The doctor drives and drives through the snowy plain. Krasnokholmsky Anthony Monastery Monastic architectural complex

Krasnokholmsky Nikolaevsky St. Anthony Monastery, currently - Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas bishop's metochion of the Krasnokholmsky deanery of the Bezhetsk diocese of the Tver Metropolis

The monastery is located at the confluence of the Mogocha and Neledina rivers near the village of Sloboda in the modern Krasnokholmsky district of the Tver region, five km from the regional center - the city of Krasny Kholm. In the XII-XVI centuries, this territory was part of the so-called Bezhetsky Verkh - a hill in the upper reaches of the Mologa River, in the southeast of the Bezhetskaya Pyatina, the center of which was the Bezhetsy churchyard, then the city of Gorodetsko. The territory of Bezhetsky Verkh was under the political and administrative influence of Veliky Novgorod and had a special economic status. One of the busiest and most significant trade routes from Novgorod to the lands of North-Eastern Rus' passed through Bezhetsky Verkh. The presence of a busy trade route contributed to private conflicts for influence in this territory between Novgorod, Tver (from the mid-13th century) and Moscow (from the mid-14th century). By the 16th century, the influence of Moscow was consolidated in Bezhetsky Verkh, which was part of the process of forming a single centralized state. Veliky Novgorod loses its political influence over the territory, but retains spiritual influence - in church terms, Bezhetsky Verkh is subordinate to it until the end of the 18th century.

Founding of the monastery

The origin of the monastery dates back to the second half of the century. On the territory of Bezhetsky Verkh, until the first third of the 16th century, it remained the only monastery founded here, although the Moscow monasteries - Trinity-Sergius and Simonov - began to acquire land in Bezhetsky Verkh at the beginning of the 15th century.

According to the monastery "Chronicle", the only historical written source known to date on the early history of the monastery, written in the monastery itself at the beginning of 1687 by one of the monastery scribes, the monastery was founded in the year by the Monk Anthony. At this time, Rev. Anthony came to the boundaries of the city of Gorodetsko, Bezhetsky Verkh (now the city of Bezhetsk, Tver region) “from a country called Belozersk in human words.” The monastery in which he previously labored is unknown; it is suggested that it could have been the Kirillo-Belozersk monastery. Walking through areas that belonged to local landowners, the Novgorod boyars Neledinsky, the elder fell ill. Having soon received, by God’s mercy, a miraculous healing from his illness, St. Anthony decided to build a cell and a chapel, spending his future life in prayerful solitude. In accordance with ancient tradition, Anthony asked for a small plot of land from the boyar Afanasy Vasilyevich Neledinsky, choosing a remote, deserted, but picturesque place at the confluence of the Neledina and Mogocha rivers, which flows into the Mologa River, a tributary of the Volga, and “I began to live as a desert dweller and to strive for God in a good and God-pleasing life”.

There is a legend that one night St. Anthony saw an unprecedented light outside the window of his cell. When he came out, he found an icon of the saint on one of the trees. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Soon rumors spread throughout the surrounding villages about the hermit’s godly life. To St. People began to come to Anthony for advice, prayers, bringing donations, and some asked permission to live in his cell. For the resulting monastic community, the elder deigned to erect a wooden church in the name of the saint. Nicholas. A few years later the community grew and a monastery arose. According to the Chronicler, in the year of St. Anthony founded the stone church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, but soon died and was buried by the brethren in the monastery.

After the death of the founder and builder, Elder Anthony, the brethren chose a new mentor, Elder Herman. In the 1480s, he went to the Novgorod archbishop, who appointed him abbot. The monastic “Chronicle” reports in some detail about the appointment of Herman as abbot, but does not report anything about his death. Most likely, he died in the 1490s and was buried on the territory of the monastery.

XVI–XVII centuries

The monastery is being actively rebuilt and becoming a large estate. By the beginning of the 17th century, there were two stone churches, richly decorated with icons, equipped with all the necessary church and liturgical utensils and books. Tsars, rulers, local landowners, and representatives of eminent boyar families make donations to the monastery. Among the monastery's contributors are the last Rurikovichs, Archimandrite Bartholomew of the Novgorod Yuriev Monastery, Bishop of Vologda and Great Perm Joasaph, elder nun Marfa Ivanovna Romanova, Patriarch Joasaph II, the Neledinskys, Buturlins, Sheremetevs, and Godunovs. Due to the transfer of villages and hamlets into the ownership of the monastery, its patrimony grows, various monastic services appear (among which mills and solodyaniki), and economic influence in the region increases. At the end of the 17th century, an archimandry (or archimandrite) was established in the monastery - the most honorable degree among monastic monasteries. The monastery lives according to the communal charter introduced by the Novgorod Archimandrite Macarius in the monasteries of the Novgorod diocese.

The end of the 16th - the first third of the 17th century was marked by a severe economic crisis caused by the oprichnina and the events of the Time of Troubles, epidemics and crop failure. As a consequence, there was a sharp demographic decline and significant desolation of the land, which led to the impoverishment of the monastic estate. The oprichnina pogroms did not affect the monastery (such documents are unknown); it suffered mainly during the Time of Troubles, as it was repeatedly ravaged by bands of Poles and Cossacks. In the year, monks were killed (26 murdered monks were recorded in the ancient synodik), monastery villages and villages were burned.

