There is hardly one among the holy monasteries, so numerous in Orthodox Russia, that has played such an important role in the history of the country as the Holy Trinity Ipatiev Monastery, located in Kostroma on the banks of the eponymous river, near its confluence with the Volga. It was from here that the three hundred year rule of the Romanov dynasty began, and here all the autocrats of this dynasty sought blessings from his shrines.
The monastery, patronized by the Godunovs
There are several versions of the emergence of the monastery. According to the generally accepted and most probable, its founder was the Tatar Khan Chet, who fled from the Golden Horde and converted to Orthodoxy in 1330, from whom two famous boyar clans subsequently went - Godunovs and Soburovs. The monastery became his gift for healing from an illness that occurred after the appearance on the banks of the Kostroma River of the Mother of God, the Apostle Philip and the Great Martyr Hypatius of Gangra.
The period of the most rapid development of the monastery dates back to the middle of the 16th century, when during the reign of Ivan the Terrible the Godunov clan rose, taking the monastery under their protection and endowing it with generous contributions. From the documents of that era it is known that only in the last decade of the century its land fund has quadrupled, making the Ipatiev Monastery (Kostroma) one of the largest landowners in the country.
The boyars did not skimp on monetary contributions, which allowed the monastery brethren to carry out extensive construction work. During this period, the following appeared: Trinity Cathedral, a winter church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a gate church dedicated to the patrons of the Godunov clan - Theodore Stratilat and the Great Martyr Irina, as well as a number of other buildings. All structures were surrounded by high stone walls with six towers. In gratitude for the generosity, the family vault of Godunov was arranged inside the monastery. This continued until the Time of Troubles ...
Siege of the monastery
Together with all of Russia, Kostroma was experiencing hard times during the Time of Troubles. The Ipatiev Monastery at that time suffered a period of decline. The fault lies mainly with his rector Archimandrite Theodosius, who in 1608 dared to swear an oath to False Dmitry II. The inhabitants of the city and the entire diocese of Kostroma were incredibly indignant at this. The townspeople, who remained loyal to Tsar Vasily Shuisky, approached the monastery, wanting to crack down on traitors. The siege lasted for almost a year, and after that the defenders laid down their arms.
The main thing is the Ipatiev Monastery
The truly finest hour of the monastery came when the humble nun Martha settled in it in the fall of 1612 with her sixteen-year-old son, Mikhail Romanov. Only six months passed, a year an embassy from Moscow appeared in the walls of the monastery with the news of the election of the lad Zemsky Cathedral to reign. The next day, March 14, 1613, in the main temple of the monastery - Trinity Cathedral - a rite of passage to the kingdom of the new sovereign was performed. This day put an end to the Time of Troubles.
Monastery - family shrine of Russian tsars
Throughout the entire period of the reign of the Romanov dynasty, ancient Kostroma enjoyed invariable honor. Ipatiev Monastery - in particular. As the cradle of this dynasty, he was in a privileged position, and was considered their family shrine. It has become a tradition, ascending to the throne, to invariably come to the holy monastery, and to perform service in it, asking the Lord for blessings for reign. Of course, such visits were accompanied by generous contributions to the monastery treasury.
Over the three hundred year period of its prosperity, the monastery was continuously built and expanded. Even Mikhail Romanov in the Ipatiev Monastery ordered to separate part of the territory and erect on it the buildings called the New City. In 1685, the Trinity Cathedral, destroyed by the explosion of the gunpowder warehouse, was restored, and in the second half of the 18th century, the marvelous beauty of Catherine’s Gate was built, made in the Baroque style and became a real decoration of the monastery.
In 1913, the old Kostroma witnessed celebrations that had not happened here since its foundation. These days, the monastery was the focus of the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the Royal House, which brought together all its representatives, headed by Emperor Nicholas II. From the chronicle of those years it is known that he lived outside the walls of the monastery in a house specially built for him.
Ruined cloister
After the October Revolution, when the royal family was not only destroyed, but all the spiritual foundations of popular life were declared a religious dope, the monastery was abolished, and the property was nationalized. Part of it went to the funds of Gokhran, some ended up in the museum of local lore, and most of the utensils, vestments and icons were simply plundered.
Numerous buildings of the monastery were used by the new government as a working hostel, orphanage and army barracks. They did not forget to arrange a stadium with a dance floor in the monastery fence. When in 1934 a directive was issued on the total destruction of places of worship, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, which stood for more than a century, was famous, famous throughout the country for its 17th-century frescoes.
Organization of the museum within the walls of the monastery
Certain changes in the attitude of the authorities towards ancient monuments began to be observed only in the mid-fifties. Among the cities in which restoration work was carried out was Kostroma. The Ipatiev Monastery was liberated from the economic objects located in it, and after reconstruction it housed the museum of local lore.
In the same period, a museum of Russian wooden architecture began to be created on the territory of the New City. After the flooding of the Kostroma Lowland, the first exhibits were brought here - the wooden Transfiguration Church and several household buildings.
Revival of religious life
The church service, the first since the abolition of the monastery, marked the revival of religious life within its walls, and two years later the monastic community was officially registered. Soon, the territory belonging to the New City was transferred to its use, in which the diocese was extremely interested. The Kostroma public, unfortunately, could not overcome the former stereotypes of thinking, and numerous protests were heard from it. Sometimes they were extremely unfounded.
In 2004, ancient Kostroma regained its former religious significance. The Ipatiev Monastery was finally completely transferred into the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church. This historical process is irreversible, no matter how hard his opponents are. A country with a thousand-year history of Christianity must inevitably return to its spiritual origins.