Zachatievsky Stavropigial Nunnery

Zachatievsky Monastery is the first women’s monastery in the Moscow lands, tracing its history back to the second half of the 14th century. The monastery complex, a kind of island of patriarchal Moscow, is located in the very center of the Russian capital, in the prestigious Khamovniki district, which Muscovites call the Golden Mile. The Zachatievsky Monastery is constantly attracting a stream of pilgrims and tourists who want to get acquainted with its amazing history, to see the miraculous shrines kept here.

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Video: Zachatievsky Monastery

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Highlights

The convent is hidden in the silence of two Zachatievsky lanes, near the ancient Ostozhenka Street, dotted today with elite pompous buildings. At the same time, the monastery remains part of the spatial, architectural, historical and spiritual unity, which is formed by the Moscow Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Obydensky Lane. Once outside the walls of the monastery, where peace and tranquility reign, you can not believe that very close to the noise of the Garden Ring, and a 10-minute walk from here the citizens tastefully relax in the Central Park of Culture named after Gorky.

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During almost 7 centuries of its existence, the cloister has been subjected to fires and devastation more than once, but was invariably restored. It consists mainly of modern religious buildings that grew on the foundations of their ancient predecessors. The oldest temple preserved on the territory of Zachatievsky Monastery is the Church of the Savior of the Non-Reclining Image, erected in the second half of the XVII century. The oldest structures found during archaeological excavations on the territory of the monastery are preserved, they can be viewed in the underground museum of monastic history.

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From the 16th century to the present day, the Zachatievsky Monastery in Moscow is known as a cult place where couples without children come in the last hope of giving birth to a baby. The belief that praying at the miraculous icons of the monastery will fulfill their innermost dreams sometimes materializes in a surprising way. In any case, it is described in the chronicles of miracles occurring after prayers. The facts are scrupulously recorded by the nuns of the monastery.

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History of the Zachatiev Monastery

The history of the Zachatievsky Convent dates back to 1360. Then in the area of the future Khamovniki, with the blessing of St. Alexis of Moscow and All Russia, a small wooden church was built, dedicated to the Venerable Alexis, a man of God. It gave the original name to the first women’s monastery in Moscow, which came to be called the Alexeevskaya Monastery. The original members of the monastery were the sisters of Metropolitan Alexis, who took monasticism under the names of Eupraxia and Juliana. The monastery, which was a monastic community with undivided property and common household, served as a model for the establishment of other women’s monasteries in the Moscow state.

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The monastery was also called Zachatievsky after in 1514 Grand Duke Vasily III, praying for the birth of an heir, granted gold and silver for the construction of the first monastery stone cathedral church in honor of the Conception of St. Anna.

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The heir of the Grand Duke, later glorified under the name of Ivan the Terrible, was born only 16 years after the laying of the temple, and gave a son to Basil III already his second wife. But whatever fulfilled the desire of the Grand Duke – the Providence of God or prosaic circumstances, for Zachatievsky Monastery firmly established the fame of the place where “God’s grace gives help in Chadorodiya.”

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In 1547, a great fire occurred in Moscow, almost completely destroying the monastery. Most of the sisters and the entire monastery household moved to the tract of Chertolye. This land was granted to the affected monastery by Ivan the Terrible. Here until the first quarter of the XIX century was located Alexeevsky Monastery, which gave way in the 30’s to the Church of Christ the Savior.

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The nuns who remained at the fire, formed a small monastery, where they worked in the hope of better times. Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich began to rebuild the monastery in 1584. The tsar visited the monastery more than once with Tsarina Irina Godunova in the same hope for the birth of an heir. Up to the beginning of the Time of Troubles, the monastery was rebuilding a cathedral complex, which included the Church of the Conception of St. Anne and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with side chapels and a bell tower.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries Zachatievsky monastery was given generous gifts by royalty and nobles, the inhabitants of the monastery were girls of noble blood, princesses and tsarevnas. In 1696, at the expense of Andrei Rimsky-Korsakov, a nobleman of Peter the Great, an ornate over-the-gate church of the Savior of the Unconquerable was built, which became the house temple of this famous family. In the basement was the burial vault of the Rimsky-Korsakov family, as well as the Shakhovskys, another noble family.

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At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries the appearance of the monastery was significantly transformed. The dilapidated church of the Conception of St. Anne was dismantled, and in its place in 1805-1807 was erected a new majestic cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with three side chapels, one of them – in the name of the Conception of St. Anne.

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In 1812 Zachatievsky monastery was ravaged by Napoleon’s troops, but the nuns did not leave their cells. In the middle of the XIX century in the monastery walls erected almshouse for elderly nuns with a small, built in the Byzantine style of the church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of the next century the monastery added another building – a new building with a spacious refectory and workshops where the nuns practiced needlework.

