Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery - the history of the holy monastery

Ugreshsky Men's Monastery in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
, stauropegy of the Russian Orthodox Church within the boundaries of the Podolsk diocese

• Address: Russia, 140056, Moscow region, Dzerzhinsky, pl. St. Nikolay, 1
• Tel.
• Official site:
• Directions from Moscow: from metro station Kotelniki avt. 470, 347; from metro station Lyublino avt. 305; from metro station Alma-Ata highway. 1063; from metro station Bratislavskaya march. 1207k; from Kazansky railway station to square. Lyubertsy, further aut. 20, 21 to the stop. St. Nicholas Square.
• On the map: Yandex.Map, Google map

The history of the monastery is connected with the Battle of Kulikovo (September 8, 1380). The gathering of the Russian army under the leadership of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy was appointed in Kolomna. From here the army was supposed to advance to battle with the Tatar Khan Mamai. 15 versts from Moscow on the road to Kolomna, the Grand Duke and his army stopped to rest. Here, on a pine tree, in a radiance, the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared to him. Through the prayer of the prince, the boyars and the army, the icon itself descended into the hands of Demetrius. According to legend, the prince exclaimed: “ This whole sin has sinned my heart
.” Since then, the place where the miraculous icon appeared was called Ugresha [1]. On August 9, 1380, the Grand Duke ordered the founding of a monastery here in the name of St. Nicholas in gratitude to God for the victory over the Mongols. The monastery is located near the palace village of Ostrov. Due to the proximity of the monastery to the “amusing” village (as the palace village was called because it served as a place for entertaining royalty with hunting), the sovereigns often visited the monastery. This connection with the ruling house was expressed in the fact that already in the century the courtyard of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery was opened in the Moscow Kremlin. The Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily the Dark donated to the monastery the villages of Kapotnya and Zhiroshkino in the Moscow district. In 1521, the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery was burned down during a raid by the Crimean Khan Makhmet-Girey, but was soon rebuilt. In 1545, Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich granted the monastery a charter, which secured the monastery’s right of ownership of fourteen villages in four districts, and prohibited anyone from traveling to the monastery’s forests and groves and cutting them down. In 1567, with his letter of grant, he confirmed the monastery’s right to own fishing grounds in Nizhny Novgorod. From the same charter it is clear that the Ugresh monastery was exempt from customs duties on all monastic goods throughout the state, except for Nizhny Novgorod - this position was confirmed by subsequent kings.

In 1610, the impostor Tsar False Dmitry II stayed for some time in the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery. In the spring of 1611, the monastery became one of the gathering places for Russian troops, who responded to the call of Patriarch Ermogen to defend Russia from Polish invaders. The following year, the monastery's courtyard in the Moscow Kremlin was destroyed during its siege.

The monastery was the site of the so-called “Ugresh campaigns” - pilgrimages of sovereigns to the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery. In 1519, Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich visited the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery [2]. Mikhail Feodorovich officially visited the monastery nine times, Alexei Mikhailovich thirteen times, and the young Tsar Peter visited the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery three times. In 1639, the courtyard of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery in the Moscow Kremlin was restored. By the middle of the century the monastery had reached the zenith of its glory. In 1668, three patriarchs visited the monastery with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich: Paisius of Alexandria, Macarius of Antioch and Joasaph of Moscow, as well as a numerous host of bishops and other clergy. At the crowning of Theodore Alekseevich in 1676, the Ugresh abbot presented the scepter to the patriarch, and at the wedding of Ivan V Alekseevich in 1682, the barma of Tsar Ivan, which indicates the high position of the monastery at that time.

Decline of the monastery

The 18th century was a century of difficult trials that befell the Orthodox Church. Peter I, heading to the West, opened a “window to Europe.” Russia was far behind Europe in technical development, and for the security of the state it was necessary to develop industry, science, and military affairs. However, along with the development of industry, the spiritual life of the state declined. Secularization took place, i.e. secularization of society. The Nikolo-Ugreshskaya monastery was no longer of interest to the royals and began to fall into decay. Secular authorities did not allow new monks to enter the monastery, and donations were sharply reduced. The number of brethren decreased, the buildings fell into disrepair, and the Synod did not release funds for their repair.

Only in 1742, after a severe storm, did the Synod release funds for the renovation of buildings. Since some buildings had already collapsed over the years, as a result, many stone buildings were dismantled and replaced with wooden ones.

In the second half of the century, construction picked up somewhat - a bell tower and a stone Assumption Church were built. At the same time, the secular authorities used the monastery as a colony-sanatorium - in 1763, retired soldiers who received salaries from the monastery were placed here; in 1771, an infirmary for the plague was established, and therefore the brethren were temporarily transferred to the neighboring Nikolo-Perervinsky monastery. During the secularization reform of Catherine II in 1764, according to the new monastic states, the monastery was classified as a regular third-class monastery.

In 1771, the monastery's courtyard in the Moscow Kremlin was abolished.

In 1795, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Leaping” was found in the monastery - an omen of the revival of the monastery. In 1812, the monastery was occupied by the French, but the monastery sacristy was not damaged, as it was taken to Vologda in advance.

In the first half of the 19th century, the monastery became the place of service of St. Innocent (Smirnov), St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) was appointed here, who subsequently took part in the life of the monastery, St. Philaret of Moscow, as the diocesan bishop, paid a lot of attention to the monastery. In 1833, when only six monks remained, they intended to close the monastery. But thanks to the patience and diligence of Abbot Ilarius and his successor, Rev. Archimandrite Pimen (Myasnikov), the spiritual foundation for future prosperity was laid. On October 16, 1853, a communal charter was introduced in the monastery.

New blossoming of the monastery

Already in the 1840s, the construction of new and restoration of old churches of the monastery began.
With the generous donations of philanthropist Pyotr Matveevich Alexandrov, construction work is underway. In the second half of the 19th century, a grandiose architectural ensemble was created in the monastery; F. G. Solntsev became the main artist and architect. The significantly expanded territory was surrounded by a new stone wall 1700 m long and 5–6.5 m high, with 16 towers and 8 gates. In the decorative design of the northern (“Palestinian” or “Jerusalem”) wall, completed in 1866, a traditional image of Jerusalem was used in Russian icon painting, so that those approaching the monastery from Moscow would see a panorama of the Holy City in front of them. By 1860, a monastery was built next to the monastery. Contributions were made to the monastery again - in 1859, a house on Taganka, in 1863, a dacha in the Ruza district of the Moscow province (136 dessiatines), in 1870 a dacha in the Aleksandrovsky district of the Vladimir province. Since August 24, 1858, the abbot of the monastery held the rank of archimandrite. In 1866, a third-grade school for peasant children was opened at the monastery, which in 1876 was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Education. In 1870, the Holy Synod gave permission to increase the staff of the monastery from 12 to 92 people. At this time the monastery had more than a hundred inhabitants. In connection with the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the monastery, the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral was founded, which became the architectural center of the monastery. In 1913, 19 versts northwest of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, in the forest in the possession of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, monks seeking desert living built cell houses and a church in the name of the newly glorified Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow. In 1915-1916, the future martyr Ermogen (Dolganev) lived in the monastery.

Abolition and destruction under Soviet rule

The first legislative actions of the Bolshevik government deprived the monastery of real estate and a parochial school. From mid-1918, local authorities began partial confiscation of church valuables, economic and residential buildings and equipment of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery for the establishment of a children's colony and a Narkomfin rest house. Famine began and the brethren began to leave the monastery, as evidenced by Saint Macarius (Nevsky), who was in retirement here. Despite the protests of the peasants, the authorities plunder the monastery and humiliate the metropolitan and archimandrite who live here.

In 1919, in order to preserve the monastery and economic holdings, the brethren were organized into a labor artel, which received the name Nikolo-Ugreshsky labor community. In 1922, a campaign began to confiscate monastery valuables, which the Ugresh Archimandrite resisted to the best of his ability. In 1924, the transfer of monastery property to the Moscow Soviet began. The monastery is populated by children and adults under the auspices of the Moscow Department of Public Education, the property is redistributed and part goes to representatives of the Main Science Department as “museum property.” In 1925, a miraculous renewal of the icon of St. Nicholas took place, which was hastily confiscated by the authorities. Due to numerous interdepartmental contradictions, the eviction of monks lasts about two years.

