Ferapontov Monastery. Ferapontov Monastery history Architectural ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery

Ferapontov Monastery (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address and website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The core of the architectural ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery, as well as its oldest and most interesting building, is the single-domed Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the first stone building in Belozerye. The frescoes of the late 15th century, painted by Dionysius and his sons Theodosius and Vladimir, have been preserved virtually unchanged. This is the only church in Russia that has preserved such ancient frescoes created by the greatest painter of his time. In addition to the frescoes, Dionysius also completed the iconostasis, details of which can now be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, and also in the museum of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

The cathedral is open during the so-called “airing hours”, which occur infrequently - at suitable temperature and humidity from May to September. In winter the cathedral is closed; in summer it may not work in bad weather conditions (namely high humidity). You cannot take photographs of the frescoes, even without flash.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is located in the center of a complex of churches connected by common porches. The tented church of Martinian is attached to it from the south, a bell tower from the north, then a refectory chamber and a small Church of the Annunciation. Another complex consists of the Holy Gate with the churches of the Epiphany and Ferapont, united in one room, the only ones operating in the monastery.

The refectory and state chambers of the Church of the Annunciation are the earliest buildings of this type preserved in their original form in the Russian North. The tented church of Martinian was built over the burial place of the second founder of the Ferapontov Monastery, teacher Martinian.

The gate churches of the Epiphany and St. Ferapont above the Holy Gates are unique in the complete preservation of all architectural elements. Together with the treasury chamber adjacent to the south, they form the main facade of the Ferapontov Monastery.

In the Ferapontov Monastery there is the only church in Russia that has preserved ancient frescoes created by the greatest painters of his time - Dionysius and sons.

The bell tower is a three-tier, hipped, very rare type with a square bell plan and a tetrahedral tent. There are 17 bells hanging on the ringing tier. The tent contains a unique mechanism of the earliest surviving military clock in Russia from 1638.

The monastery is picturesquely located between two lakes (entrance from the shore of Lake Borodaevskoye) and is visible from afar from all sides. Two kilometers south of the monastery is Tsypina Gora (204 meters) and the wooden church of Elijah the Prophet on Tsypina Pogost.

Practical information

Address: Vologda region, Kirillovsky district, Ferapontovo village, st. Kargopolskaya, 8. Website.

Opening hours: from May 1 to September 31 from 9:00 to 18:00 seven days a week, from September 8 to April 30 from 9:00 to 17:00, from October 1 closed on Mondays.

According to church tradition, this ancient monastery was founded after the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God to the monk Kirill of the Simonov Monastery. He shared the revelation with the tonsured Ferapont, who came from the boyar family of the Poskochins. Together they decided to go to the shores of White Lake. Here the monks found a hill surrounded on three sides by lakes. Cyril recognized the place shown to him in a vision and said: “Behold my peace forever and ever; I will settle here, as the Most Pure One willed.”

The travelers were already 60 years old at that time. Ferapont did not live long on White Lake, continuing his search for prayerful solitude. In 1398, in a picturesque place, on a hill, between two lakes, he dug his first dugout. Soon a small community gathered around her. The elder abbot not only spiritually instructed the brethren, but also performed the most difficult obediences: chopping wood, carrying water. The Monk Ferapont did not have to rest in the monastery he founded. At the request of Prince Andrei Mikhailovich, he went to the outskirts of Mozhaisk to found the Luzhetsky Monastery. His relics have been buried there since 1426.

Ferapont's students waited a long time for a new spiritual mentor. He became Martinian, a student of Kirill Belozersky. A deeply educated, talented copyist, Martinian collected in the monastery, which he headed for a quarter of a century, an extensive library for that time. He is also known for supporting the dethroned and blinded Prince Vasily the Dark. Having regained the Moscow principality, he, in gratitude, offered Martinian the abbess in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Under Martinian, the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, erected in 1409, was rebuilt. And it became stone under his disciple Joasaph, Archbishop of Rostov. According to legend, the young Prince Obolensky heard at his wedding feast from the holy fool, who handed him a flower wreath: “Here is the bishop’s hat for you, Ivanushka.” Soon the young princess died in childbirth, and her saddened husband took monastic vows in Ferapontovo under the name Joasafa. He donated considerable funds to the main temple of the monastery - the stone Nativity Cathedral, the construction of which was completed in 1490. And 12 years later, the Moscow icon painter Dionysius and his sons Vladimir and Theodosius painted the temple. Dionysius is the largest artist of Ancient Rus' after Andrei Rublev. His brushes belonged to the frescoes in the Pafnutievo Borovsky, Joseph-Volokolamsky, Pavlovo-Obnorsky monasteries, but today they have been preserved unchanged only in Ferapontovo.

