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The level of travel comfort is growing every year and travel companies are paying more and more attention to service and unique offers. And this happens not only on international routes. Domestic tourism is also in a hurry to please its clients, vying with each other to offer excellent living conditions and many additional services.
It will be useful for you: how and what you can use to get to Diveevo
And yet, sometimes, despite the rich and interesting programs of tourist routes, you want to go on a trip alone, or with your family, especially if it is a pilgrimage to a holy place.
What you can see in Diveevo on your own
Many people are intimidated by the possibility of traveling independently. They are embarrassed by ignorance, ignorance of the historical and cultural features of the place, and the internal rules of behavior in the monastery.
It's actually simple. The rules of conduct in the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery are posted on the gates of the monastery wall. In the pilgrimage center of the monastery you can get any information and answers to all questions. The schedule of church services hangs on the church doors. There you will also find recommendations on church etiquette.
The Cathedral Square of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery includes three huge cathedrals: Trinity (green), Transfiguration (white) and Annunciation (also white, but it was newly built and not fully finished inside).
The relics of Father Seraphim rest in the Trinity Cathedral and you can get to his shrine any day during the opening hours of the temple (usually from 5.00 to 22.00). Here, the reverend’s things are stored in display cases and you can also touch them. The famous icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is also located in the Trinity Cathedral, in the central limit.
In the Transfiguration Cathedral, a reliquary with particles of the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk saints was opened for veneration. In this church, in the narthex, every day from 9.00 to 16.00, everyone is given crackers, blessed in the cast iron of Father Seraphim, and oil from the lamp burning at his relics.
Daily church services are held in the Trinity and Transfiguration Cathedrals alternately (see the exact schedule in the churches themselves).
The Holy Kanavka begins behind the Transfiguration Cathedral. You must walk along it and read the prayer 150 times: “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice.” This place is special and unique in the world. The Holy Canal was dug by order of the Mother of God herself. Kanavka has an interesting history, and a sincere prayer read with the heart here truly works miracles.
Behind the Bell Tower there is a unique church complex - in one building there are three churches at once - the Kazan Church, the Church of the Nativity, and the lower church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
In the lower church an unquenchable lamp burns and the Undying Psalter is read there. Here lie the holy relics of the founder of the Diveevo monastery, Schema-nun Alexandra, Schema-nun Martha and nun Elena. You can enter the temple from 8.00 to 17.00.
In the Kazan Church there are the relics of the Diveyevo Blessed Ones and you can venerate them daily from 8.00 to 17.00.
On the territory of the monastery there is a House-Museum of Blessed Pasha of Sarov, and in the pilgrimage center you can watch a film and photo tour.
The Diveyevo land is famous for its holy springs, and directly in the village itself there are 5 of the most famous springs.
Not far from the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery, almost in the center of the village, there is a source of Mother Alexandra.
A path leads from it to another ancient spring - Iversky. Three more springs - Kazan, in the name of St. Panteleimon, and in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” - are located in the northern part of the village, in the village of Severny. Getting there by car is quick, but on foot it’s a bit far, but possible.
You can visit all these places on your own without relying on travel agencies. Our website has all the comprehensive information about the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. After reading it, you will be prepared for your journey. As a last resort, if you really want to, you can always book an excursion on the spot, at the pilgrimage center of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery.
"Wonderful Diveevo" People's project (+PHOTO +VIDEO)
Discovering a monastery in adulthood is often a feat and a miracle. And sometimes the story of getting to know a holy place can turn from a random event into the main thing in life. It's not just one person's business, but the whole country's.
Seraphim-Diveevo Convent
The whole world
Having visited Diveevo for the first time, director Andrei Kholenko[1] was inspired by the idea of making a documentary about the monastery. Remembering his own impressions and the circumstances of his acquaintance with the Diveevo monastery, Andrei decided not to invent anything and call the project an epithet known to every Orthodox Christian - “Wonderful Diveevo”.
“Because,” says the director, “this place is truly wonderful and these are the most correct words: it is with them that the Seraphim-Diveevo Convent is associated with thousands of believers.” The Most Holy Theotokos and Father Seraphim bring each of them to their monastery in different, but always miraculous, ways.
