The Holy Dormition Princess Monastery is one of the historical pearls of Russia. It is located in Vladimir and has more than 800 years of history. Many events flashed over the country. But the temple and the memory of generations of nuns, townspeople, and miracles that happened in the monastery have been preserved, and interest in them only increases over the years.
Monastery founders
In 1200 in Russia there were two equilibrium principalities: Kiev and Vladimir. Both are equally powerful. Grand Duke Vsevolod reigned in Vladimir, and Princess Maria was his wife. Both were deeply and sincerely religious people. The Assumption Monastery near the Lybed River was laid by their thoughts, aspirations and deeds. The initiator of the construction of the female monastery was the princess. History and annals report that the couple lived in harmony with each other. They loved the people very much. In the family of the prince 12 children were born: 8 boys and 4 girls. With the birth of the last son of John, Mary became very ill and for seven years endured the hardships steadily and meekly.
During the period of illness, the princess decided to lay a monastery. And she turned with this request to her husband. He supported the undertaking. To build a monastery, the princess bought with her own money land for a future monastery. The first stone in the foundation of the monastery walls was laid by Prince Vladimir Vsevolod himself in 1200. The disease did not let the woman go. In her thoughts was to become a nun of a new monastery, in which she vowed to the Lord. With zeal, she performed the duties of wife, mother and ruler, but the soul wanted a strict monastic life. Only in 1206 was Mary able to fulfill her vow.
Princess Nun
The Lavrentievsky Chronicle testifies that with sadness and tears the prince led his wife to the monastic walls for tonsure. In the Trinity Chronicle, these events are described in such a way: “On March 2, the Grand Duchess Maria tonsured her monastic rank in the monastery of the Holy Mother of God, she later created and named her name Mary, she was baptized in the same name. And her grand duke Vsevolod led her with many tears to the monastery of the Holy Virgin and his son George and his daughters. "
The woman did not live long in the schema. She died the same year, April 1. The townspeople were sad and mourned the princess. She was very kind, helped the poor, defended widows and orphans, "gave a lot of mercy to the people." She was buried under the walls of the monastery. Since that time, the holy refuge has received the name - Assumption of the Princess Monastery in Vladimir.
Further story
The monastery has two temples: the Assumption Cathedral and the Kazan Temple. The first became a family princely tomb. The original construction of the temple was not preserved. Forty years after the completion of the construction, the Assumption Princess Monastery was devastated, like the city of Vladimir, by the Tatar hordes of Khan Batu. For a long time the monastery was so desolate that even the annals of it were silent until the sixteenth century.
The rebuilt Assumption Cathedral, which today can be seen on the territory of the monastery, dates back to the sixteenth century. It was then that a new flowering of the monastery's life began. It was erected on the foundation of an old building. To paint the walls of the temple, the best craftsmen were invited under the guidance of the sovereign icon painter Mark Matveev. The Dormition Monastery reached its peak in the late nineteenth century. During this period, a chapel was added to the temple, consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In 1900, in connection with the 700th anniversary, the title of “Princess” was returned to the monastery. In the same XIX century, after numerous reconstructions, the Assumption Cathedral was re-consecrated. He is patronized by the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. At the same time, the chapels of the church are dedicated to John Chrysostom and the holy great martyr Abraham of Bulgaria, whose relics were stored in the monastery.
Newest period
The 1917 revolution and the atheistic campaign did not pass over the Princess Assumption Monastery. January 1918 brought the monastery news of nationalization. The premises were transferred in favor of the state. Searches, requisition, expulsion of nuns were carried out. For some time it was possible to maintain familiar living conditions and conduct services, but it was already very difficult. In 1919, the new government at the site of the monastery cemetery equipped a playground. The hospital, the cells of the abbess of the monastery and the refectory of the sisters went to the state. They opened a children's shelter and a garden.