The painting of the Nativity Cathedral is dedicated both to the earthly life of the Mother of God and to the theological interpretation of Her image. For example, in the upper tier of the temple there are allegorical scenes from the Akathist to the Mother of God. Among the images of ecumenical saints there also appear the images of Sergius of Radonezh and Cyril of Belozersky, canonized shortly before the painting of the frescoes.

Like other northern monasteries, Ferapontovo also served as a dungeon for the disobedient. The reformer Nikon spent ten years here in exile, deprived of his patriarchal rank. The former “Great Sovereign of All Rus'” built his own cell. When the regime was softened a little for the disgraced patriarch, he, wanting to leave his descendants with the memory of his grievances, poured large stones onto the bottom of the lake with his own hands. On the resulting small island he installed a cross with the inscription: “This Life-giving Cross of Christ was erected by the humble Nikon, the patriarch by God’s grace, while in prison for the Word of God and for the Holy Church on Beloozero in the Ferapontov Monastery.”

Spiteful critics accused the disgraced hierarch, who loved to spend time on the island, of communicating with the devil. Allegedly, he appeared to the patriarch in the form of a serpent and reported everything that was said about Nikon among the people. The authorities also opposed the treatment of local residents, who, having heard about his gift as a healer, flocked to the monastery in crowds. According to the Gospel tradition, Nikon read prayers over them and anointed them with blessed oil. Responding to the accusations, he testified that “this medicine of his brought God’s mercy and healing to many people, but he had never heard of anyone dying from his medicine.” However, the investigative authorities sent by the Council of 1676 were ordered to “burn all Nikon’s medicines, roots, herbs, vodka, ointments on fire and throw them into the river so that nothing remains of him.”

In the next, XVIII century, the monastery gradually fell into decay, and in the end it was completely closed by decision of the Synod, but in December 1903 it was decided to resume monastic life in the monastery. This time a convent opened here. With the blessing of the abbess of the Leushinsky monastery, Taisia, several sisters moved there. Before the nuns had time to restore the monastery, troubled revolutionary times began. In 1918, the abbess of Ferapontov, Abbess Seraphima, was shot, but the monastery was finally closed only in 1924.

Fresco Museum

The modern museum of frescoes of Dionysius appeared on the territory of the monastery in 1975; formally it is a branch of the Kirillo-Belozersky Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. Today, research and educational work is carried out here. At the same time, since the summer of 1990, services have resumed in the small gate church of the Epiphany, which was once reserved for prayers to Patriarch Nikon.

The stone church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1490) is primarily famous for the paintings of Dionysius.

The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1534) was built with donations from Tsar Vasily III in honor of the birth of his heir, the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Under this temple there is a large room that once housed the monastery kitchen and refectory.

Martinian's Church (1640) was erected over the tomb of the former abbot and consecrated in his honor.

The churches above the Holy Gates - one in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord (1649), the other in the name of St. Ferapont - are the last large stone buildings in the monastery.

The State Chamber (XVI century) is a massive two-story building with a gable roof, located to the right of the Holy Gate.

The tented bell tower of the Ferapontov Monastery does not have an exact date of construction, but according to its architectural forms, it can most likely be attributed to the 17th century.

The Master's Secret

Specialists are of great interest in the amazing preservation of the color of Dionysius' frescoes. According to one of the legends, the master collected multi-colored pebbles for their production on the shore of the monastery lake.

This legend found a continuation: supposedly, when the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin began in 1946, the Office of the Kremlin Commandant sent an expedition to collect coloring stones “for a better restoration of the palette of the artist Dionysius.” The secret expedition collected more than a ton of stones and clay in Ferapontovo and delivered it to Moscow, also under conditions of heightened secrecy.

