Conception Convent
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The Conception Convent or Zachatyevsky Monastery (russian: Зачатьевский монастырь) is a
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
stauropegic A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from el, σταυροπήγιον from σταυρός ''stauros'' "cross" and πήγνυμι ''pegnumi'' "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the primate or on the Holy Syn ...
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
on the northern bank of the Moskva River in
Khamovniki District Khamovniki District (russian: Хамо́вники) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: The district extends from Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge into the Luzhniki bend of Moskva River; nor ...
of
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. The convent was closed by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
in 1918 and did not reopen until 1995.


History

Later sources claim that the convent occupies the site of the original Alekseyevsky (Alexis) Convent, the oldest nunnery in Moscow. It is believed to have been founded by
Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Alexius (''Алекси́й'' or ''Aleksij'' in Russian) (before 1296–1378) was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia (from 1354), and presided over the Moscow government during Dmitrii Donskoi's minority. Biography Alexius, whose na ...
in 1360 and was consecrated to the Feast of the Conception of Saint Anne. Notable nuns included Alexis's own sisters Eupraxia and Juliana, both
canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. After the great fire of 1547, the convent was relocated eastward to the present-day site of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In 1584, a new convent was established on the old site by
Feodor I of Russia Fyodor I Ivanovich (russian: Фёдор I Иванович) or Feodor I Ioannovich (russian: Феодор I Иоаннович; 31 May 1557 – 17 January (NS) 1598), also known as Feodor the Bellringer (russian: Феодор Звонарь), ...
and his wife,
Irina Godunova Irina Feodorovna Godunova, later Alexandra (1557–1603) was a Tsaritsa of Russia by marriage to Tsar Feodor I Ivanovich (r. 1584–1598) and the sister of Tsar Boris Godunov (r. 1598–1605). For nine days after the death of her spouse in 1598, ...
. The couple, being childless, asked the nuns of the Conception Convent to pray for the conception of their own child. (Another version asserts that the new convent was restored on the old site by the surviving nuns of the Alexeyevsky Convent immediately after the 1547 fire.) It was looted and sustained much damage during the
Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...
. The extant church over the main gate was built in 1696 with funds provided by the Rimsky-Korsakov noble family. This
Naryshkin Baroque Naryshkin Baroque, also referred to as Moscow Baroque or Muscovite Baroque, is a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration that was fashionable in Moscow from the late 17th century into the early 18th century. In the late 17th century ...
church and walls are the only remains of the convent as it existed before the
Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
. The katholikon was built in 1804-1807 in the Russian Gothic style to Rodion Kazakov's designs. It was pulled down in the 1920s. In the Soviet period, the convent buildings were used as a prison for juvenile delinquents. A school building was constructed on the site of the katholikon. A venerated icon of the Theotokos the Merciful was transferred to the nearby parish Church of St. Elijah.


Reconstruction

Efforts to revive the convent began in 1991. It was officially reestablished in May 1995. By 2005, the church of St. Anne (third from right on the 1882 photograph) was completed. The
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
declared the Gothic-influenced style of the old katholikon improper for a Russian Orthodox temple and demanded it to be rebuilt in a more traditional Byzantine style. In October 2006, Yuri Luzhkov approved a
Russian Revival The Russian Revival style (historiographical names are: ''Russian style'', russian: русский стиль, ''Pseudo-Russian style'', russian: псевдорусский стиль, ''Neo-Russian style'', russian: нео-русский стил ...
design by Alexander Obolensky on condition that the building's height would be decreased. As of June, 2009, the new five-domed katholikon, made of in situ concrete, was structurally complete. On November 25, 2010 the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady was consecrated. Construction works were financed by billionaire
Dmitry Rybolovlev Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev (russian: Дмитрий Евгеньевич Рыболовлев; ; born 22 November 1966) is a Russian oligarch, billionaire businessman, and investor. Rybolovlev became chairman of the Russian fertilizer prod ...
, who was awarded the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov by Patriarch Kirill for funding this project.


Public transportation access

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first ...
:
Kropotkinskaya Kropotkinskaya ( rus, Кропо́ткинская, p=krɐˈpotkʲɪnskəjə) is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. One of the oldest Metro stations, it was designed by Alexey Dushkin and Ya. Likhtenberg and opened in 193 ...
, Park Kultury-Radialnaya Convent territory is open for general public in daytime, until the end of 5pm Vespers, with certain limitations; photography inside the walls requires prior consent of
hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...
ia Iuliania.


Footnotes


External links

*Russian
Map, schedule of services
*Draft of new Nativity Cathedral, October 200

{{Monasteries of Moscow Monasteries in Moscow Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia 1927 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Convents in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow