Vysotsky Monastery () is a walled

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

monastery commanding the high left bank of the Nara River in

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲerpʊxəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka River, Oka and the Nara (Oka), Nara Rivers, 99 kilometers (62 miles) south fro ...

, about 2 km from its confluence with the Oka. Its name stems from the Russian word for "heights". The monastery was founded in the 1370s by

Vladimir the Bold Vladimir Andreyevich the Bold (; July 15, 1353 – 1410) was the most famous prince of Serpukhov. His moniker alludes to his many military exploits in the wars waged by his cousin, Dmitri Donskoi of Moscow. He was son of Andrei Ivanovich (1327– ...

and long served as a border fortress defending the southern approaches to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

from the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

. The first

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

, Afanasy the Elder, was a disciple of St.

Sergius of Radonezh Sergius of Radonezh (; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392) was a Russian spiritual leader and monastic reformer. He was the founder of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius near Moscow, what is now the most venerated monastic house in Russia. He exer ...

, whose successor, St. Nikon of Radonezh, is believed to have been tonsured a monk in this monastery. After the Russo–Crimean War (1571), which saw the monastery reduced to ashes, it was restored on a grander scale. The five-domed Cathedral of the Conception dates from that building campaign, financed by

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

. The cathedral was almost certainly preceded by a medieval limestone church of which little is known. In the mid-17th century the monastery was fortified with stone walls and four corner towers. It rivalled the Vladychny Monastery as the most important shrine of Serpukhov and welcomed rich patrons wishing to be buried within the monastery walls. Among those buried there are

Gavrila Golovkin Count Gavrila "Gavriil" Ivanovich Golovkin (; 1660 – 20 January 1734) was a Russian statesman who formally presided over foreign affairs of the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 1706 until his death. The real control over Rus ...

, the Chancellor of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, and Fyodor Soimonov, the Governor of

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. The Neoclassical belfry was completed in the 1840s. The monastery celebrated its 500th anniversary with the construction of the All Saints church, designed by

Roman Klein Roman Ivanovich Klein, born Robert Julius Klein (; 31 March 1858 – 3 May 1924) was a Russian architect and educator, best known for his Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Klein, an eclectics, eclectic, was one of the most pro ...

in a fashionable Neo-Byzantine style. The church was destroyed after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, when the monastery was given over to the

Latvian Riflemen The Latvian Riflemen (; ) were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic governorates against the German Empire in World War I. Initially, the battalions were forme ...

to be used as

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. By the end of the Soviet period the monastery had lost most of its walls and was very dilapidated. Restoration work on one of the greatest monasteries of the Moscow region started immediately after its return to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

in 1991. Repairs were made in the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, dating from the 17th century and containing an

icon screen In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The ico ...

and

royal doors The royal doors, holy doors, or beautiful gates are the central doors of the iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The sanctuary (sometimes called the ''Altar'', which contains the Holy Table) is separated from the nav ...

from the 16th century. Reconstruction of the missing sections of the wall is in prospect. The modern monastery derives its prosperity from the venerated copy of the icon of the Inexhaustible Chalice, which attracts hundreds of pilgrims from all over Russia and abroad. The icon was brought to the monastery from the Vladychny Convent (also in Serpukhov) and is said to be particularly effective in the treatment of

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

.''Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in honour of the icon of the Inexhaustible Cup, translated by Sister Dorofea (Mirochnitchenko) and Katherine Szalasznyj, The History of the Icon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Orthodox Research Institute.''

References

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External links

Official monastery website

Aerial view of monastery
Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia 1373 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Russia Buildings and structures in Moscow Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow Oblast