Anyone can contribute to the creation of the film by becoming a participant in the project
Filming has been going on for a year and will continue for several more months. During this time, the “Divnoe Diveevo” project has acquired an all-Russian scale: now it is called national, and anyone can contribute to the creation of the film by becoming a participant in the project on the website https://www.diveevo.tv.
Andrey Kholenko
The film is scheduled for release in August 2021. The entire circulation - 1000 DVDs - will be donated to the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.
Recently, a cartoon about faith, hope and love, “The Extraordinary Adventure of Seraphim,” was successfully screened across the country, which was watched by hundreds of thousands of people. Its creators came to Diveevo, consulted with nuns about filming, each of them had their own personal story connected with the monastery and Father Seraphim. The creators of the first film about the Seraphim-Diveevo convent have a similar story.
“To convey the beauty of Diveevo, you need to shoot, shoot and shoot again”
Seraphim-Diveevo Convent from a bird's eye view
– Andrey, when did you first find yourself in the Fourth Lot of the Mother of God?
– For me, the monastery did not immediately become “wonderful Diveyevo”. I was filming a documentary in Vladivostok about the more than 100-year history of one of the largest bakery enterprises in the city. During the filming, it turned out that since 2002, the company’s employees go to Diveevo on a pilgrimage trip every year on the eve of Easter. They work, pray, collect holy water from the spring of St. Seraphim of Sarov, bring it to Vladivostok and knead dough with it for Easter cakes, which are then bought up by the whole city. This amazed me so much that I decided to visit the Diveyevo Monastery myself.
– How did it happen that you came to the monastery as an ordinary pilgrim, and ended up becoming the director of the first documentary film about Diveyevo?
– Surprisingly, not a single full-fledged film has actually been made about the Fourth Destiny of the Mother of God. I ended up in Diveevo among other pilgrims, but, due to my profession, I found myself next to a nun, whose obedience is working with the media. She complained that many people come to the monastery, make films and programs, but there is not a single film about the monastery itself. A film that would tell about the history of the Diveyevo monastery, show how the monastery lives today, would simply show the beauty of Diveyevo without any dramatic stretches and searches for some strange Diveyevo secret that people talk about.
My colleague producer Alena Shmakova, without thinking twice, said: “So what’s the problem? So Andrey will make a film for you. For free". The nun exclaimed: “What, really?” I confirmed: “Of course.” That's how it all started.
But before this conversation, I myself was already so fascinated by the beauty and tranquility of Diveevo that I wanted to share this miracle with friends and colleagues. After some time, we set off on our first filming expedition.
Seraphim-Diveevo Convent at night
– How much time did you spend near the monastery before you started filming? How often do you start coming to Diveevo?
To show the beauty of Diveevo, you need to film different seasons: summer, spring, autumn, winter
– To be honest, this was my first conscious visit to the monastery. And this visit was a real event for me. I came for a week in the summer. I fasted, prayed and filmed. And then I realized that a week’s stay here is very short. Because in order to show the beauty of Diveevo, you need to film different seasons: summer, spring, autumn, winter. And the time when apple trees bloom around the cathedral, and the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary - after all, then the entire length of the Holy Canal is decorated with flowers. And this, for a second, is 775 meters in length. This is, of course, an external aspect, but it is also important in cinema.
– Who joined you and became part of the film crew? Have you heard that there was a miracle here too?
“From my colleagues, like-minded people immediately joined me. And we noticed that online platforms for raising funds – the so-called crowd funding – are now successfully operating. We thought and decided that it would be great for the whole world to raise the necessary amount to complete the filming of the film “Wonderful Diveevo”. I would like to emphasize that our film is a general aid to the Seraphim-Diveye Monastery.
As for the miracle, this is true. There’s nowhere in Diveevo without this
As for the miracle, this is true. There is nowhere in Diveyevo without this. On one of my first visits, a nun, whose obedience is relations with the media and publishing, said: so many cameramen have already visited the monastery, but long ago, ten years before your arrival, there was one who filmed such beauty in the monastery! It turned out that they were talking about a girl cameraman. I asked about contacts, the nun replied that she had not seen her again, she only said her name - Yulia Galochkina. That's all.
I found Yulia Galochkina via the Internet. Contacted her. I introduced myself: they say, here I am such and such, I’m making a film about the Diveyevo Monastery, nun M. conveyed her greetings to you. The girl replied: “Yes, it’s me. But now I’m in Hawaii.”