In the end, the monastery was finally taken away from the Church. Its buildings housed a children's colony, a canteen, a factory kitchen, a factory workshop, a school, a hotel and other institutions. In January 1929, the Hermogen Hermitage also closed. The process of desecration and destruction of shrines is underway. In 1940, the oldest and main temple of the monastery, St. Nicholas Cathedral, was destroyed.

Since the 1950s, the authorities began to make attempts to preserve the remains of the monastery ensemble. Since 1970, restoration work has been carried out. Until the end of the century, six churches with 10 altars and a chapel survived.

Renaissance

In 1990, an initiative group was created in the city of Dzerzhinsky to resume worship in the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, and at the end of the year the city Council of People's Deputies decided to transfer to the Church the premises of the Assumption Church of the former Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery. At the end of 1990, the first divine services were again performed by Archimandrite Veniamin (Zaritsky). On January 30, 1991, the Moscow Regional Council decided to return the monastery to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery received the status of stauropegial.

Despite the restoration that had once been carried out, the monastery was in dire condition. Temple buildings, neglected, decapitated, disfigured by numerous reconstructions; ruins overgrown with weeds and neglected ponds. But there were many benefactors in the city, from the mayor to many ordinary townspeople who wished to take part in the restoration of the monastery. Intensive restoration began. On May 1, 1991, Patriarch Alexy II visited the monastery and consecrated the Assumption Church - the first church opened in the monastery after decades of neglect. The Patriarch, as the holy archimandrite of the monastery, continued to show it special attention, coming to the consecration of the revived churches. From the first days of the opening of the monastery, the tradition of bell ringing was revived in the monastery. In 1993, through the efforts of the brethren, a temple was opened in the hospital in the city of Dzerzhinsky in the name of the great martyr and healer Panteleimon. One by one, churches were restored, and new ones appeared, such as the Pimenovskaya and Passion Churches.

In 1993, NPO Soyuz handed over a “green workshop” with greenhouses, a garden and various buildings to the monastery. An exemplary farm was organized here. In 1992, a Sunday school was opened in the monastery, and in 1998 - a theological school, transformed in 1999 into a theological seminary. The library and publishing house started working. The brethren of the monastery took patronage over the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School.

On April 27, 2021, by decree of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', the monastery was provided to the Patriarchal Vicar of the Moscow Metropolis for the residence of the administration of the metropolis, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna Pavel (Ponomarev) and the establishment in it of the diocesan administration of the Kolomna diocese [3])

Statistics

• 1655 [4] - more than 50 Ugresh monks died from the plague.
• 1833 - 6 monks.
• 1875 [4] - 130 monastics and Balti people; 11 thrones.
• 1909 [4] - 154 inhabitants (21 hieromonks, 10 hierodeacons, 23 monks, 100 novices).
• 1914 [4] - 64 monks (2 archimandrites, 20 hieromonks, 10 hierodeacons, 19 monks, 12 Balti)
• 1916 - [4] 59 monks, many of the novices are listed as being taken to the front.
• 1917 - 10 churches with 18 altars; 5 chapels.
• 1923 - 45 people in the monastic labor artel.
• 2000 - [4] inhabitants 33 people (12 hieromonks, 6 monks, 14 novices)
• 2004 - [4] more than 30 monks.

Story

The monastery was founded by Dmitry Donskoy. Legend has it that while driving through the Kulikovo field, Dmitry saw the image of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

It is important to know: the name “Ugreshsky” comes from the prince’s expression “Ugresha my heart” - “The vision of the icon warmed my heart.”

The monastery was ravaged several times, but royal visits and pilgrimages made it possible to quickly raise money and recover. However, this did not help much: in the first half of the 19th century, only 6 people remained on its territory, and the question of closure arose. It was saved only by the intervention of Metropolitan Philaret, who appointed a new rector instead of abolishing it.

Without a doubt, you should be fascinated by an article about a monastery with a long history - the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery.

Shrines

• relics of the Ugresh Archimandrite St. Pimen (Myasnikova) - in the Transfiguration Cathedral,
• Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God - given to the monastery by Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II - in the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery,
• The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the main shrine of the monastery, which was found by St. good book Dimitry Donskoy. In 1919, it was transferred to the church in the village of Kolomenskoye and then entered into storage at the State Restoration Workshops. In 1934 it was transferred to the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Fate during the revolution and in Soviet times

In 1917, the monastery passed into the hands of the Soviet government and was converted into a monastic artel of labor. It was led by Metropolitan Macarius. There was a colony for children here, subordinate to the People's Financial Commissariat. A few years later, the labor colony was converted into a commune, and after a while it was completely closed.

Please note : in the 40th year of the 20th century, the oldest St. Nicholas Cathedral (XVI century) suffered damage - it was completely dismantled.

In WWII, to disorient the enemy and protect against air attacks, the domes of cathedrals with the top of the bell tower, which could become landmarks, were removed. Subsequent restoration was carried out only in the 70s.

Sin in troubled times

The Troubles for Rus' became a time of decadence, confusion, and uncertainty about the future. During that period, Ugresha became a refuge for false kings and their associates - False Dmitry 1, hiding from the wrath of Boris Godunov; the Tushino thief and Marina Mnishek, who declared her husband the only Russian heir to the throne.

During the period of the Polish intervention, the Nikolo-Ugreshsky stauropegial monastery was a gathering place for the people's militia led by Minin and Pozharsky.

Thus, the Time of Troubles became a testing period for the Ugresh monastery, which often suffered robberies even from the Russian militias themselves.

Renaissance

The second discovery occurred after the collapse of the USSR, when the site was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and restoration began. This made it possible to restore many buildings and also build new ones. At the same time, a revival of monasticism began.

This is important : the monastery is a stauropegic monastery: this allows it not to depend on the local authority of the diocese, that is, it reports directly to the patriarch.

7 years after the transfer, a theological school appeared on the territory of the monastery, which became a seminary the next year. A pilgrim center has also been created, which provides excursions and accommodation for pilgrims.

The heyday of the Ugresh monastery

In chronicles dating back to the 15th century, there is a mention of the Ugreshsky metochion, located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, which indicates the extremely high status of the monastery.

In 1521, the holy monastery and the neighboring village of Ostrov were burned by Khan Makhmet-Girey, but two decades later it was rebuilt. And when everything was ready, Ivan the Terrible, who loved these places, came to the renovated monastery. He also exempted Ugreshi from customs duties on monastic goods throughout the state, except for Nizhny Novgorod.

Current state

Today the monastery is active and is considered one of the most important and beautiful in Russia. In addition to beautiful temples and churches of the 18th-19th centuries, there are several churches of the late 20th - early 21st centuries, bell towers and chapels, as well as the chambers of the patriarch, abbot and sovereign. The walls have been preserved, including the Palestine (Jerusalem) wall, the Holy Gate, several towers and other outbuildings.

This is interesting: since 2010, the position of rector has belonged to Abbot Bartholomew.

The monastery carries out significant social and educational activities:

1. Conducts spiritual conversations and takes part in charity events for children suffering from cancer;
2. Works with children from a boarding school;
3. A summer camp is organized for children, as well as special programs: choral and creative studios, military-patriotic movement for boys;
4. Classes are held for seriously ill children;
5. It has its own Sunday school, TV show and newspaper.

