Nicholas-Vyazhishchi Monastery

It was founded at the end of the 14th century by the monks Euphrosynus, Ignatius and Galaction. The first mention in the annals is the year 1411 ^{[1] [2]} .

In 1411, St. Nicholas Cathedral (made of wood) was built, in 1417, the construction of a new church is mentioned in the annals (the former probably burned down) ^[3] . In 1419, a gate wooden church was erected in honor of the Monk Anthony the Great . In 1458, her monk, Archbishop of Novgorod Euthymius , was soon buried in the monastery, soon ranked as a locally revered saint (church veneration was established in 1549).

In the XVII century, the monastery enjoyed the patronage of the first kings from the Romanov dynasty . In the 1670-80s, the Nikolaev Ponedel and Spassky Sabersky monasteries were assigned to it. The initiator of the radical restructuring of the monastery at the end of the 17th century was Bogolep Sablin (from 1683 to 1697 - rector of the Nikolo-Vyazhishchi monastery), whom contemporaries characterize as an ambitious person ^[4] , well known in Moscow and having close ties with the higher clergy. There is a strong opinion ^[5] that Bogolep shared the ideas of Nikon , already deprived of the patriarchal rank and who had died by this time. In the struggle for the prevalence of spiritual power over secular Nikon sought to create buildings that would be larger than royal ones in size, architectural forms and decoration. Novgorod Metropolitan Euthymius III ^[6] could also participate in the implementation of Bogolep’s plans. Euthymius was acquainted with Nikon , shared his views, loved pomp and pomposity ^[5] . The builders in Vyazhishchi were probably invited from Moscow ^[7] . The capital's masters took into account the specifics of Novgorod conditions and the peculiarities of Novgorod architecture. The buildings combine Moscow splendor with Novgorod austerity.

The buildings of the end of the 17th century have survived to our days: St. Nicholas Cathedral (in the name of St. Nicholas , Archbishop Mir Lycia ) ( 1681 - 1683 , consecrated in 1685 by Metropolitan of Novgorod Cornelius ^[8] ), refectory with the churches of St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian and Ascension Lord ( 1694 - 1698 years ), a gallery connecting them and having two front porches. At the beginning of the 18th century , two stone buildings were built in the northern part of the monastery: a two-story building with cells for the brethren and a one-story utility building. Initially, the monastery ensemble was surrounded by a wooden fence. At the beginning of the XIX century it was replaced by a stone.

St. Nicholas Cathedral is a two - story, three - apse five - domed building, on the southern and northern sides it has stone galleries with arches. On the western side of the facade there is a porch with two "steps", which are crowned with tents (they were lost and restored on the basis of the inventory of 1698 ). The decoration and the type of construction ^[9] reveal a stylistic resemblance to temples in the Volga region . In the semicircular niches on the upper part of the facade of the temple preserved paintings of the XIX century . Paints were superimposed on a brick surface, so the figures seemed to appear through the surface of the wall. In 1691, the lower church of the cathedral above the tomb of St. Euthymius of Novgorod was consecrated in his honor. Here were his power and faith . Both churches are currently operational.

In the eastern part of the refectory there were two churches: the church in the name of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian (consecrated on December 8, 1702 ) and the church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord (consecrated on December 2, 1708) ^[10] . The church wing of the building was supposed to be crowned with five chapters, but during a storm in 1698 the storm demolished the roof and the temple after restoration work in 1702 received a single-headed completion. The five-domed was restored only after restoration work in 2005 . The refectory chamber , located on a high base , connects the church with St. Nicholas Cathedral. The basement was used for utility rooms: cellars and pantries. In the western part of the building were abbot chambers. Above them in 1708 an octagonal two-tier bell tower was built, over which five chapters rise. Currently, both refectory churches are in the process of restoration work and there is no worship service.

A feature of the buildings of the late XVII century is the use of colored tiles - with ribbon friezes they encircle the monastery building and adorn the window frames. On small tiles depicted floral bouquets in a vase or geometric shapes. Larger tiles are diverse in design. They depict a unicorn , a lion, a horse, a two-headed eagle, a cross ... The tiles depicting animals are the same in color: the background is turquoise, the body is yellow, the mane, tail, hooves are painted in white, blue or brown. The most colorfully tiled decoration of the refectory , and especially the Church of St. John the Evangelist . The lower tier of the refectory , which housed office and utility rooms, is devoid of tiles, they all adorn the upper spaces of the building. The issue of the origin of tiles is not resolved. They could be made in the workshop at the Valdai Monastery . Could have been brought from Moscow or Yaroslavl , may have been local Novgorod production ^[11] .

According to the states of 1764, the Nikolo-Vyazhishchi monastery was included in the number of second-class; all its lands were secularized. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, a monastery prison was located on its territory.

In 1920, the monastery was closed and moved to the local collective farm. The school was located on the second floor of the refectory. At St. Nicholas Cathedral, services continued for another 15 years. The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Seraphim (Velitsky) , was ordained in 1920 as bishop of Krestetsky, vicar of the Novgorod diocese.

The monastery buildings were badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War .

In 1958, under the supervision of restoration architect Leonid Krasnorechiev , the monastery began measuring and research, and from 1964 to the beginning of the 1990s, restoration and restoration work began.

In 1988, the St. Nicholas Vyazhishchi Monastery was returned to the church ^[3] . On March 31, 1990, Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad Alexy (Ridiger) consecrated the lower church in honor of St. Euthymius, Archbishop of Novgorod. The monastery became women's and since 1995 it has become stroprogynous.

The temples of the monastery:

1. Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Euthymius Vyazhishchsky
2. Church of St. John the Evangelist with the refectory Church of the Ascension

Other buildings and facilities of the monastery:

1. Gallery transition with porches
2. Holy Gates (XIX century)
3. Walls of the fence (XIX century)
4. Northeast fence tower (19th century)
5. Southeast fence tower (XIX century)
6. The south tower of the fence (XIX century)
7. Household (travel) gates
8. West gate
9. The cell building (XVIII century)
10. Monastery building
11. Outbuilding
12. Residential, office and utility buildings
13. Necropolis
14. Ponds
15. Economic territory (gardens)

• Soikin P.P. Vyazhishchi Nicholas Monastery near Novgorod // Orthodox Russian cloisters : A full illustrated description of Orthodox Russian monasteries in the Russian Empire and Mount Athos. - SPb. : Resurrection, 1994 .-- S. 123 .-- 712 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-88335-001-1 .
• Ivanov V.I. Vyazhishchi. - L .: Lenizdat , 1978.- 48 p. - (To the tourist about Novgorod and the Novgorod region). - 25,000 copies. (region)
• Secretary L. A. Vyazhishchi in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Women's Stauropegial Monastery // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2005. - T. X. - S. 135-137. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-016-1 .

• The official website of the St. Nicholas Monastery of Vyazhishchi
• Nicholas-Vyazhishchi monastery on the portal novgorod.ru
• Nicholas-Vyazhishchi Monastery
• Tiles of St. Nicholas Vyazhishchi Monastery
• Vyazhishchi monastery: six centuries of history