In the second half of the 17th century, the true flourishing of the St. Nicholas Monastery began, marked by active stone construction. The beginning of the formation of the monastic Necropolis dates back to this time, the monastic “Chronicle about the conception of the Bezhetsk top of the St. Nicholas Monastery and about the construction of the churches of God and about the giving of estates to this monastery (from) the great princes and bolyars and other benefactors” was compiled.

In the 16th–17th centuries, the St. Nicholas Monastery stood on a par with the largest monasteries of that time - the Trinity-Sergius, Chudov, and Simonov monasteries.

XVIII–XIX centuries

During this period, further architectural improvement of the monastery was carried out: monastery walls and towers, monastic and abbot's cells were built and rebuilt; the temple complex was improved, renewed and modified; The area of the monastery expanded. The monastery owned: a barnyard where goats, horses, cows and bulls, sheep and lambs were kept; five mills; several farmsteads (including the Anthony Monastery participated in the construction of a farmstead for Novgorod archpastors and abbots in St. Petersburg); ascribed monastery and two hermitages; land.

With the beginning of the state reforms of Peter I, which affected the church and monastic sphere, the economic well-being of the St. Nicholas Monastery began to gradually decline. State taxation and the number of “milking” payments grew, in addition, the monastery was subject to various church fees. The balance between income, expenses and taxation in the economic life of the Anthony Monastery was so disrupted that in the year the Novgorod Bishop's House took it under its guardianship, i.e. actually assigned him to himself. Only in the year, at the request of high-ranking and eminent monastery contributors, both independence and archimandry were returned to the Anthony Monastery.

Closing and destruction of the monastery

After the revolution, the monastery ceased to exist, the entire architectural complex was destroyed. In the same year, its last abbot, Abbot John (Grechnikov), was expelled from the monastery in an unknown direction. In the same year, a trial took place over the monks who remained in the monastery, at which they were accused of counter-revolutionary activities (their further fate is unknown).

The buildings suitable for living and economic activity housed “Zhilkomkhoz” with its own barnyard, chicken coop and rabbit farm. Church valuables and documents are removed from the monastery.

Throughout the 1930s–60s, various architectural and art history organizations conducted a study of the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Krasnokholmsky Anthony Monastery. In 1969, the first “Passport for the monastery complex” was drawn up as an architectural monument (the second - in 1980); since 1960, partially preserved architectural objects have been taken under state protection.

Revival of the monastery

The monastery has the status of a cultural heritage site of Russia No. 6900815000.

Monastic architectural complex

It was formed during the 15th–19th centuries. During this period, the main architectural objects of the monastery complex were erected, some of which were only being repaired, others were rebuilt, and others were built anew. The destruction of the complex began in the 1930s after the official closure of the monastery. The monastery buildings were used for other purposes and fell into disrepair. At present, a decision has been made to carry out conservation work on St. Nicholas Cathedral with its subsequent restoration. In the Krasnokholmsky Museum of Local Lore you can see a model of the monastery, prepared for its 550th anniversary.

Monastic complex of the 15th century (1461–1493)

A wooden cell and chapel (1460s), erected by the founder of the monastery, St. Anthony Krasnokholmsky for his own food
Wooden St. Nicholas Church and wooden fence (1460-80s), erected with the formation of a monastic community
Construction of the embankment and the beginning of construction of the stone St. Nicholas Cathedral (1481)
Refectory Church of Vich. Demetrius of Thessalonica (1494), until the 1570s. was made of wood, then built in stone
Mass graves around St. Nicholas Church, archaeologists found 9 burials dating back to the 15th century

Monastery complex of the 16th – early 17th centuries

Stone St. Nicholas Cathedral (1480s), perhaps the first wooden church was still preserved in the monastery fence
Construction of a stone refectory church in honor of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary (1590–1594).
Wooden monastery fence
Holy or Red Gate on the eastern side of the fence
Wooden gate church of St. martyr Nikita with the side chapel of St. Macarius of Egypt over the Red Gate - probably rebuilt in the 1590s, erected as a tent-roofed church with three chapels (reconsecrated) in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, St. Vlkmch. Demetrius of Thessalonica, St. good knn. Boris and Gleb
Wooden bell tower (with 8 bells and clock)
Abbot's cell chambers
Brotherly cells (20) with hospital
Service and outbuildings (cellar room, cellar room, grain room, etc.)
Stables and mill (behind the monastery fence)
Mass graves within the St. Nicholas Cathedral

Monastery complex of the mid-17th – early 18th centuries

Stone St. Nicholas Cathedral (1480s; painted with frescoes in 1683), to which the Church of All Saints was added in 1690
Stone Intercession Refectory Church (1590–1594)
A three-roofed wooden church over the gate with three chapels - in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, Vlkmch. Demetrius of Thessalonica, St. Alexia of the Man of God (1650) - In 1675 it was renewed and reconsecrated under the same names. In 1690, it was dismantled, moved to an island near the monastery, and in its place a stone one was erected in honor of the Ascension of the Lord.
Stone bell tower (1667/8)

Since 1685, active stone construction began in the monastery.

