Holy Cross Monastery (Nizhny Novgorod)

Between 1355 and 1365, the wife of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal Prince Andrei Konstantinovich Anastasia (in monasticism - Vassa, in the schema - Theodore) was founded at the foot of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin Zachatievsky Monastery. After the defeat in 1478 of Novgorod by Ivan III in a monastery, the Novgorod novice Marfa Boretskaya was forcibly tonsured by a nun.

In the fires of 1685 and 1715, the old wooden monastery burned out "without a trace", in addition, springs that hit from under the mountain constantly destroyed buildings. Therefore, in the middle of the XVIII century, Bishop Dimitry (Sechenov) transferred the nun to the Origin nunnery, which stood above the cliff of the Woodpeckers between the St. George’s Tower of the Kremlin and the church of the same name ^[1] . There, the lord Nizhny Novgorod Pitirim transferred the community from the burnt Voskresensky monastery, located at the Nikolskaya tower of the Kremlin ^[2] . As a result, during the church reform of 1764, all three Nizhny Novgorod convents (Zachatievsky, Voskresensky and Origin) were united in one monastery.

In 1814, after another fire, the monastery was moved to the Arzamas outpost (the current Lyadov Square ) and renamed Krestovozdvizhensky ^[3] . In the same year, the walls of the monastery were erected, a bell tower with the Holy Gates, two tents with them, eight buildings, a guest yard outside the walls of the monastery. In 1814-1823 the Holy Cross Cathedral was built (rebuilt in 1848 ). In 1815, at one of the buildings, the hospital grief church was consecrated. In 1838, a school for girls was opened at the monastery ^[4] .

Before the revolution , on Saturday of the Holy Week , a procession was held every year from the Oran Monastery to the Holy Cross Exaltation with the Oran Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God , one of the most revered in Nizhny Novgorod. The monastery was considered the site of penance atonement for women who committed crimes against morality.

In 1848, the Holy Cross Monastery was enrolled in class I with an increase in staff from 30 to 100 people.

At the end of the 19th century , one nun, 30 nuns and 149 novices lived in the monastery. ^[4] There was a gold-sewing workshop in which about 55 sisters embroidered priestly vestments, vestments on icons and shirts, performed work with pearls and foil. ^[4] In 1906, a painting school began to work in the monastery.

The monastery was abolished in 1917 . By January 1928, all the nuns were evicted from the territory of the monastery. ^[4] The community moved to the Kazan cemetery church. ^[4] In the Bright Week of 1935, members of the clergy of the Kazan Church and Metropolitan Evgeni (Zernov) of Gorky and Arzamas were arrested. ^[4] On August 19, 1935, the Commission on Cults under the Presidium of the Gorky Regional Executive Committee decided: to liquidate the former Holy Cross Monastery under demolition. ^[4] In Soviet times, its buildings housed warehouses, living quarters, offices; the cathedral housed a razor factory.

Holy Cross Cathedral was restored since 1995 . On March 25, 2004, by the decision of the Holy Synod, the parish of the cathedral was again transformed into the Holy Cross Exaltation of the Convent. ^[5] On August 18, 2004, the nunner of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo monastery of Tatiana (Gaju) was appointed governor of the monastery. ^[6] On September 26, 2005, the monastery’s senior priest Nikolai (Alyasov) performed the rite of consecration of the belfry. ^[7] 8 bells, the largest of which weighs 600 kg, were cast at the expense of philanthropists in the city of Kasli . ^{[7] The} bells were set on a temporary belfry, the hegumen Tikhon (Zatekin) was the first to hit them. ^[7]

On April 25, 2006, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, the nun Filaret (Gaju) was appointed abbess of the monastery. ^{[8] [9]}

On December 1, 2007, the Archbishop of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas George consecrated the chapel in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God , located in the basement of the cathedral. ^[ten]

On December 17, 2008 , in the lower aisle in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the first tonsure was completed after the monastery was closed in 1917. ^[eleven]

On March 7, 2010, Archbishop George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, together with Archbishop Jonathan of Tulchinsky and Bratslav, performed the Divine Liturgy. ^{[12] The} day before the liturgy, two more nuns of the monastery took monastic tonsure. ^[13]

On September 27, 2011, on the feast day in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the rank of Great consecration of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was performed by Archbishop George. ^[14] A week before the holiday, the artists of the icon-painting workshop “Ark” completed painting in the western part of the cathedral. ^[14] In total, the cathedral was painted for more than two years. ^[14] Only a few fragments have survived from the old painting: the composition “Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord”, images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archangel Michael. ^[14] When restoring the murals, the preserved photographs of the southern and northern arches were used. ^[14]

On November 22, Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, together with the vicar of the Saransk diocese, Bishop Ilya (Bykov) of Ruzayevsky consecrated the right side chapel of the Holy Cross Exaltation Cathedral in honor of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the holy martyr Dionysius Areopagit . ^[15] On December 30, in honor of the Entry into the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary , St. Innocent of Irkutsk and Hieromartyr Dimitry of Solunsky , the left aisle of the Holy Cross Cathedral was consecrated. ^[sixteen]

The monastery has a Sunday school and an Orthodox medical center. ^[10] The nearest surviving of the parish churches is Voskresenskaya , located 700 meters from the monastery.

• Cross crucifix 4.5 meters high. Painted by icon painters of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On Good Friday 2005, the cross was carried in Jerusalem by the Savior's Way of the Cross by a group of Nizhny Novgorod pilgrims, led by the Archbishop of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas George. ^[four]
• Cross with a particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Presented by the Lord on a patronal feast. ^[four]