See also: Diveevo Monastery official website. Moscow region, holy springs

Abbots and governors

• Jonah (mentioned 1432 - mentioned 1443)
• Abraham (? - 1490/1491)
• Silouan the Greek (? - 1493)
• Neil the Greek (between 1494 and 1506)
• Tikhon (1517 - 1520)
• Tikhon (Khvorostinin) (mentioned 1572 - 1573)
• Lawrence (mentioned 1589)
• Eleazar and Tikhon (mentioned February 17, 1598) [6]
• Jonah (mentioned 1610) [7]
• Dionysius (mentioned September 28, 1645)
• Vincent (? - 1672)
• Gerasim (mentioned 1676)
• Joseph/Joasaph (mentioned 1682) (possibly this is Archbishop Joseph of Arkhangelsk)
• Triphylliy (Inichov) (1691 - 1692)
• Varlaam (mentioned 1737)
• Feofan (Charnutsky) (1744)
• Iriney (Bratanovsky) (1759 - 1762)
• Jerome (Ershov) (XVIII century)
• Lavrenty (Bakshevsky) (January 25, 1808 - ?)
• Evgeny (Kazantsev) (July 5 - August 6, 1810)
• St. Innokenty (Smirnov) (August 6 - October 14, 1810)
• Plato (Berezin) (1821 - 1822)
• St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) (1833)
• Ilarius (1834 - 1851)
• St. Pimen (Myasnikov) (November 16, 1851 - October 16, 1853) acting

• Vassian (Smirnov) (August 18 - November 20, 1880) acting

1920s - 1990 - closed and ruined

• Veniamin (Zaritsky) ((December 11, 1990) June 12, 1992 - May 31, 2010)
• Bartholomew (Petrov) (June - December 24, 2010) acting

Architectural ensemble of the monastery

Let us give a description of some of the buildings of the monastery:

• Transfiguration Cathedral

Construction began in the 80th year of the 19th century. The exterior finishing was completed 5 years earlier than the interior. After the closure of the monastery, it suffered greatly: its domes were demolished and additional windows were cut out. Restoration began only at the end of the last century; a new iconostasis was installed in 2000.

Take note: the restoration began on the anniversary of the monastery - the 500th anniversary of its founding.

The building is quite elegant: it is made of white stone with 5 domes - a central gold one and blue side ones. Its height is almost 70 meters, up to 7 thousand parishioners can be inside;

• St. Nicholas Cathedral

It first appeared at the end of the 14th century and, according to researchers, was originally made of wood. The stone version was erected at the beginning of the 16th century, when the cathedral was damaged in a fire. The building went through several reconstructions - at the end of the Time of Troubles and in the 19th century. In 1940 it was completely demolished.

Interesting fact: if the temple had not been demolished, it would have been the oldest building.

In the 21st century, they decided to restore the cathedral using the remaining images from the 16th century building. Today, on the site of the old building there is a single-domed white temple;

• Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The second name is the Assumption Church. Erected on the site of the Sovereign Chambers after their demolition. After repairs, the chapel of St. Mary of Egypt was added to the building. Despite the closure and destruction, the 19th century paintings were preserved in the temple.

This is important : the temple occupies the top floor of the building, the lower floor is given over to the Church of Matthew and Paraskeva - it is described below.

• Church of St. Matthew the Apostle and Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

Located on the lower floor of the Church of the Assumption. It looks like a two-story structure made of dark red brick. It has white decorations and a green roof, as well as an extension of 3 floors, which is crowned with 1 dome.

Keep in mind : under the altar there was a crypt with the graves of the Alexandrov spouses, who were engaged in charity work for the benefit of the monastery, but after the monastery was closed, their graves were plundered.

• Church of Pimen Ugreshsky

Dedicated to Abbot Pimen, built at the end of the 19th century. At first, there was a chapel with the rector’s ashes on this site, but later it was expanded and rebuilt. After closing, the building was demolished, and a cemetery was located on the vacated land. Restoration of the building began after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This is a small, modestly decorated snow-white church with 1 dome. It has some similarities with the Church of the Intercession, rising on the Nerl River;

• Church of Peter and Paul

The second name is Petropavlovskaya. Erected in the middle of the 19th century, it was a monastery - belonging to a monastery that occupied the northwestern part of the territory. Restored at the end of the 20th century.

Good to know: a monastery is a monastic settlement that has stricter rules.

The church stands out clearly against the background of other buildings. This is a wooden building of 2 floors, made like a “ship”. It is painted bright blue and has a gold dome;

• Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”

Built in the 50s of the 19th century, it is geographically located in the northeast near the hospital and was intended for visiting patients. Like other buildings, it was looted and closed, then restored.

Interesting to know : the main icons were “The Savior Not Made by Hands” and the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”

The building looks like a tall yellow church located near the hospital building. It has a tent roof and 5 domes;

• Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist

You can find it on the second tier of the bell tower; it was placed there in the 40s of the last century. It was closed simultaneously with the entire monastery with the advent of Soviet power. Restoration began only at the beginning of the 21st century: they installed an iconostasis and repaired the inside.

See also: Church of John the Baptist: a historical monument of the 17th century in Yaroslavl

Please note : some of the icons that previously belonged to the monastery were returned to the church.

• Chapel of the appearance of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Also called the Chapel of St. Nicholas. This is an important place in the monastery: inside there is a piece of a pine trunk on which the image of the holy icon appeared to Prince Dmitry. With the closure of the monastery, the chapel was completely destroyed and restored only in the 98th year of the twentieth century.

The small building is very beautiful, it resembles an exotic oriental lantern. At its base lies a polygon, on each side there are tall arched windows. The semi-circular roof is painted blue and has golden stars on it. Inside is a source of blessed water.

Remember : taking photographs of the chapel inside is prohibited.

• Bell tower

Erected in the 18th century, later a hospital building was erected next to it, rebuilt and the second tier was given over to the temple. With the arrival of the USSR, the bell tower was closed.

The building was reconstructed only at the beginning of the 21st century. Today, the Assumption Church, St. Nicholas Chapel and prosphora are located near it;

• Chapel "Recovery of the Lost"

Erected in memory of the icon of the Mother of God of the same name near the monastery pond at the beginning of our century.

Please note: until the 20th year of the 20th century, another chapel stood in its place, which was destroyed.

The current building is small, stone, snow-white, and has huge windows that span the entire wall. On the low tent there is a simple golden cross;

• Temple-Chapel of the Passion of the Lord

This is a modern building: construction and minor consecration took place at the beginning of the 21st century. The low, snow-white chapel is made in the ancient Russian artistic style and is erected on a hill. A Crucifix hangs inside the building - this symbolizes Golgotha ​​and the suffering of Christ.

It is important to know: the architect was one of the inhabitants of the monastery - thanks to careful work, the chapel organically fit into the ensemble.

• Palestine wall

It is also called “Jerusalem”. The project was developed by abbot Pimen Ugreshsky and has been preserved in excellent condition. It is a red and white wall on which the symbolic Holy Jerusalem is carved: houses with windows, towers, stairs and other “pieces” of the city.

This is interesting: the wall is one of the symbols of the city of Dzerzhinsk and an object of cultural heritage.

• Monastery Museum

Today there are 2 museums here:

1. Sacristy: is a repository of ancient church items and works of art;
2. Emperor Nicholas II: it was opened several years ago on the basis of a collection of documents and things of the imperial family, which were given by the donor Renzhin.

Both museums are open daily and offer tours by appointment.

Tip: you can sign up through the pilgrimage center.

Historical sketch of the Nikolaev Ugreshsky male monastery

In the summer of 1380, in the month of August, news reached the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri Ioannovich that the hostile Tatar ruler Mamai, who had been defeated by him on the banks of the Vozha the previous summer, was preparing to march on Russia, and that his hordes were already devastating the Voronezh borders. Having grown up under the leadership of Saint Alexis, Demetrius first of all called on the power of the Most High for help, and having strengthened himself with prayer in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, he sent messengers to all the borders of his possessions - with the order to gather troops and call to himself his friends and the princes of his subjects. Cities and villages, princes and boyars - everything rebelled and took up arms against the universal enemy of Orthodoxy and Rus' - everything hurried under the banner of the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Advised by the blessing of his warm intercessor before the Lord and zealous prayer book, St. Sergius, who predicted for him a cruel and bloody slaughter, but the defeat of the enemy; accompanied by two monks - knights of the Trinity Monastery - Oslyab and Peresvet, dressed in spiked armor and schemata; surrounded by a host of princes and boyars, the Grand Duke was ready to mount his horse and set out on a campaign. Already a large army gathered under the Kremlin walls was impatiently awaiting a sign to march. The clergy, standing at the gates of Nikolsky, Florovsky and Konstantino-Eleninsky with holy icons and banners, sprinkled the squads with holy water. Having once again bowed to the ashes of his forefathers, received a parting blessing from Saint Cyprian, and said goodbye to his sorrowful and weeping wife, the Grand Duke mounted his horse and rode out beyond the Kremlin fence. The morning was quiet and clear, the sun shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the shining crosses and heads of cathedrals, the golden-domed tower of the Grand Duke, and it seemed to everyone a joyful omen of victory.

