathedral, over the grave of the founder of the desert, Varlaam. Schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), an associate of Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), was also buried in it. The remains of Varlaam, Michael, Ignatius Jr. are now in the Sergius Church;
- Rudnenskaya - on the shore of the Jordanka pond in the eastern part of the monastery, which was erected in 1876 by D. I. Grimm for the ancient and revered icon of the Rudnenskaya Mother of God in imitation of the Nikon monastery in New Jerusalem. On August 1st there was a procession of the cross to her for the blessing of water. The Tikhvin and Rudny chapels were destroyed during the Patriotic War.
Pustyn contained a hospice house, an orphanage, a women's almshouse, a small school and a hospital, built in 1906-1907. On the patronal holiday, when many pilgrims came from the capital, a procession of the cross was held around the monastery, and on September 24-26 a fair was held near its walls. The last rector of the hermitage before the revolution was Archimandrite Sergius (Druzhinin), the future Bishop of Narva, who was shot in 1937 in Yoshkar- Ole.
Corner tower:

Invalid home (L. Ruska, 1805 - 1809)

with the Church of the Holy Martyr Valerian. The temple was consecrated in June 1809, and the nursing home began operating five years later. In the temple there was the grave of Valerian Zubov, Knight of St. George and Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, conqueror of Derbent. The church with an almshouse for crippled soldiers was built by his brothers Counts Dmitry, Platon and Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov. Nikolai, Dmitry and Platon (Prince of the Roman Empire) Zubovs themselves were subsequently buried in the crypt of the church, as well as the daughter and grandson of A.V. Suvorov - Natalya Aleksandrovna Zubova and Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov, children and grandchildren of the counts Zubovs. During the reconstruction of the church in Soviet times, all these graves were destroyed.
Bell tower in front of the nursing home:

Church of Gregory the Theologian (Kushelevskaya):

It was erected in 1855 - 1857 according to the design of A. I. Stackenschneider in the Russian-Byzantine style over the grave of Paul I’s favorite, Lieutenant General Count Grigory Grigorievich Kushelev, with money from his widow Ekaterina Dmitrievna. The church had a two-tier iconostasis, the images of which were painted on a golden background. In the center of the temple there is a descent into a tomb lined with white marble. This church was closed in 1919 - 1920.
Since the time of Catherine II, the dead from noble and well-born families were buried in the monastery cemetery: the princes of Oldenburg, Apraksin, Myatlev, Naryshkin, Chicherin, Stroganov, Durasov, etc. The descendants of Suvorov and Kutuzov, Chancellor A. M. Gorchakov, poet I. P. Myatlev, architects A. I. Stackenschneider and A. M. Gornostaev. Some chapels and crypts were genuine works of art. Not far from the monastery there was a cemetery for the poor.
Here is what remains of what was once one of the most beautiful and rich cemeteries:

Grave of A.M. Gornostaev:

The crypt is the tomb of the general = adjutant P. Chicherin:

On October 27, we took a day trip to the suburb of St. Petersburg - Strelna, where there are many historical and cultural attractions. And the main goal of our trip was the monastery - Holy Trinity Sergius Primorskaya Hermitage. We passed by it many times on the bus when we went to Peterhof, and finally the time has come to visit here!

Historical reference. This monastery was founded under Empress Anna Ioannovna, who in 1734 transferred land near the new capital of Russia to her confessor Varlaam, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, one of the largest Russian monasteries. Varlaam began to build a monastery in a new place, stone buildings and wooden walls were built under him. Since initially the monastery was not yet an independent entity, but only an addition to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, it took its name from it. In 1764, the monastery near St. Petersburg separated and became independent, and the word Primorskaya was added to the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Hermitage - to indicate that it is near the sea, so that it would be clear which monastery we are talking about. The monastery was small - only 20 monks. A century after its founding, the monastery experienced its heyday - in 1834 - under the new Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), a famous Orthodox figure, who built new churches in the monastery and put the household in order. By 1917, 100 monks already lived here, and there were 7 temples. In the 19th century, many famous people who lived in St. Petersburg were buried here. For some time before the final burial, the remains of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov lay here. The famous architect Stackenschneider, the most famous diplomat of Russia, Prince Gorchakov, the favorite of Catherine II Platon Zubov, and many other historical figures are buried here. After the revolution - as was the case everywhere in Russia - the monastery was closed and the monks were subjected to repression. The territory of the monastery was inhabited by far from light forces - first, paramilitary guards of industrial facilities moved in here, then a police school was located here, and only in 1993 Pustyn began to gradually be returned to the Orthodox.

View of the monastery from afar, from the west.

View from Peterhofskoe highway. Everything is more elegant here.

Entrance to the monastery. Previously, they entered through the chapels, but now the entrance is through the gate.

At the entrance to the monastery it is written that it was founded in 1732. And on Wikipedia - that in 1734. It is possible that the first date is the date of the decree on the transfer of land, and the second date is when it actually began to be executed.

Information for visitors.

Something is increasingly being written in monasteries about the fact that you should not drink alcoholic beverages. Do parishioners really allow themselves to do this?

As in most monasteries, the entrance is through a powerful gate tower, a temple above the gate. Now this is just an element of architecture and tradition, but previously it was of great importance: the gate had to be protected from uninvited guests, and a powerful tower with a garrison was very helpful in repelling the attacks of robbers.

The building is mighty!

At the entrance there is a platform for feeding pigeons. Reasonably done and humane...

And the pigeons are fed, and there is no mess, everyone is happy!

We go to the monastery. Before this, the girls at the entrance received skirts from the guard for temporary use.

Monks' cells.

Diagram of the monastery - what it was like before the revolution. The two most beautiful churches are no longer there - they were blown up under Soviet rule.

Lanterns inside the monastery.

The outstanding Russian diplomat and statesman of the 19th century, Prince Gorchakov, is buried here.

There are oak trees grown from oak seeds planted by John of Kronstadt

Architecture of the monastery. Church from 1809.

The condition of the architectural monument is far from ideal...

Turret. There were four of them, in the corners. But only one survived.

Abbot's corps.

In general, inside the monastery the atmosphere is blissful and calm. It's nice to be here.

