Pechersky Monastery address. The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery is a monastery with a centuries-old history. The monastery during the war with King Stephen Batory
The Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery is one of the largest and most famous in Russia. It has an ancient history. The name Pechersky is due to the fact that there are caves on its territory.
And it is Uspensky because here in the 15th century the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was dug out of a sandy hill and consecrated. The monastery is open for pilgrimage at any time of the year. Especially in the summer, a large number of tourists flock here.
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How to get by train to Pskov
You can get to the Pskov-Pechersk monastery by train both through Moscow and St. Petersburg. But trains only go to Pskov.
Trains from Moscow
- Daily route. Train No. 010A “Moscow-Pskov” runs daily from Leningradsky Station. Departure time from Moscow is 18:00. 30 min. Arrival in Pskov - at 7 o'clock. 30 min. A reserved seat ticket will cost about 2 thousand rubles.
- On even days. On even days you can travel by train No. 098A Moscow-Pskov. It departs from Leningradsky station at 15:00. 35 min. He will be in Pskov at 5 o'clock. 00 min. The price of a reserved seat is 1450 rubles. Arriving at 5 o'clock in the morning is convenient because those people who are short on time can make it to the monastery for the Liturgy if they take a taxi.
Trains from St. Petersburg
Unfortunately, now pilgrims cannot travel directly from St. Petersburg to Pechory by train. Only with a transfer.
You can get to Pskov from St. Petersburg by taking the following trains:
- St. Petersburg - Stroganovo and Stroganovo - Pskov;
- St. Petersburg - Luga and Luga - Pskov.
The schedule of these trains is designed so that you can immediately change from one train to another, without interruption.
But from Pskov you still need to get to Pechory, a city in the Pskov region, where the monastery is located. The city itself is located three kilometers from the Pechory-Pskovskiye railway station.
Taxi from Pskov to the monastery
If you arrive in Pskov at 5 o’clock in the morning by Moscow train, you will not be able to take the bus, since they do not yet run at that time. In this case, you will have to take a taxi. The average cost of such a trip is 1 thousand rubles. In the summer, taxi drivers sometimes “raise” the price, but if you haggle, you can get closer to the average price. The price of a bus ticket ranges from 120−150 rubles. If you go with a group, you can easily spend money on a taxi. Usually drivers meet those arriving by train in the square near the train station. Travel time by car is 40 minutes.
Buses
From Pskov - to Pechory
From Saint-Petersburg - to the monastery
- Direct transportation on the route St. Petersburg - Pechory is carried out every day from the Rossiya Hotel. Departure time is 17:00. 30 minutes, arrival time - 22 hours. 15 minutes. Ticket price is 550 rubles.
- Minibuses from St. Petersburg also go to the monastery. Even though these are minibuses, they are not like ordinary cramped minibuses. These are comfortable cars, not inferior in convenience to modern intercity buses.
From Saint-Petersburg - to Pskov
Minibuses also run from St. Petersburg to Pskov. For example, the Swifts company's transport departs five times a day. Travel time is approximately 4 hours 30 minutes. They make one stop in Luga. The inconvenience is that you need to “fit into” the transport schedule going to Pechory.
The Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery is one of the largest and most famous monasteries in Russia with a long history. The name of the monastery is associated with the caves located in it (in Old Russian - pechora), called God-created (i.e. created) caves.
On the way to the monastery, we passed by the wooden church of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, built in 1779. The Varvara Church is unique in that it is one of the few surviving temples of the Seto (“half-believers”) people, a Finno-Ugric people professing Orthodoxy.
Behind Varvarinskaya there is a stone church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.
01. P Anorama of Cathedral Square
Here, near this church, there is a monument to Cornelius of Pskov-Pechersk.
Corniliy of Pskov-Pechersky (Korniliy of Pskov; 1501, Pskov - 1570) - abbot of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery (1529-1570). Canonized by the Orthodox Church in the ranks of the Holy Martyrs.
The Orthodox Church, which canonized Cornelius as a martyr, and some scientistsIt is believed that he was killed by Tsar Ivan IV during his campaign against Pskov. According to the third Pskov Chronicle, Cornelius in 1570 at the head of the Pskov clergy, he met Ivan the Terrible during his arrival in Pskov and served a prayer service in the Trinity Cathedral. After this, meeting the tsar in his monastery, he was killed (Ivan the Terrible suspected him of treason).
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03. Petrovskaya Tower. This is the entrance to the monastery. 
The last monastery tower in terms of construction, the Petrovskaya gate tower (1699), was created as the new main entrance to the monastery. It received its name in honor of Peter I. The tower is elegant, with a covered gallery at the top and a multi-tiered top in the Baroque style. The church of Cornelius is located in the tower.
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07. We pass through the Holy Gates under the Petrovskaya Tower and find ourselves in the courtyard. 