The squad assembled by Demetrius was so numerous that it could not combine on one path, and therefore they divided it into three detachments, which left the Kremlin through the three holy gates; Nikolsky, Florovsky (now called Spassky) and Konstantino-Eleninsky. The Grand Duke’s cousin, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, led his squad along the Brashevskaya road; the Belozersky princes went to Bolvanovka; the Grand Duke himself went to the village of Kotly54, and having passed it, 15 fields from the capital city on the banks of the Moscow River settled down with all his army, and had a wonderful vision; above the pine tree, in the air, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared to him; The monastery still celebrates the memory of this phenomenon on the 9th day of the month of August.

Here are the details of the phenomenon itself according to the text of an ancient record preserved in the monastery and compiled unknown when and by whom:

“The blessed Grand Duke, Dimitri Ioannovich Donskoy, left the city of Moscow against the wicked Mamai Tsar of the Tatars, and departed from Moscow fifty miles of a hundred in tents in a green place for repose with his army, and the wonderful image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, decorated with vapor, appeared to him in that place, brightly surrounded by stars and illuminated by a great light, standing in the air above a tree called a pine tree, standing there, held by no one, and I pray to him, the Grand Duke Demetrius Ioannovich Donskoy - that holy icon itself came down from the heights and fell into his honest hands. »

“Upon returning to the Blessed Prince from battle with a glorious victory, - having reached this place again, the same image with a miraculous appearance appeared in his honest hands, and about the victory granted to him, thanking God and the Pleasant of God Nicholas, praying and performing a prayer service with the army his own, and at that time the Blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich himself with the Blessed Princes and Bolyars called this place the nickname Ugresha, which is called by that name to this day; and commanded to build a temple in that place, in the name and honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; and I will build that monastery glorious, and will satisfy you and provide you with all the necessities you need”55.

But what exactly the generosity of the Grand Duke, the creator of the monastery, was expressed in is hidden from us; however, we must think that some of the villages closest to the monastery were donated by him.

The first indication of the existence of the Ugresh monastery, known to us, is the inscription made by the Ugresh abbot Jonah on the book of the Lives of the Saints, which he copied and now belongs to the Trinity Lavra (see page 3 above).

In September 1479, on the 9th day at 6 o'clock. In the evening from Thursday to Friday, a fire broke out in Moscow inside the city (in the Kremlin) near the Church of Peter the Wonderworker, in the Ugreshsky Courtyard. The fire occurred in the courtyard cookhouse, which was behind the fence under the wall; The roof on the fence caught fire first, but those in the courtyard were already asleep and did not notice how the fire started and were awakened only when loud cries of “the city is burning” were heard from the district (Zamoskvorechye). The fire instantly spread along the hem and reached the lord’s courtyard Kolomensky (Nikita), to the choir of Feodor Davidovich... The Grand Duke and his son, mounted horses, rode out to the fire, which lasted all night and four hours in the afternoon; and barely, the chronicle says, the Grand Duke himself and many people were swept away and extinguished.

In 1491, on the 16th day of November, Abbot Abraham of Ugresh was consecrated by Moscow Metropolitan Zosima as Bishop of Kolomna56; subsequently, in 1495, he was present with other bishops at the enthronement of the Trinity Abbot Simon57 to the throne of the Moscow Metropolis; and in February 1498, for 4 days, he was in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral at the solemn crowning of the grandson of John III, Prince Dimitri Ioannovich of Uglitsk,58 whom his grandfather chose as his successor over his second son Vasily, and crowned him during his lifetime.

In 1493, when the former Bishop of Krutitsa Prokhor, leaving his diocese, retired to the Moscow Epiphany Monastery, Moscow Metropolitan Zosima on May 4 consecrated Bishop of Krutitsa, (also called Sarsky and Podonsky) abbot of Ugreshsky - Elder Silouan59. In 1495, he also participated in the staging of Moscow. Metropolitan Simon60, and thus, at this celebration there were at the same time two bishops - Abraham and Silouan, who were both at one time abbots of Ugresh. Silouan remained a bishop for only three years and retired in 1496.

In 1497, in the month of August, the widowed Grand Duchess Anna Vasilievna of Ryazan, sister of John III, came to Moscow to visit her brother and was received by him with great honor. On the day of her arrival, the Grand Duke, accompanied by his children and his beloved grandson Dimitri, surrounded by nobles and boyars, went to the fields beyond Bolvanovka, and Grand Duchess Sophia, Ioannov’s wife, and his widowed daughter-in-law led. Princess Elena arrived there, accompanied by the noblewomen, and there they met the guest.

The Grand Duchess of Ryazan stayed in Moscow until the feast of Epiphany, and when she got ready to return, the Grand Duke released her with honor and rich gifts and sent his brother Yuri and the boyars to accompany her beyond Moscow to the Ugreshsky Monastery. Here Prince Yuri said goodbye to his sister, as she was hurrying to Ryazan for the wedding of her daughter, who had already been married to Prince Feodor Ivanovich Belsky61.

In his spiritual letter, believed to have been written around 1508 or 1509, the Uglitsky prince Dimitri Ioannovich (who was crowned king by his grandfather and was subsequently deprived of the succession to the throne and imprisoned) asks the Grand Duke to “give his soul to remember, order to give I like contributions to various churches and monasteries, among other things; to Spas in Androniev, on Simonovo, to Spas in Novy, to Nikola on Ugresha, and so on62.

In 1519, in the month of May, Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich left Moscow for Ugresha, and from there to Ostrov, where he lived until Peter’s enactment; upon returning to Moscow, he lived all summer until autumn in the village of Vorontsovo63.

In February 14, 1520, in place of Mitrofan Bishop of Kolomna (consecrated in 1517 from the Archimandrites of Andronievsky and retired in 1518), Metropolitan Varlaam of Moscow consecrated Abbot Tikhon of Ugresh64. In 1522, his name appears in a handwritten note given by Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Shuisky about being loyal to his sovereign65.

In 1521, the Crimean Khan Magmed-Girey, after conquering Kazan, strengthening his squad with hordes of Nogais, reinforced by the ataman of the Lithuanian Cossacks Dashkevich, approached the banks of the Oka and was waiting for his brother, the Kazan king Saip-Girey, in order to unite with him, go further and devastate the Moscow borders . The Grand Duke, notified in advance of the approach of the enemy, sent his squad to meet him under the command of the young Prince Dimitri Belsky and his brother Prince Andrei, giving them orders to warn the enemy and not allow him to cross the Oka. But the young leaders did not want to follow the advice of the experienced commanders: they settled down with their squad in the wrong place, allowed the enemy to cross the Oka, fought at the wrong time and, having suffered defeat, fled. Seeing that the path to Moscow was open, the crowds of predators dispersed into the wasteland of the Ryazan and Kolomna borders, plundering and burning villages, killing or taking the inhabitants captive. One of the enemy detachments then attacked the Grand Ducal amusement village of Ostrov and burned the neighboring monastery of St. Nicholas on Ugresh66.

In the 1540s, as can be seen from the list of the oldest charter that has come down to us, the monastery already had many estates in the Moscow district, in Kolomenskoye, in Pereyaslavsky and in Kostroma in Nerekhta - a total of fourteen villages and hamlets with their villages and lands . In the vast forests and groves located on the monastery's property, neighboring peasants often carried out fellings, as a result of which the Ugresh abbot Zinovy ​​and his brethren struck the Tsar with their foreheads and filed a petition, asking for protection and protection from the willfulness of forest thieves.

