Mother of God Shcheglovsky Monastery. Nativity of the Theotokos Sanaksar Monastery Theotokos Panteleimonov Shcheglovsky Monastery

Previously, a monastery already existed in Tula. On the terrible day of June 22, 1552, the Tula residents drove away the 30 thousand army of Khan Devlet-Girey. In gratitude for the salvation of Tula, on the bones of the slain soldiers, in the place where especially many of the city’s defenders were killed, a monastery is erected in honor of the Baptist John, who suffered for the truth. It was the first monastery in Tula, founded in 1553 at the southeastern wall of the Tula Kremlin. This year marked the beginning of organized male monastic life in Tula.

It is possible to establish a successive connection between the monastic monasteries in Tula. In 1799, by decision of the Holy Synod, an independent Tula diocese was opened. It was from this year that the formation of an organized “monastic life” in the Land of Tula began to clearly emerge. In 1801, the St. John the Baptist Monastery was abolished, and the hierarchical staff of the open Tula diocese was located in it. However, “the citizens of populous Tula, mourning the abolition of the Forerunner Monastery, sincerely wished to restore the former or found a new monastic community.” This petition of the residents of Tula predetermined the creation of a new monastery, and it turned out to be the “Mother of God Monastery in Shcheglov.”

First, in 1810, for the newly appointed Tula ruler, a spacious country house-dacha was built among the beautiful nature of the former Shcheglovskaya zaseka. Due to the fact that the staff of the bishop's house included several monastics, a house church was consecrated at the dacha and a monastic way of life was established.

In the middle of the 19th century, on the initiative and at the expense of the Moscow merchant Vasily Ivanovich Makarukhin (the founder of the monastery), a complex of buildings of the future independent monastery began to be erected next to the bishop’s house. In May 1860, the foundation stone of the central cathedral took place, which four years later (September 8, 1864 .) was consecrated in honor of the icon Holy Mother of God-Mammals.

At the same time as the temple, a bell tower, two housing buildings, and a stone fence with a length of about 550 m were built. corner towers and outbuildings. The entire complex of buildings was built within 6 years. The bishop's dacha was also renovated; now it was the rector's chambers with a house church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Previously, in the cathedral church there was a marvelous image of the Mother of God “Mammal” in a silver robe with turquoise and red decorations. His fate is unknown.

The well near the Nikandrovsky Church was dug by the monks themselves. Schemamonk Barsanuphius pointed out the place. On the well there was a slab with the inscription: “Draw with joy from the source of salvation.”

The founder of the monastery, the Monk Barsanuphius, in the world Vasily Ivanovich Makarukhin, originally from the Mother See, being at that time forty-three years old, venerated the holy image of the “Mammal” in Moscow, where the copy from the icon brought from Athos remained for two months.

There is every reason to believe that during a solitary prayer in front of this image of the Most Holy Theotokos, he received strengthening in his faith and decided to use all his large fortune for one great charitable cause - to build a monastery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Mammal".

In the organization of spiritual life, the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God in the 19th century was helped by the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos and the Glinsk Hermitage. Shrines were sent from Athos, certified by a proper deed of gift from the Athos Protat - parts of the Life-giving tree of the Holy Cross, a stone from the Holy Sepulcher, particles of St. the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon the Healer (that’s why the Shcheglovskaya monastery was also called Panteleimon’s) and the venerable martyrs Ignatius, Akakiy and Euthymius.

And the Glinsk hermitage sent monks and hieromonks, disciples of the Glinsk elders, some of whom were abbots and confessors of the monastery. The presence of the hieromonks of the Glinsk Hermitage in the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God was favorable for the formation of spiritual life in it. The hieromonks of the Glinsk monastery brought the spirit of eldership to the Tula land, they spiritually cared for the suffering, and the Mother of God Shcheglovsky Monastery was rightfully considered the spiritual center of the Tula diocese

Elder Dometian, in the schema Seraphim of Shcheglovsky, was especially famous for his righteous life and power of prayer. People came to the monastery in hundreds, waiting for words of consolation from him, sitting under the trees that grew in abundance within the monastery’s fence. And he used to walk for several hours after the service from the church to his cell, stopping near each group of people waiting for him, listening to the need and request for prayer for them, talking with the suffering.