Construction of stone state chambers (upper floor) and hospital wards with a church in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (lower floor)
A two-story fraternal cookhouse was built in the line of the southern wall of the monastery fence (later the Iveron building) - 90s. 17th century
In the line of the eastern wall of the monastery fence, two buildings were built - Makaryevsky cells (to the north) and cells above the passage gate (to the south) - 90s. 17th century
Construction of a stone fence
Construction of the stone fence towers; in 1697, the construction of the north-eastern and south-eastern towers was carried out
Formation of the monastery necropolis (XVII–XVIII centuries) - burials of the brethren and benefactors of the monastery
Formation of a church (wooden) complex on an island near the monastery: the church of St. Zosima and Savvaty Solovetsky, church in honor of the Nativity of John the Baptist (later in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist), bell tower
Monastery Mill (probably outside the monastery)

Monastery complex of the mid-18th – early 19th centuries

St. Nicholas Cathedral (1480s) with the Church of All Saints (1690)
Intercession Refectory Church (1590s) with the chapel of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (from 1798 to 1834)
Church of the Ascension of the Lord above the holy (eastern) gates (1690s)
Stone Church of John the Baptist above the western gate (1764)
Construction of stone abbot's cells (1748) in the line of the western fence
Brotherly cells above the passage gate (90s of the 17th century)
Makaryevsky cells (from the 90s of the 17th century to 1822)
Iversky building (from the 90s of the 17th century to 1859)
State cells and hospital cells with the hospital Annunciation Church

Expansion of the monastery territory in a southern direction.

Construction of a new stone monastery fence (1754), expansion of the walls
Construction of four more towers in the monastery fence (6 in total)
Stone service premises (guardroom and carpentry on the western wall of the fence, cookhouse on the northern wall of the fence)
Gostiny Dvor outside the monastery.

Monastery complex of the 19th – early 20th centuries

No significant construction work was carried out during this period. Almost all the work involved repairs and reconstruction of existing premises.

Changes that occurred in the architectural appearance of the monastery complex:

1813 - partial collapse of the monastery fence, in 1835–1836. shifted and made below
1822 – abolition of Makaryevsky cells, carpentry and guards
1834 - significant reconstruction of the Intercession Refectory Church with the construction of the Annunciation chapel. At the same time, the hospital Annunciation Church was abolished, and the state-owned hospital building was rebuilt. A two-story fraternal building was formed, connected to the northeastern tower.
in the 1830s the rector's building was rebuilt
1850 – a significant fire in the monastery; the refectory Church of the Intercession was significantly damaged due to unsuccessful firing of the furnace.
1852 – restoration of the Intercession Refectory Church with the construction of the Vozdvizhensky chapel
1859 – abolition of the Iveron Corps

By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery complex included:

St. Nicholas Cathedral (1480s) with the Church of All Saints (1690)
Intercession refectory church (1590s) with Vozdvizhensky chapel
Abbot's cells, brethren's cells, north-eastern tower (complex of the 17th-19th centuries)
Small fraternal building above the passage gate (XVII-XVIII centuries)
Gate stone church of John the Baptist (XVIII century)
Chapel and forge in the towers
Bell tower (60s of the 17th century)
Necropolis (XVII-XIX centuries)
Monastery Garden
Stone fence (XIX century)
Mill (outside the monastery)

Monastery complex of the XX–XXI centuries

Three walls (northern, western and southern) and the foundation of the altar part of St. Nicholas Cathedral of the 1480s, in the beginning. XXI century conservation work is being carried out
The foundation and remains of the walls of the refectory of the Intercession Church (XVI-XIX centuries) in a ruined state
The small fraternal building above the passage gate (XVII–XVIII centuries) in a ruined state
Abbot's cells and north-eastern tower (XVII–XIX centuries)

Shrines

The Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery contains in its name the names of two saints at once - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the founder of the monastery, St. Antonia.

Since its foundation in the second half of the 15th century, the main monastery church was consecrated in honor of the saint. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and until the mid-17th century the monastery was called the “House of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Ontonov Monastery.” The monastery developed a special veneration of St. Nicholas. According to ancient monastic sources, on this day holy water was consecrated in the monastery, and after the temple holiday “with St. Nicholas’s holy waters and with St. Nicholas’ image,” the abbot, or the eldest of the brethren of the monastery, went to Moscow to the Tsar with an offering. “At the same time, the image was overlaid with silver and gilding, it was lined with zendenya, and wax was prepared for the holy water.” These trips were regular (annual). Saint Nicholas was especially revered in the monastery, since his “image in the frame” was often presented as a gift to the tsar, patriarch, investors in the monastery, benefactors and various nobles who visited the monastery. It is unknown how long these traditions were preserved in the monastery, how they changed, and when and why they ceased to exist.

The abbot of the monastery, Abbot Anatoly (Smirnov), in his “Historical Description...” of the monastery provides information about three icons revered in the monastery: two iconographic images of saints. Nicholas the Wonderworker (waist belt and with miracles) and the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The half-length image is holy. Nicholas was revered as revealed. The monastic relics - ancient icons - were described and taken for storage to the St. Nicholas Cemetery Church of Red Hill in 1930. After the closure of the monastery, the location of the shrines is unknown.

