Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery, or Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery, or Holy Trinity-Saint Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery (russian: Свято-Троицкий Серафимо-Дивеевский Монастырь) is a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s (

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 ...

) in Diveyevo settlement near

Sarov Sarov (russian: Саро́в) is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It was known as Gorkiy-130 (Горький-130) and Arzamas-16 (), after a (somewhat) nearby town of Arzamas,SarovLabsCreation of Nuclear Center Arzamas-16/ref ...

(12 km), and near the city of

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

(185 km), in the

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

.Guide to Diveyevo
It is situated in a region considered to have immense spiritual significance. Within its immediate vicinity are situated two other

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

s: those of

and Sanaxar. The convent is famous because

Saint Seraphim of Sarov Seraphim of Sarov (russian: Серафим Саровский; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) �ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerate ...

served as Staretz (Elder) for the nuns of this monastery, though he only travelled to the convent once during his lifetime. He was a monk at the nearby monastery of Sarov. After the fall of communism, his relics, which had been feared lost, were discovered in the storeroom of a "museum of atheism" in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and solemnly transferred to the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, which has come to be named after him. The monastery is also famous for possessing the only portrait of Saint Seraphim that was painted of him by a contemporary, th
"Diveyevo Portrait"
During the years of Communist persecution, the portrait was smuggled out of Russia and is kept to this day in th
Novo-Diveyevo Convent
in Nanuet, New York. The convent is a subject of the writings of Serge Nilus in his semi-autobiographical work ''Velikoe v malom i antikhrist'', a work which has the dubious distinction of having been published, in book form, for the first time as the ''

Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

'' (which is only its last chapter, ''Chapter XII''). Diveyevo Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery The Transfiguration Cathedral IMG 9567 1725

The monastery started with the Church of

Our Lady of Kazan ''Our Lady of Kazan'', also called ''Mother-of-God of Kazan'' (russian: Казанская Богоматерь, translit=Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Ma ...

(''Kazanskaya''), built in 1773–1780. Saint Seraphim blessed the construction of two churches adjoined to Kazanskaya: The Church of the Nativity of Christ (1829) and the Church of the Nativity of Theotokos (1830). The large Trinity Cathedral with its bell tower was constructed in 1865–1875. The Office of the

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 (

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

) with it

Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

House Church A house church or home church is a label used to describe a group of Christians who regularly gather for worship in private homes. The group may be part of a larger Christian body, such as a parish, but some have been independent groups that see ...

and the Alexander Nevsky Trapeza Church were built in the end of the 19th century. Finally. The Transfiguration

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

was built in 1907–1916. In 2003-2004 there were significant restoration works in the Monastery celebrating 250 year anniversary of

Saint Seraphim Seraphim of Sarov (russian: Серафим Саровский; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) �ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is vener ...

References

* Velikoe v malom :by Serge Nilus :(

Tsarskoe Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...

: Tip. TSarskoselskago Komiteta Krasnago Kresta, 1905) *Cyrilic: ''Летопись Серафимо-Дивеевского монастыря Нижегородской губернии Ардатовского уезда с жизнеописанием основателей ее: преподобного Серафима и схимонахини Александры, урожденной А.С. Мельгуновой'' : :Translieration: ''Letopis' Serafimo-Diveevskogo monastyria Nizhegorodskoi gubernii Ardatovskogo uezda s zhizneopisaniem osnovatelei ee: prepodobnogo Serafima i skhimonakhini Aleksandry, urozhdennoi A.S. Mel'gunovoi'' : :Translation: ''The Annals of the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery, Nizhny Novgorod Province, Ardatov District, Including Life Description of Its Founders: The Reverend Serafim and the Monk Alexandra, Born: A. S. Melgunova'' : :(Moscow: Свято-Троицкий Серафимо-Дивеевский монастырь; Ковчег, 2007) :Subject: Biography. Memoirs. Christianity. Religion (general). :
Online version

External links

Website of the monastery

Diveevo convent portal
* Nizhny Novgorod Region''

*RANSAC Nuclear News, June 25, 2003''

{{Coord, 55, 2, 24, N, 43, 14, 41, E, display=title, type:landmark Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia Buildings and structures in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast

See also

References

External links