Shrines of Ferapontovo

Relics of St. Martinian of Belozersky. They rest in secret in the church of the same name.
- The relics of St. Galaktion of Belozersky. They rest in secret under the bell tower to the right of the entrance.
- The relics of Archbishop Joasaph. They rest at the feet of the Monk Martinian. The tombstone is located on the left on the sole in the Martinian Church.
- Revered icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear”. Written on Mount Athos at the beginning of the last century for the renewed monastery.
- The sacristan of the Monk Martinian.
- Felony, in which the holy righteous John of Kronstadt served in the Ferapontov Monastery.

Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery

In the Middle Ages, the Ferapontov Monastery, located 20 kilometers from Kirillov, between Pasky and Borodaevsky lakes, was famous as a monastery of piety and enlightenment. Nowadays, it is known throughout the world thanks to its unique architectural ensemble and frescoes by Dionysius, who created an entire artistic movement in ancient Russian painting. Here is also the Church of the Nativity - the oldest of the stone churches of the Russian North and the only building in Russia of the 15th century in which ancient frescoes have been preserved intact. On an area of about 600 m² there are more than 300 scenes. In 2000, the Ferapontov Monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

1. The stone church in the name of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1490), is primarily famous for the paintings of Dionysius.

2. The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1534) was built with donations from Tsar Vasily III in honor of the birth of his heir - the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Under this temple there is a large room that once housed the monastery kitchen and refectory.

3. Martinian Church (1640) was erected over the tomb of the former abbot and consecrated in his honor.

4. The churches above the Holy Gates - one in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord (1649), the other - in the name of St. Ferapont - are the last large stone buildings in the monastery.

5. State Chamber (XVI century) - a massive two-story building with a gable roof, located to the right of the Holy Gate.

6. Tent-shaped bell tower of the Ferapontov Monastery. The date of its construction is unknown, but according to its architectural forms it can most likely be attributed to the 17th century.

The small Ferapontov Monastery is one of those places that remain forever in the memory. According to church tradition, this ancient monastery was founded after the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God to the monk Kirill of the Simonov Monastery. He shared the revelation with the tonsured Ferapont, who came from the boyar family of the Poskochins. Together they decided to go to the shores of White Lake. Here the monks found a hill surrounded on three sides by lakes. Cyril recognized the place shown to him in a vision and said: “Behold my peace forever and ever; I will settle here, as the Most Pure One willed.” The travelers were already 60 years old at that time. Ferapont did not live long on White Lake, continuing his search for prayerful solitude. In 1398, in a picturesque place, on a hill, between two lakes, he dug his first dugout. Soon a small community gathered around her. The elder abbot not only spiritually instructed the brethren, but also performed the most difficult obediences: chopping wood, carrying water. The Monk Ferapont did not have to rest in the monastery he founded. At the request of Prince Andrei Mikhailovich, he went to the outskirts of Mozhaisk to found the Luzhetsky Monastery. His relics have been buried there since 1426.

Under Martinian, the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, erected in 1409, was rebuilt. And it became stone under his disciple Joasaph, Archbishop of Rostov. According to legend, the young Prince Obolensky heard at his wedding feast from the holy fool, who handed him a flower wreath: “Here is the bishop’s hat for you, Ivanushka.” Soon the young princess died in childbirth, and her saddened husband took monastic vows in Ferapontovo under the name Joasafa. He donated considerable funds to the main temple of the monastery - the stone Nativity Cathedral, the construction of which was completed in 1490. And twelve years later, the Moscow icon painter Dionysius and his sons Vladimir and Theodosius painted the temple. Dionysius is the largest artist of Ancient Rus' after Andrei Rublev. His brushes belonged to the frescoes in the Pafnutievo Borovsky, Joseph-Volokolamsky, Pavlovo-Obnorsky monasteries, but today they have been preserved unchanged only in Ferapontovo.

The colors of the frescoes are delicate, the coloring is dominated by pale green, light yellow and white tones; instead of the red master, pink was used. A soft, calm composition should put the congregation in a prayerful mood.

