The history of the Russian Orthodox Church originates from the baptism of Kievan Rus by Prince Vladimir in 988. Orthodoxy, originally forcibly "imposed" by the people, by the beginning of the 11th century was not only the only religion of the population of the Grand Duchy of Kiev and its borders, but also the beginning of Russian monastic asceticism.
The monastery on Athos is mentioned in Svyatogorsk sources in 1016, when it was founded by a monk from Kievan Rus Anthony Pechersky.
The history of the baptism of Kievan Rus
As follows from the annals of Nestor, the baptism of Kiev began in 988 with Vladimir, who became disillusioned with his gods. In order not to bow to the Greek and Byzantine priests, in order to know the new God, he made a trip to Chersonesos in Crimea.
Having conquered the city, Vladimir put forward an ultimatum to Konstantin and Vasily, the emperors of Byzantium, that he would go to war in Constantinople if they did not give his sister Anna as his wife. The brothers agreed with the condition that the prince of Kiev will adopt Orthodoxy, which happened when Anna arrived in Khersones with priests and missionaries.
Legend has it that Prince Vladimir suddenly became blind and was afraid that this was the revenge of the pagan gods. Anna convinced him that baptism would return to him not only physical vision, but also spiritual, which happened. The soldiers from the squad of the Grand Duke, seeing a miracle, also believed and were baptized in Chersonesos.
Returning to Kiev, Vladimir baptized his sons, and the place where this happened is still called Khreshchatyk. After that, all the people of Kiev were baptized in the waters of the Dnieper - from the poor to the boyars. If not for these events, it would hardly have appeared a Russian monastery on Mount Athos. Svyatogorsky sources mention that Anthony Pechersky arrived from Orthodox Kiev to take tonsure from the monks from the Holy Mountain.
Holy mountain
Athos became the Holy Mountain after the Blessed Virgin Mary landed on it, heading on a ship with the apostles to Cyprus to Lazarus. The Mother of God preached to the local pagan population and showed many miracles, which led to the fact that unbelievers accepted Christ and founded the first monastery on Mount Athos, whose patroness she became.
The history of the Holy Mountain has numerous falls, but whoever the persecutor was - the Tatar-Mongols, Livonian knights or Turks, Orthodoxy always remained here. The monasteries were destroyed and restored again, but only in 1830 did the monks begin a period of prosperity and peace.
Numerous associates of Orthodoxy left the Holy Mountain to carry the word of God to other nations or to build monasteries and promote monasticism in Christian countries.
St. Anthony of the Caves took tonsure at Athos in 1013, after which he went to Kiev to establish a monastic monastery there. All the monks who took tonsure on Mount Athos, and then went to other lands to establish a new monastery, gave it the name "Svyatogorsky monastery", in memory of the mountain with which Orthodoxy spread.
The first Russian monastery on Mount Athos
The first mention of the monasticism of the dews from Kievan Rus on Mount Athos was associated with the Orthodox Greeks and Iberians (Georgians), in whose monasteries they were engaged in associates. Svyatogorsk chronicles at the beginning of the 11th century tell that there were so many dews that they founded their own monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Xylurgu), in which St. Anthony arrived for the first time.
According to ancient sources, the efforts of the prince of Kievan Rus Vladimir and his wife Princess Anna helped her appearance. Subsequently, it was supported by Yaroslav the Wise, who paid much attention to the development of Orthodoxy not only in Kiev, but also far beyond its borders.
By the middle of the 12th century, it was already a monastery with so many monks that they needed a new place for the monastery. After turning to the council of Athos, the request of the Orthodox dews was granted, and they were given a dilapidated monastery, which previously belonged to the Thessalonians. The monks restored it and called it Old Russik. Located high in the mountains, this monastery with its strong walls in the rocks looked more like an impregnable fortress than a monastic monastery.
Starting from the 13th century, in Kievan Rus, priests from the Holy Mountain were invited to head the diocese. Thus, the traditions of monasticism received by the first monks of Ancient Russia on the Holy Mountain spread. So, the Russian monk Joasaph from Athos led the Vladimir diocese, and Euphrosynos, Chernihiv, who brought the holy relic, the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, to the diocese. The appearance of a new monastery in the 16th century in the Pskov province is associated with this icon.
The spread of Athos traditions in Kievan Rus
Over its long history, Orthodoxy on Mount Athos has gained established traditions and rituals, which were subsequently distributed by monks from the Holy Mountain throughout the Christian world.
The most ancient example is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, founded by the Monk Anthony in 1051. Since the monks of Athos initially decided to settle in caves, Anthony did not depart from the old traditions and settled in one of them. Dug on the hill by the monk Illarion, the mentor of Yaroslav the Wise, she became the first novice monastery from the Holy Mountain.
The asceticism and piety of the new monk became known outside of Kiev, and novices from all sides of Ancient Russia began to join him. When their number reached 100 people, at the request of the Monk Anthony, Prince Izyaslav, who was in charge at that time, presented the monks with a hill above the caves. So the first wooden buildings of the monastery appeared on the right bank of the Dnieper.