Elder Dometian was buried in the schema of Seraphim Shcheglovsky" under the porch of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Mammal", according to his will, so that people, in his own words, after death would trample him underfoot - "for his sins."

In 1921, the Shcheglovsky Monastery, like all other monasteries in Tula and the Tula province, was closed. In the spring of 1922, the monks were dispersed, church utensils were taken away, and the lands were nationalized. Indoors former monastery They forbade the sick and aged monks who remained there to live, who often had neither relatives nor any housing. For almost eighty years, on the site of the Mother of God Panteleimon Shcheglovsky Monastery of Tula, the “abomination of desolation” reigned. What people did not destroy, time destroyed.

In 1990, a hundred years after the death of Schemamonk Barsanuphius, the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God was reopened.

During the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' in 1988, Schemamonk Barsanuphius was canonized at the Cathedral of Tula Saints.

In the fall of 2001, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on October 6, 2001, the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God was transformed into a monastery.

Since February 2002, Archimandrite Claudian (Larkov) has been approved by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod as abbot of the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God in Tula.

The churches of the Shcheglovskaya Monastery of the Mother of God have been preserved and restored. On the site of the holy well, a water-blessed chapel was erected in honor of Archangel Michael and the ethereal Heavenly Powers.

The shrines have been preserved - two ancient icons of the Most Holy Theotokos-Mammal: a copy of the miraculous one that is kept in the Kareya cell, and a copy of the holy image ordered by Vasily Makarukhin for the monastery he was building. Through prayers in front of these holy images, healings are performed in ours; in the Shcheglovsky Monastery of the Mother of God, a chronicle of these miracles is kept.

The monastery does not refuse its parishioners to organize pilgrimages to the holy places of neighboring regions and throughout Russia - and this continues the tradition of the life of Saint Barsanuphius, a pilgrim by vocation.

In 2010, it was 150 years since the founding and laying of the central temple in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos-Mammal, the only one in Russia consecrated in honor of this image, and in 2008 it was 140 years since the establishment of the Mother of God Monastery, named after the central temple.