In January 1545, on the 26th day, Tsar John IV Vasilyevich granted the monastery with a hand-written signature a Dangerous Letter, prohibiting both the villagers and villagers-peasants of the grand duke, and the metropolitan, and the boyar, and the monastery and anyone else, and all people without cancellation - to go to the forests and groves of the monastery and make fellings in them, and the monastery was given a bailiff and a new choir clerk, Gridya Zherd, for all the people. This charter was confirmed a second time by the sovereign in May 1551, and in October 1563, October 20, confirmed by Tsar Theodore Ioannovich.

In 1546, a rumor spread that the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey was going to raid the Moscow state. The Tsar set out to lead his army himself and before leaving for the camp, on May 6th, on Thursday in the second week of Easter, he traveled along the Moscow River in ships on a pilgrimage to Nikola on Ugresha, and from Nikola on Ugresha he also went to Kolomna by water and stood on Kolomna until August67.

In 1555, in the month of April, priests from Nikola Velikoretsky came to the Tsar from Vyatka to announce that miracles were being performed with the holy icon of the saint and saint of God, and at the same time beat the Tsar with their foreheads so that he would grant - ordered to renew the icon, since it had deteriorated over time and It has not been done for a long time, that is, it has been renewed. The Emperor ordered the holy icon to be brought to Moscow and ordered it to be brought with water. The icon was transported by rivers - Vyatka, Kama, Volga and Oka; from Kolomna they traveled in a ship along the Moscow River to the Ugreshsky Monastery, to which they sailed on June 29. The tsar sent his brother, Prince Yuri Vasilyevich, here to meet; the tsar himself met the icon near the Simonov Monastery; At the Yauzsky Bridge, the rulers met with the authorities, and at the Kremlin and the Florovsky Gate, Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow. Skilled in icon painting, the Metropolitan wished to correct the icon himself; she was richly decorated with gold, pearls, stones, and a year later in August she was released back, but she was no longer taken to Ugresha, but by a different route - to the village of Rostokino68.

In 1572, when Tsar John Vasilyevich, having been widowed for the third time, decided to enter into a fourth marriage - an example hitherto unknown in the Orthodox Church - a council was convened in Moscow, at which the Ugresh abbot Tikhon was mentioned among the black authorities; his name is also on the permit given to the king69.

In 1589, when Tsar Theodore Ioannovich decided to establish the patriarchate in Russia, a council was convened, at which, among other abbots, the Ugresh abbot Lavrenty was present; he also participated in the election of Job as patriarch and was present at the Assumption Cathedral at his installation70.

In January 1598, on the 7th day at one o'clock in the morning, Tsar Theodore died. The offspring of Rurik were cut off with him; In the morning the burial took place; Moscow swore allegiance to Queen Irina, but she was not thinking about the earthly kingdom; left the Kremlin, went to the Novodevichy Convent with the firm intention of never leaving her cell and donned monastic robes. Having learned about her tonsure, Moscow became despondent: the Patriarch, the clergy, the boyars were all perplexed on whom to place the crown of Monomakh; decided to convene the Great Council. At the cathedral, in addition to elected people from the entire Russian land, there were 4 metropolitans, 9 bishops, 25 archimandrites and 24 abbots, not counting the builders and cathedral elders. Twice already, Patriarch Job with the entire consecrated cathedral, with the boyars and elected officials of the entire state, relentlessly and tearfully begged Boris Godunov to deign to the kingdom; he refused... the queen, his sister, did not bless him. Finally, on February 21, on Tuesday during cheese week, for the third time, with holy icons and banners, with prayer singing to the Hodegetria icon, accompanied by all the clergy and sigklit boyars, Patriarch Job again went in procession to the Novodevichy Convent; He performed the liturgy in a conciliar manner and then, with all the holy items and all those accompanying him, went to the queen’s cells. Everyone begged her to bless her brother for the kingdom. The patriarch, the clergy, the boyars fell at her feet... The queen could not resist such a persistent plea - Boris was proclaimed king. Two Ugresh abbots - Eleazar71 and Tikhon72 signed two letters on the election of Godunov to the kingdom. Eleazar was a participant in the great council and his name is on the first charter.

In 1599, on the 3rd day of March, in the name of the Ugresh abbot Tikhon, Tsar Boris and his son Theodore granted a duty-free charter, which, however, was only a renewal of the previous one, given under John IV. By virtue of this charter, the monastery’s right to trade duty-free on carts and ships throughout Russia, except for Nizhny Novgorod, was confirmed; The elders and servants of the monastery could travel everywhere with the monastic goods, without paying any tax, no toll, no appearance, no property, no duty, no coastal duty, no duty, no duty, or any other duty. The letter further says: “Neither governors, nor royal tiuns, nor monastery servants, nor elders judge, but the king alone judges them; and whoever takes anything from the monastery, or from those sent by him, or does anything to harm him, will be punished by the kings.” This charter was confirmed in 1606 by Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky.

In the rite of the crowning of Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky on June 1st, the presence of the Ugresh abbot at the wedding is mentioned, without indicating his name. Together with two archimandrites - Trinity and Vladimir, he served the Life-Giving Cross on a golden platter.

In 1610, after the destruction of the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery, the second Pretender headed towards Moscow and settled on Ugresh; Marina soon arrived here too. Here he received the ambassadors of Hetman Zholkiewski; They, in the name of Sigismundov, convinced him to renounce his claims to the Russian throne and fall at the feet of the king, promising him Sambir or Grodno as his inheritance: “I would rather agree to ask for bread from a slave than mercy from the king.” Marina, who entered the chamber at these words, began to shower the king with reproaches and added with mockery: “Listen to my proposal, let the king give in to Tsar Dimitri Krakow, and as a mercy accept Warsaw from him.” The negotiations did not proceed peacefully, civil strife was ready to flare up between the squads of Sapieha and Zholkiewski, bloodshed was already beginning under the walls of the monastery... “But Sapieha, writes Karamzin, left the ranks, took off his hat in front of the hetman, extended his hand to him as a sign of brotherhood... and soon everything was pacified.” . Many of the followers of the Pretender left him, and on the night of August 26, he rode off on horseback to Kaluga with Marina, with Ataman Zarutsky, with a gang of Cossacks, Tatars and a few Russians.

On the 11th day of September of the same year, 1610, Patriarch Hermogenes and the Moscow Zemskaya Duma sent an embassy to Prince Vladislav to offer him; renounce Latin and accept the crown of the Russian Tsar. The embassy consisted of Metropolitan of Rostov Filaret Nikitich Romanov (in 1601, on the suspicion of Godunov, he was involuntarily tonsured and exiled to the Siysky Monastery), Prince Golitsyn Vas. You. and the Prince of Mezetsky and, in addition, from the clergy were in it; Abraham Palitsyn, the famous cellarer Troitsky, Novospassky Archimandrite Euthymius, Abbot Jonah of Ugreshsky and Archpriest Kirill of Ascension,74 are wise men and leisurely in reading and writing, the chronicler notes. Abbot Jonah did not return to his homeland; sent with other ambassadors by order of Sigismundov into captivity, he died in exile; his grave is hidden from us.

In 1611, on March 27, the Ugreshskaya monastery was elected as a gathering place by Moscow governors, who converge here from all cities; Lyapunov arrived from Kolomna, Zarutsky from Tula, other governors came with their squads, and on March 28 they all moved together to Moscow, devastated by fire75.

The surroundings of the Ugreshsky Monastery, covered with forests, served as a hangout for villagers and Cossacks, who carried out robberies near the monastery. Voivode Pleshcheev caught 20 Cossacks and ordered them to be thrown into the Moscow River; their comrades saved them and brought them to the Moscow camp76.

In 1613, the Ugresh abbot Sergius and his brethren struck the newly elected Tsar, young Mikhail, with their foreheads and placed in front of his royal face the charter given to the monastery for water and fishing in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga back in the reign of John IV Vasilyevich, asking the Tsar to grant him permission to rewrite the old charter in one's own name. Michael's charter, signed by himself, was given on April 15, 1613.

