The ancient monastery is located in the historical center of Moscow. However, the bustle of the metropolis does not penetrate the walls of the monastery, here there is peace and quiet inherent in the old green garden and flowering alleys, as well as ancient burials. The Donskoy Monastery is a place of attraction for tourists from all over the world, because the most famous Russians in the history of the country have laid repose here.
Khan of Kazi Giray
It was this Tatar-Mongol khan that provoked the foundation of an ancient monastery. So, in 1591, the troops of Kazy Giray stood near Moscow. The troops were ready to defend themselves, but the locals feared big losses. In order to defend himself and receive a blessing, Tsar of Russia Fyodor Ivanovich ordered the clergy to go around with the icon of the Mother of God of the Don throughout the defense line. Which they did.
According to the legends, it was this icon that preserved the life and fighting spirit of Dmitry Donskoy when he participated in the historic Kulikovo battle with the troops.
After the consecration of the defense border with the icon at dawn, the Moscow troops could not believe their eyes - the horde hid from the walls of the capital of Russia and refused the battle. The decisive battle never happened. People believed in the miraculous protection of the icon and the Almighty.
Two years later, in honor of the Don Mother of God and a joyful event, a stone temple was erected on the site of the future monastery. Today it is called the Small Cathedral of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. This marked the beginning of the construction of a vast monastery in the center of Moscow.
By the way, the site where the construction began was the very “walk-field” on which the mobile army of the Russian troops was located, ready for the horde.
The history of the monastery
The erected stone cathedral was called the “refectory”. And only later, when the Great Monastery Cathedral was built, the refectory was renamed Small. Presumably, the tsar could entrust the famous and revered architect Fedor Kon to design the first monastery cathedral.
The Don cloister became for Moscow a defensive structure from the south; it also closed the central Kaluga road. In conjunction with other monasteries, the Don cloister was included in the fortification ring, created to strengthen the defense of the city.
However, this did not save the monastery from ruin in the Time of Troubles of history. The Poles sacked the monastery, then the hetman Khodkevich commanded the invasion. It took years to restore the ruined buildings, for this for a while the monastery was transferred to the submission to Andronikov monastery in Moscow.
A lot of efforts to revive the lost monastery were made by the Russian tsars Mikhail Fedorovich, and then his son Alexei Mikhailovich. During their patronage, the monastery as a “praying place” became interesting to pilgrims making religious processions, and also became popular among nobles and Russian sovereigns.
18-19 centuries
In 1705, Emperor Peter I transferred the leadership of the monastery to archimandrite Lavrenti. Since it was of Georgian origin (by the name of Gabashvishi), the Donskoy Monastery turned into a cultural center of different nations and a link between Georgia and Russia. Moreover, the descendants of princes and royal especially Georgian bloods were buried in the cemetery at the monastery.
In the 70s. During the 18th century, during a large-scale epidemic of plague in the capital, the authorities decided not to do more burial in the city to avoid such outbreaks in the future. And since the monastery was not a feature of the city, its necropolis began to expand greatly.
As a result of Napoleon's attacks, the Don cloister fell into decay. Nevertheless, strong fires did not destroy a single monastery building, so they were quickly restored after the war.
The monastery eventually engaged in educational work. So, in 1834 a religious school began to work here, after training in which it was possible to enter a theological seminary. Even then, children from families whose parents were not able to pay for tuition attended the school for free.
20th century
The Don cloister was inscribed in history by the fact that Patriarch Tikhon rested in it for a long time, and then rested. He sharply publicly spoke out during the 1917 revolution, calling everything that was happening an atrocity. For which he was persecuted for a long time, and then isolated from the flock. So the patriarch settled in the monastery.
In 1925, the disgraced churchman was buried in the Small Monastery Church. A few months later the monastery was closed. The authorities turned it into an anti-religious museum. Later, the monastery buildings were used as a boarding school, and then as a factory, and even as a dairy farm.
In 1935, a museum of architecture was opened in the monastery. Pieces of walls of destroyed ancient buildings were brought here from all over the city. Here were the high reliefs of the demolished Cathedral of the Savior, as well as ancient art gravestones, artistic platbands that previously adorned the Sukharev Tower.
Many years later (after the end of World War II), the Small Cathedral was returned, while the monastery was not subject to restoration.
And only in 1982 they again started talking about the revival of the monastery as a full-fledged religious building. After 8 years, the buildings that were previously the monastery were transferred to the ownership of the church. This was the beginning of global restoration work.
Miracle in the cloister
One of the last miracles in the history of the monastery is an unexpected and very important find for the Christian relics of the holy relics of the Patriarch of All Russia Tikhon himself. The fact is that at his funeral, which took place on March 25, 1925, only selected bishops were allowed into the grave. Then the monastery was closed by the Soviet government, which also started a rumor that it handed over the body of the saint for burning in a crematorium. According to other rumors, the relics of the patriarch were sent for burial at the German cemetery.
The monastery’s work in the usual way was resumed only in 1991. During the restoration, the relics possibly preserved in the monastery walls were also searched. Only on February 19, 1992, archaeologists discovered a hidden and sealed crypt of the patriarch himself. It became obvious the reason that only a few men were allowed into the cathedral during the funeral procedure - it was important to preserve the secret of the burial and hide the grave of the holiest from possible ruin.
Today, cancer with the relics of the patriarch of All Russia is installed in the Great Monastery Cathedral. Every day, many pilgrims come to worship her.
Necropolis
The necropolis at the monastery was formed at the end of the 17th century.
The last resting place at the monastery cemetery, under which a large territory of the monastery is reserved, was found by most of the famous Russian nobles - the Trubetskoys, the Golitsins, the Dolgorukovs, and the Vyazemskys were buried here. In the necropolis you can find the names of famous domestic historians and writers: Klyuchevsky, Solzhenitsyn, Ivan Shmelev. Here lie the philosophers Ilyin, Chaadaev and Odoevsky.
Here you can see the graves of the closest relatives of the poet Alexander Pushkin.
Tourists with pleasure listen to the life stories of prominent personalities at the graves of the Russian mechanic N.E. Zhukovsky, the cruel landowner Saltychikha, Russian white generals V.O. Kappel and A.I. Denikin.
Believers come to the Don cloister to bow to the grave of Jacob Polozov, who served as a cell attendant at the Moscow Patriarch Tikhon.