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09. Here is the Church of St. Nicholas the Goalkeeper (1565). The church is adjacent to the Nikolskaya Tower.
At the St. Nicholas Church, a small stone bell tower, which was a belfry, was built at the same time; to three stone pillars in one line.
On the right is the entrance to St. Nicholas Church, on the left is the passage to the monastery. 
10. Each church in the monastery has plaques indicating the name and year of construction. 
11. We enter the chapel on the first floor. The path to the lower, main part of the monastery runs through it. 
12. The road is called “Bloody Road”. According to legend, Cornelius met the king while standing at the Holy Gates. He behaved too proudly in front of the monarch. In anger, Ivan the Terrible waved his saber. The severed head of the monk rolled along a steep path down to the caves, leaving a trail of blood behind it... Immediately after his deed, the king repented and in his arms carried the lifeless body of the murdered man to the Assumption Church, staining his path with blood. Rowan trees now grow along the road, the bright red berries of which resemble drops of blood. 
13. We go down the wide road lower and lower. 
14. And a fabulous, fabulously beautiful picture gradually unfolds before us. 
The Assumption Cave Church is the main and oldest cathedral church of the monastery. This is the so-called cave temple. We see only the facade, the temple itself is hidden, it extends far into the mountain. On the roof of the temple there are five brightly decorated domes. This is the calling card of the monastery; you will not find such individual domes anywhere else, although they say that they are similar to those in Kyiv.
Between the Assumption Church and the bell tower - which, it must be said, is unusual in Pechery: they ring the bells while standing on the ground, resting their feet on a special pedal, from which ropes stretch to the bells - there is an entrance to the caves. The entrance looks like a room in which the relics of the founders of the monastery rest. From the entrance, the “streets of the dead” diverge in three rays. For four centuries now, monks and his benefactors who worked in the monastery have been buried in caves. The first street in a semicircle to the right from the entrance to the end extends for 55 meters, and the remaining six have a length of 40 to 8 meters. The width of each street is from 1 to 4.5 meters.
Ancient coffins are stacked in deep caves. It is remarkable that there is never a heavy smell here, despite the fact that some of the coffins in the cave walls are barely covered. I found different estimates of the number of burials online: from ten to twenty thousand.
New burials are marked with plaques on the walls; the remains of ascetics rest inside the walls. Among them are the glorious elders of the Pskov-Pechersk monastery, who labored here in the twentieth century. How much human grief the elders took upon themselves, how much good advice people received from them and left consoled and carried the eternal wisdom, preserved through the centuries, into the masses of the people - from mouth to mouth, from fathers to children and grandchildren.
And now in the Pskov-Pechersk monastery the God-bearing elders, known throughout the country - Archimandrite John and Archimandrite Adrian, are asceticizing.
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16. If you look back up, you will see the Church of St. Nicholas the Goalkeeper at the top 
17. Carriage of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1732). 
18. Stairs to St. Michael's Cathedral. We will also visit there at the end of our journey. The staircase is illuminated by very beautiful lanterns. 
20. Another dome, but we have already gone down to the monastery churches on Assumption Square. 
A bridge over the Kamenets stream leads to the abbot's house.
Almost in the very center of the monastery ensemble, above the artesian well, a chapel was built in 1911, decorated with images of Russian saints. Memorial services are held here every day from early spring to late autumn. Not far from the chapel is another monastery well, long revered by pilgrims and named by them in honor of the venerable martyr Cornelius “Kornilevsky”. Water is taken from it for water-blessing prayers.
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The first information about the holy well appeared in the description of the monastery at the beginning of the 17th century, which reported that there had long been a holy well in the monastery, equipped and covered in the form of a chapel.
The water in this well “by the grace of the Most Pure Mother of God and the prayers of the venerable fathers - Mark, Jonah and Cornelius - comes from holy land; and they take it for all the monastic needs.”
The water is also blessed at this well several times a year. This water is used by many as a beneficial healing for eye and other diseases.
The gracious help from holy water, who use it by faith, does not become scarce even today.
(Compiled from the description of the monastery in 1602 - 1603 and in 1893)
26. The fraternal building, built in the classicist style with columns, is surrounded by greenery and flowers. 
The house of the abbot of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery is painted green. The bridge over the Kamenets stream to the abbot's house, built according to Alipiya's design. 1883
In addition to the fact that the belfry itself is quite unique (such structures can be counted on one hand), each of its bells has its own destiny and long history, while possessing a unique ringing...
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An angel with his hand outstretched is painted on the wall of the belfry. What is he pointing at? That's right, for a watch. And in his other hand he holds a scroll where it is written.
Look with diligence, man,
How long does it take for your life to pass?
And death is not far away.
Ready for any hour,
cry with tears, like
Death will snatch you away along with your deeds.
Your guardian angel
I inform you, brevity
shows your life.