In 1614, May 5th, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich visited the Ugreshsky Monastery for the first time, where he came to consecrate the temple (probably St. Nicholas Cathedral). There he granted favor to the boyars and nobles - he ordered them to stand and look at the tables (which does not happen when the sovereign feeds the brethren); Vasily Petrovich Sheremetev was ordered to look at the large table, and Ivan Nikiforovich Trakhoniotov at the crooked table. And at the same time one of those frequent incidents occurred that were repeated from time to time at the Moscow court. Trachoniotov attacked Sheremetev with his forehead, saying that it was inappropriate for him to be smaller than him. The Emperor ordered him to say “that he strikes with his forehead not by deed, not according to his measure.” Trachoniotov obeyed the will of the sovereign and looked at the crooked table77.

In 1616, the sovereign was at Ugresh on Nikolin's day, May 9, the sovereign had a table at which there were boyars; Vasily Petrovich Morozov, Prince Dimitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky and okolnichy Nikita Vasilyevich Godunov. Again there was a dispute over places; Godunov considered himself offended and hit the sovereign with his forehead, saying that he and Morozov did not belong. In turn, the boyar Morozov and the Saltykov boyars Boris and Mikhail attacked the sovereign with their foreheads against Godunov; They talked; “Nikita Godunov does not beat you, the great sovereign, by deed, he could very well be less than Morozov; The Godunovs can never be equal to the Morozovs, and what he remembers about what happened under Tsar Boris, he cannot refer to; At that time there was the will of the sovereign, Tsar Boris, by his nature, endured it and it was impossible to resist him. You yourself, sovereign, know what it was like then, Godunov Boris destroyed many with his untruth and sent them away. The Godunovs don’t have to compete with us.” Having heard this, the Tsar ordered Godunov to present the boyars and sit down at the table, adding: “And who will you care about, Morozov, or someone else, and beat your forehead about that after.” Godunov, however, did not listen, did not want to appear to the boyars and did not sit down at the table. The Emperor ordered him to be put in prison for disobedience, and for dishonoring Morozov he was taken, then, confessingly, to Morozov’s courtyard78.

In 1620, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich came to pray on Ugresha May 5th. This time the sovereign wished to go on foot, all the boyars accompanying him, the okolnichy, the steward, and so on. They also walked on foot, and the Moscow nobles and residents rode behind the sovereign on horseback. The Ugresh campaign was not without disputes over places. The nobleman Karamyshev hit the sovereign with his forehead against the devious Feodor Vasilyevich Golovin. The Tsar ordered Karamyshev to be refused; besides, he was in prison and was handed over to Golovin79.

In the same year, the king sent airs filled with pearls to Ugresha, as stated in the embroidered inscription on June 2380.

In 1622, the king came to Ugresha on May 881.

In 1623, on May 8, the sovereign ordered a campaign against Ugresha; in the camps, instead of the okolniks, nobles were sent before the tsar; Prince Nikita Gagarin and Artemy Pulaev. At the camp, in the village of Gravoroni on the Golyady River, the sovereign had a table, and there were boyars at the table. On the day of the May 9th holiday, the sovereign had a table in the monastery, and there were boyars at the table; The stewards looked at the tables: in the large one - Morozov, in the crooked one - Golovin; The wine was dressed by the steward, Prince Vasily Petrovich Akhshumakov-Cherkassky82.

In 1625, on May 7, it was announced that the sovereign was going to Nikola on Ugresha for the holiday; Instead of the okolniks, the tsar ordered nobles to be with him on the campaign; Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Rybin of Iran and Semyon Ivanovich Chemodanov. Pronsky hit the sovereign with his forehead that the Pronskys had never been on direct okolnichi campaigns, did not go as intended, and the sovereign put disgrace on him, ordered him to be put in prison, where he sat from May 7 to 20, perhaps he would have served longer, if the patriarch had not begged the sovereign to release him for the feast of St. Alexis. On May 8th the sovereign left Moscow; At the camp (in the village of Gravoroni) on Goledi there was a dining tent pitched, in which the sovereign would have a table, and the boyars would have a table at the table. On the holiday of May 9, after mass, the tsar had a table in the monastery, the boyars were at the table, the stewards, princes Kurakin and Romodanovsky, were looking at the tables; wine dressed up the prince. Khovansky83.

In 1628 and 1629, on May 8–9, the king came to celebrate the holiday on Ugresha, but these two campaigns were not marked by anything special84.

In 1634, instead of the month of May, Tsar Mikhail visited Ugresha in the month of July. On the 14th day of the month of July, according to the Tsar's decree, it was said to be in Moscow without the Tsar, and for the Tsar to go to Nikola on Ugresha. On the 15th day of July, the sovereign sent Prince Mezetsky and Priklonsky instead of the okolniki nobles, and he himself went to pray on the 16th in the morning. This was the last campaign of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich against Ugresha, at least it is no longer mentioned in the ranks.

On the 28th day of September 1645, a week day, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was crowned king; In addition to the patriarch, the wedding was attended by 3 metropolitans, archbishops, archimandrites and abbots, among whom the Ugresh abbot Dionysius is mentioned; after the end of the solemn ceremony, the patriarch was called to the king of bread to eat, and with him all the black authorities of the large places who were in the cathedral, and the authorities sat at the table (in the Chamber of Facets) on the left side of the Annunciation85.

In 1646, the Ugresh abbot Dionysius and the cellarer Efrosin confronted Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich about the monastery's possessions and fishing in the Volga waters in the Kurmysh district, asking that some quitrent articles that the monastery used be attributed to those without dues, and the tsar directed the Ugresh monastery to own those waters without dues. .

In 1647, on May 8, the king came to pray to Nikola on Ugresha, but no other details about this campaign have been preserved86.

In 1648, the sovereign went to Ugresha on May 6th; On May 8, he listened to Vespers in the monastery at the feast; the sovereign was wearing a white zipun without a hem, cast iron made of smooth yellow damask or damask, dark cherry and camelot ferezia with patterned circles lined with pearls; a hat made of double-edged velvet, saffron-colored with sable trim and flaps. During the all-night vigil and the next day at mass, which the sovereign listened to at the holiday, he wore the same clothes, only a different ferezia - warm on sables, covered with smoky-colored damask. The king went to the meal and fed the brethren87.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich often visited Ugresha, from 1645 until his death in 1676, he came to Ugresha thirteen times, counting all the campaigns, the more remarkable ones will be given in detail; The reader will find descriptions in the original in the chapter - Ugresh campaigns.

In 1652, the king came to pray on Ugresha on May 888.

In 1653, at the all-night vigil, the king was at the holiday, on the morning of May 9 he was at mass, he fed the brethren at the meal, but he did not eat, but ate in the village of Ostrov in the front hut89.

In 1657, the sovereign came to Ugresha on May 8, and after that he went to the village of Pokrovskoye90.

In 1661 he came to pray on Ugresha for 2 days in May91.

In 1662, the sovereign went to pray on April 29; and from Ugreshi to the village of Ostrov92.

In 1663, the sovereign listened to the all-night vigil in his palace, in the church of the teacher. tormented Evdokia, but on the morning of May 9th I went to mass, for the holiday at the Ugreshsky Monastery93.

In 1664, the sovereign listened to the all-night vigil for the holiday of May 9 and mass in the Ugreshsky Monastery94.

In 1668, on June 11, the Ugreshsky monastery was visited by the tsar and three patriarchs; Moscow - Joasaph, Antioch - Macarius, and Alexandria - Paisius. This is the most remarkable of all the Ugresh campaigns, and therefore we present it with all the interesting details. The Ecumenical Patriarchs, as is known, summoned for the final trial of Patriarch Nikon, arrived in Moscow in 1666, November 2, and spent about two years together; Paisiy spent more than a year and left on July 4, 1669. Patriarch Macarius visited Russia twice, the first time he came to collect and spent two years in Russia from 1653 to 1655, then Nikon was in full force of his power95.

For greater clarity and completeness of the story, how the tsar saw off Patriarch Macarius upon his departure, let’s say a few words about his leave from Moscow.