The Shcheglovsky Monastery was founded in 1859 by the famous Moscow merchant and industrialist V.I. Makarukhin on the land of the bishop's summer dacha near the Shcheglovskaya outpost, 7 versts from Tula. Hieromonk Nikandr (Kondratov; + 05/18/1866) was appointed as the builder. Gavriil Vasilyevich Bocharnikov (30.03.1804 -04.02.1880) is appointed as the construction work contractor. He held this position from 1859 to 1866. The design of the buildings and territory was carried out by his son, Alexander Gavriilovich Bocharnikov (1833 - 03/13/1886). He was a certified architect of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The entire monastery complex was built within 6 years.
On May 20, 1860, the first stone of the Cathedral Church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Mammal” was laid, as well as other buildings: the bell tower above the entrance gate, fraternal buildings, walls with corner towers, abbot’s chambers with the house church in honor of the Assumption Mother of God. On June 9, 1863, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the new church. In the same year, the construction of the monastery was interrupted due to the threat of collapse of the central dome of the Mammal Temple. But according to petitions influential people, among whom was the manager of the Tula Treasury Chamber N.I. Zhdanovsky, construction continued.
On September 8, 1864, the main monastery church was solemnly consecrated. The upper temple (cold) had 3 chapels: the central one - the Mother of God "Mammal".
By 1864, all buildings of the Shcheglovsky Monastery were completed. In total, V.I. donated money for the construction of the monastery. Makarukhin 500 thousand rubles in silver plus 30 thousand in silver for maintenance.
In May 1865, merchant M.M. Strukov donated 42 acres of arable land in the village. Deaf Glades in favor of the monastery.
On May 14, 1865, the Tula City Society decided to petition the Diocese and the Holy Synod for the establishment of the Mother of God Monastery in Shcheglov. The main initiator was the mayor N.N. Dobrynin and 100 more people with him. On June 16, 1865, the decision was sent to His Grace Bishop Nikandr, but the bishop postponed the petition due to financial disagreements for a year.
By 1867, all disagreements had been settled and it was decided to time the approval of the monastery to coincide with the miraculous deliverance of the Emperor from the threat of assassination attempt on April 4, 1866. By the highest permission and determination of the Holy Synod on September 30, 1868, the monastery was established. G.V. Bocharnikov became a monk with the name Herman in 1866 and brings shrines from Athos: part of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, part of the Stone of the Holy Sepulcher, particles of the relics of the great martyr. Panteleimon and Rev. mchch. Euthymia, Ignatius and Akaki. In the Cathedral Church there was a marvelous image of the Mother of God “Mammal” in a silver robe with turquoise and red decorations. His fate is unknown.
In 1880 V.I. Makarukhin moved to the monastery, and from the same year the early Divine Liturgies began, for which 10 thousand silver rubles were allocated.
Since 1882, construction of the hotel began in two stages: 1882-1884, and expansion to 23 rooms in 1891-1892. In 1884, a bakery and refectory were built.
In 1886, the architect of the monastery A.G. died. Bocharnikov, buried near the grave of his father in the Church of the Mother of God "Mammal". On May 24, 1886, the stone of the temple was laid in honor of St. Nikandra the Desert Dweller of Pskov with chapels in honor of Equal Apostles. book Vladimir and the Great Martyr. Panteleimon (1891-1892), consecrated on September 24, 1889 by Archbishop Nikander of Tula and Belevsky.
In 1890, the founder of the monastery, Schemamonk Barsanuphius (V.I. Makarukhin), died and was buried in the left aisle of the lower temple of the Mother of God "Mammal". His successor in 1894 was his nephew N.F. Musatov. During his 30 years at the monastery, he built: the Alexander School for poor children for 100 people, a monastery hospital, first for 10 beds, and then for 25. With his funds, a two-story house was built on the territory of the monastery. N.F. Musatov donates 18 thousand rubles in silver for the construction of the Pokrovsky courtyard in Tula. A year before his death, he accepted monasticism with the name Nikanor, and at the same time he was ordained as a hieromonk with the assignment of duties as a dean. He died on April 22, 1915, and was buried next to the grave of his uncle, schema-monk Barsanuphius.
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the monastery had about 117 hectares of land; the farm is quite impressive: two ponds, an apiary, stables, a barnyard and a vegetable garden.
The monastery was abolished in 1920-1922. The monks were dispersed, the churches were sealed, the land was nationalized. On March 14, 1922, authorized Gubono Popov drew up an act on the final closure of the monastery. Temple utensils were transported to the present city of Kireevsk for use during divine services in the new church.
From famous people who visited the monastery, it should be noted Met. Eulogius (Georgievsky), who underwent obedience here before being tonsured into monasticism under the leadership of the elder Hieroschemamonk Dometian (+ April 17, 1908), who lived in the monastery for 46 years.
It is known that the icon of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon from the Shcheglovsky "monastery is now in Estonia in the Pyukhtitsky Assumption Monastery. The well near the Nikandra Church was dug by the monks themselves, Hieromonk Geronty planted trees in the park, Hieromonk Barsanuphius, after the closure of the monastery, served in the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.

Etymology of the name.

In some publications late XIX century there are descriptions of the “Mother of God Monastery in Shcheglovskaya Zaseka”. What does "Zaseka" mean and why is it called "Shcheglovskaya"? From the chronicles it is known that along the southern borders of the Moscow state. on the border of the so-called “Wild Field”, where warlike Tatar tribes roamed, the so-called road was laid for more than 500 km. “Abatis line”, which consisted of notches - rubble of trees cut down and felled diagonally on top of each other. Moreover, the tree was not cut down completely, the connection with the root was preserved and the tree continued to grow in a horizontal position - the result was a living impenetrable wall. On the territory of the Tula region, abatis forests stretched over more than 200 km of the defense line. Among the abatis, impassable for enemy cavalry, small wooden fortresses like forts with watchtowers armed with cannons rose at certain distances. Between the watchtowers, various types of earthen fortifications (ramps, ditches, bastions, and adobes) were additionally built. The abatis were a reliable defense against attacks by nomads.
One of these Zaseks in the area of present-day Tula was called Shcheglovskaya after the name of the governor Shcheglov, who stood guard here. The monastery was called the Mother of God in the name of a very rare icon to which it was dedicated main cathedral- image of the Mother of God of the Mammal.