Come, people enlightened in the Faith
Come to the holy Temple,
meek humble prayer
diligently send to God.
(from the life of St. Demetrius of Rostov)
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The first tower clock next to the belfry was installed in the 16th century. Currently, a clock mechanism manufactured in the 17th century is in operation. In the last century, they were repaired twice by restorer Yu. Zavarin. After the second restoration, the seconds circle was restored with a hand having 80 divisions, which is typical for some watches of the 17th century.
The elders treated time and the monastery clocks very carefully and reverently. Schema-Archimandrite Alexander (Vasiliev) was Dean of the monastery for more than twenty years. He told the monk Varlaam (Smirnov) responsible for the clock:
Wind the clock every day, monitor the accuracy of the clock, because the entire life of the monastery is distributed around the clock. Elder Simeon (Zhelnin), now the venerable Pskov-Pechersk, shortly before his death addressed the cell clock: “Thank you, clock, for the fact that I was never late for church services... Life in the daily routine according to the Monastic Rule is the most fruitful use time for the inhabitants of the monastery...
The tower clock reminds everyone of the words of the apostle that we need to live “... valuing time, because the days are evil”
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One temple goes into another, they are located next to each other. Assumption Cathedral, then the belfry, and this in turn goes into the sacristy (red in the foreground), and behind it is white - Sretensky Church. Adjacent to the left is the Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God (Church of the Annunciation), which was built with the participation of Cornelius, already known to us.
According to chronicle sources, the builder of the Sacristy was Abbot Korniliy, who was the former abbot of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, working there from 1539 to 1570, during the period of particularly significant activity of which church construction took place at the monastery.
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The Sacristy houses a large variety of items related to church utensils, many of which have become interesting examples of applied Russian art of the 16th-19th centuries. Individual works of applied art include contributions that are closely associated with the names of famous historical figures, for example, Boris Godunov, Ivan the Terrible, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, Anna Ioannovna, Peter the Great and many others. It was in this place that silver and gold crosses, richly decorated with semi-precious stones and large expensive pearls, Gospels decorated in precious frames, silver and gold vessels, miters, hammered censers, brocade vestments and other interesting things that were distinguished by a high level of artistic work were kept. All these valuable items were taken out by the German invaders during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, after which they were returned with the help of the German government to the city of Pechory in 1973.
Two squirrels in a clearing are playing catch.
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Not far from the main Assumption Church, closer to the eastern part, there is a church consecrated in the name of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. The church was built by the Monk Cornelius on the site where the temple in the name of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste had previously stood, which was soon dismantled and moved beyond the monastery fence. The consecration of the temple took place on October 15, 1541.
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A sample of the window frames on the northern façade of the church was taken from the Sacristy - they were whitewashed white and the horizontal draft between the first floor and the basement was left in the same color.
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At the Lazarus Church.
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Gate and fresco on the wall of the Lazarus Church.
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52. The garden in front of the abbot's house is surrounded by a bright red brick fence with a gate.
Chapel with artesian well. This is a chapel over the Life-Giving Spring, which I mentioned above when I talked about the Kornilevsky well, which is located nearby. 1880s
The rotunda is a polygonal, single-tier centric, built in the eclectic style. Icons are placed in niches on the façade.
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One of the largest active monasteries in Russia, with a history of more than five centuries, one of the most revered monasteries in the country is the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, founded in 1473. It is located almost on the border with Estonia.
From the history of the monastery
The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery appeared in caves near the Kamenets stream. They were first mentioned in chronicles in 1392. Judging by the legends, they were inhabited by monks who fled from the south of the country to escape persecution by the Crimean Tatars. In 1470, on this land, Hieromonk Jonah, a native of Yuryev (today the city of Tartu), built a church, which he consecrated in 1473. It was around it that the Pechersk monastery was formed. The city of Pechora appeared near the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in the 16th century.
In those ancient times, these were deserted places covered with impenetrable forests. Hunters who were here saw an old man praying on a stone and heard hermits singing. There is no information about them; the name of their spiritual mentor, Mark, has been preserved. John, his wife Mary (in monasticism she took the name Vassa) and Mark were the first inhabitants of this place.
In the sandy mountain, John dug the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After some time, Vassa died (she was seriously ill even before arriving on Pskov land). He buried the coffin with the body of the deceased in a cave. But, to his great amazement, the next day the coffin was pulled out of the ground. Jonah took this as a sign from above. He suggested that something had been done incorrectly during the funeral service. Therefore, Vassa’s funeral service was performed again and she was once again interred. But the next morning the same thing happened. Jonah decided to leave the coffin on the surface.
Since then, the effect of grace in the caves of the monastery has not ceased. For several centuries, coffins with deceased monks and warriors who died on the battlefield were not buried. In the cave necropolis of the monastery there are crypts that are filled with blackened and dilapidated coffins right up to the vaults. There are no signs of rotting of the bodies.