And one more temple - Sergius of Radonezh.

You can come in.

Only the church shop was open. And the lower church, where candles are placed in front of the icons. And the temple on the second floor is closed when there are no services.

But local workers kindly invited us to see it, for which we thank them very much!

To the left of the entrance is a table with relics. There is a particle of the relics of not only Sergius of Radonezh, but also St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. But he is not visible in the frame - I didn’t take any photographs on purpose, because I know that churches don’t like it when you photograph relics.

The nice church of Gregory the Theologian was built according to the design of the famous Stackenschneider who is buried here nearby. It was built in 1859, but in style it resembles ancient Russian churches. Unfortunately, it is under restoration.

Monastery Pond. In the middle there is an island, where there are some burials, and there is one house.

You can only get there via a bridge, but the entrance is closed; this part of the monastery is not for visitors.

Font on the pond.

There were no signs on it that you could swim or that you couldn’t, so we didn’t take any risks and limited ourselves to just looking around.

You can go inside, there is a women's section, but I didn't look further - but it is likely that there is a men's section as well.

Closer to the entrance is a cage with domestic squirrels.

The squirrels did not sit in the cages, but jumped around the entire perimeter. Therefore, we were able to admire and take photographs

The ears and claws are impressive!

Squirrels molt. We must come in winter - then we will see them in all their beauty, and not half naked.

Overall a nice place. Children won't be bored here either!

While we were looking at the squirrels, a local cat approached. She looked incredulously.

But we gave her a sausage, which she agreed to eat.

After that, the cat sat next to us, listened to what we were talking about - and looked at us with great love and respect!

Trinity-Sergius Pustyn is a valuable monument of Russian culture and architecture, located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. It’s useful for everyone to come here, especially since it’s very close to the city! You can get directly to Pustyn by tram 36, which goes past the Avtovo metro station. From its stop to the monastery it’s only a couple of minutes walk.

Historians of St. Petersburg called the hermitage the pearl of Russian history, architecture and spiritual culture. It was founded here 19 versts from St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, on lands transferred by Empress Anna Ioannovna in 1734 to her confessor, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra Archimandrite Varlaam (in the world Vasily Vysotsky). In November of the same year, the Empress allowed the wooden Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God to be transported from the country house of Queen Paraskeva Fedorovna on the Fontanka and ordered it to be consecrated in the name of St. Sergius the Wonderworker of Radonezh. The consecration took place on May 12, 1735. Wooden cells were built for the brethren, and a stone outbuilding for the abbot. In June 1735, Anna Ioannovna visited the hermitage and donated liturgical books to the newly built church. At first, the hermitage did not have a special staff of monks. Persons from the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery were sent here to perform divine services. The young desert was ruled by its founder, Archimandrite Varlaam.

Archimandrite Varlaam died in July 1737 and was buried in the monastery he founded. Anna Ioannovna, by a personal decree of January 30, 1738, ordered the description of the hermitages. After this, the church was considered ascribed to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In the first years of its existence, the new monastery was called the Primorskaya Trinity-Sergius Monastery Dacha. The external structure of the desert was carried out at the expense of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The life and activities of the brethren were also under the supervision and guidance of the Lavra. In 1764, monastic states were established in Russia, according to which the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was separated from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and elevated to the 2nd class. On May 4, 1764, a decree was issued from the office of the Holy Synod, which stated: “The newly built hermitage located near St. Petersburg, along the Peterhof road, due to the lack of monasteries in St. Petersburg, should be assigned to the St. Petersburg diocese.”

Gradually, the monastery began to be built up according to the planning project developed by P. A. Trezzini. According to this project, two corner towers were finished, and the entire courtyard was paved with stone. In 1760, according to the design of F.B. Rastrelli, the abbot's cells were built. They had an art gallery, which, among others, contained two rare portraits of Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna. The center of the ensemble was built in 1756 - 1760 under the supervision of B.-F. Rastrelli, according to the design of P. A. Trezzini, a stone five-domed church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity with chapels in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and in the name of the Holy Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth. It was small, accommodating only 600 people, lavishly decorated on the outside with baroque columns and pilasters, and on the inside with a high gilded iconostasis. Its five freely spaced domes, decorated with light columns, were distinguished by strict elegance. The cathedral served as a prototype for many church buildings erected in the next two decades. (In 1919, the cathedral was closed. The magnificent Trinity Cathedral perished - closed and adapted for economic needs, it was damaged during the Great Patriotic War and was blown up in the summer of 1962, although a restoration project for this architectural monument of the 18th century was already ready.)

The architect Luigi Rusca in 1805 - 1809 built the Invalid House in the western part of the monastery with the Church of St. Valerian the Martyr. The temple was consecrated in June 1809, and the nursing home began operating five years later. In the temple there was the grave of Valerian Zubov, Knight of St. George and Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, conqueror of Derbent. The church with an almshouse for crippled soldiers was built by his brothers Counts Dmitry, Platon and Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov. Nikolai, Dmitry and Platon (Prince of the Roman Empire) Zubovs themselves were subsequently buried in the crypt of the church, as well as the daughter and grandson of A.V. Suvorov - Natalya Aleksandrovna Zubova and Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov, children and grandchildren of the counts Zubovs. During the reconstruction of the church in Soviet times, all these graves were destroyed.

In 1833, the 27-year-old saint (canonized by the church in 1988) Ignatius (in the world Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov) became the rector of the hermitage. Pustyn was transferred to the first class, grew into an exemplary monastery and became known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. During his time, memorial churches were built in the monastery - the Intercession of the Virgin Mary and Gregory the Theologian, chapels, cells for monks, and the Holy Gate. The main volume of designing new buildings and remodeling old ones fell during this period on the share of the architect Alexei Maksimovich Gornostaev. Two chapels - Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - in front of the monastery, built by Gornostaev from red granite in 1845, have survived to this day. Both are elegant, with keel-shaped icon cases, images and crosses completing them, and do not interfere with the panorama of the monastery buildings, which opens towards the Great Peterhof Road.