Abbots of the monastery

The names of some of the first abbots of the monastery of the 15th–16th centuries are mentioned in the monastery “Chronicle”: the founder and builder of the monastery, Elder Anthony, the first abbot Herman, without observing the chronological sequence - the three abbots Paisiy, Joasaph, Constantine and Bonifatius. Many of the first abbots of the monastery found peace near the walls of St. Nicholas Cathedral, although archaeologists in the 90s of the 20th century discovered only 9 ancient burials dating back to the 15th century. In the 16th – 17th centuries, both monks from among the brethren and those who began their spiritual journey in the Tver and Novgorod monasteries became abbots of the St. Nicholas Monastery. In the 18th – first third of the 20th century, the monastery was abbotted by archimandrites from St. Petersburg, Mozhaisk, Tula, Belev, Kaluga, Polotsk, Vologda, Kargopol, Ustyug, Tomsk. To date, the names of 90 monastics are known who ruled the St. Nicholas Monastery in the period from 1461 to 1920: of them 1 founder and builder, 81 abbots (4 ruled repeatedly, 3 in question; 30 archimandrites), 8 managers.

St. Anthony (1461–1481), founder, builder
Herman (1480s - 1490s), builder, first abbot
Paisius I
Macarius
Arseny
Ignatius (1545-1546)
Joasaph I (1546-1548)
Paisius II (1548-50s; 1560-1564)
Bartholomew (formerly 1558)
Innocent (formerly 1560)
Paisius II, second time (1560-1564)
Gregory (1564-1565)
Jonah I (1565-1572)
Paisius III (from 1572)
Boniface (1570s)
Alexander (1574-1582)
Theodosius (1582; 1591)
Alexander, again (1583-1585)
Joachim (1585-1587)
Constantine (1587-1591; 1593)
Gury (cellarer) and treasurer - stewards (1591)
Xenophon (1598)
Joseph I (1602-1606)
Kirill (1607-1613)
Jonah II (1614-1627) - the beginning of the revival of the monastery after the Polish-Lithuanian devastation is associated with his abbotship
Barsanuphius (1627-1629)
Dionysius (1631-1635)
Jonah III (1635-1639) - confessor of the “great empress” nun Marfa Ivanovna Romanova
Sylvester (1640-1641)
Nikander (1642-1646)
Niphon (1646-1647)
Jonah IV (1647)
Joasaph (1647–1654)
Nikon (1655-1657)
Bogolep (1658-1662)
Abraham (1663-1670)
Joasaph III (1671-1675)
Sergius (1675-1680)
Lavrentiy Solovyanin (1680) - manager
Varlaam (1680-1682)
Filaret (1682-1683)
Paisius IV (1683-1687) - under him the monastery “Chronicle” was compiled
Kharlampy (1687-1690)
Joseph (1690-1701) - first abbot archimandrite
Adrian (1702-1703)
Joseph(1703-1714)
Tarasiy (1714-1715)
Ioannikiy (1716)
Seraphim I (1717-1724)
Lawrence (1725-1726)
Macarius (Molchanov) (1727-1737)
Venedikt (Koptev) (1738-1739)
Evdokim (after 1739-1741)
Joseph (Arbuzov) (1741-1742)
Sosipater (1742-1743)
Mitrofan (1743-1747)
Ignatius (Kremenetsky) (1748-1751)
Joseph (1751-1756)
Vissarion (1756-1759)
Barsanuphius (1760-1761)
Vincent (1761)
Mark (1761-1767) - a copy was made with him from the monastery “Chronicle”
Barsanuphius, again (1767-1774)
Hilarion (Maksimovich) (1774-1791) - under him another copy was made from the monastery “Chronicle”
Sergius (Klokov) (1791-1795)
Meletius (1795-1799)
Feofan (Nekrasov) (1800-1801)
Nektary (Vereshchagin) (1801-1804)
Agapit (Skvortsov) (1804–1806)
Anatoly (Svyazev) (1806-1808)
Nektary (Vereshchagin), again (1808-1809)
Feoktist (Gromtsov) (1809-1811)
Seraphim II (Muravyov) (1812-1816)
Joasaph (1816-1829)
Peter (Vladimirsky) (1829-1832)
Seraphim III (1833-1836)
Victor (Lebedev) (1837-1839)
Amfilohiy (Sveshnikov) (1839-1843)
Joasaph (1845)
Paisiy (1843-1853)
Innokenty (Odintsov) (1853-1861)
Anthony (Dievsky) (1861-1864)
Victor (Gumilevsky) (1864-1869)
Anatoly (Smirnov) (1869-1899) - the first historiographer of the monastery, author of the "Historical description of the Krasnokholmsky Nikolaevsky Anthony Monastery of the Veyegonsky district of the Tver province" (Tver, 1883); During his tenure, a scientific study of the history of the monastery began
Rafail (Trukhin) (1899-1901)
Pavel (1902-1907) - in 1904, thanks to his efforts, royal and bishop's letters of the 16th-18th centuries from the archives of the monastery were published
Afanasy (1908-1909)
Filaret (Denisov) (1909-1914)
John (Grechnikov) (1914 - 1918)

Makariy (Mironov) (September 20, 1918 - 1922)

Siluan (Konev) (since 2013), rector of the Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Bishop's Metochion

Video

Bulletin of Orthodoxy: Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery (550th anniversary of the monastery). Orthodox studio in St. Petersburg, 2011

On air: Channel 5 (St. Petersburg), TV program LOT, program "Bulletin of Orthodoxy": November 27, 2011; SOYUZ TV channel, program "Bulletin of Orthodoxy": December 2, 5, 6, 2011; uploaded to YouTube by the copyright holder on November 30, 2011. This film was recorded on the DVD "Pilgrimage to Holy Places: Part 5. Orthodox Study of St. Petersburg, 2011."