Yulia Galochkina
I almost got upset. But the girl continued: “I’m going to return to Russia, and then we can meet and talk about it in detail.”
Exactly a month after talking with the nun about the operator, Julia and I appeared at the monastery. Nun M. met us and exclaimed: “But this is a miracle - the Diveyevo miracle!” So I found a director of photography for the project.
– Who is the main character of your film?
– Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery. This is a secret place for many people. They can tell you a lot about miracles here. They are even entered into a special register. But we haven’t gotten to them yet, because several films should be devoted to this. (Laughs.)
We are faced with the task of filming as cinematically as possible in order to convey the beauty and extraordinary atmosphere of Diveevo without an interview in the frame. And for this you need to be patient to shoot, shoot and shoot again.
The famous American film director Alfred Hitchcock, when asked how documentary films differ from feature films, answered: “In feature films, the director is God. And in documentary films, God is the director.”
And I am forced to follow Him. As the Lord gives, as he directs, such a film will turn out.
– Do you use the most modern technology in your project?
– It is necessary to convey beauty. (Smiles.) First of all, this film is for people who have never been to Diveyevo. We film from different points – including from the air. Modern technology allows this. We took with us a multicopter (or drone, as it is also called) - a helicopter with a camera. The pilot controls it, and the cameraman or director stands nearby and only gives commands. Thanks to this device, we took this shot: a helicopter flies around the monastery at night, and then the night turns into morning and day. Beauty!
– To attract attention to the project, you used an unusual method – a forced march. Tell us more about this.
– They say that in a healthy body there is a healthy mind. So, for me, a healthy body is running, and a healthy spirit is the Orthodox faith. I had the opportunity to run through all the settlements on the highway from Murom to Diveevo at the end of September 2015. I ran alone, wearing a T-shirt with the inscription: “Wonderful Diveevo.” Become a participant in the project!” I ran about 20 kilometers during the day. Along the way, journalists interviewed me several times.
Andrey Kholenko
– During filming, did miracles happen to you or your loved ones?
- Yes. For example, during filming I became a grandfather. Isn't it a miracle?! And I must say, my daughter had a hard time with pregnancy. She calls me on my mobile, and I am in the monastery at this time. I tell her: “If you want, send me a mental request, and I will pray to St. Seraphim of Sarov, he will definitely fulfill it.” And then a healthy, calm boy was born to the joy of the whole family.
– What are your plans for the future?
I noticed: the bulk of the pilgrims are young, beautiful people, with spiritual faces. And it gives hope
“I would like for us, having finished the first film about Diveyevo, to open a series or series of films for them that would help people find answers to important questions. People always dream of happiness, but in the modern complex information world it is so easy to stray from the true path, because lies have learned to pass themselves off as truth. While filming at the Diveyevo monastery, I noticed that the bulk of the pilgrims were young, beautiful people, with spiritual faces. And this gives us the right to hope. After all, coming into contact with such holy places as the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery, a person begins to feel himself, his surroundings, and the world around him in a new way.
Trailer for the film “Wonderful Diveevo”
What to see in Diveevo in one day?
In one day you will definitely be able to attend a church service, visit churches on Cathedral Square, venerate all the relics and walk the Holy Canal with prayer. You will even have time to have a snack in one of the monastery refectories, buy souvenirs and take shrines with you.
But the further choice of route will depend on whether you have personal transport or not. For example, three springs in the Northern village, although geographically located in Diveevo itself, will be difficult to access on foot in winter, as well as for people who are elderly or in poor health. Simply put, they are a long way to go. But even grandmothers can visit Mother Alexandra’s spring in the center of the village.
The source of Father Seraphim, desired by many, is not in Diveevo, but 15 km from it in the village of Tsyganovka. You definitely can't get to it on foot. And if you have only one day at your disposal, and you really want to get to this particular spring, you will have to make a choice. And if you do not have personal transport, then you may have to abandon visiting the Diveyevo springs in favor of the Serafimovsky.
You can get to the village of Tsyganovka by personal transport, by taxi, with a monastery tour and by regional buses.