Behind the chapels and fence, A. M. Gornostaev in 1859 - 1863 erected the Holy Gate with cells, a high hipped tower and the house church of St. Savva Stratelates, organized at the expense of the headquarters captain M.V. Shishmarev in memory of his wife’s grandfather Savva Yakovlevich Yakovlev, who died in 1784 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. For unknown reasons, the church was never consecrated. In 1899, a clock was installed on the tower above the Holy Gate, and then the building was built on. The church and cells are built in brick, beautiful and picturesque in green surroundings and fabulous in winter. Their original silhouette in an ever-changing perspective is in tune with the landscape surroundings. The work of his mentor was continued in 1857 - 1897 by the new rector of the hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius (Ivan Vasilyevich Malyshev), who, being an artistically gifted person, decorated the hermitage with beautiful buildings and brought its spiritual state to a very high level.

The largest building in the monastery at that time should be called the construction by A. M. Gornostaev of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The first stone church on the site of the previous wooden one was erected in 1758, and the Ernostaevsky church was built in 1854 - 1859 and consecrated in September 1859. The appearance of the church is nothing unusual. This is a three-story building, 18 fathoms long, with an altar apse in the east, five domes, and two churches: lower and upper. The entrance portal is located in the center of the southern façade and is marked by granite columns. The arched shapes of the window pediments, triple pilasters, processed with rustication, seem to repeat the decor of the nearby refectory and abbot's building. The interior space of the temple did not replicate any of those built in Russia. The church building is a basilica with three naves and two rows of dark red granite columns five meters high supporting the choir. The columns have capitals of different designs. Tall arches, obediently following the columns, rhythmically echo this smooth movement, directing worshipers to the altar. Accommodating 2,000 people, the temple receives light from tall semi-circular stained glass windows located on the southern and northern walls. The ceiling, as in early Byzantine basilicas, was covered with wooden beams. Between the arches, R. F. Vinogradov (based on the sketches of M. N. Vasiliev) painted a Byzantine ornament on a golden background. The altar part of the church was separated by a low Byzantine type two-tier iconostasis, made of marble with inserts of malachite, lapis lazuli and mosaics. The image in the Royal Doors was performed by Academician N. A. Lavrov, the author of the frescoes, and M. N. Vasiliev. In the side naves there were small marble iconostases inlaid with colored stones. The planes of the walls connecting the church with the refectory were painted by the artist Belyakov and Ignatius Malyshev. A choir was built above the western part of the church. The mosaic floor, designed by Gornostaev, is a multi-color ornamental composition.

The lower, funeral, church was built like an ancient crypt or Christian catacomb and had numerous burials. In the chapel, consecrated on July 4, 1857 in the name of Christ the Savior, there was a tomb of the counts Apraksin with 20 burials. The chapel in the name of the martyr Zinaida, consecrated on April 28, 1861, where there was an iconostasis made of pink cypress, had 33 burials of the Yusupovs. In addition, the princes Chernyshevs, Shishmarevs, Kartsevs, Stroganovs, Volkonskys, Shcherbatovs, Count Kleinmichel, and Baron Fredericks found their last refuge in the lower church. Nowadays the church is the only functioning temple on the territory of the monastery. Closed in 1919, partially destroyed and rebuilt, the temple is being restored and decorated. The stucco work on the church facades has been restored, and the interior paintings have been restored.

Consecrated in May 1857, the Church of St. Gregory the Theologian (“Kushelevskaya”) is located in the northeastern part of the monastery. It was erected in 1855 - 1857 according to the design of the court architect A. M. Stackenschneider in the Russian-Byzantine style over the grave of the favorite of Paul I, Lieutenant General Count Grigory Grigorievich Kushelev, with money from his widow Ekaterina Dmitrievna. The church had a two-tier iconostasis, the images of which were painted on a golden background. In the center of the temple there is a descent into a tomb lined with white marble. This church was closed in 1919 - 1920. One of the best creations of the architect A. I. Stackenschneider has been preserved, although in a converted form.

The memorial Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary ("Kochubeyevskaya"), famous for its Florentine dome, was located to the right of the Holy Gate. It was laid in July 1844 over the grave of Princess Maria Ivanovna Kochubey, née Princess Baryatinskaya. It was a single-domed octagonal building, faced with Scottish stone, in which light fell through round windows. The church was built in 1859 - 1863 according to the design of architects R. A. Kuzmin and G. E. Bosse with money from Prince Mikhail Viktorovich Kochubey. The church was consecrated in 1863 by Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev). The temple operated until November 1931. It was blown up in the mid-1960s.

The chapel in the name of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was erected near the altar of the Trinity Cathedral over the grave of the first rector of the Hermitage, Archimandrite Varlaam, with money from the monastery according to the design of A. M. Gornostaev in 1864, after the death of the architect, who died in 1862. Schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), an associate of Ignatius Brianchaninov, was also buried there. In November 1931, after the closure of the "Kochubey" church, the chapel became a parish church. It was closed in 1935. The chapel building has not survived.

The chapel in the name of the Rudny Icon of the Mother of God was built on one of the islands of the pond in the eastern part of the monastery. The design of the chapel, consecrated in 1876, was carried out by the architect D.I. Grimm. The chapel building has not survived.

According to the design of Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev) and architect A. A. Parland, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was erected in the desert in 1872 - 1884. The church building was erected on the site of the previously standing Church of St. James the Apostle, built in 1791. The new temple was five-domed, with domes and facades designed in the spirit of the forms and motifs of late Byzantine architecture. On the lower floor was located the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, created in memory of Vice Admiral Prince M.P. Golitsyn, who was buried here, whose widow donated funds for the construction. The altar of the church was consecrated in 1884 at the same time as the altar of the main room of the Resurrection Cathedral on the top floor of the building. The building was noted for its excellent craftsmanship, the combination of stepped high pediments and arched crowning domes. On the façade of multi-colored bricks there were large bas-reliefs depicting the Savior walking on the waters and Russian saints of all centuries. The gilded royal doors were supported by silvered angels. All the images in the Royal Doors are painted on mother-of-pearl, and in the iconostasis - on a gold background. Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev) painted about 70 icons for the cathedral. The church played an important role in the formation of the ensemble of buildings of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage. I. V. Malyshev was buried in the tomb of the cathedral he built.