On June 5, the sovereign was in the Faceted Chamber and Patriarch Macarius was on vacation; On June 6, accompanied by the Moscow Patriarch and the Patriarch of Alexandria, accompanied by a procession of the cross and the entire consecrated cathedral at the end of the liturgy, Macarius headed from the Assumption Cathedral to the Living Bridge, where his plow, i.e., boat, was waiting for him. A prayer service was served on the bridge, at the end of which the patriarchs said goodbye to each other, His Holiness Macarius blessed all the authorities and boyars, and Patriarch Paisius entered into a plow and undressed. Having dismissed the religious procession, His Holiness Joasaph also undressed on the bridge and went home; Having said goodbye to Macarius, Paisius also went home. The Patriarch of Antioch set sail that same day and spent the night on the Moscow River near the Novo-Spassky Monastery; In the morning he listened to mass in the monastery. The next day, in the evening, the patriarchal ship stopped near the Simonov Monastery. On June 9th, the sovereign sent him on the road to ask about salvation (that is, to find out about his health). On June 10, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the sovereign went from Moscow in a carriage to his palace village of Ostrov; went to Izmailovo and Kolomenskoye. In the village of Kolomenskoye the sovereign ate and after the table went further; he was going to Borisov village and the village of Besedy. In Ostrov, the sovereign listened to Vespers and Matins in his mansions.

On the same day, June 10, the most holy Patriarchs Joasaph and Paisios also left Moscow in a carriage and went to Ugresha, and there they spent the night in cells, and Patriarch Macarius spent the night under the monastery on his plow.

The next morning, June 11th, before the arrival of the sovereign from the Island, a carriage from the monastery was sent for the Patriarch of Antioch; and the Greek deacon Meletius and the patriarchal bailiff, Prince Prozorovsky, followed him; and in the carriage with the patriarch were Metropolitan of Siberia Korniliy and Chudovsky Archimandrite Joachim. As soon as they saw that the sovereign had left the Island; in the monastery they rang the bell and the gospel began, and when the sovereign arrived at the holy gates and got out of the carriage, they began to ring.

The Emperor was met at the holy gates by Abbot Vincent and other concelebrants in vestments, and deacons with censers; They burned incense to the sovereign, the abbot brought him the Life-Giving Cross and sprinkled him with holy water. From the holy gates to St. Nicholas Cathedral, the abbot walked in front of the sovereign with a cross, accompanied by the brethren and deacons. Arriving at the church, the sovereign venerated the local icons and the icon of the Saint; then he received the blessing from the three patriarchs. Then the liturgy began. Two patriarchs served; Joasaph and Macarius, Metropolitan of Sara and Podonsk - Paul; Archimandrites Chudovsky and Simonovsky, abbots Savva-Storozhevsky and Ugreshsky, etc. His Holiness Paisius did not serve96, but stood next to the sovereign. The sovereign was wearing a dress: a cold ferezia of bright scarlet cloth with wide lace, a cold white ferezia, satin with down; a white taffeta zipun with cities at the bottom, a saffron-colored hat made of double-edged velvet with large flaps, the ambassador was Indian with bones.

At the end of the service, the sovereign venerated the local icons a second time and received a blessing from the patriarchs, and called them to his table on the Island, and, accompanied by the abbot and the brethren, headed to the holy gates. Here the abbot and the brethren hit the sovereign with bread and live fish, and he ordered them to be accepted.

After the sovereign’s departure, the patriarchs also went to Ostrov: the Ecumenical Patriarchs both sat together in the sovereign’s carriage, and the Patriarch of Moscow went in his own.

The plows were ordered to move from under the monastery and stop opposite the Island. The Patriarchs were met in Ostrov near the church with a cross and censers; They got out of the carriages and went to the church (in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord) where, after venerating the local icons, they got back into the carriages and went to the sovereign's courtyard. The Emperor went out to meet them, received them on the landing of the lower porch and went with them to the mansions. Entering the room the patriarchs said: “worthy” and they hit the sovereign with a more worthy forehead. Priests and deacons spoke a blessing to the meal. In the room in which the sovereign ate there were three tables; behind the first one sat the sovereign and with him all three patriarchs; at the second table were Metropolitan Pavel, archimandrites and abbots; at the third table sat the boyars and the okolnichy. There were two tables in the front room; At one table the white clergy, the patriarchal sacristans and the elders of the Ecumenical Patriarchs were dining, and at the other table were the Streletsky colonels, heads and stewards. After the thanksgiving meal, the sovereign himself presented the patriarchs with red honey in cups. After that, the patriarchs left in unison, and the sovereign accompanied them to the lower porch. His Holiness Macarius got into the carriage and rode on his plow, Patriarch Joasaph went to the St. Nicholas Monastery for Ugresha, and Cyrus Paisius of Alexandria, to repose his bodily feelings, went to the tents pitched in the sovereign’s courtyard, opposite the royal mansion. After that, Patriarch Paisius went to the mansions of the sovereign, and, having stayed with him, went in a carriage to the plow to His Holiness Macarius; The Patriarch of Moscow also came to him from the monastery; The sovereign also left Ostrov. He was riding in a carriage, on a large place was placed an icon of the Mother of God of the Apparition called Tikhvin, in a gilded silver frame, with a crown and a crown, and along the fields with pearl edging; and the sovereign himself was sitting opposite the icon, in the doorway of the carriage was Archpriest Andrei of the Annunciation. Before reaching the Moscow River in the middle of a meadow, the sovereign got out of the carriage and went on foot to fetch the icon, which was carried by the priests, and the deacons walked with candles and censers. Not reaching the Moscow River, the icon was greeted by the patriarchs, metropolitans and the entire cathedral, without vestments. The patriarchs burned incense on the icon and venerated it; After that, the sovereign took it from the hands of the archpriest and handed it over to His Holiness Macarius, who again venerated the icon, gave it to his elders, and speaking to the sovereign, blessed him. The Emperor went to accompany him to the river; everyone stepped onto the plows and they set off and walked along the Moscow River to Orinensky Priselko and stood there; the patriarchs spoke of ectenya and leave. His Holiness Macarius once again blessed the sovereign, and the sovereign favored the elders and all the people at his hand, got into the carriage and drove back to the Island. The patriarchs also said goodbye to each other; His Holiness Macarius headed along the Moscow River to Kolomna, the Patriarch of Moscow went to the Ugreshsky Monastery, and the Patriarch of Alexandria to the village of Ostrov to the sovereign. The next day, June 12, the tsar returned to Moscow, where the patriarchs also arrived, stopping on the way to the village of Kolomenskoye and hearing mass there97.

In May 9, 1669, the tsar was in the Ugreshsky monastery with Tsarevich Feodor Alekseevich, and both were wearing oposheniya, ferezi, zipuns and pacific caps (i.e., mourning) on ​​the occasion of the repose of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna on the 4th day of March this year98.

In 1671, on the feast of May 9, the sovereign was in the church at vespers and all-night vigils. much Evdokia, and attended mass in the Ugreshsky Monastery99.

In 1672, February 17, on Saturday of Cheese Week, Patriarch Joachim reposed, and his body was shackled, dressed in holy clothes and placed in a coffin with the blessing of the bishops present - Abbot Vikenty of Ugresh, sacristan, etc.100.

In 1675, May 14, the sovereign went on a campaign to Ostrov and to Nikola on Ugresha; He was accompanied by boyars, okolnichy, Duma nobles, Duma clerks, close people, stewards, camp solicitors and tenants, and everyone who was ordered to be on the campaign. The Emperor was riding in a carriage, which was harnessed to 6 bay horses; the boyars sat with him; book Yakov Nikitich Odoevsky and Prince. Mikhail Yurievich Dolgoruky. A spare cart was driving; 20 archers walked behind the bed; They escorted the sovereign out of the earthen city and near the carriage walked the walking heads and half-heads of the Moscow Streltsy, and near the carriage walked the Streltsy heads with boots; behind the king was an ordinary convoy; On the carts rode good housekeepers, charmers and solicitors from all the palaces. In the same campaign, Nikola had on Ugresh and Ostrov, pillar clerks, grooms, regular clerks for the order of the big palace, clerks old and young, clerks for secret affairs, falconers and hunters. This campaign lasted until May 19. at 7 o'clock in the afternoon the sovereign returned to Moscow101.

