The Holy Trinity Ostrovoezersky Monastery is an Orthodox monastery in the town of Vorsma in Pavlovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region, located on an island in the middle of Vorsma's lake (Toskanka), approximately 60–70 km southeast of Nizhny Novgorod. Founded in the first half of the 17th century, it was a men's monastery until 1927 and has operated as a women's monastery since 2008 as part of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).[4] It is the only monastery in Nizhny Novgorod Region that stands on an island.[2]

History of the Founding and Heyday

The exact date of the monastery's founding is disputed. According to one version, it was established in 1588 at the request of the hermit Makary, who had long lived on the island: the monk petitioned Prince Boris Cherkassky, the owner of these lands, who granted permission and donated a family icon.[2] According to another version, the first buildings were erected in 1580, when two churches and wooden cells were built, while the official founding dates to the 1620s–1630s and is associated with Prince I. B. Cherkassky.[4] According to tradition, the first church bore the name of Saints Boris and Gleb, in honor of the guardian angel of Prince Boris Cherkassky, who had obtained permission to build from Tsar Ivan the Terrible.[3]

In the late seventeenth century the monastery was rebuilt in stone. Construction was funded by Prince Mikhail Yakovlevich Cherkassky; in 1688–1691 the work was supervised by the architect P. S. Potekhin, working from his own design.[4] The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity was built in 1691–1699.[3] According to other accounts, the occasion for the stone construction was a major fire in 1698, after which the monastery was rebuilt in stone.[2] The complex included a stone wall with watchtowers at the corners; only one of them has survived to the present day.[2]

The monastery is associated with a legend that during the Time of Troubles the future tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov took refuge behind its walls: the island, protected by water on all sides, was a secure refuge, and Cherkassky was the tsar's first cousin.[3] The gate church is consecrated in honor of Michael Maleinos, one of the patron saints of the Romanov dynasty, and is adorned with a hipped-roof octagonal bell tower.[2]

Closure and destruction

In 1927 the monastery was permanently closed by the Soviet authorities; the bell tower was demolished, and the buildings were converted into warehouses and workshops.[3] By 1980 the buildings had been completely abandoned and had fallen into ruin.[3] In 1995 the surviving remains of the monastery complex were placed under state protection.[3]

Revival

In 2007 the buildings were returned to the diocese and restoration work began.[4] Since 2008 the monastery has been open as a convent for women.[3] Nuns live and work there, and the churches are active.[2]

The chief shrine of the convent is considered to be the tomb of the schemamonk Makary in the Trinity Church. Among its other relics are several icons painted on Mount Athos: images of the Mother of God "Oikonomissa" ("the Housekeeper"), "Gerontissa," and a copy of the miracle-working Iveron Icon of Athos. Also preserved are a cross containing a portion of the Robe of the Lord, presented in 1628 by the Persian shah to the Russian sovereign, and an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.[2]

You can reach the monastery from Nizhny Novgorod by car or bus along the Bogorodskoye highway to Vorsma; from the town bus station it is about 2 km on foot to the monastery.[2] Access to the island is by a footbridge.[3]

Links

Sources

  1. azbyka.ru — Pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Ostrovoezersky Convent: history, photos
  2. tonkosti.ru — Ostrovoezersky Monastery in Vorsma: description, history, photos, exact address
  3. sobory.ru — Vorsma, Ostrovoezersky Trinity Monastery (archive)
  4. dmitryponomarev.ru — Holy Trinity Ostrovoezersky Monastery in Vorsma