In Russia there are many holy places where you can make a pilgrimage. Pilgrims are people who visit temples and life-giving springs to purify and strengthen their faith.
One of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Russia is the Achair monastery in the Omsk region. The Orthodox come to this monastery to pray and plunge into the water of the Holy man-made lake.
You can see the Achair monastery (Omsk), baptism in healing water during pilgrimage tours. Such trips are regularly organized by Orthodox dioceses.
For those traveling to the Achair monastery, Omsk is the city from which acquaintance with the shrines of the region begins.
Organized Orthodox groups arrive in this city by train or plane.
In Omsk, pilgrims visit the Holy Assumption Cathedral, where they are applied to the arch with the healing relics of the new martyr Bishop Sylvester. One day is allocated for visiting the Omsk temples . Then the pilgrims are taken by bus to the Achair monastery, where they are settled in a hotel and provided with food in the monastery dining room.
The history of the Achair monastery began in 1890. At that time, near the village of Achair, there was a female Orthodox community. The abbess of the community organized a fundraiser for the construction of the stone church of Archangel Michael. This church was consecrated in May 1903 and became the first fundamental building of a convent. For several years, with funds donated by Emperor Alexander III, temples and chapels were erected, which became the basis of the modern monastery complex.
During the years of Soviet rule, the Achaira monastery was looted. From 1920 to 1930, the NKVD department was located in the monastery buildings. From 1930 until the
death of Stalin , a prison operated on its territory.
In the 90s, the Achair monastery was rebuilt with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II.
Today on its territory in the name of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord there are five chapels, seven temples and a hotel for pilgrims.
Achair monastery is famous for its healing lake. Water comes into it from a source a kilometer deep. The source and the lake are man-made. The lake was created after the Divine will appeared in a dream to the local Lord Theodosius. Subsequently, the source and the lake was consecrated by Patriarch Alexy II.
Scientists have identified
bromine, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, carbon dioxide and chlorine, metasilicic and orthoboric acid in Achaira mineral
water . Drinking this water relieves the symptoms of diseases of the endocrine system, liver, as well as ulcers and gastritis. Even cases of complete healing after drinking water from the Achair source have been recorded. It is noteworthy that at any time of the year this mineral water preserves the temperature of the human body (36.6 degrees Celsius). Therefore, bathing in Achair Lake in winter is safe even for unbaptized people.
Going to the Achair monastery for healing, one should not rely only on the chemical composition of the water. The main source of life-giving power for the Russian person is the Orthodox faith.