Chronology of major events from the founding.
Main dates of the life of the monastery:

1860 May 80 - laying of the foundation stone for the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal, the beginning of construction of the complex of the future monastery.
1863, June 9 - consecration of the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God.
1864, September 8 - consecration of the main temple of the monastery - the church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal.
1868, June 22 - establishment of the monastery.
1889, September 24 - consecration of the temple in honor of St. Nikander (the temple was expanded in 1891-92)
1895-96 - a new building of the Alexander parish school was built on Shcheglovskaya Street (now Kirova Street).
1901 - consecration of the church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Raisa at the Alexander Parish School.
1909, December - consecration of the house church in the name of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Pokrovsko-Panteleimonovsky metochion of the Shcheglovsky Monastery.
1915, February 25 - completion of construction of the rebuilt and expanded Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1921, September-October - closure of the monastery, confiscation of property, dissolution of the brethren.
1990, November 2 - the territory and buildings of the former monastery were returned to the church.
1991, April 7 - first service in the monastery.
1991, July 18 - The Holy Synod blessed the opening of the monastery.

Russian people always tend to strive for a spiritual and contemplative lifestyle. Russian people wanted to comprehend all the most significant events in life not from an earthly, human position, but to see in them the finger of God, the will of God, leading each person and the entire people as a whole according to a special highest destiny. People of previous generations, struck by one or another event, left a stone chronicle of architecture for their descendants to edify: they erected memorable places or in memory of any events, churches or entire monasteries, as living witnesses of what happened. Throughout the vast expanses of our Motherland, these silent (but not silent!) monuments of the past can be found everywhere.
On the terrible day of June 22, 1552. The Tula residents drove away the 30,000-strong army of Khan Devlet-Girey and, in gratitude for the salvation of Tula, on the bones of the slain soldiers, in the place where especially many of the city’s defenders were killed, a monastery was erected in honor of the Baptist John, who suffered for the truth. It was the first monastery in Tula, founded in 1553 at the southeastern wall of the Tula Kremlin. In 1801, this monastery was abolished and the bishop's staff of the open Tula diocese was located in it. However, “the citizens of populous Tula, mourning the abolition of the Forerunner Monastery 16, heartily desired to restore the former or found a new monastic community.”
This petition of the inhabitants of Tula predetermined the creation of a new monastery and it turned out to be “the monastery in Shcheglov.” Thus, it is possible to establish a continuity of the emergence of monastic monasteries in Tula.

In 1799 By decision of the Holy Synod, an independent diocese was opened: the Tula diocese. It was from this year that the formation of an organized “monastic life” in the Land of Tula began to clearly appear. For the newly appointed Tula Bishop, a spacious country house-dacha was built among the beautiful nature of the former Zaseka in 1810. Due to the fact that the bishop's retinue included several monastics, a house church was consecrated at the dacha and a monastic way of life was established. Consequently, the beginning of the 19th century is the actual, official date of the founding of the monastery in Shcheglov.
In the middle of the 19th century, on the initiative and at the expense of the Moscow merchant Vasily Ivanovich Makarukhin (the founder of the monastery), a complex of buildings for the future monastery began to be erected next to the bishop’s house.
In May 1860 The foundation stone of the main church of the monastery took place, which four years later (September 8, 1864) was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal.
At the same time as the temple, a bell tower, three housing buildings, a stone fence about 550 m long and outbuildings were built.
The official opening of the monastery was given by the Holy Synod only in 1868.
The main entrance to the monastery is formed by the holy gates, built under the arch of the lower tier of the bell tower, rising in the middle of the western wall of the monastery fence, in the form of a special tower directly emerging from the wall, like its component. The Holy Gates are an iron, forged double-leaf lattice with internal locking on the gates. The gate lattice is made up of geometric figures located in 42 quadrangles; in the upper part of the gate leaves there is an inscription: 1864. The gate's lattice was decorated with many bronze medallions with relief images on them. Above the gate, on the western side, in a special frame, in the form of a ledge on the wall, the Iveron Icon was placed. Directly above the arch of the holy gates rises the bell tower, its first tier - tetrahedral - ends with a gable top on each side, and at the corners and in the middle of each side there are suspended columns, ending with domes with crosses. The upper tier is octagonal, with four bays, each ending in a double arch divided by a weight. Along the top of the cornice there is a row of pointed kokoshniks. Above them rises an octagonal, pyramidal, truncated roof tent, also bordered at the top by a crown of pointed kokoshniks. The roof ends with a bulbous dome with a poppy, which serves as the base of a six-pointed cross installed in it. The spans (or gaps) of the chamber where the bells hang are fenced with a wooden baluster. There are nine bells, they were cast in 1861. in Kharkov: bell weight: 208 p.23 f., 107 p.37 f., 52 p.39 f., .26 f., II p.27 f., 6 p.17 f., 2 p.39 1/4 f., I p.26!/2f.,37 p.37 1/4f. The total weight of the bells is 421 p. 32 lbs. The main tent of the bell tower, as well as its parts, are covered with sheet iron and painted with verdigris.

