Bogoyavlensky Monastery, Moscow
Bogoyavlensky Monastery (Russian: Богоявленский монастырь) is one of the oldest monasteries in Moscow. Legend says it was founded by Daniil Aleksandrovich around 1296. It is also believed that the future Metropolitan Alexius was a monk here.
The first stone church at the Bogoyavlensky monastery was founded in 1342. Stefan, Sergii Radonezhski's older brother, was the first hegumen of the monastery.
In 1382, the monastery was ransacked by the Tokhtamysh army, and in 1427, it suffered an outbreak of pestilence. The monastery survived numerous fires (1547, 1551, 1687, 1737 and many others).
The Bogoyavlensky monastery has always been under the patronage of grand princes and tsars. By the order of Ivan the Terrible, the monastery became a collection facility for metayage, quitrent, and fodder. In 1584, the tsar donated a substantial amount of money for the remembrance of the disgraced. In 1632, the Bogoyavlensky monastery was granted an exclusive right for tax-free floating of a certain amount of building materials and firewood.
The monastery had its own stables and forge and rented out its own facilities. Vasili III, Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, the Romodanovsky boyars, Xenia Repnina, L.G.Sheremetev, G.I.Kolychev and others donated some of their sizeable estates to the monastery.
In 1680-1687, the Bogoyavlensky monastery was home to the school of the Likhud brothers, which would later be transferred to the Zaikonospassky monastery and transformed into the famous Slavic Greek Latin Academy. In 1624-1696, they built the now-existing Bogoyavlensky cathedral. In 1690s, they also built cells for monks and abbot's chamber, which would be re-built in the 1880s. In 1739, they erected a belltower.
By 1744, the monastery had already owned 216 peasant homesteads and 1014 peasants. In 1764, monastic real estate was confiscated. Monastery's staff included only 17 monks. In 1788-1799, the Bogoyavlensky monastery was the residence of the vicarian bishop of the Moscow eparchy.
In the late 18th century, the buildings enclosing the monastery were rented out to the haberdashers. In 1905-1909, they built the so-called dokhodniy dom, or a building with "office space" for rent. By 1907, The Bogoyavlensky monastery had already had 14 monks and 18 novitiates and owned 60 desyatinas of land. It was also receiving an allowance of 1245 roubles from the state treasury.
After the October Revolution, the Bogoyavlensky monastery was closed down. In 1929, they stopped conducting divine service in the Bogoyavlensky cathedral. The monastic facilities were first transformed into a campus for students of the Mining Academy and workers, engaged in the subway construction, and later - into metalworks.
In 1950s, an administrative building was constructed on the site of the monastery. The cathedral, bell tower, monk cells and abbot's chamber were the only buildings to survive.
Finally, in the 1980s, Bogoyavlensky Monastery was restored. In 1991, it was officially returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Article Sources
- Bogoyavlensky Monastery - Wikipedia (some text incorporated under GFDL)
Travel Resources
- Moscow Interactive Map - Sacred Destinations
- Moscow Travel Forum - TripAdvisor
- Moscow Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor
- Moscow Car Rentals - AutoEurope