Taxis are not available to everyone; district buses go directly to the village, and from there it is still a 3 km walk to the source. It turns out that if you are making a pilgrimage on your own, without a car, a monastery excursion may be the best option.
At the pilgrimage center of the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery, there is a daily excursion to the source of Father Seraphim. On the way, you will be told the history of this place and the rules of behavior on its territory. Time is required for swimming, after which the tourists are collected and taken back to the monastery. Departure time is about 13, 14 hours, the trip takes approximately 2 hours.
Similar services - escort to holy springs - are offered by many Diveyevo hotels.
Thus, in just one day you can visit many Diveyevo shrines, and this eventful day will remain in your memory for a long time.
A movie about Diveyevo is being filmed all over the world
Photo by Andrey Kholenko
“In 2016, it will be 25 years since the revival of one of the most revered places in the Orthodox world - the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. The Diveyevo Monastery is the fourth inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos on earth - after Iberia, Athos and the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This is a unique place - here miracles happen more often than anywhere else. Getting here, a person feels himself and the world around him in a new way.
Here is a shrine containing the relics of Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most revered Russian saints. According to the testimony of contemporaries, Father Seraphim said: “Happy is everyone who spends a day in Diveevo, from morning to morning: and the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, visits Diveevo every day!”
With the blessing of the abbess of the monastery, Abbess Sergius, we spent several days in Diveyevo. Filming in the monastery churches, on the Mother of God Canal and at the holy springs laid the basis for the creation of a film about the history and present day of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.”
With these words, visitors are greeted by diveevo.tv, the site of a film being created about a place hidden for every Russian heart - Diveevo. We came to this site after meeting Andrey Kholenko, a documentary and feature film director from Moscow. However, let's take things in order.
Director Andrei Kholenko is making a run in support of the project “Wonderful Diveevo”. Photo by Yulia Galochkina
Unusual cross
On a warm September day, an athletically built, respectable man in a T-shirt with the inscription “Wonderful Diveevo” was jogging through the cities and villages lying on the way from Moscow to Diveevo. Become a participant in the project!”
This “marathon runner” turned out to be Andrei Kholenko, director, head of the film studio “Filmotograf”, who was making his unusual forced march in support of his film “Wonderful Diveevo”. We took it, as they say, “warm”, right at the moment of the finish on the observation deck opposite the Diveyevo Monastery. He drank spring water from a plastic bottle with pleasure.
“Diveevo has very tasty water, we constantly bring it to our friends in Moscow,” he said. “Everyone is very happy, they ask for more.”
– Andrey, what is the point of your jogging?
- In a healthy body healthy mind. A healthy body is running, and a healthy mind is Faith.
– How far did you run?
– I ran a total of about twenty kilometers, it turned out to be a half marathon. He fled through Murom and other populated areas on the road to Diveevo. When you drive a car, you don’t notice all this beauty. Such villages, such Russian architecture! People are calm, kind...
– How do you think this will help the project?
– Any project is a movement. The point is to attract attention. In general, people look with interest, and approval is felt in their gaze.
Story about the race, filmed by the Filmotograph studio:
Divnoe Diveevo
– How did the idea of creating a film about Diveyevo come about?
“A year and a half ago, we found ourselves here filming a documentary. The heroes of our film came to Diveevo on the eve of Easter and collected holy water from the spring of Seraphim of Sarov. People from Vladivostok, from the bakery enterprise, come here every year to get water to knead Easter cakes with it!
During filming, the nuns complained that there was no film that would show all the beauty of the monastery. We responded to the request and received the blessing of Abbess Sergius. But when we started filming, we realized that we couldn’t do it all at once - we had to show the beauty of the monastery at different times of the year, show the inspired faces of the people who come.
With the blessing of the abbess of the monastery, Abbess Sergius, we spent several days in Diveyevo. Filming in the monastery churches, on the Mother of God Canal and at holy springs laid the foundation for the creation of a film about the history and present day of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.
We create with the whole world
– Who is this film for?
– More and more people are learning about Diveyevo, and many of them would dream of visiting here, but cannot afford it due to distance and financial situation. With the help of the film, we hope to help such people touch the shrine, to convey to them the Diveyevo grace that we ourselves feel here. Thanks to the film, even more people will be able to see these blessed places, and those who have already visited Diveyevo at least once will again experience the special Diveyevo joy.