Devotees of Jonah
After Vassa’s untimely death, ascetics began to come to Jonah. His close friend and successor, Hieromonk Misail, built the Church of Theodosius and Anthony from wood on the mountain itself. Cells for the first inhabitants were built next to it.
Unfortunately, soon the Old Monastery on the mountain was burned down by people from At the beginning of the 16th century, when Dorotheus was the abbot, it was decided to move the temple to the foot of the mountain. At the same time, the cave temple of Theodosius and Anthony was expanded and built. Around the same time the church was erected, construction of the monastery belfry began. Invaluable assistance in construction was provided by Misyur Munekhin, a highly educated, pious man who was able to understand and appreciate the strategic importance of Pecher.
Educational activities
Munekhin also patronized Abbot Cornelius. Under him, the Pskov-Pechersky Holy Dormition Monastery flourished. The number of monks increased significantly, and carpentry, ceramics, and icon painting workshops appeared. Even in those days the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery could be proud of its magnificent library. The Third Pskov Chronicle was kept here. From the Pechersk collections, the correspondence of John IV with Prince Andrei Kurbsky has survived to this day.
Hegumen Cornelius took up spiritual education - he created churches in the south of Estonia and sent priests there. However, educational activities were suspended due to the military successes of the Germans.
By Decree of Ivan the Terrible, the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery was surrounded by a powerful stone wall. The Church of the Annunciation, made of stone, was erected in the monastery. For the Streltsy garrison, which carried out constant service, the gate St. Nicholas Church was built, which was directly connected to the battle towers. During this time, the monastery was often subject to raids from the west.
Pskovo-Pechersky Holy Dormition Monastery today
Along the slope of a deep ravine, somewhat skirting the ravine along which the Kamenets stream flows, stretch the walls of the Pechersk fortress. Their total length is 726 meters, their thickness reaches two meters. Nowadays, the fortress structure consists of 9 towers. During its centuries-old history, the Pskov-Pechersky Assumption Monastery has repeatedly withstood attacks by the Livonian army led (Livonian War), Swedish rulers - Charles XII and Karl Gustav, Hetman Chodkiewicz (Poland). The history of the military participation of the monastery, glorified by the exploits of its brave defenders - monks and archers, ended during the Northern War. At this time, Russia's western borders moved to the Baltic Sea.
Great Pilgrims
Since ancient times, all of Great Rus' and, of course, Moscow knew about the existence of the monastery. The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery became a place of pilgrimage for crowned persons of different times. A frequent guest here was Ivan the Terrible, who repented of the ruined soul of Abbot Cornelius. At one time, the suspicions of a suspicious ruler fell on him. Peter I visited the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery four times. The luxurious carriage, which is still kept within the walls of the monastery, remains in memory of the visit of Empress Anna Ioannovna to this monastery. In 1822, Alexander I also visited here. He talked within the walls of the monastery with the seer Lazarus. Nicholas II was present at the 1903 pilgrimage. Here, at the beginning of 1911, Princess Elizaveta Fedorovna prayed here.
Shrines of the monastery
The ancient monastery carefully preserves the most valuable icons within its walls. The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, a photo of which you can see in our article, has three shrines. First of all, this is an icon of the Mother of God, which is considered miraculous. It is carried out in religious processions every year on patronal feast days. In addition, these are icons of Tenderness and Hodegetria of the Pskov-Pechersk. Evidence has been preserved in chronicles of miraculous healings that became possible thanks to these shrines. The icons are kept in the Assumption Church and St. Michael's Cathedral.
Elders of the monastery
Today, the monastery, led by His Eminence Eusebius, very carefully preserves the traditions of the monastery, observes the laws and rules of the monastery. Amazing people live here. The elders of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery are an example of true piety and great faith. These are Archimandrites Adrian (Kirsanov) and John (Krestyankin) - legends of the Orthodox Church and vivid examples of monastic life.
The saints of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery are role models not only for the monks living in the monastery today, but also for all Orthodox Christians. This is St. Mark, St. Vassa, St. Jonah, St. Dorotheus, St. Lazarus, St. Simeon.
Monastery today
Nowadays, thousands of tourists come to these places to see the great shrines with their own eyes. A historical and architectural monument of great interest to scientists all over the world is the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Excursions here are organized by many travel companies from different cities of our country. The sights of the monastery are truly unique.
As already mentioned, this monastery is active. Worship services are held here. To touch the shrines, many come to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Requirements can also be ordered here. Perhaps not everyone knows what it is. Requirements are a sacred rite performed by a clergyman at the request of a believer for himself or people close to him. This is a person’s request to the Lord, which the clergy make with him.
Today you can submit requests to the Pechersky Monastery via the Internet. To do this, you should log on to the monastery’s website, where it is described in detail how this is done. Administrators review all submitted “notes” every day and pass them on to the rector of the monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon.
