Molchensky monastery

The history of the foundation of the Molchensky monastery is closely connected with the Sofronievsky desert. In 1405, 20 miles east of Putivl, near the present village of Novaya Sloboda, over the Molcha swamp, at the place where the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared, a small monastery appeared, which was called the Molchensky (Molchan) Nativity of the Virgin Desert.

In 1592, the Molchenskaya Desert was burned by the Tatars, and in 1593 all the monks moved to Putivl, where there were several “sedimentary yards” inside the stone Putivl fortress and turned the monastery courtyard into a new Molchensky monastery.

In 1603, Russian Tsar Boris Godunov granted the monastery new possessions and presented a precious panagia .

From November 18, 1604 to May 26, 1605, False Dmitry I used the monastery as his residence. Shortly before this, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and other buildings were built.

In 1605, the Molchensky desert was assigned to the Putivl Molchensky monastery, and a monastery apiary was established on its territory.

During the Civil War of the Time of Troubles, a fire broke out in the monastery, as a result of which the building was badly damaged.

In 1653, the destroyed monastery was rebuilt. In order to avoid confusion, the Monastery in Putivl became known as the Big Molchensky, and rebuilt over the Silent swamp, it was called the Small Molchensky desert. The latter, from the end of the 17th century, began to be called the Sofronieva Desert, or Sofrontyevsky Monastery.

Since the end of the 17th century, the monastery, like the city of Putivl itself, began to gradually decline.

For several centuries, the monastery was a composition with gunpowder and an arsenal. Only in the 19th century did the monastery begin to fulfill only a church function.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Church of St. John the Baptist in the Russian-Byzantine style is built on the basis of the destroyed walls and towers. Subsequently, the church was built on; as a result, the original appearance of the cathedral was lost.

In the post-revolutionary period, the monastery was closed, and the monks were dispersed. Since the 1930s, the territory and structures of the monastery have been occupied by an orphanage, vocational school, and a military factory. The activities of these institutions brought a remarkable architectural landmark to a catastrophic state.

Since 1960, the monastery has been undergoing restoration work, and after 17 years the State Historical and Cultural Reserve was created here. Although in Soviet times, the restoration was spent? million rubles of budget funds, but not one of the sights was taken out of emergency condition.

In 1991, the monastery was transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church . At first, there was a male monastery, now a female monastery.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The cathedral was erected in 1602-1604 as a courtyard of the countryside Sofronievskaya desert. In addition to the church function, he also performed a defensive function. Since the cathedral was erected in the middle of a cramped courtyard, built up on all sides, it was necessary to combine a barn in its building - in the basement and basement, a refectory and a kitchen - in the basement, a cathedral and a warm church - on the second tier, a fighting chamber with loopholes - on the third tier over the altar.

The architectural plan of the building has three extraordinary features: the altar in the form of a square tower, not a semicircular apse ; a defense chamber on the third tier of the altar is crowned with a tent ; overlapping nave substructure with a system of cross vaults with a pillar in the middle. This composition is rare for Ukrainian architecture. The cathedral belongs to the type of multifunctional religious buildings adapted for defense, which are called “fortress churches”.

In 1612, the cathedral was damaged by fire and was completely restored in 1630-1636. The following reconstructions took place in 1666-1669, 1778, 1860s, when a one-story library building was built in the cathedral.

The building has features characteristic of Moscow architecture of the XVI-XVIII centuries with manifestations of the Ukrainian architectural type, gravitated to high-rise tower-like compositions.

It was closed in the mid-20s along with the monastery. In 1921, there was a fire, after which it was necessary to disassemble the cathedral gallery and library. In the second half of the 40s - beginning of the 50s of the XX century, in the limit of the cathedral in honor of the holy Zosima and Savvaty of the Solovetsky miracle workers, it was allowed to send services.

Particularly revered shrines of this temple include the miraculous icon of the Movchan Mother of God (1724) returned to the monastery in 1995; a small crayfish with the relics of the Saints, the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “Satisfy my sorrows” (XVIII century), the icon “Trinity” (XIX century), the image of the Ascension (XIX century) and others.

Gate Belfry

It was originally a fortress gate tower and was erected approximately in the same period with walls and corner towers where in 1602-1604. In 1700 the tower was rebuilt. Now nothing reminds of the defensive character of this building.

Defensive walls with a corner tower

These walls are the remains of Putivl's stone fortification. The walls themselves are internal, directly surrounding the monastery territory and external, along the road to the Sejm.

Refectory

The refectory - a quadrangular one-story building was built in the first half of the 19th century over the casemates adjacent to the ancient fortress wall with a round corner tower.

Warm Church of St. John the Baptist

It was built in 1866-1869 by the architect D.I. Grim in the Russian-Byzantine style on the site of the dilapidated temple of the same name in 1602-1604. At the heart of the structure is a monastery wall with casemates, which is clearly visible in the basement of the building. The church was closed in the mid 20-ies of the XX century along with the monastery. In the 30s, the temple underwent significant restructuring and became similar to a civilian building.

Abbot Corps

It was erected in the 1720-1730s, with the restructuring of the XIX-XX centuries. The construction of the fortress wall and the construction of the beginning of the XVII century. At first it contained the cells of the monks on the first floor and the abbot's chambers on the second. Subsequently, the corps was occupied by the Putivl Spiritual Consistory.

Other

To the west of the gate bell tower, closer to the city are the facilities of the courtyard and two stone hotel buildings, rebuilt in the postwar years. During the 90s of the XX century, they partially returned to their original forms.

Monastic mountain is penetrated by caves and underground passages. Some of them were dug simultaneously with the construction of a defense monastery. In the 19th century, Polish coins from the beginning of the 17th century were found in these caves.

• Zruinovany temples of Sumy. Martyrology of the Sacred Shrines / O. M. Kornієnko. - Sumi: PP. "Nikonorov V.I.", 2009.- p. 251-252
• Monastir and Temples of the Putivl Region / V.V. Vechersky.- K.: Tekhnika, 2007.- p. 46-83

• Molchensky Monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the city of Putivl // Encyclopedia "Tree".