Reportage

Used materials

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Tarasov A.E., Tarasova N.P.“Chronicle of the conception of the Bezhetsky Upper St. Nicholas Monastery”: time and circumstances of creation. P. 228.
Zhiznevsky A.K. Ancient archive of the Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery. M., 1879.
Anatoly (Smirnov), abbot. Historical description... P. 20–21.
Guseva S.V., Tarasova N.P., Tarasov A.E. Antoniev Monastery in the Name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Russian) // Orthodox Encyclopedia. M., 2015. T. 38: Corinth - Holy Martyr Criscentia. P. 445.
Tarasova N. P., Sorokin V. N. Light of the world: Abbots... P. 33–35.

On the banks of the Mogocha River, in the small village of Sloboda not far from Red Hill, there are the ruins of a huge, once majestic and prosperous monastery. It was founded, according to the chronicles, by Elder Anthony, a hieromonk from the Belozersky region. He settled in the possession of boyar A.V. Neledinsky, built himself a cell and a chapel. Soon monastics began to come and stay here, and their settlement was surrounded by a wooden fence. A wooden church was built in the fence in the name of St. Nicholas. In 1481, with funds from the Neledinsky-Meletsky boyars and donations from the Uglich prince Andrei Bolshoi (brother of Ivan III), a new colossal stone St. Nicholas Cathedral began to be built on the site of the wooden church. Its ruins - three huge walls with paintings preserved by some miracle - have survived to this day. In its architecture, the cathedral is close to its Moscow “brothers”, and it is likely that Moscow masters were invited for its construction - Italians, who were building cathedrals in the Kremlin at about the same time. In 1492, a refectory was built with the Church of Demetrius of Thessalonica, which was dismantled at the end of the 16th century. The monastery was very rich; it owned many lands, including the village of Spas on Kholm (the current regional center of Krasny Kholm). During the Time of Troubles, the monastery was destroyed, but was later rebuilt: at the end of the 17th century, the Brethren's buildings, the gateway Church of the Ascension, and a fence with towers were erected.

During Soviet times, the monastery was closed and destroyed. Collective farm residents were resettled in its buildings. The walls and towers were dismantled. St. Nicholas Cathedral was beheaded in the 1930s, and its altar was destroyed. Only three walls have survived - the southern, western and northern, on which the paintings are miraculously still visible. About 20 years ago, attempts were made to at least preserve the unique monument, but now there are no traces of the wooden canopies left. The Ascension Gate Church is somewhat better preserved. Now chickens walk around the monastery territory and goats graze. Local residents, led by a priest, erected a wooden memorial cross next to the site of the altar, but the modest small parish, of course, has no funds for the restoration of ancient monuments.

St. Nicholas Monastery, 3rd class, dormitory, near the provincial town of Krasny Kholm, 76 versts from the district town of Vesyegonsk. Founded in 1461 by the desert dweller and hieromonk of the Belozersk region Anthony. In the cathedral church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in the 15th century from white stone, there are two icons of this saint that have existed since that time, one of which is revered as revealed.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov “Russian monasteries in 1913”

Not far from the city in 1461, Hieromonk Anthony, who arrived from the Belozersk side to the deserted bank of the river. Mologi, a monastery was founded. The first church was erected with donations from the local boyar Afanasy Neledinsky-Meletsky in the name of St. Nicholas, on the site of the miraculous appearance of his icon to the monk. Being the abbot of the monastery he founded, the monk edified his brethren with frequent teachings and especially the example of his ascetic life. He died in 1481 and his body was buried under a bushel in one of the aisles of St. Nicholas Cathedral. Over the years, the monastery was built, its estates grew. In the 1760s. The Bezhetsky Vvedensky Monastery was assigned to the monastery. A parochial school was opened in 1783, and from 1809 the Krasnokholmsky Theological School was located in the monastery. By the end of the 19th century, the monastery occupied a rectangular area. There were four stone churches in it: the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, from the southwestern corner with which the small Church of All Saints was built in 1690 (in the cathedral there were icons of St. Nicholas, one of which was revealed); the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos with the chapel of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (1592); Voznesenskaya (1691) above the Holy Gates; gateway to Ioanno-Predtechenskaya (1764). The three-tiered stone bell tower (1668) housed a library and archive. There was a two-story abbot's building (1748), a brethren's building (1685), and small stone cells above the gate. Outside the fence there was a stone chapel built in the south-eastern tower.
After the revolution, the Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery suffered the fate of many monasteries in Russia. It was destroyed and from the buildings of the late 17th century the remains of the wall, the Brethren's building, the abbot's cells and the north-eastern tower have reached us. The walls of St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in the 15th century, are also partially preserved. Perhaps the temple would have survived better if the destruction of the shrine had not continued to this day, and the bricks of the unique monument had not been taken away. But somewhere among these lonely walls there is a place where the holy relics of the saint of God, St. Anthony of Krasnokholmsky, lie hidden.
Reverend Father Anthony, pray to God for us sinners!
* * *

The history of the St. Nicholas Monastery has not yet been written today; in any case, it is not reflected in literature as brightly, fully and interestingly as almost five and a half centuries of its existence deserve. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, in the post-revolutionary period, the St. Nicholas Monastery was devastated and destroyed, museumification of its objects was not carried out, and materials and information on its history were not collected. Both the architectural masterpieces of the monastery and the very memory of it turned out to be unnecessary and unclaimed.