Like other northern monasteries, Ferapontovo also served as a dungeon for the disobedient. The reformer Nikon spent ten years here in exile, deprived of his patriarchal rank. The former “Great Sovereign of All Rus'” built his own cell. When the regime was softened a little for the disgraced patriarch, he, wanting to leave a memory of his grievances for his descendants, poured large stones onto the bottom of the lake with his own hands. On the resulting small island he installed a cross with the inscription: “This Life-giving Cross of Christ was erected by the humble Nikon, the patriarch by God’s grace, while in prison for the Word of God and for the Holy Church on Beloozero in the Ferapontov Monastery.” Spiteful critics accused the disgraced hierarch, who loved to spend time on the island, of communicating with the devil. Allegedly, he appeared to the patriarch in the form of a serpent and reported everything that was said about Nikon among the people. The authorities also opposed the treatment of local residents, who, having heard about his gift as a healer, flocked to the monastery in crowds. According to the Gospel tradition, Nikon read prayers over them and anointed them with blessed oil. Responding to the accusations, he testified that “this medicine of his brought God’s mercy and healing to many people, but he had never heard of anyone dying from his medicine.” However, the investigative authorities sent by the Council of 1676 were ordered to “burn all Nikon’s medicines, roots, herbs, vodka, ointments on fire and throw them into the river so that nothing remains of him.”

In the next, XVIII century, the monastery gradually fell into decay, and at the end it was completely closed by decision of the Synod. The famous writer Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov, who visited Ferapontovo in the middle of the 19th century, left the following memories about it: “The appearance of the Ferapontovo monastery is so majestic and its location is so picturesque that one cannot help but regret its desolation.”

“View of the Ferapontov Monastery”, lithograph from watercolor by F.D. Ivanova, 1809
On a 19th century lithograph. The Ferapontov Monastery is depicted 11 years after its closure.
Apparently, such thoughts occurred not only to him, and in December 1903 a decision was made to resume monastic life in the monastery. This time a convent opened here. With the blessing of the abbess of the Leushinsky monastery, Taisia, several sisters moved there. Before the nuns had time to restore the monastery, troubled revolutionary times began. In 1918, the abbess of Ferapontov, Abbess Seraphima, was shot, but the monastery was finally closed only in 1924.

According to the poet Yuri Kublanovsky, “while the bells are ringing at Sergius of Radonezh, in Kirillov, in Ferapontovo... I want to believe that Ferapontov’s “message” of Dionysius, which miraculously reached us, miraculously returned to us, is not only our past, but also the guarantee of what we want all of us of the Russian revival."

The Master's Secret

This legend found a continuation: supposedly, when the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin began in 1946, the Office of the Commandant of the Moscow Kremlin sent an expedition to collect coloring stones “for a better restoration of the palette of the artist Dionysius.” The secret expedition collected more than a ton of stones and clay in Ferapontovo and delivered it to Moscow, also under conditions of heightened secrecy.

“Patriarch Nikon with the clergy,” mid-19th century.
In 1666, at the Moscow Church Council, Patriarch Nikon was deprived of the patriarchate and priesthood and exiled as a simple monk to the Ferapontov Monastery. Here he had his own church, where his associates served.

Fragment of the icon “Prophet Aaron”, workshop of Dionysius, from the iconostasis of the Nativity Cathedral of the Ferapontov Monastery, 1502
Simultaneously with the paintings of the cathedral church of the Ferapontov Monastery, an iconostasis was created in the workshop of Dionysius. Icons of the Deesis rank, local, prophetic and forefather ranks have survived to this day.

Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity of the Virgin Monastery was founded at the turn of the 14th – 15th centuries, during the period of expansion of the political influence of the Moscow Grand Duchy, for about 400 years it was one of the prominent cultural and religious educational centers in the Belozersky region.

The history of the Ferapontov Monastery at some key points comes into contact with important historical events of the era of the formation of the Russian centralized state, and is closely connected with the main historical events that took place in Moscow in the 15th – 17th centuries: the capture and blinding of Grand Duke Vasily II the Dark, the establishment of the power of the first “sovereign of all Rus'” » Ivan III, the birth and reign of the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV, the formation of the Romanov dynasty, the exile of Patriarch Nikon.

Traditionally, the date of foundation of the Ferapont monastery is taken to be 1398. At this time, an associate of the Monk Ferapont settled separately on a hill between two lakes, Borodaevsky and Paskim. A few years later, obeying the insistence of the Belozersk prince Andrei Dmitrievich, he went near Moscow, to Mozhaisk, and founded his second monastery - Luzhetsky.

Ferapontov Monastery becomes widely known thanks to the activities of the disciple of Cyril of Belozersky, Venerable Martinian, confessor of Vasily II, who was in 1447 - 1455. abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

In the second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries, the Ferapontov Monastery became a significant spiritual, cultural and ideological center of Belozerye, one of the famous Trans-Volga monasteries, whose elders had a serious influence on the politics of Moscow.