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In 1922, the monastery’s relics, icons, utensils and liturgical books were looted by the Bolsheviks, but the monastery continued to operate. Three years later the Communists closed it down and the nuns were expelled. The self-sacrificing women managed to save some relics, including the miracle-working image of the Mother of God “Milostivaya”, which appeared in the Zachatievsky Monastery in the XVIII century and was considered its main relic. They were moved to the Church of the Prophet of God Elijah in Obydensky Lane, where a small community of nuns who had escaped persecution continued their monastic life. In 1934, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the bell tower were ordered by the authorities to be blown up, and a school building was built in place of the old church buildings. Other temples of the monastery were destroyed or rebuilt beyond recognition.

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The revival of the Zachatievsky Monastery began with the onset of the 90s. On its territory worked archaeologists, builders, restorers and nuns of the sisterhood at the Ilyinsky Church. In 1995, the Holy Synod returned the monastery to the status of a stavropegial monastery, and 4 years later here with honors met the ancient shrine – the icon “Graceful.”

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Temples and shrines

Zachatievsky Monastery is fenced with a red-brick high wall. Behind it stand the gilded domes of the snow-white Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the monastery square, in front of the front gate visitors are greeted by a sculpture of St. Alexis, installed in 2011 in memory of the founder of the ancient monastery. The author of the monument, sculptor Andrei Zabaluev, depicted the saint in bronze. The bishop’s vestment is skillfully decorated with stylized crosses combined with floral ornaments and looks extremely rich, like the vestments of a Byzantine emperor. In his left hand, the Metropolitan holds a model of the future main monastery temple, the right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing.

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Above the wide vaulted front entrance to the monastery towers over the gate church of the Savior of the Nerukotvorny Image, built at the very end of the XVII century. It is the oldest of the surviving monastery buildings, although after repeated repairs and restorations its authentic appearance has undergone changes. Unfortunately, the paintings that adorned the walls of the temple until the middle of the XVIII century have not survived.

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The elegant Church of the Savior is built in the popular at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries Naryshkin style, with elements of Russian patterning and decoration of red brick and hewn white stone. The external appearance corresponds to the interior decoration of the temple. Here you will immediately notice the three-tier baroque iconostasis, made in red and maroon colors and decorated with gilded carvings. It was recreated on the basis of archival materials and installed in 2013.

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In the basement is the burial of St. Alexis and the family tomb of the Rimsky-Korsakovs, whose house church was until 1774. The possessions of this family were opposite the monastery. Then the church became a part of the monastery, baptisms and funerals were held here. It is known that the legendary opera singer Fyodor Chaliapin, who lived in the neighborhood, baptized his children in the Church of the Savior.

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The dominant architectural complex of Zachatievsky Monastery and its spiritual center is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated in 2010. It was erected on the site of the grandiose cathedral of the same name, built at the very beginning of the century before last and which in turn became the successor of more ancient temples. The predecessor of the modern Christmas Cathedral, made in the Gothic style, was destroyed by the Soviet authorities in the 30s of the last century. When restoring the temple from the Gothic forms decided to abandon, and on the excavated foundations of the XVI-XIX centuries grew 48-meter majestic cathedral in the traditions of Old Russian architecture.

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In the volumes of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, impressive for its harmonious proportions and impressive size, there are two levels. Ascending to the sky building includes the main five-domed church with a five-tier iconostasis, effectively shaded by snow-white walls, small one-story temples, refectory, side chapels. Fragments of the walls of the destroyed monastery buildings and one hundred and fifty stone tombstones over the burials of the remains of representatives of noble families – the Vorontsovs, Bolotnikovs, Golovkins and many others – are preserved underground. The dungeon also houses a museum of monastic history.

A particularly revered place is in the Kazan aisle of the cathedral. This is an ancient tomb in which Hegumen Juliana and nun Eupraxia were buried. The relics of the founders of the monastery are hidden in a secret place until time, and the tomb is always crowded – the faithful come to it to pray for healing and miraculous help.

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The miraculous relics of the monastery also include a belt of the Blessed Virgin embroidered in gold on velvet, which is kept in the carved ark of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. It was created by the hands of nuns and consecrated at the ark with the Honored Belt of the Virgin Mary, a relic of the Vatoped Monastery on Mount Athos.