– How are funds raised for the implementation of the project?
– Filming a documentary requires a lot of work and time. Our job is like that of miners: we need to wash tons of ore to get a small nugget. Therefore, we decided to create a project on the crowdfunding platform (“popular financing” - ed.) to raise funds. In the West, this form of receiving funds for creative projects is very popular. Crowdfunding is a form that, in addition to the financial component, also has a social one. People will learn something about Diveevo, about the history of Russia, which we should be proud of - this is very important for us.
St. Seraphim of Sarov said: “Whoever sincerely helps the Diveyevo Monastery will receive the great mercy of God!” We will donate the circulation of the film created by our joint efforts to the Diveyevo Monastery as a sincere help, which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov spoke about. That is, a large number of people will be able to help the monastery even from a distance.
Director of the film “Wonderful Diveevo” Andrey Kholenko and cameraman Yulia Galochkina during the filming process
A little professional kitchen
The director shared with the readers of “Diveyevo Bells” some features of the “professional kitchen”. For example, he talked about how the new film will differ from documentaries that are made for television.
– Many TV crews come to film about Diveevo. As a rule, they want there to be conflict, drama, some kind of miracle they pull out of thin air. Knowing the basics of drama, you can write a script in such a way as to captivate the viewer. But after watching it, some kind of emptiness remains. It seems that a lot is shown, expectations are inflated, and there are no answers to questions. Our film is not of that kind. We are filming an excursion film, we want to convey the fertile environment as much as possible, to show the people flocking here from all over Russia.
Aircraft in operation
Andrei Kholenko also told us what footage will be included in the film.
– We take a lot of shots from a multicopter (this is a radio-controlled miracle helicopter with a video camera – ed.). The program allows you to set a route for it according to certain coordinates. We hope that it will be possible to film along one trajectory at different times of the year, and then change the seasons in the frame during editing.
Samples of Diveev filming from a multicopter:
Everyone can participate in the creation
The project team was the most professional. Most of its members are graduates of the oldest cinematic university in Russia - VGIK. S. A. Gerasimova. Their portfolio includes films that have received awards at national and international festivals. And we believe that everything will work out for them, with God’s help. Well, each of you, dear readers, can take part in the creation of the film.
Assistance in organizing public financing of the project is provided by the largest crowdfunding portal in Russia “Planet”
You can support the project by clicking on the button:
Depending on the amount of money contributed to the project budget, participants are provided with memorabilia or participation in events, such as a DVD, a film poster, an invitation to a private premiere, and participation in a film about the film.
View of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery from the Vichkinza River
Text and photo: Pavel Sushkov “Diveyevo Bells”
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What to see in the vicinity of Diveevo?
If you have not one, but several days, then you will definitely have time to slowly venerate all the Diveyevo shrines. And you will even have time to explore the surrounding area.
And it's worth it! Diveyevo land is amazing! It abounds with holy springs, which are located in many nearby villages. Each source has its own history, and even its own composition and taste of water!
The Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery has several monasteries, with their own temples and economic services. Most of them are located at a decent distance from the monastery, but there is one, the closest monastery - Florovsky. It is located outside the village of Osinovka, 3 km from Diveevo, on the road leading to the summer children's camp. If you want to pray and work in silence, then this can be done in the monastery.
The second monastery monastery can be seen when visiting the source of Father Seraphim. It is there, at the spring, that the monastery sisters often look for helpers - pilgrims who have the time and desire to work for the benefit of the monastery.
Top 10 main attractions of Diveevo
It is called the fourth destiny of the Mother of God on earth, therefore all the attractions in the vicinity of the village are associated with religion.
Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery
During the history of the monastery, 10 cathedrals were built on its territory. This is an important place for believers, sprinkled with holy springs and sanctified by the prayers of novices. I advise pilgrims and tourists to be sure to draw water from the spring, which originates in the center of the Kazan Church, under the altar. It has a special taste here.
Royal Skete
The former courtyard of the Seraphim-Ponetaevsky Monastery was lost in a dense pine forest in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 12 km from Diveevo.
Little has survived from the Vvedensky monastery, popularly called the Tsarsky monastery, but these places are worth visiting just for the peaceful feeling that arises while walking along the man-made Alley of the Virgin Mary.