Along with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, it becomes a traditional place of worship and contributions of many representatives of the Russian feudal nobility (Andrei and Mikhail Mozhaisky, Vasily III, Ivan IV and others). From its walls at the turn of the 15th – 16th centuries. Prominent hierarchs of the Russian Church emerged who actively participated in the internal life of the country - Archbishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl Joasaph (Obolensky), Bishop of Perm and Vologda Philotheus, Bishop of Suzdal Ferapont.

At the same time, major church figures who fought for the priority of church power in the state (Metropolitan Spiridon-Sava, Patriarch Nikon) were exiled here. Book writers Martinian, Spiridon, Philotheus, Paisius, Matthew, Efrosyn, and icon painter Dionysius worked here.

The entire 16th century was the heyday of the monastery. This is evidenced by the surviving deposits and letters of grant from the secular and spiritual authorities, primarily Ivan IV. Vasily III and Elena Glinskaya, Ivan IV come to the monastery on pilgrimage. The deposit book of the monastery, begun in 1534, names among the contributors “princes Staritsky, Kubensky, Lykov, Belsky, Shuisky, Vorotynsky... Godunov, Sheremetev” and others. The rulers of Siberia, Rostov, Vologda, Belozersk, and Novgorod are also mentioned here.

With the discovery of the relics of St. Martinian and his subsequent canonization, attention to the monastery increases, contributing to the growth of deposits and income.

To the richest patrimonial landowner of Belozerye - the Ferapontov Monastery at the beginning of the 17th century. belonged to several villages, about 60 villages, 100 wastelands, more than 300 peasants.

In 1490, with the construction of the first stone church of Belozerye, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, by Rostov craftsmen, the formation of the stone ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery of the 15th - 17th centuries began.

In the 16th century In the monastery, monumental buildings with a refectory and service buildings were built - a stone drying room, a guest chamber, a cook's chamber. Having recovered from the Lithuanian devastation, in the middle of the 17th century. the monastery is being built.

In 1798, the Ferapontov Monastery was abolished by decree of the Synod.

In the 19th century, during the parish period, the narrowed monastic territory was enclosed.

In 1904, the monastery was reopened as a convent and closed again in 1924.

Currently, the monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery house the Museum of Frescoes of Dionysius, which has the status of a historical, architectural and art museum-reserve. The museum, which arose at the beginning of the 20th century, protected the monuments with the help of only one guard throughout the 1930s-1960s. Since 1975, the formation of a modern museum began, which has turned into a research and educational center, disseminating knowledge about the unique monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery ensemble through various forms of museum work. At the end of 2000, the ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery with paintings by Dionysius was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery

The complex of monuments of the Ferapontov Monastery with paintings by Dionysius is a rare example of the preservation and stylistic unity of the Russian northern monastic ensemble of the 15th – 17th centuries, revealing the typical features of the architecture of the time of the formation of the Russian centralized state. The ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery is a striking example of harmonious unity with the natural surrounding landscape, practically unchanged since the 17th century, emphasizing the special spiritual structure of northern monasticism, while at the same time revealing the peculiarities of the economic structure of the northern peasantry.

The monastery buildings are perhaps the only ones in the Russian North that have retained all the characteristic features of their decor and interiors.

In the north of Russia (its European part) in the Vologda region, the Ferapontov Monastery is located - unique in authenticity, beauty and grandeur. This is a rare representative of the ensembles of northern monasteries of the 15th-18th centuries, perfectly preserved to this day.

First of all, the monastery is famous for the fact that it has preserved paintings made by the hand of Dionysius, a world-famous icon painter. It was here, on the walls and iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, that the only paintings of the great master that have survived to this day (and the only ones documented). Located on an area of 600 meters, various subjects, executed with an undeniable harmony of rhythm and with a unique richness of soft shades, form one whole together with the architecture of the cathedral. Internal and external plots that resonate with each other, a variety of colors and a deep philosophical meaning give these works of art special meaning. And a particularly valuable fact is that these paintings have never been updated.

This monastery complex is also unique in that each of its buildings has preserved all the features of its interiors and decor. And despite the fact that changes have been made to the architecture and decoration of buildings over the centuries, all the buildings look very consistent and integral. Such stylistic unity fully demonstrates the peculiarities of architecture during the formation of the Russian state.