The temple was closed in 1919, its building - the first creation of Archimandrite Ignatius and architect A. A. Parland (according to their joint project, the magnificent "Savior on Spilled Blood" would later be erected in St. Petersburg on the site of the mortal wound of Alexander II) - demolished in 1968. In the summer of 1998, the relics of Archimandrite Ignatius were found underground on the site of the former Resurrection Cathedral and transferred to the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was closed in 1931, the inhabitants of the monastery were arrested and sent into exile. The monastery's cemetery, which in the 19th century was considered one of the most beautiful in Europe, was barbarously and systematically destroyed. Since Catherine’s times, it, like the cemeteries of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Donskoy and Simonov monasteries in Moscow, buried the dead from noble noble families: the Apraksins, Myatlevs, Stroganovs, Durasovs. The architects A. M. Gornostaev and A. I. Stackenschneider were buried here. The architectural ensemble of the Holy Trinity Sergius Hermitage was seriously damaged, first during the barbaric reconstructions of the 1930s, and then as a result of destruction during the Great Patriotic War. In the 1960s, the war-damaged temples of the monastery were demolished. Unfortunately, the Rastrelli-Trezini Trinity Cathedral, the Church of the Intercession, built in the desert by architects R.I. Kuzmin and G.E. Bosse, and the Church of the Resurrection have not survived. Since 1964, a special secondary police school was located on the territory of the monastery. In 1973, as a mockery, just a few years after the above-mentioned temples were demolished, the architectural complex of the monastery was placed under state protection.

In March 1993, monastic life resumed at the monastery. For six years, the inhabitants of the monastery had to share the desert territory with the police school, which finally vacated the monastery buildings in 1999. Nowadays services are held in the restored Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

The Church of St. Gregory the Theologian has also been preserved, although putting it in order will require significant funds.

The data is taken mostly from the book "Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg. Life and Works." (SPb. 2000) and from the description of the monastery distributed in it

Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, 1st class, 19 versts from St. Petersburg, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, near the Sergievo railway station. Founded in 1734 by the confessor of Empress Anna Ioannovna, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Varlaam. Until 1764 it was assigned to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The five-domed Trinity Cathedral was built in 1756 at the expense of the Lavra. Here is a particularly revered icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh, and with it a cross with a particle of his holy relics. In the cathedral church in the name of St. Sergius, built in 1859, there is an ark with particles of the holy relics of Egyptian hermits. The third, the cathedral church of the Resurrection of Christ, is of Byzantine architecture, five-domed; consecrated in 1884. It is divided into 2 temples: the lower one, which has the tombs of builders and benefactors, and the upper one, intended for constant worship. In front of the entrance to the temple, at the doors to the right and left, there are two statues of the Savior and the first planters of Christianity in our country, Princess Olga of equal throne and the martyrs Fyodor and his son John.

At the entrance to the cathedral, in the windows of the eastern altar wall you can see several transparent icons made of colored glass, very artistic work. The iconostasis is distinguished by the fact that it has only two small local icons: the Savior and the Mother of God, in icon cases richly made of marble and other valuable minerals. Between the icons there are two bronze, silver-plated statues of archangels, sitting like guardians of the shrine, at the entrance to the altar. The gilded bronze doors are unusually low, so that through them almost the entire altar wall is visible. On the solea in front of the iconostasis are placed 2 precious multi-candlesticks, which are incomparable in their highly artistic execution. Expensive lapis lazuli and gilded bronze make up the material from which they are made. The wall writing inside the cathedral, for the most part, belongs to the brush of the deceased rector and builder of the cathedral, Archimandrite Ignatius. According to him, on both walls of the cathedral, on the so-called belt, are depicted all the saints glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church, starting from the 10th century, from the Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Dukes Olga and Grand Duke Vladimir and ending with the 19th century, to the newly glorified saints: Innocent, Mitrofan and Tikhon. On the island of the Jordan Pond there is a chapel with a particularly revered ancient icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Rudenskaya. Every year on July 5 and September 25, a procession of the cross takes place around the monastery. Since 1892, in memory of the 500th anniversary of the death of St. Sergius, every year on September 25th a procession of the cross to the hermitage is carried out by the Temperance Society from the Intercession Brotherhood Church in St. Petersburg. In the desert there is a two-year school, a disabled and hospice home and a hospital.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov “Russian monasteries in 1913”

Approaching Strelna from the capital, the pilgrim, from a distance on the left side of the road, noticed among the greenery of the surrounding gardens and fields golden crosses and domes, multi-colored walls and roofs of the monastery, which was founded in 1732 by Archimandrite Varlaam (Vysotsky, 1665-1737) at the 19th verst of the Peterhof road ), rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra near Moscow. Empress Anna Ioannovna, whose confessor was Varlaam, donated the former manor of her sister, Princess Ekaterina Ioannovna, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, for the monastery.

Before the revolution, in the monastery, which had a capital of 350 thousand rubles, there were seven churches and about 100 brethren lived, from whom, according to a long tradition, ship priests for the Russian navy were chosen. Before the revolution, there were churches in the desert: the Most Holy Trinity, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Resurrection of Christ, smch. Valerian (Zubovskaya), St. Gregory the Theologian (Kushelevskaya), Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kochubeyevskaya), schmch. Savva Stratelata (Shishmarevskaya).

The monastery had chapels:
- Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - at the monastery gates, rebuilt in 1844-1845 by A. M. Gornostaev, who also erected a granite fence in 1868-1871;
- The Tikhvin Mother of God (with a revered image), which the same architect built in 1863 at the altar of the Trinity Cathedral over the grave of the founder of the desert. The spiritual composer Schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), an associate of Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov), was also buried in it. The honorable remains of Varlaam, Michael, Ignatius Jr. are now in the Sergius Church;
- Rudnenskaya - on the shore of the Jordanka pond in the eastern part of the monastery, which was erected in 1876 by D. I. Grimm for the ancient and revered icon of the Rudnenskaya Mother of God in imitation of the Nikon monastery in New Jerusalem. On August 1st there was a procession of the cross to her for the blessing of water.
The Tikhvin and Rudny chapels were destroyed during the last war.