TEMPLE OF THE MAMMALS

Inside the monastery fence, almost in the middle of the square, at a distance of about 21m from the bell tower, to the east, rises main temple monastery in the name of the Mother of God - Mother of Mammals.
The very name of the icon “Mammal” is associated with ancient times: according to legend, an icon with that name was in the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified (+532) near Jerusalem, in the 13th century it was transferred by St. Sava, Archbishop of Serbia, to Mount Athos in the Hilendar monastery, from where it spread throughout Russia in many copies. Probably, the pious icon painter wanted to emphasize the Divine-human nature of Jesus Christ with the plot of the icon: the Mother of God fed Christ with milk as he truly took on human flesh out of fear for the sake of the human race.
The temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal, in its majesty, beauty of external and internal design, deeply thought out equipment by the founder, church utensils and icons, can easily be classified as well-appointed cathedral churches. The architecture of the temple, while preserving purely Russian national forms, early church buildings, has its own special features. The cube-shaped stone building has two floors and a spacious room, which later became the tomb of the temple builder and his closest employees.
Initially, the temple was intended to be single-domed, but later, at the request of V.I. Makarukhin, four tents were added and the temple became five-domed. Wooden rafters, covered with sheet iron on four slopes, painted with verdigris, formed a rather complex completion of the temple. Five domes rise above the roof in the form of separate octagonal towers with pointed kokoshniks along the upper edge and each with a pyramidal covering. Five domes with gilded poppies (apples) are topped with six-pointed crosses. Copper crosses, gilded. The middle dome has eight windows with a semicircular top. On the eastern side there is a three-part altar apse, with the largest projection in the middle. The parts of the altar apse are separated by granite half-columns the height of the wall, from the foundation to the cornice. 14 drainpipes were installed to drain rainwater from the roof.
The natural (daylight) lighting of the temple was facilitated by a large number of windows: in the upper (cold) temple there were 22 of them, which had single semicircular frames at the top without iron bars, in lower temple- 22, were quadrangular, small size, with double frames and iron bars. There are four windows in the vestibules of the upper and lower floors.
There was only one entrance to the temple, on the western side. Above the entrance door in the wall there was an icon of the Image Not Made by Hands, a pictorial work, written on an iron board, and at the top of the wall there was a cross. Above the entrance door inside the narthex there is an icon of the Kiev-Pechersk Mother of God. From the narthex, to enter upper church, a stone staircase with 16 steps was made. There are three altars in the upper church: in the center - in the name of the icon of the Mother of God of the Mammal; the right, southern aisle - in the name of the Nativity of John the Baptist, the left, northern - in the name of St. Basil. The floor in the temple is wooden, painted, and the altar is two steps higher than the church itself. The choirs are fenced with wooden, carved, gilded balusters. The vaults of the temple, as well as the dome, are supported on four-stone masonry, quadrangular pillars located in the middle of the church, the cornices at the top of the arches are gilded. The iconostasis of the upper church was built in 1859 by carpentry, all with carvings, gilded and consisted of three tiers. The Royal Doors are carved, through, gilded in the middle.
In the lower warm floor of the Temple of the Mammal, it was proposed to arrange three thrones, but by 1895 there were only two: in the center - si. Joseph the Songwriter, St. George and others in Maley and in the northern aisle - in the name of the Nativity of Christ.
According to N.I. Troitsky, the lower church did not represent anything remarkable either in its structure or in its decoration.
To the southeast of the main church of the Mother of God the Mammal, at a distance of about 20 meters from it, there is a small church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In terms of time, this is the first church on the territory of the monastery: it was built together with the monastery fence and right in its southeastern tower, to which the abbot’s cells are directly adjacent. Thus, the Assumption Church was a house church. The building is stone, small in size, without a bell tower, covered with sheet iron, the roof is painted with copper, the cross on the dome is iron, gilded. The dome has two windows, and the church itself has nine windows with double frames and iron bars. During the construction of the church, four bricks were placed in its foundation, brought by Hieromonk Nikander from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and consecrated there. A small icon of the Assumption was brought from the same Lavra - a copy of the Kyiv one, which was placed above the royal doors. The consecration of the temple and antimension took place on June 9, 1863.
The Church of Our Lady of the Mammal was a summer church and had no heating. In the immediate vicinity of it, to the northeast, in 1886. a new building of a warm (heated) church was laid, which was consecrated on September 24, 1889. In 1889, the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Nikandr's tenure at the Tula See was celebrated. The new temple was dedicated to the memory of St. Nikander of Pskov, the patron saint of the venerable Bishop. Due to the fact that in winter time There were more worshipers than the church of St. Nikandra could accommodate in 1891-92. V.I. Makarukhin’s nephew, Nikolai Feodorovich Musatov, built an extension on the western side, doubling the area of the temple. The semicircular vaults on arched arches and the cruciform plan of the building give it massiveness and grandeur. The chandeliers in the vaults provide excellent acoustics.