Monastery caves
As already mentioned, the cave and temple were created by the former Pskov priest John Shestnik.
The caves of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery are, in fact, a monastery cemetery. The exact number of burials has not yet been precisely established. More than 14,000 people are believed to be buried here. There is still no scientific basis for the phenomenon that has been observed in caves for centuries: the air here is always very fresh and the temperature is always constant. In addition, the smell of a decomposing body instantly disappears.
Scientists tried to explain this phenomenon with the unusual properties of sandstone, which is capable of absorbing odors; the monks sincerely believe that this is due to the holiness of this place.
Excursions to the monastery caves leave a very strong impression on everyone who decides to visit them. The path is illuminated only by candles, there is a ringing silence all around... And if the monk who leads the tour speaks in a “terrible” voice about human sins and retribution for them, then one becomes uneasy.
Almost at the very entrance to the caves lie the relics of St. Mark, Jonah, Lazarus, and also Vassa.
Seven underground galleries radiate from the entrance. They are called streets, which have been expanded and lengthened over the years. Fifth and sixth streets are called fraternal streets. Monks of the monastery are buried here. Pilgrims were buried in other galleries.
At the end of the central cave street there is a special candlestick. It is decorated in the form of a small table and is called kanun. Next to it are memorial services (funeral services). Immediately behind the eve there is a large wooden cross, to the right of which Metropolitan Veniamin Fedchenko is buried.
The caves of the monastery are a unique place of intoxication for saints, imbued with the prayers of ascetics. This is a unique artistic and historical monument.
Assumption Cave Church
A wide staircase leads to it. Above the entrance there is an image of the Mother of God of Kyiv. On the roof facing the monastery there are five domes crowned with crosses. The necks of the heads are decorated with sacred images.
The interior decoration of the temple is no less original. It has three passages in length and five in width. They are separated by earthen camps lined with bricks. This creates a special comfort. The room is quite spacious; there is always a secluded corner where you can pray by the light of lamps.
In the depths of the cathedral, on the south side, in a specially equipped niche, rest the relics of St. Cornelius.
Great belfry
Not far from the Assumption Church is the main bell tower of the monastery, or belfry, as it is often called. A stone structure consisting of several pillars placed in a row from east to west.
This is one of the largest architectural structures of this type. The belfry has six main spans and one, which was built much later. Thanks to it, a second tier is formed.
The bells of the Pskov Monastery are one of the most significant collections not only on Pskov land, but also on the territory of Western Russia.
Sretenskaya Church
It was erected in 1670 on the site of the previously existing Annunciation Church. Sretensky Cathedral is a two-story brick building, made in pseudo-Russian style. The church is on the second floor. The altar has a central niche for the altar and several small niches for the deacon. The vestibule is separated by a massive wall. It has three openings. All windows are in the shape of arches. The lower floor of the temple is treated with smooth rustication.
On the western and eastern walls of the Sretenskaya Church there is a painting preserved, which has already been restored several times. The southern and northern walls are decorated with pilasters. The walls are made of brick, then plastered and painted.
Attempts to close
Throughout its long history, the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery has never been closed for more than five hundred years.
During Soviet times, attempts were made repeatedly to close the Pechersky Monastery. Eyewitnesses recall that one day another commission arrived with a resolution to close it. The abbot read the decree and threw it into the burning fireplace. Discouraged officials, who also had no documents, hastily retreated.
The abbot of the monastery, Alypiy, having met the next representatives of the authorities, stated that a large number of weapons were stored in the monastery, and many of the brethren were front-line soldiers. They will defend the monastery until their last breath. He warned that the monastery could only be taken by air, which would be immediately reported on the Voice of America radio station. This statement impressed the commission. Oddly enough, this threat worked. For some time the monastery was left alone.
There were many such situations when the monastery could have been closed or ruined, but each time, in some incomprehensible way, it remained untouched.
The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery is the only one in Russia that has never been closed.
Few people know that during the last threat of its closure in Khrushchev’s times, the front-line monks were ready to defend the monastery from the atheists, as from the fascists. Their resolve was not disgraced. A miracle happened.
Archimandrite Alypiy: soldier of the Great Patriotic War, warrior of Christ
When the Commissioner for Religious Affairs arrived at the monastery with an order to close it, the abbot of the monastery, a participant in the Great Patriotic War (1914-1975), openly refused to submit to the godless authorities. Hierodeacon Prokhor (Andreychuk) recounted this story to me from the words of Archimandrite Nathanael (Pospelov) (1920-2002), who was treasurer in the 1960s. The Commissioner presented the governor with a closure decree, Arch. Alypy began to read it syllable by syllable, waiting for the electric fireplace to heat up (Fr. Nathanael bought the fireplace at the request of the governor a few days earlier, when Fr. Alypy learned about the purpose of the upcoming visit). As soon as the fireplace warmed up, he threw a decree into it and said: “I would rather accept martyrdom, but I will not close the monastery. If you want to use force, know that I have sixty monks, two thirds of them are participants in the war. They will fight to the last man. And I will dig up Peter’s guns, and we will organize a second defense of Stalingrad. All you have to do is bomb us from an airplane, but you won’t do this, because Europe is nearby - the world community will find out.”