The path is connected with the tradition of the former monastery: when tonsure into monasticism took place, a pine tree was planted, and if a person of royal blood became a novice, a spruce tree was planted.
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Monastery History Museum
The house-museum of Paraskeva Diveevskaya is a place where the holy atmosphere and the spirit of antiquity are especially felt. Everything in the cell, consecrated by the prayers and deeds of the saint, remained intact.
After the opening of the museum in the hermitage, the organizers placed an exhibition consisting of objects reflecting the history of the monastery from its founding by St. Seraphim to its destruction by the Bolsheviks in 1927.
The former tradition was also resumed: prayers on memorable days, reading the Psalter.
Galaktionovs' estate
Not far from the Kazan Church is the Galaktionovs' house, where at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. lived the nuns of the Seraphim-Diveyevo convent, sisters Mikhail and Ekaterina. The estate has been preserved in its original form. Now the novices of the monastery live here, so it is almost impossible to get inside. But I advise you to examine the house from the outside, because it is a wonderful example of wooden architecture.
Bogorodskaya groove
It starts in the eastern part of the monastery. According to legend, Saint Seraphim ordered to dig a three-arshine ditch so that nuns and pilgrims would not forget the path along which the Mother of God passed every day. The priests send those who are in grief, misfortune or illness to walk along it and want to be cured of mental and physical torment.
Larch of Tsarevich Alexei
In honor of the first anniversary of the birth of his son Nicholas II, a tree was planted outside the monastery fence. The Emperor chose this place because the appearance of the heir to the royal family was predicted by Blessed Pasha of Sarov (aka Paraskeva Diveevskaya). Now the larch is one of the cathedral’s shrines. When cut, its bark and resin are the color of blood. There are no other similar trees, according to local ministers.
Holy Seraphim Spring
It is believed that the springs from which holy water flows to the surface appear where Seraphim of Sarov set his foot. I can confirm from personal experience that after bathing in the spring you feel spiritual and physical relief. The water taken from Diveevo has remained fresh for several years. I advise you to definitely go to the springs, swim or drink water.
Kazan Church
The history of the Diveyevo Monastery began with the Kazan Cathedral. It is believed that the shrine was built where the Mother of God once appeared to St. Alexandra. This is an amazingly beautiful place, a monument of Russian Baroque architecture, which I recommend to see even for those who are far from religion.
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Refectory Church named after A. Nevsky
The temple is located away from the Trinity Monastery. This is an elongated building with a yellow facade, externally typical for its purpose. But the large and bright refectory makes an extremely majestic impression. Here you can work for the benefit of the monastery, help the novices prepare food or do cleaning. Those who wish are fed free hot meals. The food is simple but delicious, prepared with prayer.
Trinity Church
The main building of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery houses the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the miracle worker.
During construction, unusual phenomena were observed:
- in the evening or at night a light appeared above the temple;
- in winter, when the windows and doors were boarded up, the sounds of incessant work could be heard from inside.
After almost 30 years of construction, a cathedral appeared on the holy site, the architectural appearance of which is a striking example of eclecticism.
Not all attractions that attract tourists and pilgrims to the village are listed above. But this is something you can see in Diveevo on your own in one day.
The village of Suvorovo, Diveevsky district
In this village, which is located 15 km from Diveevo along the Arzamas highway, in the church in honor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, the relics of the holy new martyrs Blessed Evdokia (Shikova), Daria (Timolina), Daria (Siushinskaya) and Mary rest.
For Christ's sake, the Holy Fool Evdokia, or as people called her Dunya, was born in the village of Puzo (as Suvorovo was called before the revolution) in the fifties of the 19th century. She lost her parents early and was raised by her uncle, a church watchman. The uncle’s family was pious, and Dunya herself was drawn to the church from childhood, and nothing worldly interested her.
She was in poor health, and by the age of 20 she was completely exhausted. At about the same age, she took upon herself the feat of voluntary foolishness for Christ's sake, and appeared before people as if she were insane.
There have always been holy fools in Rus'. Some revered them and helped them, others, especially those whose pride did not allow them to hear reproaches addressed to them, were indignant and even offended the blessed ones. But neither one nor the other fully understood the height and holiness of this feat.