Viceroy - Archimandrite Claudian (Larkov)

History of the monastery

The beginning of construction of the Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Shcheglovsky Monastery dates back to 1860. The consecration of the throne in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Mammal” took place on September 21, 1864 according to the new style. The monastery's cathedral is stone, two-story, cold (summer), with three Altars on each floor.

The founder of the monastery, Vasily Makarukhin, was not present at the solemn consecration of the cathedral. For many years he remained “an unknown benefactor, following the principle that “the left hand does not know” what good deeds “the right hand does.”

At the same time as the temple, a bell tower, three housing buildings, a stone fence about 550 m long and outbuildings were built. The work was carried out according to the design of the Tula architect A.G. Bocharnikova. By 1864, all buildings of the Shcheglovsky Monastery were completed. In total, V.I. donated money for the construction of the monastery. Makarukhin 500 thousand silver rubles plus 30 thousand silver for maintenance.

In May 1865, it was decided by the Tula city society to petition in the proper manner for the establishment of the Mother of God Monastery in Shcheglov, on the site of the Shcheglovskaya zaseka. At the same time, V.I.’s petition followed. Makarukhin, through Hieromonk Nikandr, and this petition directly and definitely spoke about financial support for the activities of the Shcheglovsky Monastery. The following year there was a new petition from citizens to found a monastery in memory of miraculous salvation the life of the Sovereign Emperor Alexander II from the assassination attempt on him on April 4, 1866.

In May 1868, the Synod asked the Sovereign for permission to do this; in June 1868, the Sovereign Emperor deigned to approve the decision of the Holy Synod on the establishment of the Mother of God Shcheglovsky Monastery, writing with his own hand on the decision of the Holy Synod: “I agree and thanks.”

In 1870 the first monks arrived. Tula monks followed the teachings of St. Paisius of Velichkovsky and the Glinsky elders: they professed sobriety of mind, confession of thoughts, smart work, unconditional obedience of the student to the elder, renunciation of one’s will and opinion.

The hieromonks of the Glinsk monastery brought the spirit of eldership to the Tula land, and the Mother of God Shcheglovsky Monastery in Tula was rightfully considered a spiritual center. Parishioners and pilgrims had the opportunity to confess and receive instructions from a famous Central Russia the confessor of the monastery of Elder Dometian, in the schema of Seraphim of Shcheglovsky and Tula, and also found personal confessors and mentors among Tula male monasticism. Elder Dometian (hieroschemamonk Seraphim of Shcheglovsky and Tula) lived in the Shcheglovsky monastery for 46 years.

August 26, 1879, on the day of the celebration of St. icon of the Mother of God "Vladimir", the founder of the monastery Vasily Makarukhin moved from Moscow to Tula for a permanent stay here in his monastery, for which he built himself a wooden two-story, small log outbuilding (preserved).

