Inkerman cave monastery is the oldest among the cave monasteries located in the Crimea. In the Monastery Rock (its western cliff), its main premises are carved. On the plateau of this rock, the ruins of the Kalamita fortress, the creation of which dates back to the VI century, are preserved. In this article we will describe the Inkerman Cave Monastery, an excursion to which has become an integral part of the cultural program of many people who decided to visit Sevastopol. The monastery is located near this city, in Inkerman (a suburb of Sevastopol). We will tell in detail about the history of the monastery and its main temples.
Saint Clement
The person who founded the St. Clement Cave Monastery is St. Clement, one of the most famous preachers of the Christian religion. He was elevated to the rank by the apostle Peter himself in Rome. For the preaching of Christianity in this city, Clement was exiled to Chersonesos. There were already about 2 thousand Christians who had previously suffered the same fate. And in the quarries the saint preached his faith. Many convicts, as well as free people living nearby, were baptized by him. The rulers of Chersonesos, worried about this, executed the bishop in 101. An anchor was tied to his neck, after which they drowned in the nearby Cossack Bay.
The construction of the church and the power of St. Clement
A year later, at low tide, the remains of the righteous were found in an underwater grotto. Since then, every year on the day of his death, believers came to the place of his execution. They went to bow to the holy relics on the exposed bottom. Until the 11th century, the low tide allowed people to make such a pilgrimage. Then, on a small island in the middle of the bay, a church was built, and the relics of Clement were transferred there. And in our time there is this island. Now it is the territory of a military unit. As a result of excavations conducted in 1890, several premises were found, as well as a chapel with the relics of the saint.
In 861, Saints Cyril and Methodius arrived in Chersonesos. With the permission of the local archbishop, they took part of the relics with them and transferred them to Rome. And to this day they are stored here in the Basilica of St. Clement. Prince Vladimir, who was baptized in Chersonesos in the 10th century, transferred to Kiev part of the relics of this saint.
Fortification building
In the VI century, the Byzantines put their fortification on top of the Monastery rock. The monastery grew with them: cells, temples and cave rooms were gradually carved in the rock. All of them were connected by staircases carved in stone. Most likely, icon worshipers who fled from Byzantium during the period of iconoclastic persecution settled here.
The emergence of the settlement, the capture of the fortress by the Turks
In the Zagaytan rock, located to the east, riddled with numerous caves in several tiers, a medieval settlement arose, which has still been little studied. Until the beginning of the XIV century, written evidence of Kalamita was not preserved. This part of Crimea in the XV century was under the influence of the Principality of Theodoro. At the mouth of the Chernaya River, the seaport of Avlita was created. In order to protect him, Alexei, the Kangup prince, rebuilt the ancient fortification on the island anew. So it became the fortress of Kalamita. This fortress was captured by the Turks in 1475. They remodeled it to match the requirements of firearms. It was from the Turks that a new name for this place came - Inkerman, which means "cave fortress".
The monastery at that time fell into decay. Most likely, the monks moved from the monastery to Cape Fiolent, where the St. George Monastery was located. Subsequently, the monastery was reborn for a short time. After the Christians left Crimea in 1778, the monastery was finally abandoned.
The revival of the monastery
After the annexation of Crimea to the territory of Russia, the Inkerman Cave Monastery (Crimea) began to revive . Kinovia was opened in 1850. The reconstruction of the three cave temples located here also began. Thus, St. Clement Inkerman Monastery received a second life. Its history was marked by a number of important events.
Clement Church
The church in the name of Clement was first consecrated (in the Middle Ages it was the St. George Church, which, according to legend, Clement himself knocked out in a rock). The church has the shape of a basilica. Its space is divided into three parts by two rows of columns. Preserved benches carved into the rock, part of the columns, as well as a niche intended for the altarpiece. A long corridor leads to this church. Stone benches have been cut down in it. A two-stage syntron in the apse has also survived to our time. In the center of it there are the remains of a high place, and in the wall above it a niche designed for the altarpiece is cut down. A massive flourishing cross is carved here. As for the ancient frescoes, only the image of the Savior sitting on the throne is preserved from them.
A low and small ancient chapel was on the right side of the church. It is dedicated to the Apostle A. the First-Called. The altar of this aisle was separated by a solid rock partition from the rest. In the middle of the partition were the Royal Gates. There were also two small windows. Under the left window, in the altar, an altar was built with a niche under it. Near the right window was built a seat for the priest, made of stone. Also in the altar was a stone throne, which adjoined the eastern wall.