The hermitage was closed in 1919, but services there continued for more than ten years. Although the brethren were largely dispersed, in 1930, when the cemetery was destroyed, there were still “about a dozen old monks” left in the desert. They lived among the inmates of a children's labor colony, which in the 1930s was replaced by a retraining school for command personnel named after. Kuibysheva. In 1931 the monastery ceased to exist. In 1964, it housed the Police School, which destroyed the remains of the cemetery and a number of buildings. In 1973, the ancient complex was placed under state protection, and on March 29, 1993, a decision was made on its gradual transfer to the diocese (this process was completed in May 2001).

http://www.encspb.ru/object/2855713632?lc=ru

The monastery was founded in 1734 by the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Varlaam (in the world - Vasily Vysotsky). The monastery was built 19 versts from St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, on lands transferred to the monastery by Empress Anna Ioannovna. The monastery occupied an almost square area with a side of about 140 m and was surrounded by a wooden fence with corner towers. In November of the same year, the Empress allowed the wooden Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God to be transported from the country house of Queen Paraskeva Feodorovna on the Fontanka and ordered that its throne be consecrated in the name of St. Sergius the Wonderworker of Radonezh. The church was located in the central square of the monastery. On both sides of the church there were wooden monastic cells and a stone outbuilding for the abbot.

By Anna's decree, “to maintain the monastery economically,” 219 acres of land were transferred to the monastery and three villages with serfs were assigned. The consecration of the monastery took place on May 12, 1735. In June 1735, the Empress visited the hermitage and donated liturgical books to the temple.

At first, the hermitage did not have a special staff of monks. Persons from the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra were sent here to perform divine services. The life and activities of the brethren were also under the supervision and guidance of the Lavra. In the first years of its existence, the new monastery was called the Primorsky Trinity-Sergius Monastery dacha and existed at the expense of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Empress Anna Ioannovna, by a personal decree of January 30, 1738, ordered the description of the hermitages. After this, the church began to be officially considered ascribed to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Archimandrite Varlaam died in July 1737 and, according to his will, was buried in the monastery he founded. A wooden chapel of the Tikhvin Mother of God was erected over his grave.

In 1756-1758, in the monastery, the temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh was rebuilt: the wooden church was replaced with a new one. In 1760, the five-domed Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was erected according to the design of B. Rastrelli, approved on March 12, 1756. Construction ended in 1760. The monastery continued to be built up according to the planning project developed by P.A. Trezzini. Two corner towers were erected and the entire courtyard was paved with stone. In 1760, according to the project of F.B. Rastrelli built the abbot's cells. An art gallery was created in them, in which, among others, there were two rare portraits of Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna. At that moment, about 20 monks were working in the monastery.

In 1764, monastic states were established in Russia, according to which the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was separated from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and elevated to the 2nd class. On May 4, 1764, by decree of the Holy Synod, “The newly built hermitage located near St. Petersburg, along the Peterhof road, due to the lack of monasteries in St. Petersburg, should be assigned to the St. Petersburg diocese.” The monastery began to be governed by its own archimandrite.

From January 16, 1774 to July 13, 1774, the monastery was headed by Archimandrite. Veniamin (Krasnopevkov-Rumovsky). From May 29 (25), 1796 to October 1798, the rector of the Sergius Hermitage was Archimandrite. Theophylact (Rusanov). The rector of the monastery from January 27, 1802 to 1804 was Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov).

From 1812 to 1813, the Sergius Hermitage was ruled by Methodius II (Pishnyachevsky) in the rank of archimandrite. From 1819 to 1833, the hermitage was under the jurisdiction of the St. Petersburg vicars of the Bishops of Revel. The longest period of abbotship in the desert - from 1833 to 1857 - fell to the lot of the famous Saint Ignatius (in the world - Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov). Under his leadership, the hermitage was transferred to the first class and grew into an exemplary monastery. During his time, memorial churches were built in the monastery - the Intercession of the Virgin Mary and Gregory the Theologian, chapels, cells for monks, and the Holy Gate. The main volume of designing new buildings and remodeling old ones fell during this period on the share of the architect Alexei Maksimovich Gornostaev. The monastery choir under the saint was led by the famous spiritual composer Rev. P.I. Turchaninov, who in 1836-1841 was a priest in neighboring Strelna. From 1857 to 1897, the abbot of the monastery was Archimandrite Ignatius (Ivan Vasilyevich Malyshev). Being an artistically gifted person, he decorated the deserts with beautiful buildings.

On the territory of the monastery there were seven churches: the Holy Trinity, St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Resurrection of Christ, the Hieromartyr Valerian (Zubovskaya), St. Gregory the Theologian (Kushelevskaya), the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (Kochubeyevskaya), the Hieromartyr Savva Stratelates (Shishmarevskaya), and the chapels: Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - at the monastery gates, the Tikhvin Mother of God (with a revered image), Rudnenskaya - on the shore of the Jordanka pond in the eastern part of the monastery.

During the war with Turkey, in 1877-1878, at the suggestion of the rector, a hospital with a church was built in the Sergius Desert, consecrated on January 29, 1878. Archimandrite Ignatius died on May 16, 1897 (and on the evening of the 15th John of Kronstadt visited him) and was buried in the Hermitage, in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, in the St. Michael's Chapel. Currently, his remains rest in the Church of St. Sergius, where they were transferred in the year of the centenary of his repose.

By the end of 1901, the monastery library consisted of more than 6,000 books, and the following magazines were subscribed: “Faith and Church”, “Missionary Review”, “Soulful Reading”, “Historical Messenger”, “Faith and Reason”, “Friend of Sobriety”, “Christian’s Rest” , "Russian pilgrim". The number of inhabitants gradually increased. In 1916, there were up to 100 monastics and 7 churches. Before the revolution, in the monastery, which had a capital of 350 thousand rubles, there were seven churches and about 100 brethren lived, from whom, according to a long tradition, ship priests for the Russian navy were chosen. The hermitage contained a disabled and hospice home (daily shelter for 15-20 wanderers), an orphanage, a women's almshouse, a two-class school and a hospital. Every year, on the saint’s memory days, July 5 and September 25 (old style), a procession of the cross was held around the monastery.