While staying here, he led a monastic life, hiding a truly monastic mood under secular attire. With the relocation of S.V.I. Makarukhin began celebrating the early Divine Liturgies in the monastery, for which they allocated another 10 thousand rubles in silver. In October 1882, Vasily Ivanovich Makarukhin wished to build a hotel at the monastery at his own expense to provide shelter for pilgrims during bad weather. In January 1884, he also proposed to build a stone one-story building for the refectory, kitchen and bakery, and a stone hut for utility rooms - barns, barns, cellars and stables. On his initiative and with his direct participation, it was decided to build a warm church in honor of the 25th anniversary of Archbishop Nikandr’s service at the Tula See. The foundation stone of the temple was completed on May 24, 1886 by Archimandrite John (Voskresensky) of the Mother of God Monastery and his brethren.

The temple with two chapels was consecrated on September 24, 1889 (October 7, new style) on the day of remembrance of St. Nikander the Desert-Dweller, Pskov Wonderworker. For this temple, the icon of the Mother of God “Mammal” was again ordered - in a silver robe with blue and red stones. This icon has been preserved and still remains in the church in honor of St. Nikandra of Pskov.

In the spring of 1890, Vasily Ivanovich Makarukhin became a monk. On April 22, 1890, his health condition deteriorated sharply. The next day the monk partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and the Sacrament of Anointing was performed on him. Two hours later he perceives the schema. The newly tonsured schemamonk was given the name Barsanuphius in honor of Barsanuphius the Great. On April 26 (May 9, New Style), 1890, Schemamonk Barsanuphius quietly rested in the Lord. His body was laid in the lower church (in the name of St. Panteleimon) of the two-story cathedral in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary - under the altar of the northern aisle, then dedicated to St. St. Basil the Blessed.

Currently, a shrine and a carved canopy have been created over the burial of St. Rev. Barsanuphius of Shcheglovsky and Tula, painted icons of the Holy Trinity and St. Rev. Barsanuphia. The canopy was installed in the lower church, now consecrated in honor of St. Vmch. Panteleimon, access is open to parishioners and pilgrims to venerate the memory of St. St. Barsanuphius, Shcheglovsky and Tula.

The monastery was abolished in 1920-1922. The monks were dispersed, the churches were sealed, the land and all the possessions of the monastery were nationalized. On March 14, 1922, the authorized representative of Gubono drew up an act on the final closure of the monastery. Monastic utensils and icons were taken away, and over time many of them were lost.

The Shcheglovskaya Monastery of the Mother of God was reopened in the year of the 100th anniversary of the death of Schemamonk Barsanuphius in 1990. On November 2, 1990, the territory and buildings of the monastery were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1991, on July 21, on the day of the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the first Liturgy took place.

For about 20 years, extensive repair and restoration work continued with great organizational activities Abbot of the Mother of God Panteleimonov Shcheglovsky Monastery, Archimandrite Claudian. But a lot of work still needs to be done. To preserve the federal monument of history and architecture, which is the Shcheglovsky Monastery, large funds are still required.

On the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in 2007, the first Divine Liturgy after the Soviet years was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos the Mammal. On January 28, 2008, the first bishop's service took place in the cathedral. The Divine Liturgy in commemoration of the patronal feast of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Mammal” was performed by Metropolitan Alexy of Tula and Efremov. Vladyka has contributed a lot and is helping to ensure that the Mother of God monastery acquires rare shrines dear to the heart of every Russian person.

The Mother of God Shcheglovsky Monastery is a male Orthodox monastery in the city of Tula, which is dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God called the Mammal.

The history of the monastery begins in the first decades of the 19th century, when the bishop’s house was built on the very outskirts of the city on the eastern side, and in 1859, a merchant from Moscow named Makarukhin found funds for the construction of a monastery at this bishop’s house.

Already in 1860, builders began laying out the foundation of the Cathedral Church, which was built until 1864 and was later dedicated to the Mammal icon. This temple had two floors and did not have a heating system, so winter period not used. The temple had three thrones on the first floor and three thrones on the second. The construction of the church bell tower, living quarters for the monks, as well as economic facilities continued. At the rector's cell, a church was built in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

In 1864, the monastery was completely ready, so the townspeople of Tula, through the elders, turned to the higher diocese and the Synod for permission to establish a monastery here. This request was considered for a whole year, as some financial difficulties arose, but by 1867 permission was given. The opening was decided to coincide with the happy event of 1866, when the emperor was saved from a planned and failed attempt on his life. In 1868 the monastery began its work.