The discovery of ancient premises, the opening of the church of St. Martinian
During the restoration, other ancient temples, as well as utility rooms, were discovered. However, they were bombarded or covered by walls, and therefore remained unexplored. The second in Inkerman monastery opened dedicated to St. Martinian Cave Church. It is a rectangular-shaped temple, covered by a dome (semicircular).
The further fate of the monastery
Two years after the discovery of the monastery, the Crimean War broke out. Fierce fighting took place at the Black River. Kalamita, where the Russian troops were, was brutally fired upon. The British looted property belonging to the monastery. When the war ended, the monks again settled in cinnamon. They built a house church (Holy Trinity), as well as the house of the abbot. The monks also restored the source of St. Clement. A little later, a hotel was built for pilgrims. In honor of the miraculous salvation of the emperor’s family, which took place at Art. Borki during the train crash in 1888, in 1895 a new church was erected in the monastery. He was dedicated to the healer and great martyr Panteleimon. The peculiarity of this temple is that its altar part is cut out in the rock, and the remaining, ground, created in the Byzantine style.
The history of the monastery in the twentieth century
In the monastery in 1905, several more churches were created. One of them is located in the eastern part of the rock, on the site of the church of St. Eugraphy, which existed in the Middle Ages. It was consecrated in honor of St. Dm Solunsky. In the twentieth century, burials were made in the Dmitrievsky church. There are 3 tombs, which were cut down next to the temple, in the floor of a small cave. At the same time, the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completed on the upper plateau. It is with two aisles, in shape - cruciform.
History of St. Sophia Church
In the presence of Aleksei Mikhailovich (Grand Duke), as well as participants in the Crimean War, on September 27, 1905, the church of the icon of "All Who Sorrowful Joy" was consecrated. It was built on the spot where in ancient times was the St. Sophia Church, carved in a cliff, on the left bank of the river. Black. It is known that in the XIV century the monastery of St. Sophia. Apparently, he was very rich, since his temples stood out among others in design and size. When Christians left Crimea, the monastery was abandoned and abandoned. St. Sofia is the largest cave temple in Crimea. It is covered by a flat dome. The church has a cruciform shape. Part of its northern wall, as well as the altar part, collapsed in antiquity. There were tombs in the floor of the temple. There is a passage from this church to the chapel, in the floor of which there are 2 tombs with the remains of Greek inscriptions.
Chapel construction, religious processions
In the caves of the monastery before the Crimean War were powder depots. At the end of the hostilities, the former non-commissioned officer settled near the Quarry Gully. This man courted a mass grave. Thanks to him, a fundraiser was organized, and in 1885 a chapel was built over the grave. The monks who inhabited the Inkerman St. Clement Cave Monastery, every October 24, went to this chapel with a procession. They performed a memorial service for those who were killed for the faith and the king. At the initiative of Alexei Mikhailovich in 1903, the St. Sophia Church was restored. From all over the country they raised money for this business. Inside the Grieving Church, built at this time, the images of the units that participated in the battles on the Black River were stored.
The construction of new buildings, the closure of the monastery and its revival
In Inkerman Monastery in 1910, 2 residential buildings intended for the brethren were erected, as well as the house church of the Annunciation. In addition, a parish school was established at the monastery. By 1917, the Inkerman Cave Monastery was inhabited by 122 novices and 25 monks. During the Civil War, the monastery supported the units of Wrangel. After the proclamation of Soviet power, all the cloisters and lands of Crimea were nationalized. Inkerman cave monastery in 1926 was finally closed. In 1927, the chapel on the grave of fighters who fell in the battle of Inkerman was destroyed, and in 1932 - the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, who was on the upper plateau.
During the Great Patriotic War, the headquarters of the Primorsky Division was located on the site of the monastery. In June 1942, her soldiers tried to restrain the Germans, who were eager for Sevastopol. In 1991, the Inkerman St. Clement Cave Monastery began to revive. Cell buildings and temples were restored.
Inkerman cave monastery: how to get
You can take an electric train from Sevastopol to about.p. 1531 km. You can get to the monastery from Balaklava by minibus or bus number 31. Another option is to use any intercity bus that goes to the Vtormet stop, passing through Inkerman. If you go by car, then near the white stone cross (you will see it near the main road that runs through the whole city) you need to turn to the monastery. The Inkerman St. Clement Monastery has the following coordinates: N 44 39.873, E 34 16.160.