Secondly, at the moment a relatively limited range of written sources telling about the monastery has been introduced into scientific circulation. Almost everyone who turns to the past of the monastery relies on the testimony of the “Chronicle of the conception of the Bezhetsk Verkh of the St. Nicholas Monastery...”, which tells about the founding of the monastery and the early period of its history, as well as on the information given in the “Historical Description of the Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery...” , compiled by Abbot Anatoly (Smirnov) and published in Tver in 1883.

Thirdly, the relatively recently carried out archaeological work on the territory of the monastery (90s of the 20th century) has apparently not yet been properly taken into account by either the scientific community or the authorities.

That’s why today we don’t know much about the history of the St. Nicholas Monastery. It is known that it was founded at the end of the 15th century. an elder who probably came from the famous Kirillo-Belozersk monastery, since the monastery chronicler indicates that the Monk Anthony was from the “country of Belozesk”. Finding himself in the city of Gorodetsk, Bezhetsky Verkh (the borderland of the Novgorod and Tver lands), the elder fell ill. After recovering from the illness, he decided to settle near the city in a secluded place. People began to flock to him, soon the brethren gathered, and a monastery arose.

According to the monastery Chronicler, the main role in the establishment of the monastery was played by the local boyars Neledensky-Meletsky. But, analyzing the political situation at the end of the 15th century, it seems more likely that Prince Andrei Bolshoi Uglichesky took part in the creation of a monastery on the lands of his inheritance.

Andrei Bolshoi - the younger brother of Ivan III, the creator of the united Russian state, the builder of the Moscow Kremlin - was also a very prominent figure in the political arena of that time. And, most likely, only the prince, and not the local patrimonial boyars, was able to build such a powerful temple, outstanding in its architectural characteristics, as St. Nicholas Cathedral of the St. Anthony Monastery. Thus, V.P. Vygolov’s version about Andrei Uglich’s patronage of the construction of a new monastery in his lands looks plausible. Moreover, the founding of the monastery in 1461 coincides with the receipt of Bezhetsky Verkh into the hereditary possession of this local ruler (1462). In the church administration, Bezhetsky Verkh (Bezhetskaya Pyatina or Bezhetsky Ryad), and, consequently, the monastery depended until 1776 on the Novgorod see (the overwhelming number of abbots of the Anthony Monastery came from Novgorod monasteries; according to the ancient expense books of the monastery, in the 16th - 17th centuries. The St. Nicholas Monastery lived according to the cenobitic monastic charter, introduced in the monasteries of the Novgorod diocese by Arch. Macarius of Novgorod during the reign of Vasily III).

The presence in the St. Nicholas Monastery already in the 15th-16th centuries. two stone buildings (the main St. Nicholas Church with a border and the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica with a refectory), richly decorated icons, various liturgical utensils, rich priestly vestments and liturgical books (there were 11 altar Gospels, some of which were decorated with gold, silver and velvet ), significant land plots and various monastic services (among which mills and “solodyanskie”) put it on a par with the largest monasteries of that time.

XVI – XVII centuries - this is the time of development, if not flourishing, of the Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery. Both local landowners and representatives of eminent boyar families make donations to the monastery (among the monastery’s contributors were Prince Andrei Bolshoi Uglichsky, the Neledinsky boyars, the archimandrites of the Novgorod Yuryev Monastery Bartholomew, the Buturlins, the Sheremetevs, the Godunovs). Due to the transfer of villages and hamlets into the ownership of the monastery, its patrimony grows (in 1564 the monastery had 149 villages, and in them there are 215.5 villages), its economic well-being and influence in the region are strengthened. New buildings appeared on the territory of the monastery (at the end of the 16th century, a church was built in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, also with a refectory and with various services; a three-altar gate church was built in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, St. Grand Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica and St. Blessed Prince. Boris and Gleb - the latter was reconsecrated in 1650 in honor of Alexy the man of God; some other churches, stone cells and a fence, and other buildings), the Necropolis of the monastery is being formed. Since the end of the 17th century, an archimandry (or archimandrite - the most honorable degree among monastic monasteries) was established in the monastery, although probably not without the diligent intercession of its influential contributors.

But the 16th century brought ruin and misfortune to the lands of Bezhetsky Verkh, on the territory of which the monastery was located. The army of the guardsmen of Ivan IV the Terrible passed like a dark wave through these lands, bringing death to many local landowners and their people. Although later the God-fearing ruler more than once donated to the monastery of St. Anthony received rich gifts, including for the commemoration of the “disgraced people” he killed (for example, 12 small icons in silver frames). In addition, the last third of the 16th century was marked by a severe economic crisis, caused not only by a number of socio-economic reasons, but also by an epidemic and crop failure. And as a result, there was a sharp demographic decline and significant desolation of land.

The 17th century was a troubled time in the history of Russia. Polish interventionists jeopardized the preservation of Russian statehood and culture. Locally, the terrible events of that time also affected the history of the monastery, located among the forests at the confluence of the Mogocha River and the Neledina River. The monastery authorities tried to pay off the gangs of bandit gangs of Cossacks and Poles with money, but they still failed to save the monastery and its estates from ruin (even at the end of the 16th century there was a tendency to reduce the population of the monastery estates, the number of brethren decreased, many monastic villages turned into wastelands) . And in 1611, a tragedy occurred: the monks were killed (26 murdered monks were recorded in the old synodik), monastery villages and villages were burned. Only in the second half of the 17th century did the gradual revival of the monastery and its possessions begin. According to the 1678 census, the monastery included 103 villages and villages, which numbered 614 households (probably, the St. Nicholas Monastery belonged to the category of large monasteries, which numbered from 100 to 1,000 peasant households). However, in the 17th century, state policy in relation to monasteries was built taking into account the social demands of the nobility and the needs of the authorities themselves, primarily financial, land, palace, military and others. Therefore, the main direction of the government's political course is to take into account church estates and peasant households in them, control over monastic property, income and expenses of monasteries.