In the year of the opening of the monastery in Tula, the master builder Bocharnikov, who supervised the construction of the temple, himself became a monk and took the monastic name German. Later, monk Herman went as a pilgrim to Saint Athos and brought from there a piece of the Life-Giving Tree from the Cross of the Lord, a piece of the Stone from the Tomb of Christ, as well as the relics of Saints Akakios, Ignatius, Euthymius and Panteleimon, which were kept in the monastery.

By 1884, the monastery's economy expanded; the monks now had a bakery, a monastic refectory, and an inn at their disposal. In 1886, construction began on another temple, which was dedicated to Nikander the Desert Dweller. The temple was built heated and construction was completed in 1889. The founder of this construction site, merchant Makarukhin, also became a monk under the monastic name Barsanuphius, but did this just a couple of days before his death. Makarukhin was buried in the monastery itself, at the Cathedral Church. In 1984, the merchant’s nephew, Musatov, began to lead the development of the monastery, and he continued this work until the end of his life, until 1915. During his leadership, he erected a Sunday school for poor children and a hospital at the monastery. On the territory of the monastery of 117 hectares there were a barnyard, a stable, an apiary, ponds and a vegetable garden.

When the Bolsheviks came to power, the monastery was closed, and the monks were left without their possessions; all the property of the monastery was appropriated by the state, including utensils and even icons, which were subsequently lost. Only in 1990 the territory and buildings of the monastery were transferred back to the diocese, and since 1991 it has been open to parishioners again.

The monastery's possessions include:

Monastery cathedral dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God called Mammal and St. Panteleimon.
Temple of St. Nikander the Desert Dweller.
Assumption Church at the corps of abbots.
Chapel dedicated to Archangel Michael.
The cell of monk Barsanuphius, which is separate building. Currently there is a school and the office of the monastery here.

In the most picturesque corner of Mordovia there is a true pearl - an Orthodox monastery with the amazing name "Sanaksarsky Monastery". Perhaps this name comes from the word “sinaksar” - this is how the short lives of saints were called in Rus', or from the Mordovian “sanav sara”, which means swampy area, or from Lake Sanaksar, which lies in the lowlands near its walls.
The monastery was founded in 1659 and by the beginning of the 19th century it had become a large, well-equipped monastery. Today, the city of Temnikov offers an amazing panorama of the Moksha River, on the banks of which, among a centuries-old pine forest and emerald meadows, there is a magnificent monastery ensemble. The buildings and structures that currently exist were built in several stages from 1765 to the 1820s. Construction proceeded first under the leadership of Elder Theodore (Ushakov), then Elder Philaret (Bylinin). A closed space in the shape of a trapezoid is formed by cell buildings placed along the perimeter, connected by a wall with three corner turrets. The main entrance is a 52-meter gate church (1776). In the southeastern part there is the one-domed Vladimir Church (1781) and hospital cells. To the west of the monastery there are hotel buildings, then, at a distance of 260 m near a pine forest, there is the Vladimir cemetery church (1806). The spatial composition represents complexly arranged buildings with a whimsical silhouette and a center - a monumental five-domed cathedral.

The Cathedral Church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary has a throne in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist in the lower warm floor (1774). It was built with donations from Catherine II and the capital's dignitaries. Its composition is pyramidal: a tall three-tiered temple is crowned with an ornate five-domed dome. The facades of the church are decorated with multicolor painting, which is rare for Russian architecture of the New Age. The exterior and interior were painted by Elder Philaret in the Rococo style: they are distinguished by lightness, decorative whimsicality and a graceful play of forms. The combination of Baroque architecture and Rococo interiors is typical of Russian palace and church architecture of the mid-18th century.
The ensemble of the Sanaksar Monastery is one of the few large well-preserved urban monuments of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries, the baroque architecture of which is distinguished by significant artistic value. The surrounding nature plays a vital role in the formation of an expressive image. The ensemble powerfully enters the natural landscape and with its dynamic forms creates the impression of inexhaustible human energy.
The main shrines of the monastery are the relics of saints. Theodore, the righteous warrior Theodore (Ushakov), Rev. Alexander the Confessor. Among the shrines, icons of the Mother of God are also revered. Nearby there is a source of St. Theodora. There is a hotel at the monastery.

Numerous pilgrims from different cities and all over Russia rush to this quiet abode. The soul, filled with doubts and many questions, longs for Christian participation, intelligent, heartfelt advice, and most of all wants to touch the simplicity and humility, wisdom and living faith of the elders.

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