According to the Athos tradition, the bones of the dead monks were excavated after 3 years and placed in caves. They can still be seen today in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The same tradition existed in other monasteries founded by monks from Athos.
Svyatogorsky monastery on the banks of the Seversky Donets
The Svyatogorsky monastery, founded in 1240 on the chalk mountains of the Seversky Donets, exists today. The founders were monks fleeing from the Batu invasion from Athos. They introduced the same custom of burial that was adopted by them on Holy Mountain.
The unique construction of the monastery is the Nicholas Church, carved directly in the chalk mountain and is its integral part. In its place stood the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, which was destroyed by a landslide. In the 16th century, a new church was cut down right inside the mountain, behind its wall.
When the work was completely completed, the mountain wall was destroyed and the world saw a church of unprecedented beauty, popularly called “Melova”. The main temple of the monastery is the Assumption Cathedral, which was built many years after the decree of Catherine the 2nd from 1787. The monastery was closed and donated (as a "cottage with a grove") to Grigory Potemkin.
Passing by inheritance in the Potemkin family for half a century, the Holy Assumption Monastery of Svyatogorsk knew desolation and ruin, and was returned to the church only in 1844.
The history of the Svyatogorsky monastery in Pskov
Another example of the influence of the traditions of the monks from Athos is the appearance of the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, who was once brought to Kievan Rus by the Monk Euphrosimus. Thanks to this event, the Svyatogorsky Assumption Monastery appeared, built on a mountain near Pskov.
In 1563, the shepherd Timothy had the appearance of the Mother of God, who told him to go to the Tit Mountain and pray. Climbing the mountain, the peasant during prayer again saw the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which gave him the order to return here after 6 years. After a while, the shepherd recognized her image in the icon "Tenderness."
In 1569, Timothy turned to the priests with a request to go on a holy move to the Sinichnaya Gora and told about the appearance of the Virgin. They did not believe him, but one of the priests lost his mind, which prompted the rest to take the “Tenderness” icon and go with the procession to the mountain.
During the prayer, the people present saw on the tree the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, which showed miracles of healing to the participants in the procession. John the Terrible found out about this event, who commanded to erect a chapel on the site of the miracle, which began the construction of the men's monastery.
Description of the Svyatogorsky Monastery
The altar of the temple, from which the Svyatogorsky monastery began, was laid on the site of a pine tree, where the appearance of the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria took place. This is the oldest part of the monastery - the Assumption Cathedral, built in the spirit of Pskov architecture of the 16th century.
The temple has a cubic shape and 2 chapels with a narthex. The bell tower, built during the reign of John the Terrible, was destroyed, and a new one was built only in the 19th century.
The inner arches of the arch are supported by powerful pillars, and small narrow windows illuminate the snow-white walls, which makes the whole temple magnificent. 2 steep stairs made of granite lead to it, and crosses are located around on the site of the monks' graves dug right in the mountain.
Svyatogorsky monastery (photo shows its grandeur and beauty) was the starting point of the great Pskov procession. During the Second World War, the monastery was badly damaged, but was completely restored in 1949 due to the close connection of this place with the name of A.S. Pushkin.
Pushkin and the monastery
The Svyatogorsky monastery (Pushkin Hills) was located just 4 km from the Mikhailovsky estate, granted together with other lands to Abram Hannibal, the godson of Peter 1, Queen Elizabeth. It was inherited by the poet’s mother.
He was here often and worked a lot. In the monastery, Pushkin was looking not only for documentary historical facts related to the reign of Boris Godunov for his poem, but also for inspiration, attending fairs that often took place near its walls.
The monastery has a family cemetery where all the relatives of the poet are buried, starting with his grandfather Osip Hannibal and ending with himself.
Fairs in the monastery
Since ancient times, people have loved fair walks. The Svyatogorsky monastery initially provided its walls for them 5 times a year, but subsequently their number was reduced to three.
Merchants and merchants gathered here not only from the Pskov province, but also from other cities of Russia. The fair was held in the guest yard, where tents and benches were set up, and for the right to trade it was required to pay a fee to the treasury. For example, in 1811 the treasury replenished by 758 rubles, and by 1839 the income had grown to 2796 rubles. Thus, the fair, the Svyatogorsky monastery and the nearby settlement both increased their wealth and had an impact on trade in the province as a whole.
Monastery Shrines
The Svyatogorsky monastery still preserves Orthodox shrines - the icons of “Tenderness” and the Virgin Hodegetria, once brought by a monk from Athos to Kievan Rus. The monastery annually celebrated with a procession of the cross the feast of the appearance of the icon to people. Today it is a church holiday, revered by all Orthodox in Russia.
Monastery today
The Svyatogorsky Monastery (Pskov) was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1992. Today it is a functioning monastery in which the traditions of Russian Orthodox monasticism, once laid by monks from the Holy Mountain, are being revived.