Finally, the Princess Assumption Monastery was closed in 1923. Five years later, the Assumption Church became the repository of the State Archives of the Vladimir Region. A museum of atheism was opened on the territory of the monastery in 1986. Monastic life returned here only in 1998. The periods of decline were replaced by a revival in the history of both the country and the monastery, inextricably linked by the threads of fate with the earth, people, faith. The walls of the monastery, based on great love and faith, cannot be destroyed by evil intent or human will. The whole history of the monastery testifies to this. The Holy Dormition female monastery has again revived and carries on its ministry.
Monastery Shrines: Healing Relics
The first shrines in the monastery appeared almost immediately after its construction. Thirty years after the laying of the first stone of the monastery, the son of the founder of the monastery, Princess Mary of Vladimir, George, personally brought to the temple the relics of the holy martyr Abraham the Bulgarian. According to historical chronicles, he was a native of a rich family of Volga Bulgarians who converted to Orthodoxy. He preached the Christian faith among his fellow Mohammedans. Chronicles of those years note that many miracles and healings happened with the installation of relics in the walls of the monastery.
The shrine rested in the monastery until 1919. When she was requisitioned, she managed to save a small fraction of the relics. Cancer with the decay of St. Abraham of Bulgaria, the patron saint of the monastery, returned to the cathedral in 1991. Since then, the chronicle of miracles is constantly replenished with evidence of healing from illnesses and everyday hardships. The icon of the great martyr healer Panteleimon is revered in the walls of the temple. It was painted in the icon-painting workshop of the monastery of the righteous Anna, which is located on the holy Mount Athos. Moved to the Princess Assumption Monastery in 1999. The icon is accompanied by a particle of the relics of the holy healer Panteleimon.
Miraculous icon
Also within the Assumption Cathedral of the Princess Monastery is the oldest miraculous Bogolyubsky icon of the Mother of God. It was written according to the vision of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1157. She established herself in the monastery since 1992, when she was returned to the temple from the museum. The new home for her was the Assumption Princess Monastery. A description of the appearance of the icon can be found in the chronicles and heard from the guides when visiting the monastery. She repeatedly saved the people of Vladimir from epidemics, droughts, overshadowed her wired during the war years, protected from hunger and despair. The icon is revered by the people and glorified by many miracles. There are numerous chronicles of this, as well as testimonies of parishioners about the healings that have already occurred in our time.
Architectural value
Spiritual traditions, material heritage are part of the culture and history of the country as a whole. The Assumption Ducal Monastery in Vladimir made a significant contribution to it. Description of the temple in poetic, enthusiastic form was given by His Beatitude Anastasius, Archbishop of Albania: “A wonderful temple! It is white and clean, directed towards the sky with its light forms, and when you go inside - there are frescoes, icons, lamps in the twilight, the altar of God Byshnyago: the soul of a person should be like that - it is directed outward to heaven, and in the depths hide the altar and God Himself ".
If we consider the temple, then today the building is striking in its power and beauty. The Assumption Church is a decoration of the entire monastery. Rushing upwards with white walls, it is crowned with three tiers of keel-shaped kokoshniks. Above them rises a magnificent powerful light drum with a traditional bulbous roof. Numerous archaeological excavations carried out at different times in the monastery, each time opened up new facets of the history of the monastery. So it was found out that in the first years after the construction of the temple it was surrounded by a narrow covered gallery, lined with expensive majolica tiles. And this is not all the secrets that the Princess Monastery keeps. The study is ongoing.
Monastic life
In the restored monastery, church services are held daily and an intense spiritual life is being conducted. Old crafts are reborn. Sisters do their own garments for priests and for other needs of the temple. Actively participate in restoration and construction works. An icon-painting workshop has been opened in the monastery. Here the art of church embroidery, which he was famous for since 1606, is being revived.
Through the efforts of the abbess of the monastery, a parish school for children was opened. The diocesan school for women also works at the monastery. Here, teachers of Sunday schools, psalmists, and regents of church choirs are trained. The Holy Assumption Princess Monastery is the pearl of the spiritual life of Russia. Everyone should visit the monastery in order to touch the miracle on their own, to feel the connection of times and generations.