From 1915 to 1919, Archimandrite Sergius (Druzhinin) was the rector. From the beginning of 1919 until his death in January 1930 - Abbot Joasaph (Merkulov). The last rector before the closure is Archimandrite Ignatius (Egorov).

The dead from noble and noble families were buried in the monastery cemetery: princes Apraksin, Myatlev, Naryshkin, Chicherin, Stroganov, Durasov, poet Myatlev, architects A.I. Stackenschneider and A.M. Gornostaev, many from the Yusupov, Kochubeev, Golitsyn families; Adlerbergs, Zubovs, Kushelevs, Perovskys, Chicherins, Yakovlevs and many others. The burial of “His Imperial Highness Duke Nicholas Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg, Prince Romanovsky” was considered honorable in its status. Chancellor of the Russian Empire A.M. was also buried here. Gorchakov; Minister of Public Education A.S. Norov; outstanding public and cultural figure Prince P.G. Oldenburgsky; military governors of St. Petersburg; descendants of A.V. Suvorov and M.I. Kutuzova.

Some chapels and crypts were genuine works of art. The territory of the monastery was decorated with elegant architecture of rotundas and greenhouses - tombs: the rotunda-tomb of the Tolstoy family, the greenhouse-tomb of the family of the princes of Oldenburg. Little was saved from the ruthless looting in the 1930s, and especially in the 60s. Bronze and marble busts by S. Campioni, N. Pimenov, P. Stawasser were transferred to the funds of the Russian Museum from the Zubov family tomb. The artistic tombstones of A.A. were transferred to the 18th-century Necropolis of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. and F.A. Batashevykh, F.A. Yakovleva. Not far from the monastery there was a cemetery for the poor. The cemetery was completely destroyed during Soviet times.

In 1919, the monastery was closed, but services in the desert continued for more than ten years.

The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was finally closed in 1931, the inhabitants of the monastery were arrested and sent into exile. The monastery's cemetery, which in the 19th century was considered one of the most beautiful in Europe, was barbarously and systematically destroyed. The architectural ensemble of the Holy Trinity Sergius Hermitage was seriously damaged, first during the barbaric reconstructions of the 1930s, and then as a result of destruction during the Great Patriotic War.

During the Second World War, from September 1941 until the blockade was lifted in January 1944, the territory of the former monastery was occupied by occupiers and the fascist army headquarters. From here the artillery shelling of Leningrad was adjusted. Monastic buildings, especially the Trinity Cathedral and the Church of the Resurrection, were heavily damaged by artillery shelling. In the post-war years, restoration work began. Architect A.A. Kedrinsky restored the Rector's building and the refectory. I.N. Benoit drew up a project for the restoration of the Trinity Cathedral. However, in the 1960s, the damaged churches were removed from state protection. In 1962, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity - one of the latest and most remarkable creations of the great Rastrelli - was demolished, despite all the efforts made to save the building by public organizations of the city. The Church of the Intercession, built in the desert by architects R.I., has also not survived. Kuzmin and G.E. Bosse, and the Church of the Resurrection.

Since 1964, a special secondary police school was located on the territory of the monastery. In 1973, the architectural complex of the monastery was placed under state protection.

On the site of 18th-century temples, a parade ground was set up for drills for students of the Secondary Police School. The tombstones, which miraculously survived until the summer of 1964, were bulldozed one day. True, two monuments were left: the family crypt of the Chicherins (perhaps out of respect for the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in Lenin's government G.V. Chicherin), and a marble cross on the grave of the famous architect A.M. Gornostaev.

Destroyed temples

Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity

The center of the monastery architectural ensemble was a stone five-domed church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity with chapels in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and in the name of the Holy Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth. It was built in 1756-1760 at the expense of the Lavra under the supervision of B.-F. Rastrelli designed by P.A. Trezzini. The cathedral was small, accommodating only 600 people, lavishly decorated on the outside with baroque columns and pilasters, and inside with a high gilded iconostasis. The cathedral served as a prototype for many church buildings erected in the next two decades. It contained a particularly revered icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh, and with it a cross with a particle of his holy relics. The main chapel of the cathedral was consecrated on August 10, 1763 by Archimandrite Lavrenty (Khonyatovsky) in the presence of Catherine II and the heir. The two side chapels were consecrated even earlier - on August 18-19, 1761 by the famous preacher Archimandrite Gideon (Krinovsky), rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

In 1799, the cathedral bell tower of the cathedral received a new completion. In 1823, I.I. Charlemagne replaced the columns in the interior with pilasters made of white stucco. When started in 1837 by A.I. Melnikov's major overhaul of the cathedral restored the previously abolished left side chapel, the image in which was painted by Ya.F. Yanenko and novice Ignatius (Malyshev), the future governor. On August 1, 1838, Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov) again consecrated the main chapel, and on August 18, 1840, the left chapel of the Beheading of John the Baptist.

The walls are divided by pilasters, and stucco decorations add special elegance. The interior decoration of the temple was distinguished by splendor and richness. On a high place until 1917 stood the image of the Holy Trinity, painted in 1840 by Acad. K.P. Bryullov. The main shrine of the temple was the miraculous icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh and two crosses with particles of the relics of St. Sergius and the Military Medical Center. Barbarians. In 1962, the temple was blown up.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ

At this site there was originally a church in the name of the Apostle James - a small building adjacent to the southern one-story wing. On May 15, 1790, the widow of Lieutenant General I.Ya. Khlebnikova submitted a request to the Synod to allow this church to be built over the grave of her father, the merchant Ya.S. Petrov, and in August 1791 the consecration of the temple took place in the name of the patron saint of the deceased - the Apostle James. After alterations and additions to the entire wing, the small church was again consecrated on August 23, 1820 by Metropolitan Michael.