So in Dunya’s native village, many people offended her, but the elders of holy life from the Sarov Monastery knew about her, prayed and gave her spiritual gifts.
Since Evdokia was in poor health, she had several girls in her obedience, who looked after the house, helped her, and all of them prayed together. Dunya’s prayer and advice helped not only the villagers, but also wanderers and people from other places; those who were planning to go to the monastery also asked her for advice.
According to one of her novices, stories were written down - memories of the life of Blessed Evdokia, which later became part of the official biography. Here we will add that Blessed Evdokia and her three novices - Daria, Daria and Maria - were shot on August 5/18, 1919. Before being shot, they were beaten and tortured, and after their martyrdom, the villagers and the priest were not allowed to visit their grave.
On August 14, 2000, Blessed Evdokia and her three novices - Daria, Darya and Maria - were canonized as saints, as those who died as martyrs for their faith. In 2001, their relics were found, which now rest in the Suvorov Church in honor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
You can get from Diveevo to Suvorovo on your own by regular bus, or with a monastery excursion.
Sanaksar Monastery
Geographically, it is located far from Diveevo, in neighboring Mordovia, and is not at all the closest neighborhood. But a kind of spiritual connection was established between the Sanaksar Monastery and Diveevo. When Elder Jerome, living in a monastery in Mordovia, was alive, many Diveyevo residents, including the sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, went to him for blessings and advice in resolving difficult spiritual issues, and sometimes difficult everyday situations.
The elder died, but people still went on pilgrimage to Sanaksary, especially since since 2000 the Russian Orthodox Church acquired another prayer book, patron of the fleet, Admiral Fyodor Ushakov. His relics rest in the Sanaksar monastery, where his uncle was once abbot. The cancer of the holy admiral is amazing, it resembles a ship. Near the monastery there is a holy spring.
Once a week, a bus excursion to Sanaksary departs from the Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery. It includes a visit to the monastery, a story about its history, and a visit to the source. At lunchtime, a monastery meal is offered; in addition to souvenirs, you can buy the monastery’s own baked bread with you on the road. If you wish, you can venerate the relics of Saint Admiral Fyodor Ushakov and venerate the grave of Elder Jerome. The entire trip takes a whole day.
In addition to the monastery, visits to the Sanaksar monastery are also organized by many hotels in Diveyevo.
You can talk about the surroundings of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery for a long time, and one day will not be enough to travel around them all. And yet, we tried to tell about the saints who lived in the Diveevo region and nearby lands, so that readers would have a small idea of the holy place that Diveevo and its surroundings truly are. Therefore, if your soul specifically asks for a pilgrimage, and you want to venerate not just one, but many shrines, then the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery is the most worthy choice. Having been here, you will be able to pave your way to many cities and villages of Russia, where spiritual life and prayer have never faded.
Tatyana Strakhova
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Diveyevo Monastery – documentary film
Dear visitors to our Orthodox island!
We are posting a wonderful video story about the Diveevo Convent. This documentary will tell you about the history of this wonderful monastery. About the multiple apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. About the destruction of the monastery and its glorious revival. And, of course, about St. Seraphim of Sarov - our immediate assistant!
Diveevo Monastery
There are places in Russia in which the spiritual world comes closer to earthly people, chosen for special service to God, and through them to all those who flow there.
One such place is the village of Diveevo, Nizhny Novgorod region. In the middle of the 18th century, the Most Holy Theotokos ordered the young nun of the Kiev-Florovsky Monastery, Mother Alexandra, to wander around the north of Russia. Around 1760, on the way to the Sarov Hermitage, stopping to rest in the village of Diveevo, Mother Alexandra was again honored to see the Mother of God, and heard the following from Her:
“This is the very place that I commanded you to look for. Live and please the Lord God here until the end of your days. I will establish here My abode, the like of which has never been, is not, and never will be in the whole world. For this is My Fourth Lot in the universe. And the grace of the Holy Spirit of God and the abundance of all earthly and heavenly blessings, with little human labor, will not become scarce from this place of My beloved.”
Here Mother Alexander lived for about 30 years in humility, secret exploits and labors, using the advice and instructions of the Sarov builder, Hieromonk Pachomius, and other Sarov elders.
