Address: Russia, Ryazan region, Rybnovsky district, with. Poschupovo
Foundation date: late 12th or early 13th century
Main attractions: Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bell tower
Shrines (not a complete list): icons of the Most Holy Theotokos "The Sign-Korchemnaya" and "Tikhvin", the ark with the relics of St. George the Victorious, the ark with the relics of the healer Panteleimon, the ark with the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker
Coordinates: 54 ° 49'02.2 "N 39 ° 42'55.9" E
Content:
One of the oldest Orthodox monasteries in Russia is located on the Ryazan land, 40 km from the regional center - the city of Ryazan. Its history began more than 800 years ago with the arrival of Greek preachers in the Oka Valley. Today the restored monastery is open to believers and tourists.
A bird's eye view of the John the Theologian Poshchupovsky Monastery
The history of the monastery
According to legend, the monastery was founded by Greek monks who came to these lands in the late 12th - early 13th centuries. They brought with them an ancient icon of John the Evangelist, which was painted in the 6th century by a Byzantine orphan boy. The ancient image became the first shrine of the new monastic community.
At first, the monks lived in caves on the hillside. They set up small cells and prayer places underground. In the XVI-XVII centuries the monastery was ruined by the Crimean Tatars, but every time it was quickly revived.
Until the 17th century, all the monastery buildings were made of wood, but then stone construction began on the banks of the Oka. During the church reform carried out by the Russian Empress Catherine II, the St. John the Theological monastery was classified as a third-class monasteries. There were few inhabitants here, and by the middle of the 19th century the monastery was completely desolate. The church authorities wanted to close it, however, this did not happen.
In 1860, a wealthy merchant David Ivanovich Khludov acquired an estate near the monastery. Thanks to Khlud's money, the main monastery church was completely rebuilt and a rich carved iconostasis was acquired. The icons for him were painted by the talented Ryazan iconographer Nikolai Vasilievich Shumov.
View of the monastery from the west
From year to year the monastery grew upset and prettier. By the beginning of the 20th century, more than a hundred inhabitants lived in it. The monks owned more than 5,000 hectares of agricultural land on which they grew grain and vegetables. Children from neighboring villages came to the monastery to learn to read, write and count.
Much has changed since the 1917 revolution. In the early 1930s, an active anti-religious campaign was launched in the country. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Zosima (Musatov), and the brethren were arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan. Divine services in the monastery were stopped, and the monastery buildings began to be used for various household needs. During the years of Soviet power, a workshop for the repair of agricultural equipment was located inside the Assumption Cathedral. The stone buildings housed the children's colony and the warehouses of the Ministry of the Interior.
The monastic archives and the library were destroyed, so there is almost no information about the monks who lived here. From old photographs, the only photograph taken at the beginning of the last century has survived. It depicts teachers and pupils of the parish school. The biggest loss is the loss of the ancient icon of John the Theologian. She disappeared in 1931, and the fate of the monastery shrine is still unknown.
The revival of the St. John the Theological monastery began in the late 1980s - one of the first in the Ryazan land. It took many years to restore dilapidated temples and build new buildings.
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
Temples and buildings on the territory of the monastery
The architectural ensemble of the monastery consists of seven churches, two chapels and two bell towers. The territory is surrounded by a stone fence, and inside it, in addition to churches, there are old and new fraternal buildings, the abbot's building, a necropolis, an old glacier, an icon shop and a gatehouse.
In the heart of the monastery is the St. John the Theological Cathedral, built in the 80s of the 17th century. Under the altar of the one-domed summer church are the remains of three abbots who ruled the monasteries until they closed. In the altar part of the cathedral, there is a tomb temple consecrated in honor of Seraphim of Sarov. One of the main shrines of the monastery is kept here - a reliquary with the relics of more than 120 Christian saints.
For more than two decades, all church services have been held in the Cathedral of St. John the Theological. Nowadays, restoration work is underway in the old church, and the masters are engaged in the wall paintings of the cathedral.
The slender Assumption Cathedral rises nearby. A one-domed winter temple appeared in the monastery in 1870. After a long period of desolation, the cathedral was restored for a long time and was opened to believers in 2009. Inside the bright church, you can see a picturesque faience iconostasis, icons for which were painted in the traditions of the 17th century.
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
For more than three hundred years in the monastery there has been a Small tent-roofed bell tower, and under it there is a church dedicated to the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Passion-Bearer Tsar Nicholas. Today, most of the monastery services are held in this temple.
For a long time, the abbot of the monastery was Archimandrite Abel (1927-2006), who did a lot to revive the monastery. The monks remember their mentor with gratitude, and keep the building where he lived in recent years. Today, the governor's house has been turned into a memorial museum, and a church dedicated to the icon of Our Lady of the Sign, the Great Martyr Barbara and the Archangel Gabriel has been consecrated there.
Another church is located on the second floor of the old brotherly building. It is dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hearken", George the Victorious and the healer Panteleimon. Archimandrite Abel often called the small temple "unlikely" because its walls are decorated with paintings in the Byzantine style.
In 2006, a church dedicated to Saints Boris and Gleb was consecrated in the new fraternal building. Church services in all small monastery churches are held only on patronal holidays.
Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hearken" and Panteleimon the Healer against the background of the bell tower
Above all the buildings of the monastery rises the Big Bell Tower, which has a height of 76 m. It was erected in 1901 in the popular pseudo-Russian style according to the project of the Ryazan diocesan architect Ivan Stepanovich Tsekhansky. The bell tower has been well restored and equipped with a complete set of bells, the largest of which weighs 8.4 tonnes.
Next to the bell tower you can see the chapel in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Iverskaya", arranged in the old Holy Gates of the monastery. The most ancient frescoes in the Ryazan region, which were painted in the 17th century, have been preserved in this temple. Plots of old wall paintings are dedicated to the Apocalypse, and their authorship is attributed to the famous medieval iconographer Timofey Ryazanets.
The monastery today
The monastery is active today. You can get to its territory any day from morning to evening. Morning services are held at 6.30 on weekdays and at 8.30 on Sundays, and evening services at 17.00. All daily services are performed in the Assumption Cathedral and St. Nicholas Church.
A hotel is open for tourists at the monastery. It is located in a two-storey pilgrimage center and has comfortable rooms with all amenities. Those who stay here can dine at the refectory.
Holy gates
Monks conduct guided tours of the monastery every day. During them, tourists are told about the history of the monastery and its abbots, taken to the monastery churches and allowed to climb the Small bell tower to admire the ensemble of the monastery and the vast floodplain of the Oka.
Monks patronize the prisoners of the male colony near Ryazan and are engaged in agricultural work. The monastery courtyard is located in the regional center, not far from the central square of the city. It is open daily from 10.00 to 19.00.
Holy spring
About 0.5 km from the monastery there is a source known far beyond the Ryazan region. Many people come to him every day for cold spring water. Residents of the village of Poshupovo call the spring the Holy Stream. It is located inside a beautiful five-domed chapel and is designed as a white-stone well. Near the chapel, there are wooden fonts for men and women and a separate one for monks.
How to get to the monastery
The monastery is located in the Ryazan village of Poshupovo. From Ryazan you can get to it in 50-55 minutes. Leave the city along Novoryazanskoe highway and turn right near the military-historical complex "Rubezh". The road to Poshupovo goes through Rybnoye, Sidorovka and Ramenki.
Church of the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign, the Great Martyr Barbara and the Archangel Gabriel
Minibuses run from Ryazan Central Bus Station to Poshupovo several times a day. Some people prefer to take the Moscow - Ryazan train to the Rybnoye station, and from there they get to Poshupovo by minibuses or buses.