Then the temple continued to expand and be rebuilt with funds from A.S. Norova. Metropolitan Isidore, having dedicated it to the Resurrection of Christ, repeated the consecration on June 16, 1866. It was a tented building in the Russian style, into which light fell from four windows. Easter scenes were painted under the beamed ceiling, and the walls were hung with tray icons. However, the building did not stand in this form for long. In 1870, Princess A. Golitsyna donated 20 thousand rubles. for the construction of a new church with “nine hospital cells” in memory of Prince Mikhail Pavlovich Golitsyn, who was buried here. In 1872, the architect Alfred Aleksandrovich Parland, together with Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), drew up a project for a three-aisle basilica for 2,500 people, made in the motifs of late Byzantine architecture. Its laying took place in 1877, consecration carried out by Metropolitan Isidore on July 29, 1884. The construction was supervised by the rector himself, Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), who painted and consecrated the lower chapel of Archangel Michael on May 15, 1884 in memory of Vice Admiral Prince M.P., who was buried there. Golitsyn.

The building was noted for its excellent craftsmanship, the combination of stepped high pediments and arched crowning domes. On the façade of multi-colored bricks there were large bas-reliefs depicting the Savior walking on the waters and Russian saints of all centuries. The gilded royal doors were supported by silvered angels. All the images in the Royal Doors are painted on mother-of-pearl, and in the iconostasis - on a gold background. Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev) painted about 70 icons for the cathedral. The facade of multi-colored bricks was decorated below with bronze bas-reliefs of R.R. Bach with the image of Russian saints from Olga to Tikhon of Zadonsk. According to the model of A.M. Opekushina Bach made two silver-plated angels that supported the original gilded royal doors in the low iconostasis, in front of which stood two magnificent multi-candlesticks made of lapis lazuli and gilded bronze, made at the Chopin factory. Postnikov's company made a large chandelier with enamel inserts, and painted banners. book Elena Mikhailovna. Thanks to the stained glass windows, a “very gentle lilac tone reigned inside the temple, not hurting the eyes,” creating a feeling of spaciousness, peace and grandeur. In 1898, the company of A. Barinov decorated the main altar with silver reliefs, making it of marble in the lower church. I.V. was buried in the tomb of the cathedral he built. Malyshev. The temple was blown up in 1968. In the summer of 1998, the relics of Archimandrite Ignatius were found underground on the site of the former Resurrection Cathedral and transferred to the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary ("Kochubeyevskaya")

The temple was founded on July 25, 1844 over the ashes of Princess Maria Ivanovna Kochubey (nee Prince Baryatinskaya). By order of her husband, Mikhail Viktorovich Kochubey, it cost him 200 thousand rubles. The initial project was developed by the court architect Roman Ivanovich Kuzmin, who took the Florentine Baptistery as a model, but later the project was redone by Yuliy Andreevich Bosse. The church was located in the southeastern corner of the desert, to the right of the Holy Gate. It was a single-domed octagonal building 14 fathoms high, faced with gray Scottish stone, in which light fell through round windows. By 1847, the church was rebuilt under the supervision of L.Ya. Tiblen, but its finishing was delayed because the book. M.V. Kochubey wanted to make it to his own taste. The walls were covered for three years. The walls and vaults inside were painted with ornaments; the images in the stylish two-tier iconostasis were painted on a golden background by the famous V.M. Peshekhonov. In 1850, the image of St. Vasily and Elena was written by academician. T.A. Neff. The church with the Kochubey family tomb was consecrated on August 4, 1863 by Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev) in the presence of the princely family. The prince ordered the views of the new church from Academician. MM. Sazhin. Services were performed in this tomb church very rarely. In 1904-1905 it has undergone restoration repairs. The temple was in operation until November 1, 1931, and in 1964 it was blown up. The adjacent cemetery was also destroyed at the same time.

Chapel of the Tikhvin Mother of God

A chapel in the name of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (with a revered image) was erected near the altar of the Trinity Cathedral over the grave of the first rector of the Hermitage, Archimandrite Varlaam, using money from the monastery according to the design of A.M. Gornostaev in 1864, after the death of the architect, who died in 1862. Ignatius Brianchaninov’s associate, the spiritual composer schemamonk Mikhail (Chikhachev), was also buried there. In November 1931, after the closure of the "Kochubey" church, the chapel became a parish church. Closed in 1935. The chapel building has not survived. The honorable remains of Varlaam, Michael, Ignatius Jr. are now in the Sergius Church.

Chapel of the Rudny Icon of the Mother of God

The chapel in the name of the Rudny Icon of the Mother of God was built in 1876 on one of the islands of the Jordanka pond in the eastern part of the monastery. In the chapel there was a particularly revered ancient icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Rudenskaya. The design of the chapel, consecrated in 1876, was carried out by the architect D.I. Grimm based on the Nikon monastery in New Jerusalem. On August 1st there was a procession of the cross to her for the blessing of water. The chapel building has been lost.

Extant churches

Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh

The first wooden church of the Desert was transported from the estate of Queen Paraskeva Fedorovna on the Fontanka, where its altar was consecrated in the name of the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Pustyn the church was re-consecrated in 1735 by Archimandrite. Varlaam in the name of St. Rev. Sergius of Radonezh. Then, in 1756-1758, it was replaced by a new stone one. And in 1854, thanks to the financial assistance of Princess Z.I. Yusupova, the church was completely rebuilt in the Byzantine style by the architect A.M. Gornostaev. The icons were painted by M. Dovgalev. The illumination took place on June 18, 1822 by Bishop Gregory of Revel. Thirty years later - on April 26, 1852 (according to other sources - July 4, 1857) the lower (basement) chapel was consecrated in the name of the Savior of the Origin of the Honest Trees.

This is a three-story building, 18 fathoms long, with an altar apse in the east, five domes, designed for 2000 people. The entrance portal is located in the center of the southern façade and is marked by granite columns. The arched shapes of the window pediments and triple pilasters, treated with rustication, repeat the decorative motifs of the nearby buildings of the refectory and the abbot's building. Inside, the church building is a basilica with three naves and two rows of dark red granite columns five meters high supporting the choir. The columns have capitals of different designs. Light penetrates into the temple from high semi-circular stained glass windows located on the southern and northern walls. The ceiling, as in early Byzantine basilicas, is covered with wooden beams. The internal space was divided into naves by eight columns of polished dark red granite, which supported the choir. The space between the beams is painted with Byzantine ornaments on a golden background (artist R.F. Vinogradov, based on sketches by M.N. Vasiliev).