It is unknown whether the party leadership would have retreated completely, but at that time the monastery was visited by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She was shocked by what she saw (according to the recollections of Father Nathanael, she cried in the caves of the monastery), and, obviously, she made good advertising - foreign delegations began to come here one after another, and the question of closure disappeared.
God-made caves
The history of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery begins with its famous caves, which were discovered 80 years before the founding of the monastery, in 1392. In the 14th century, a dense forest grew on the slope of the current Holy Mountain of the monastery (now there is a garden planted by monks and a temple of the Venerable Pskov-Pechersk Fathers). As the chronicle tells, local peasant Ivan Dementyev was cutting down trees there, one of them fell downhill, and the mouth of a cave opened under its roots. Above it was an inscription: “Caves created by God ». It is unknown by whom and when this inscription was made. According to local legend, monks who fled from the raids of the Crimean Tatars lived here. The founder of the monastery was not even a monk, but a married couple: priest John Shestnik and his mother Maria. They settled in these places in search of desert life and repentance. Mother fell ill from the harsh work and before her death she took monastic vows with the name Vassa. When she died, Father John, having performed the funeral service, buried the coffin with the body at the entrance to the caves. The next day he discovered the coffin on the surface. Deciding that he had missed some place in the funeral service, Fr. John performed the rite again and buried the coffin again. But when the miracle happened again, he saw God’s will in it, made a niche in the wall and placed the coffin there. After this, the coffin did not disappear anywhere, and no bad smell emanated from it. Since then, all the inhabitants of the monastery have been buried in caves created by God, without being covered with earth. And miracles at the tomb of nun Vassa continue today. As the monks say, at the beginning of the 20th century some vandals tried to open her coffin. It is not known whether they were looking for jewelry or wanted to violate the holy relics, but fire came out of the coffin and burned them. Traces of this wonderful fire are clearly visible on the coffin.
After the death of his wife, Father John also took monastic vows with the name Jonah. In 1473, he completed the first monastery church - now the main cathedral of the monastery in the name of. The day of the consecration of the temple - August 15, 1473 - is considered the date of foundation of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery.
Today the relics of the founders of the monastery - St. Vassa, etc. Jonah rests at the very entrance to the monastery caves. You can kiss them daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Further, the caves branch into seven underground galleries (streets), which at different times lengthened and expanded. The fifth and sixth streets are called fraternal streets, since only the inhabitants of the monastery are buried within their walls. In other galleries, pious pilgrims and defenders of the monastery are buried. There are slabs in the walls with the names of the deceased. Presumably, about 10 thousand people are buried in the caves.
The caves are very dark and quite cold. You cannot walk along them unaccompanied.
Near the entrance to the caves there is a passage to the Holy Mountain. On the mountain there is a temple of the Pskov-Pechersk monks, consecrated in 1995. This is a rather unusual - a cell church, the kind that was built in the North when new monasteries were founded. The main part of the temple is the cage - a simple small-sized log house, typical of a Russian hut. Like the caves, you can go to the Holy Mountain only if accompanied by one of the inhabitants of the monastery. Pilgrims are not allowed to the Holy Mountain only when there is ice or in early spring, when everything melts. From the mountain there is a marvelously beautiful view of the monastery and its surroundings.
Eldership
The monastery has attracted pilgrims at all times. Some went to the shrines, others for the advice of the elder. In 1822, Emperor Alexander I came to Pechery. Having heard about the ascetic life of one of the monks, Elder Lazarus the Farsighted, who on the third day after death, like , rose from the grave and lived for another 16 years, repeating: “The death of sinners is cruel,” the emperor asked to meet with him. In the conversation, the elder said to the sovereign: “I recognize the making of righteousness as a luminary for the King before the Heavenly Father. The life of a king should serve as an example for his subjects. Remember, sir, that we have only a short time to live on earth..."
Among the especially revered elders of the monastery is the recently canonized St. Simeon (1869-1960), who labored in the monastery for 67 years, 33 of them in the schema. The elder was known for the gift of clairvoyance and healing. Many written testimonies have been preserved of people who received healing through his prayers. The elder showed the last lesson of humility even in his death. By revelation from the Lord, he was waiting for her on January 15, 1960, on the day of remembrance of St. Seraphim. But the abbot of the monastery, Archbishop Alypius, became worried that the death of the elder, preparations for the funeral, and the funeral itself would coincide with preparations for the holiday. Therefore, he asked the elder to pray for a delay in his death. “You are the governor, I am the novice, have it your way,” answered Fr. Simeon. The elder died on Epiphany Eve, and was buried after Epiphany. The canonization of Hieroschemamonk Simeon as a saint of the Pskov-Pechersk took place on April 1, 2003, and the incorruptible relics of the elder were transferred from the caves to the Sretensky Church. Get into the cell of St. Simeon can be held every day after 2 pm, taking the blessing of the dean. On Wednesday in the Sretensky Church at 6 am a fraternal prayer service is served at the relics of St. Simeon.