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In the main church it is impossible not to notice the main shrine of the Zachatievsky Monastery in Moscow – the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God “Milostivaya”, which is visited daily by a string of worshipers and laypeople. The prayer service “For the bestowal of children” takes place at this very image. To him, happy mothers bring various gifts in gratitude for the appearance of their long-awaited children: gold jewelry, precious stones, symbolic objects created by their own hands, coins – there are countless of them.

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The ancient icon, painted, according to legend, by the Cypriot Apostle Luke, is also called “Hearer”. Probably the image received this name due to the fact that the Virgin Mary is depicted on it with an open ear. To him it is possible to bow down and tell about the innermost desire.

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With a request for the birth of children, women also turn their eyes to other monastery icons. It is believed that the images of “Kikkka Milostivaya”, St. George the Victorious, as well as the Conception of Orthodox Anna have a special miraculous power – a separate temple is dedicated to this saint, located in the right wing of the new refectory building.

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In the underground part of the cathedral, fragments of the four previous monastery churches have been preserved. There is also a “cave” temple painted in red fiery colors in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Neopalimaya Kupina.”

In 2018, the restoration of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, built in the mid-19th century, was completed. At her before the revolution there was an almshouse. On Saturdays and Sundays, services are held in the church.

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Museum at the monastery

The underground museum of monastic history, located in the basement of the Nativity Cathedral, houses unique exhibits telling the story of the centuries-old history of the monastery. In a series of small halls are artifacts found during archaeological excavations that have been conducted on the territory of the Zachatievsky Monastery since the beginning of the XXI century. They involved not only specialists, but also nuns. It is they, by the way, excavated a very original artifact – the bone of a mammoth.

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Archaeological finds keep the memory of different historical periods. The museum presents ceramic bowls from the period of the Golden Horde, fragments of a dish of expensive Chinese earthenware of the XIV century, fragments of products from Moscow ceramics of the XVI century, ancient coins, crosses. Vessels for oil are also demonstrated in the museum, thanks to them the dates of ancient burials on the territory of the monastery were determined. Oil from the vessels was poured on the body of the deceased, after which the empty bowls were placed in the coffin, and for each era was characterized by their special form. In the museum you can see a monk’s cell of the XV century discovered during excavations. Jugs for water, oil, wine and incense were found in the cellar. It is interesting to see the model created from several hundred volumetric details, on which Zachatievsky Monastery and its surroundings are depicted as they were in the XV century.

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Practical information

The doors of the Zachatievsky Monastery in Moscow are open daily from 07:00 to 20:00, when the evening service ends. During church holidays, the mode of operation may change. The exact schedule of prayer services and divine services is conveniently available on the official website of the monastery – zachatevmon.ru. Here you can also find out how to sign up for excursions, which are usually conducted by the servants of the monastery. If you did not use the preliminary recording, on the spot you can join the already formed and started excursion. How to do it, you will be told at the candle shop of the main temple. Here you can also leave your donations (payment for the excursion is not officially charged). Keep in mind that photography here is allowed only with the blessing of the abbess, do not sneak pictures: guards quickly identify troublemakers.

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In the monastery shop you can buy church utensils, candles, icons.

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Pay attention to the beautifully designed books of the publishing house of the Zachatiev Monastery. Curious tourists will be interested in learning about the detailed history of the monastery, true believers – with a detailed description of the monastery shrines, stories about ascetics associated with this place. There is an art shop where orders for author’s handwritten icons are accepted.

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You can have a snack in the refectory, where fresh pastries and drinks are always sold. Going around the Zachatievsky monastery on the left, you will see a window where they sell pies with cabbage, cottage cheese pies, bagels, buns at very attractive prices.

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There is nowhere to stay on the territory of the monastery, but very close to the monastery complex the hostel “Quiet Hour”, mini-hotel “Ostozhenka 47”, hotels Sleep at Home 2*, “Bagration” 3*, “Ambassadori” 4* offer their services.

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How to get there

The monastery is located in the ring of the 1st and 2nd Zachatievsky pereuloks, at the address: Zachatievsky pereulok, 2. The nearest metro stations are “Kropotkinskaya” and “Park Kultury”. From “Kropotkinskaya” it is more convenient to get there. According to the signs you need to go to Ostozhenka Street and move towards the expressive “House with a shot glass” – the former profitable house of merchant Filatov, a famous boozer, who ordered to crown the building with a symbolic inverted shot glass as a sign of renunciation of drunkenness. After 5 minutes of walking you need to cross the intersection with traffic lights, then walk about 300 meters to Zachatievsky Lane. In 100 meters from the turn in the lane is the entrance to the monastery.

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You will not find parking lots near Zachatievsky Monastery in Moscow. By car it is better to go here on one of the weekends, when you can park on the nearest streets.

Parking lots near Zachatiev Monastery are not to be found.