Address: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod region, Lyskovsky district, Makaryevo
Foundation date: 1434 year
Main attractions: Cathedral in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity (1664), the temple in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (1654), the Church of Michael the Archangel (1670), the Church of Makarii Zheltovodsky (1809), the Church of Gregory Pelshem (1786)
Coordinates: 56 ° 05'00.1 "N 45 ° 03'51.5" E
Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation
Content:
Short description
88 km from Nizhny Novgorod, near the village of Makaryevo, on the left bank of the Volga, in all its splendor, the Makariyev Monastery appears in front of the traveler's eyes.
View of the monastery from the Volga
The Volga carries its waters at the very walls of the monastery, and its domes and towers seem to rise out of the water. According to legend, the first cell of this monastery was founded in 1434 by the Monk Macarius., a native of Nizhny Novgorod. Since then, the monastery was nicknamed Zheltovodsky, as it was located near the Yellow Lake, now swallowed up by the waters of the overflowing Volga. Dealing affectionately and talking with local infidels, Macarius converted the Mordovians, Mari, Chuvash and Tatars to the Orthodox faith.
View of the Church of Gregory Pelshemsky, the gate church in the name of Michael the Archangel (the main entrance to the monastery) on the southwestern side of the monastery
A fraternity of 40 people was soon formed. At the same time, the Grand Duke Vasily the Dark was hiding in Nizhny Novgorod, against whom his uncle Yuri Dmitrievich spoke up, who seized the grand princely throne in Moscow.
Vasily regularly visited the Zheltovodsky monastery, sparing no expense for its arrangement. In 1439, the Tatar Khan Ulu-Muhammad went to war against Russia and occupied Nizhny Novgorod. The Makariyev Monastery was burned down, the monks were killed, and the elder was taken prisoner.
The walls of the Zheltovodsky Makariev Monastery against the background of the Life-Giving Trinity Cathedral
When the Tatar commanders brought Macarius to the khan, he was imbued with deep respect for the noble abbot. Turning to his Tatars, the khan exclaimed: "Don't you know that by insulting such kind, meek people you can incur the wrath of Allah himself?" And Ulu-Muhammad ordered to release Macarius, but on condition not to build the monastery in the same place. Macarius asked to release 400 more Russians together with him, and the khan resignedly agreed. Having received his freedom, the elder buried the murdered monks with all honors and went to the Unzha forests, to the Unzha River in the Kostroma region, where he made himself a cell, laying the foundation for another monastery - the Makaryevo-Unzhensky monastery. In 1444, in the Unzhensk monastery, Macarius, a 95-year-old elder, departed to the Lord, and his relics rest there.
Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity
Revival and prosperity of the Makariyev monastery
For almost 200 years, the Zheltovodsky Monastery was in desolation. In the 1620s, on the shores of Lake Yellow, a monk of the Tetyushsky Kazan monastery of Murom Abraham built a cell, to whom Macarius appeared three times in a dream with a firm order to restore the monastery. Monks settled around Abraham's cell, and by the middle of the 17th century a picturesque monastery ensemble had grown up here.
The favorable location of the monastery in the middle of the Volga road and the efforts of the abbots contributed to the fact that every year a fair was organized near the walls of the monastery. It was one of the largest fairs in Russia, where merchants from Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Iran and India exchanged goods. Sovereign of All Russia Mikhail Fedorovich granted the Makariev Monastery the right to levy taxes from merchants.
Church of Makarii Zheltovodsky
In 1816, a fire destroyed the fairground buildings, the fair was moved to Nizhny Novgorod, and the income of the monastery of St. Macarius became impoverished. In 1883, the monastery was restored again, but as a female one. Abolished during the Soviet era, the Makaryevsky Zheltovodsky Convent resumed its activities in 1991 by the decision of the Holy Synod.
The architectural ensemble of the Makaryevsky monastery
The main ensemble of the monastery consists of the Trinity Cathedral, Mikhailo-Arkhangelskaya, Assumption churches and a cell building... Along the perimeter, the monastery is surrounded by fortress walls with towers. The central five-domed cathedral (1658), the throne of which was consecrated in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, is not inferior in size and grandeur to the buildings of the Volga capital.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a bell tower
At the turn of the 17th - 18th centuries, Kostroma masters decorated the walls and vaults of the cathedral with bright fresco painting on biblical subjects, but in the 1930s the murals were barbarously whitewashed. Today, the frescoes, cleared of whitewash, are being restored. The decoration of the temple is especially beautiful on sunny days, when the sun's rays, penetrating through the high windows, illuminate the faded painting and the five-tiered iconostasis directed upward. The Assumption Church (1654) is a five-domed church with a refectory and a bell tower adjoining it. The two-story refectory chamber is raised to a high basement. During the heyday of the Makaryevskaya fair, this basement was leased to merchants for a warehouse of goods.
Holy gates in the lower tier of the Church of Michael the Archangel
The Church of Michael the Archangel (1670) was installed above the Holy Gates, which serve as the main entrance to the monastery. It originally had one chapter, but was later replaced by a complex five-headed ending.