In 1967, one of the elders most revered by Orthodox people, the confessor (1910-2006), became a resident of the monastery. In the last years of his life, he was seriously ill and saw few people, but in the 1970-1990s, people from all over the country (and sometimes from abroad) came to him for advice and consolation. Today, Father John’s cell is open to pilgrims on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everything here has been preserved as during the priest’s lifetime. The walls are hung with icons, portraits, photographs. The cell is not at all “ascetic”, very cozy, with numerous gifts from the children: for example, a night light in the form of a chapel, next to it is a yellow chicken souvenir that is given for Easter. There are vases with flowers on the table by the window. The priest on duty anoints you with oil.
Miraculous icons
Open fortress
The main shrines of the monastery are the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the image of “Tenderness”. Both icons are in the Assumption Church. The icon of the Assumption, in front of which an unquenchable lamp burns, is associated with no less heroic history than the “defense” of the monastery in Khrushchev’s times. In the summer of 1581, a hundred thousand strong Polish-Lithuanian army moved to Pskov. The army of the Polish king Stefan Batory approached the walls of the monastery. Only three hundred archers defended the monastery. Enemy troops fired cannons at the monastery and smashed the wall. Then the monks brought the main monastery shrine to the breach - the icon of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The besieged prayed, and the Mother of God heard their prayers - the archers managed to repel all the attacks. Icons "" and "Tenderness" were also sent to the defenders of Pskov. Over the course of five months, the enemy stormed the Pskov Kremlin more than 30 times, but did not take the city. In memory of this miraculous deliverance, the Pecheryans went to Pskov in a procession of the cross with the Tenderness icon every year on the seventh week of Easter. Since 1997, the tradition of the religious procession has been resumed, only now it takes place inside the monastery - the icon is transferred from the Assumption Church to St. Michael’s and back. The same religious procession takes place on October 20 - the feast of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon “Tenderness”.
Local residents called the icon “tenderness”. This is not the “Tenderness” icon in front of which St. Seraphim of Sarov prayed. It was painted in the 16th century from the Vladimir icon, and brought to the monastery during the abbot of the venerable martyr Cornelius. Since its appearance in the monastery, the Icon of the Assumption has been known for its miracles, which still occur today. A high-ranking official was recently healed of an eye disease.
Divine services
Today there are six churches in the monastery, not counting the cave church of the Resurrection, where services are performed only for the brethren: Assumption, Sretensky, in the name of the Archangel Michael, in the name of the Holy Martyr. Cornilia, Nikolsky and Pokrovsky. The first service in the monastery begins in the Assumption Church: at 6 o’clock at the relics of the saint. Cornelia is served with a fraternal prayer service, then the Midnight Office. The Monk Cornelius was abbot here under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. An ancient manuscript says: on one of the tsar’s visits, abbot Cornelius came out of the monastery gates to meet the sovereign with a cross. The king, angry with him in advance, cut off his head with his own hand, but immediately repented and, picking up the body, carried it in his arms to the monastery. The path along which the king carried the body to the Church of the Assumption is called the “Bloody Path”.
Pskov-Pechersky Monastery- the only one in Russia that never closed, even during the years of the most severe persecution of the church. Miracles? The monks explain this by saying that the caves from which the monastery began were discovered and built by God himself. And to prove that they are right, they cite the fact: the bodies of the dead, those buried here do not emit a putrid odor, on the contrary, they smell fragrant!
YELTSIN IN PECHORY
In the mid-1990s, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin visited the famous monastery near Pskov. The head of state was accompanied by the treasurer of the monastery, Archimandrite Nathanael. Small, thin, nimble Father Nathanael was considered the most harmful person in the monastery. Both in winter and in summer he walked around in worn-out boots and a washed-out cassock, and an old canvas bag was always dangling behind his back.
Sharp-tongued and tight-fisted, the treasurer fought for every penny, suspecting everyone of wasting the monastery’s property. And this man was entrusted with an important mission - to accompany a distinguished guest and his retinue on a tour of the caves. Father Nathanael moved briskly through the labyrinths, lighting the path for himself and his companions with a candle. Boris Nikolaevich followed the priest in silence until he realized that something strange was happening around.
There was no smell of decay in the caves, despite the fact that the coffins with the dead stood in open niches. If necessary, it was not difficult to touch them and even open them - the coffins were not nailed down, but simply covered with a lid.