Peculiarities of life and development of the St. Nicholas Monastery in the 18th – 19th centuries. fit into the general context of Russian history, information about which can be found in the available historical literature. Let's just say that during this period further architectural improvement of the monastery was carried out: monastery walls and towers, monastic and abbot's cells were built and rebuilt; the temple complex was improved, renewed and modified; The area of the monastery expanded. The largest number of people supported by the monastery occurred in the 1720s: there were 72 monastics (including 10 hieromonks) and other ministers - more than 100 people. According to the first census (audit) of the population, conducted in 1722, there were 4,031 souls and men in the monastery. gender, and according to the third - 1762 - 4,620 souls. The monastery owned a barnyard where goats, horses, cows and bulls, sheep and lambs were kept, 5 mills, several farmsteads (including the Anthony Monastery participated in the construction of a farmstead for the Novgorod archpastors and abbots in St. Petersburg), ascribed monastery and 2 deserts, land. However, with the beginning of the state reforms of Peter I, which also affected the church and monastic sphere, the economic well-being of the St. Nicholas Monastery began to gradually decline. State taxation grew, the number of “milking payments” grew, in addition, the monastery was subject to various church fees. The balance between income, expenses and taxation in the economic life of the Antonev Monastery was so disrupted that in 1724 the Novgorod bishop's house took it under its guardianship, and actually assigned it to itself. Only in 1727, at the request of high-ranking and eminent monastery contributors (among whom was Senator Yu. S. Neledinsky-Meletsky), both independence and archimandrite were returned to the Anthony Monastery. But already the reform of Catherine II (1764), aimed at transferring all monastic property into state property, deprived, among others, the St. Nicholas Monastery of its former significance as the largest land user, although according to the states it was included in the number of monasteries of the 2nd class (in 1766 the monastery owned 14,600, including forest lands, acres of land).

Further, during the provincial reform of Catherine II, in 1764, the village of Spas on Kholma ceased to be the patrimony of the Anthony Monastery. In 1776, Decree No. 14420 was issued on renaming the villages of Vesyegonsk and Spas na Kholma as cities and annexing them to the Tver Viceroyalty. The decree read: “For the benefit and for the greater benefit of the residents of the established Tver Viceroyalty... divide the Bezhetsky district into two parts, leaving a part under the city of Bezhetsk in 28,336 and assigning 25,139 souls to the village of Krasny Kholm, calling this village a city...”. Thus, a new name was assigned to the former village of Spas on Kholm - Krasny Kholm, the village was transformed into the city center of the Krasnokholmsky district of the Tver Governorate, then the Tver province. In 1778, a regular plan for the new city was approved, covering a large area that included the ancient village (at the northern edge of the city), the Anthony Monastery (at the southern end) and three settlement villages located between them - Gluntsovskaya, Nikolskaya and Bortnitskaya. Thus, the St. Nicholas Monastery, which at one time was a respectable patrimonial estate, actually entered the city limits of Red Hill, which in turn contributed to a new redistribution of the monastery’s property. Over the next decades (the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century), the regular plan was only partially implemented. Essentially, only that part of the plan was implemented that concerned the northern part of the city, covering the territory of the ancient village of Spas on Kholma and several blocks south of it, mainly on the right bank of the Neledina. And although the coat of arms of the city of Krasny Kholm was approved in 1781, already in 1796 the Krasnokholmsky district was abolished, and its territory was divided and included in the Bezhetsky and Vesyegonsky districts of the Tver province. The city of Red Hill is becoming unimportant. In 1836, the St. Nicholas Monastery was transferred to the III class of regular monasteries: the monastery was part of the diocesan administration, it was supervised by the dean of the monasteries, and the abbot governed such a monastery.

Despite the rather tense economic life, in the 18th – 19th centuries. St. Nicholas Monastery played the role of the spiritual and educational center of the area. In 1783, a parochial school was opened in the monastery, and from 1809 to 1834 a theological school operated. By the 19th century The monastery library consisted of more than 300 printed books and 2 handwritten books, and had a rich ancient handwritten archive for the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

The end of the 19th century was the time that marked the beginning of the study of the history of this ancient monastery of the Tver diocese.

The 20th century is a martyrdom period for the entire Russian Orthodox Church, and it became such for the Antonyev Monastery. The monastery ceased to exist, the entire architectural complex was destroyed and distorted beyond recognition. Even the 60s - 70s of the twentieth century - a time of revival of interest in Russian culture and its monuments - did not bring positive changes in the fate of the monastery. Only in the 90s. The St. Nicholas Monastery, thanks to the uniqueness of its St. Nicholas Cathedral, an architectural monument of the 15th century, was talked about at conferences, and publications appeared on the pages of scientific periodicals. Perhaps this masterpiece of architecture and the first church of the monastery will become the flagship that will finally bring the ancient monastery out of the obscurity and desolation of recent years, because the words of M.F. always sound prophetically over the many problems of Russian life and trials for its spirituality and culture. Dostoevsky: “Beauty will save the world.”