This was the last campaign to Ugresha, which is mentioned in the palace categories: all known campaigns of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to the Ugresha Monastery 13; The monastery was probably visited by him and in addition, but no descriptions have been preserved. We know from the legends of Archpriest Avvakum, who was kept in the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery from May 14, 1666, for 17 weeks (then approximately until the beginning of the month of September) “that the king came to the monastery, walked around the dungeon - groaned” and so on.102.

No information has been preserved about Tsar Feodor Alekseevich’s campaigns to the Ugreshsky Monastery.

In 1676, June 16, during the crowning of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich, Abbot Gerasim of Ugresh was mentioned103. (Gordeev), he handed the scepter to the patriarch104.

In 1682, June 25, the abbot of Ugreshsky, Joseph (Shokhnev), took part in the crowning of the kings John and Peter Alekseevich; he and Archimandrite Abraham of Androniev served barmas to King John105.

In 1683, on May 2, Tsar Peter Alekseevich returned to Moscow from the Nikolaevsky-Ugreshsky Monastery at 3 o’clock in the morning106.

In 1690, April 27, Tsar Peter, having equipped a flotilla of small rowing ships, among which the famous (Izmailovsky) boat flaunted under sail, set off along the Moscow River to the St. Nicholas Monastery. The archers sailed ahead in boats; behind them came the king on sails, followed by boyars, courtiers, and foreigners in rowing ships. In one day they walked 20 miles and at sunset they moored to the shore near the Ugreshsky Monastery. The Emperor visited the house of boyar Alexei Petrovich Saltykov and returned to Moscow on May 2. More details about this campaign are not known107.

In 1691, on March 14, a new yacht was launched, which could accommodate up to 30 people, and the Tsar rode in it along the Moscow River to Ugreshi in stormy weather108.

In 1697, on June 25, a nearby boyar, the governor of Vyatka, Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, spent the night under the monastery on his ship, and with all his retinue rode down the Moscow River, setting off to travel to foreign lands109.

In 1698, during the search after the 2nd Streltsy revolt, the Streltsy were sent to monastery prisons, such as Simonov, Novo-Spasky, etc., and suspects were also kept in the Ugreshsky Monastery110.

Children's ministries of the monastery

The monastery devotes a lot of time and services to children, as the future of our country. Here are some of them:

• Military-patriotic club "Dozor"

Only boys from 10 to 17 years old are accepted for training. The club conducts training for future soldiers - here they teach useful and necessary disciplines for a soldier, teach them rigor and teach the Orthodox understanding of the need to protect family, country and faith. Boys receive combat, tactical, fire and engineering training, study medicine, rock climbing and topography. It even has its own website.

Recommendation: the club is taught by real military intelligence officers of the Russian Internal Troops - this allows students to learn from the unique experience of soldiers.

• Musical and choral studio

She appeared in 2010. The goal of the studio is to unite all participants through a common cause and to join Orthodoxy. Popular folk songs are performed, as well as works by Russian and foreign authors, classical and modern.

See also: Ioannovsky Monastery: St. Petersburg Orthodox Convent

The training lasts 4 years and includes the study of individual and choral performance skills: choir, solfeggio, vocals and church singing. Children also attend guitar and piano, rhythm, basics of Orthodoxy, and musical literature.

Tip: You can also enroll your child in individual lessons.

The studio also has its own website;

• Creative studio "Sfera"

The studio appeared in the monastery several years ago. The main task of its teachers is to help the child discover talents and self-expression. Among the available classes are fine art, working with ceramics and creating animation. Since 2014, a “branch” called “Children of the Sun” has appeared on the basis of Sphere. This is a program for children with severe congenital disabilities who engage in the arts.

This is interesting : students regularly take part in charity events.

Information for pilgrims and tourists

What you need to know before your trip:

• How to get there

You can get to the place on your own by bus. The stop is called “St. Nicholas Square” or simply “Monastery”. Need to take the bus:

1. No. 470 from the Kuzminki metro station;
2. No. 305 from the Lyublino metro station;
3. No. 20 or No. 21 from Lyubertsy station. You can get to it by train from Kazansky railway station.

It is important to know: you can also get to Dzerzhinsk from Lytkarino, Kotelnikov.

• Where to stay

Here are several options:

• For pilgrims, not far from the monastery (literally across the road) there is a monastery hotel. It is run by a local pilgrimage center;
• Also in the city there is a hotel of the “Federal Center for Dual Technologies of the Union” or “FCDT”.

Address: Lermontov street, building 18. Telephone, 24-33;

• Another place to stop could be the Soyuz health boarding house.

Address: Lesnaya street, building 25. Telephone.

Dynasty of Romanovs and Ugresha

Under the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail, who was elected to the throne in 1613, the monastery experienced its heyday. During his entire reign, the sovereign visited the monastery 9 times, mainly on the day of memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The monastery, having become the spiritual refuge of the tsar, received various privileges from him: exemption of trade from customs duties, the right to own fishing in Nizhny Novgorod. During his reign, Mikhail presented the monastery with many gifts and contributed in every possible way to its prosperity. His son, Alexei the Quiet, also continued his father’s tradition, going on hikes to Ugresha in the spring and taking care of the monastery in every possible way.

Schedule of services and patronal holidays

The schedule for the most part does not differ from the usual one. On weekdays and Saturday:

1. 6:45 – Early liturgy;
2. 9:00 – Late liturgy;
3. 17:00 – Polyeleos or Evening service, on Saturdays – All-night vigil.

On Sunday:

1. At 6:30, 8:00 and 9:30 – Divine Liturgies;
2. At 17:00 – Evening worship.

You can view the exact schedule by following the link.

The monastery celebrates many patronal feasts - patron saints, icons and dates important in Orthodoxy. You can see the entire list by following the link.

Journey of the Holy Image

From the very first days of its foundation, the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery enjoyed special rights. For example, Ivan the Terrible completely exempted him from all kinds of duties on necessary goods throughout Rus'.

That is why the monastery servants often turned to the generous king for help. One day they asked Ivan the Terrible to restore the same holy image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was given to Dmitry Donskoy before the battle. By order of the tsar, the icon was sent to Moscow. The image passed through Vyatka, Kama and Moscow. The restoration was carried out by Saint Macarius himself. Upon completion of the work, the icon was sent back to the monastery, and its exact copy was kept in the capital.

Pilgrimage center

He works with pilgrims: making orders for excursions or meals, booking rooms in a local hotel.

Address: St. Nicholas Square, building 5.

Phone, +7-916-884-38-65.

Email

You can also place an order through the form on the website.

Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery is one of the oldest operating monasteries in Russia. Despite the difficult fate, it has preserved churches and church relics that are important for history and Orthodoxy.

For interesting information about the Nokolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, watch the following video:

Literature

• Demetrius, monk, Historical sketch of the Nikolaev Ugreshsky male monastery
  , M., 1872.
• Palamarchuk, P. G., author, Forty forties: A brief illustrated history of all Moscow churches...
  , M., 1992.
• Sudarikov, V. A., Chapnin, S. V., Orthodox Moscow: Directory of operating monasteries and temples
  , M., Publishing House of the Brotherhood of St. Tikhon, 1993.
• Sudarikov, V. A., Chapnin, S. V., Orthodox Moscow: Directory of existing monasteries and temples
  , 2nd ed., M., 1995.
• Kondratyev, I.K., The Gray Old Man of Moscow
  , Moscow, 1996.
• Seraphim, Hierom., “Nikolo-Ugreshskaya Monastery,” Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate
  , 1997, No. 1, 42-44.
• Chapnin, S.V., Orthodox Moscow: Directory of operating monasteries and temples
  , M., Publishing House of the Brotherhood of St. Tikhon, 1999.
• Nikolaeva, T. E., Sudarikov, V. A., Chapnin, S. V., Orthodox Moscow: Directory of monasteries and temples
  , M., Publishing House of the Brotherhood of St. Tikhon, 2001.