Boris Nikolaevich stopped the priest:
- Listen, why is there no smell in the caves?
Father Nathanael replied:
- Miracle of God.
- That’s how the Lord arranged it.
The answer again did not satisfy the president; when leaving the caves, he leaned over to the little treasurer and whispered in his ear:
- Tell me the secret, what do you rub them with?
“Boris Nikolaevich,” the archimandrite was not taken aback, “are there any foul-smelling people among your entourage?”
“Of course not,” Yeltsin said in a deep voice.
- So why do you think that someone around the Heavenly Father should smell bad?!
PHENOMENON OF PECHERSKY CAVES
This phenomenon has been known for a long time, but has not yet been solved. Many have tried to find an explanation for it. Indeed, why, after the deceased is brought here, do his remains immediately stop emitting a characteristic smell? Atheists were especially zealous during the Soviet years.
The most fantastic versions were put forward, starting with the one that later occurred to Yeltsin: monks almost daily anoint the bodies of the dead with incense. But only those who have little idea of the size of the burials can believe this.
Another version is also popular: all odors are absorbed by local sandstones. It was this hypothesis that secular guides voiced to tourists in the Soviet years.
But the monks themselves consider both explanations stupid. The former governor of the monastery, the famous Archimandrite Alipiy (Voronov), when accompanying delegations of distinguished guests to the caves, always took with him a handkerchief, generously moistened with strong Soviet cologne. And when visitors started talking about the unique properties of local sandy soils, he held a handkerchief to each person’s nose and asked them to explain why the sandstones did not absorb this smell.
The confused guests did not know what to answer. Alypius also asked to pay attention to the flowers at the coffins of recently deceased monks. Roses and gladioli smelled fragrant a mile away. Satisfied with the effect produced, Alypius always asked the same question:
“Aren’t you ready to admit the fact that there is a lot in the world that is beyond the control of our minds?”
At one time, scientific research was carried out, and nearby caves were dug in the same rock, in which there was a similar temperature and air regime. Vegetables and fruits were placed in the freshly dug caves, but over time they all deteriorated and began to smell bad, but the same vegetables and fruits placed in the monastery cave remained fresh.
CITY OF DEAD
About fourteen thousand people are buried in the underground cemetery. A day is not enough to visit all the graves! Monks, Pskov priests, military men - defenders of the monastery, philanthropists, nobles, among whom there are many famous ones, for example from the family of Pushkins, Kutuzovs, Mussorgskys, Rtishchevs. Moreover, each coffin stands where it should be.
From the entrance there are seven underground galleries, the so-called streets, which have lengthened and expanded at different times. The leaders of the monastery are buried on a separate street. On the fifth and sixth streets, simple monks find their final resting place, which is why this part is called the brotherly cemetery. In other galleries, pilgrims, parishioners, and soldiers are buried.
In the walls of the caves there are ceramides - slabs with inscriptions telling about who, when and where they rested. Ceramids are real works of art, made in different techniques: glazed stone with gilding, limestone, clay, ceramic, etc. At the end of the main street there is a kanun - a special candlestick in the form of a small table, at which funeral services are held. Behind the eve is a large wooden cross.
There has long been a tradition of bringing coffins into caves and leaving them in niches. Over time, the lower ones decay, shrinkage occurs, and a new place is made available on top for the next coffin. At the same time, the air in the caves is surprisingly clean and fresh. You can breathe so easily as if you are in a forest or on the seashore.
WONDERS UNDERGROUND
Burials began here back in the 15th century. In the cave that the monks chose for the burial of their comrade, an inscription on the wall suddenly appeared: “God-created cave.”
Since then, the monks believe that their monastery was opened and created by the Almighty himself. According to legend, one of the first burials was accompanied by a miracle. The coffin with the monk's body, buried in the ground, rose to the surface the next morning. Seeing this, the brothers decided that they had made some mistake during the funeral service or burial, and they performed the whole ceremony again. However, the miracle repeated itself - the coffin “floated” to the surface again.
Miracles happen underground with enviable regularity. One day, young monks got hold of the keys to the old brotherly cemetery. There were no burials in that part of it for many centuries. The entrance to this “street” was blocked by a heavy iron door. Monks
They opened it and, lighting their way with candles, walked along the underground passage. In the niches stood old coffins that had crumbled over time.
Some were so rotten that skeletons could be seen through the holes. Soon the “pathfinders” came across a well-preserved coffin and stood thoughtfully in front of it. Curiosity took over, and the monks carefully lifted the lid.
The abbot lay in the coffin. The monk seemed to be sleeping! Not a single part of the body, including the face, was touched by decay! It seemed that a little more, and he would open his eyes and look menacingly at the living. The monks were so scared that they quickly covered the coffin with a lid and rushed back. Then they realized that they had disturbed the saint’s peace...
Lyubov SHAROVA