The article was compiled by Ph.D. Alekseeva S.V., Tarasova N.P.

Located on the left bank of the river. Mogochi at the confluence of the river. Nelediny, 2 kilometers from the town of Krasny Holm. Prince Semyon Ivanovich, son of Ivan III, granted at the beginning of the 16th century. To the St. Nicholas Monastery, the village of Transfiguration of the Spasovo and the Life-Giving Trinity on the Hill (the future city of Red Hill) and 29 surrounding villages. Ivan IV the Terrible made large monetary contributions to the St. Nicholas Monastery for the commemoration of Queen Anastasia, Tsarevich Ivan, whom he killed, and executed disgraced people.

The foundation of the monastery dates back to 1461, when the Monk Anthony, who came here probably from the northern Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, settled on these lands. In 1481, construction began on a stone cathedral in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In the same year, the Monk Anthony also ended his earthly life and was buried on the territory of the monastery (his relics were kept under wraps; at present, the location of his burial is unknown). The Monk Anthony still managed to bless the beginning of the construction of the cathedral church.

At different times, the following were erected in the monastery: St. Nicholas Cathedral (1481-1493) - one of the oldest architectural monuments in the territory not only of the Tver region, but throughout Russia (three walls of the cathedral have been preserved); Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1590-1594) (two walls have been preserved); fraternal corps (1685); abbot's corps (1748); Church of the Ascension (1690); fraternal small building above the passage gate (1690-1697); northeast tower (1697). All surviving stone buildings have the status of cultural heritage sites of federal significance.

The time of spiritual and material prosperity of the monastery - XV-XVI centuries. In 1526, the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily III visited the monastery. Contributions to the monastery were made by representatives of Tver and Moscow boyar and noble families: the Tyutchevs, the Sheremetevs, the Neledinsky-Meletskys (owners of the surrounding lands), the Milyukovs, the Buturlins, the Shcherbakovs, etc. In the middle of the 16th century. The monastery was a large landowner: it owned 149 villages in different counties.

During the Polish intervention at the beginning of the 17th century. detachments of Poles penetrated into Bezhetsky Verkh. The monastery was forced to recognize False Dmitry II as king. In December 1608, the abbot of the monastery, Kirill, went to the impostor “in the regiments.” The monks repeatedly gave the Poles money and fodder “to protect themselves and their estates,” which, however, did not save the monastery from plunder. It was defeated, 26 monks died, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages were killed, and some fled. Hetman Khodkevich’s detachment was stationed in the monastery.

In March 1612, the leaders of the militia Minin and Pozharsky sent a detachment under the command of princes D. Cherkassky and I. Troekurov to liberate the monastery and other places occupied by the Poles. The enemies left the monastery without a fight. In 1641, the monastery was issued a charter that established the amount of fees for various goods brought to the fair.

In 1764, Empress Catherine II issued a decree on the secularization (seizure) of monastic lands, according to which about a million serfs were taken from the monasteries and came under the jurisdiction of the College of Economy. St. Nicholas Monastery was included in the number of monasteries of the 2nd, and in 1836 - of the 3rd class. He was left with only 30 acres of land, but all taxes were abolished. There were 17 monastics and 17 employees remaining within the walls of the monastery.

Having lost its land holdings, the monastery remained a major religious center. On Orthodox holidays, a large number of pilgrims flocked here. In the monastery, in a stone three-tiered bell tower, an ancient archive and a collection of ancient church books were kept.

Representatives of many noble families were buried in the monastery cemetery. Since 1809, the Krasnokholmsky Theological School was located in the monastery. After the revolution of 1917, the monastery was closed, in the 1930s. many of the monastery's buildings were destroyed.

Currently, temples and other buildings of the monastery are in need of urgent restoration work. A public fund for the revival of the monastery has been created. In 2010, Archbishop (now Metropolitan) Victor of Tver and Kashin made a decision to prepare to register the monastery as a functioning monastery.

Date of publication or update 12/15/2017

Krasnokholmsky St. Nicholas Monastery.

Address of the St. Nicholas Monastery: Tver region, Krasny Holm, Sloboda village, from Krasny Holm 5 km along the Krasny Holm - Bezhetsk highway.
Nikolaevsky Antoniev Monastery: http://tver-antonievmon.narod.ru

However, with the beginning of the state reforms of Peter I, which also affected the church and monastic sphere, the economic well-being of the St. Nicholas Monastery began to gradually decline. State taxation grew, the number of “milking payments” grew, in addition, the monastery was subject to various church fees. The balance between income, expenses and taxation in the economic life of the Antonev Monastery was so disrupted that in 1724 the Novgorod bishop's house took it under its guardianship, and actually assigned it to itself. Only in 1727, at the request of high-ranking and eminent monastery contributors (among whom was Senator Yu. S. Neledinsky-Meletsky), both independence and archimandrite were returned to the Anthony Monastery. But already the reform of Catherine II (1764), aimed at transferring all monastic property into state property, deprived, among others, the St. Nicholas Monastery of its former significance as the largest land user, although according to the states it was included in the number of monasteries of the 2nd class (in 1766 the monastery owned 14,600, including forest lands, acres of land).

The end of the 19th century was the time that marked the beginning of the study of the history of this ancient monastery of the Tver diocese.