Shortly before her death, around 1787, Mother Alexandra built three cells with an outbuilding and a wooden fence on the land donated to her next to the Kazan Church. There were four novices with mother. This is how the first community in Diveyevo with a monastic charter arose, which later became known as the Widow, or Church, with its first nun.
This community was nourished both spiritually and physically from the Sarov monastery. Saying goodbye to Elder Pachomius before her death, Mother Alexandra, with his blessing, entrusted the great task of caring for the future promised monastery to the young hierodeacon Seraphim, asking him to take care of the monastery, as the Queen of Heaven Herself would instruct him to do. While going through spiritual struggles in the Sarov monastery, he prayed for the Diveyevo community and received a revelation about its future.
On November 25, 1825, the Mother of God with the holy apostles Peter and John the Theologian appeared to Father Seraphim not far from his nearby desert, and confirmed that it was Her holy will that the care of Her great monastery rest with him.
The chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery describes many other cases when Father Seraphim was precisely informed by the Queen of Heaven about the place where the Holy Kanavka should pass and where the feeding mill should stand. To Mikhail Vasilyevich Manturov, who was helping Father Seraphim, the priest gave instructions, down to the step, how to mark the location of the future monastery with pebbles and pegs.
On December 9, 1826, the foundation stone of the mill took place at the site previously indicated by the Queen of Heaven through the holy elder. And in the fall of 1827, the first 7 sisters were transferred from the Kazan community to the mill. The land for the new monastery was donated to its owner.
Both communities - Kazan Mother Alexandra and Melnicheskaya Maiden Father Seraphim - had complete independence from each other and complete independence. Both communities, without interfering with each other, lived in peace, harmony and love, reverently honoring Mother Alexandra, whom, according to the commandment of Father Seraphim, they considered the founder of both communities. Both communities sacredly preserved their foundations, each living their own lives.
In 1861, the Seraphim-Diveevo community was transformed into a monastery, and a little later it was approved as the head of Abbess Maria (in the world Elizaveta Alekseevna Ushakova). In subsequent years, the monastery developed, the number of sisters increased, and it was decorated with new buildings.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery acquired its unique architectural appearance, which has largely been preserved to the present day.
“This is not a monastery, but a whole region, stretching over three miles,” Nizhny Novgorod Bishop Ioannikiy spoke of the monastery. The sisters performed numerous obediences. The work of the sisters, who were engaged in painting, photography, and book binding, was famous; many icons and lithographs were made to order.
After the death of Mother Superior Maria in 1904, the sisters chose nun Alexandra (Trakovskaya) as Mother Superior. She remained abbess until the monastery closed.
In 1919, the monastery was transformed into a labor artel, which included about 200 sisters. Until its closure in 1927, the monastery remained a major pilgrimage center and received thousands of people drawn to its shrines.
During the years of persecution, prayer life in Diveyevo did not stop. In dispersion, the monastery existed until the end of the 1940s. The terms of imprisonment and exile ended, and the sisters gradually gathered around the monastery.
Schema-nun Margarita (Lakhtionova) is the only nun of the dispersed monastery who lived to see the revival of the Diveyevo monastery. In the 70-80s of the 20th century, mother’s house became the center of church life and pilgrimage. Local believers came to her to pray. From various regions, despite the prohibitions of the authorities, pilgrims flocked who wanted to venerate the dear shrines and hear advice or instruction from their mother.
The revival of church life in Diveevo began in 1988, when believers were allowed to buy a house above the Kazan spring and rebuild it for a church. In April of the following year, Archbishop Nicholas of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas consecrated a wooden church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In the fall of the same year, Trinity Cathedral was transferred to the church community. In a short time he was prepared for consecration, which took place on the Day of Praise of the Mother of God.
The year 1990 brought unexpected joyful news about the discovery in St. Petersburg of the holy relics of St. Seraphim, lost after the closure of the Sarov Monastery. Soon, a message from the Holy Synod was published about the opening of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Convent in the village of Diveevo, Nizhny Novgorod diocese.
In 1991, the route of the holy relics of Father Seraphim from St. Petersburg to Diveevo lay through half of Russia. On July 30, at about 6 pm, led by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, the procession of the Cross arrived at the monastery. Thus, the revival of the monastery began with the return of the temples and holy relics of St. Seraphim.
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