The central two-tier iconostasis of the Byzantine type was made according to a design by Gornostaev from marble with porphyry columns and details from Carrara marble, malachite, lapis lazuli and semi-precious stones, lapis lazuli and mosaics. The image in the Royal Doors was performed by Academician N.A. Lavrov, author of the frescoes, and M.N. Vasiliev. In the side aisles there were small marble iconostases inlaid with colored stones. The planes of the walls connecting the church with the refectory were painted by the artist Belyakov and Ignatius Malyshev. The mosaic floor was made according to the design of A.M. Gornostaeva.

The lower, memorial church was built like an ancient crypt or Christian catacomb. It contained the tomb of Counts Apraksin with 20 burials. The chapel in the name of the martyr Zinaida, consecrated on April 28, 1861, where there was an iconostasis made of pink cypress, had 33 burials of the Yusupovs. In addition, the princes Chernyshevs, Shishmarevs, Kartsevs, Stroganovs, Volkonskys, Shcherbatovs, Count Kleinmichel, and Baron Fredericks found their last refuge in the lower church. In this lower “cave” aisle there was a tomb of the Chernyshev princes.

A.N. Muravyov, a prominent spiritual writer, donated to the temple in 1861 a silver reliquary with particles of the holy relics of Egyptian hermits, which he received from the Alexandrian Patriarch Hierotheus, and the following year A.S. Norov donated a 60 cm high marble column with an image of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which he brought from the Jerusalem house of Sts. Joachim and Anna.

The consecration of the main chapel was carried out on September 20, 1859 by Metropolitan Gregory in the presence of the Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich and Nikolai Konstantinovich. The temple was closed in the 1920s and was used as a club. Nowadays the church is the only functioning temple on the territory of the monastery.

Church of Gregory the Theologian (Kuleshovskaya)

In the northeastern part of the monastery there is a church and tombstone church of St. Gregory the Theologian (“Kushelevskaya”). It was erected in 1855-1857. designed by court architect A.M. Stackenschneider over the grave of Paul I's favorite, Lieutenant General Count Grigory Grigorievich Kushelev, with the money of his widow Ekaterina Dmitrievna. The construction cost 60 thousand rubles. silver The temple was consecrated on May 11, 1857 by Metropolitan Gregory in the name of the patron saint of the deceased. Preserved in its modified form in the 1930s.

The one-domed church, made in the Russian-Byzantine style, was illuminated by two large windows. The bottom of the façade was finished with granite, the portal with gray marble, and the walls were decorated with ceramic half-columns. The church had a two-tier carved iconostasis, the images of which were painted on a gold background. The chandelier was made of gilded copper. The Gospel, altar cross and vessels were stylized as antique. In the center of the temple there is a descent into a tomb lined with white marble. After Kusheleva’s death, her adopted daughter, Marchioness Incontri, who lived in Italy, took care of the temple. They served in it only on the days of the death of the ktitors. This church was closed in 1919-1920.

Church of Savva Stratilates (Shishmarevskaya)

Directly opposite the main entrance, behind the chapels and fence, designed by A.M. Gornostaev in 1859-1863. the Holy Gate with cells, a high hipped tower and the house church of the holy martyr Savva Stratelates was erected, built at the expense of the headquarters captain Mikhail Vasilyevich Shishmarev in the name of the patron saint of the famous Savva Yakovlevich Yakovlev, the grandfather of his wife, who died in 1784 and was buried in Trinity Sergius Hermitage. This church, which can only be entered from the cells, was founded on July 5, 1859. The church, like the cells, is built in red brick. This small double-height temple is marked by two domes and four turrets; Inside, the vault rested on four plaster-lined columns. The iconostasis was original - the wall on which icons were painted, with the royal doors in the arch. They planned to consecrate the temple in the spring of 1863, but for some unknown reason this did not happen before the revolution. In 1899, a clock was installed on the tower above the Holy Gate, and then ten years later the building was built on.

Church of St. martyr Valerian (Zubovskaya)

Count Valerian Aleksandrovich Zubov, Knight of St. George and Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, conqueror of Derbent, died in 1804 from wounds received in the Persian campaign (buried on June 24). His brothers - Platon, Dmitry and Nikolai - pledged to fulfill the will of the deceased and build a church over his grave with a nursing home for 30 "crippled warriors". On September 16, 1805, in the western part of the monastery, next to the fence, over the grave of Zubov, according to the design of L. Ruska, a church was founded in the name of St. Martyr Valerian with an almshouse. The building in the Empire style was built by the architect Puncini. Three years later it was ready. The church was located in the central, elevated part of the building. The outside of the church was decorated with a four-column portico; inside it had the appearance of an oval rotunda, which was not revealed in the external appearance of the building. A small single-tier iconostasis also ran in a semicircle. It was possible to get into the temple only from the rooms.

The temple was consecrated on June 21, 1809 by Archimandrite Porfiry (Kirillov), rector of the desert, on the anniversary of the count’s death. The first inhabitants of the almshouse appeared five years later. In 1865-1866 acad. ON THE. Lavrov painted four new images for the temple. Like the almshouse, the temple was always maintained at the expense of the Zubovs. Nikolai, Dmitry and Platon (Prince of the Roman Empire) Zubov themselves, as well as the daughter and grandson of A.V., were subsequently buried in the crypt of the church. Suvorova - Natalya Aleksandrovna Zubova and Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov, children and grandchildren of Counts Zubov. The Zubov family crypt contained 27 burials.

The temple was closed in 1919, when the building housed the workshops of a labor colony; four years later the church premises were liquidated, but the brethren managed to preserve the iconostasis. Then, in 1923, all burial places were destroyed. In 1935, the external appearance of the building was distorted: it was built on (one floor in the center, two at the edges), and some finishing details were changed.

Chapel of the Savior Not Made by Hands and Chapel of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

There were chapels at the monastery. Two of them, made of red granite, have survived to this day: Pokrovskaya and Spasskaya - at the monastery gates. They were rebuilt in 1844-1845 by A.M. Gornostaev. Both are completed with keel-shaped icon cases, images and crosses. In 1868-1871, this architect also erected a granite fence.