Nikolo-Berlyukovskaya Deserts

Background: XVII - beginning of XVIII centuries

In 1606, hieromonk Varlaam ^[1] settled on the site of the future Nikolo-Berlyukovsky desert, who came here from the neighboring Stromynsky Assumption Monastery devastated by the Poles. The name of the future desert - Berlyukovskaya - associates folk tradition with the name of the robber Berlyuk (this nickname translates as "wolf", "beast" or "man with a severe character"). At the time of the future monastery at this time was a cemetery ^[2] .

According to legend, from the Assumption Forerunner's Monastery, two old men came to Varlaam - Abbess Evdokia and treasurer Julian; they brought with them the ancient icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker , which Barlaam placed in a specially cut wooden chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. After some time, through their efforts and thanks to the help of the surrounding residents, a stone church was erected in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at the site of this chapel.

At the beginning of 1701, the temple became the courtyard of the Moscow Miracle Monastery . Immediately after this, several people of the brethren arrived, headed by Rector Pachomius. In the same year, a new stone church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built on the donations of the Moscow merchant Vikula Martynov.

The foundation of the monastery and its history from 1719 until the October Revolution

In 1719, the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker became the main church of the new monastery - the Nikolo-Berlyukov desert, which after some time was withdrawn from the Chudov monastery and assigned to the Stromynsky Assumption Monastery . Hieromonk Diodorus was appointed the first rector of the desert.

From October 1731 to April 1734 the rector of the monastery was Hieromonk Josiah Samghin , whose guarantors were Princess Mary and Theodosius , sisters of Peter the Great . In April 1734, Hieromonk Josiah, from whom various forbidden manuscripts were found, was deprived of dignity, beaten with a whip with nostrils and sent to Kamchatka ^[3] , and the inhabitants of the monastery were distributed among other monasteries.

In 1770, the Nikolo-Berlukovskaya Deserts was abolished, and the Nicholas Church was declared a parish church. On March 15, 1779, the monastery was restored as a contingent desert by decree of the Moscow Spiritual Consistory. Hieromonk Joasaph was appointed rector of the restored monastery. In December 1779 , according to the decree of the Synod, the Berlukovskaya desert was included in the number of eight state-owned monasteries of the Moscow diocese . In 1786, on the site of the old Trinity Church, a new one was laid; the plan was personally approved by Metropolitan Plato , he consecrated a new church and sent books and utensils for him from Moscow .

In 1794, rector Joasaph died. His work was continued by his brother - hieromonk Nikolai. Subsequently, the monastery was run by hieromonks from the St. Nicholas-Peshnoshsky Monastery : Pakhomiy (since 1806 ), Ioannikiy (since 1811 ), Nikolai (since 1827 ).

In 1828, priest of the Solovetsky Monastery hieromonk Anthony became rector of the desert. On May 24, 1829, a miraculous icon appeared on the monastery, "The Flicking of Christ the Savior by Judah." For several months of 1829, the monastery was temporarily in charge of Hieromonk Gennady. Hieromonk Anthony died at the end of June 1829 . With the blessing of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow , Hieromonk Benedict became the new abbot. In 1840, a gate stone one-domed church was built and consecrated in the name of St. Basil the Great. In 1851, a new stone two-tier bell tower was erected, on which a large bell of the monastery was erected - weighing more than a thousand pounds. In 1853, Metropolitan Filaret consecrated the stone one-domed Church of All Saints, built on the money of the merchant Fyodor Fedorovich Nabilkin from the city of Friedrichsgam (now Hamina in Finland . In 1856, priest Parfeny became abbot of the monastery, followed by hieromonk Joseph, prince of the Holy Trinity . November, 1865, the abbot of the Solovetsky monastery of Ion became abbot of the monastery. new by architect N.V. Nikitin .

At the end of the 19th century , the most notable building was erected in the monastery - a bell tower 88 meters high, built in four years (June 22, 1895 - July 30, 1899 ). The bell tower was designed by Moscow architect Alexander Stepanovich Kaminsky (the upper tier of the bell tower was designed by Vasily Mikheevich Borin ); she was crowned by a huge cross made of red copper, weighing thirty-eight pounds, made on September 14, 1899 by the master Ivan Fedorovich Shuvalov. It was built at the expense of Moscow merchants Samoilov and Lyapin brothers. The consecration of the bell tower took place on June 11, 1900 . In addition, at the end of the 19th century a school for 30 children functioned in the monastery ^[2] .

In 1902, hegumen Timolaus headed the deserts; since 1909, hieromonk Peter was the rector.

Abolition and rebirth of the cloister

The monastery was abolished on June 29, 1920. Most of the buildings of the former monastery were transferred to the home of the disabled; the brethren for some time belonged only to the All Saints Church with cells. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was turned into a parish. In February 1921, religious processions with the miraculous icon "The Flicking of Jesus Christ by Judah" were banned. April 5, 1922 in the desert began the seizure of valuables ; all silver salaries, silver altar crosses , salaries of liturgical books were stolen. In 1923, the desert was headed by her last abbot, Father Superior Xenophon. On February 2, 1930, the last Divine Liturgy was held within the walls of the monastery.

In the 1930s, in the cell buildings housed the house of invalids of war and labor, then - a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, since 1941 - a hospital for 100 people, since 1945 - a house of people with disabilities, since 1961 - hospital number 12, since 1972 - Moscow City Hospital No. 16 for patients with tuberculosis and mental illness. The Kazan Church and the monastery cemetery were completely destroyed. In May 1994, during a storm, an old cross was torn from the monastery bell tower by wind ^[4] .

In the autumn of 1992, a community was registered at the monastery church of Christ the Savior ^[4] . In 2002, hieromonk Evmeniy (Lagutin) was appointed its rector by decree of the metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomensky Juvenal . On December 19, 2004, in the basement of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the first Divine Liturgy was served. In the same year, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the bell tower and the territory of the monastery garden were transferred to the community. Community forces carried out restoration work on the territory of the monastery.

In the winter of 2006, at a meeting of the Holy Synod , chaired by Patriarch Alexy the Second, the parish of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was officially transformed into the St. Nicholas-Berlyukovsky Monastery. In August 2006, a fifteen-meter gilded dome with a cross was installed on the bell tower of the monastery.

In early May 1895, the composer Sergei Taneev visited the Nikolo-Berlyukovsk Deserts. “Amazingly nice. <...> Peace. <...> Composed with great ease, ”reads one of the entries that appeared in his diary during this period ^[5] .

1. Berlyukovskaya Nikolaev desert // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
2. Archaeological map of Russia . Moscow region. Part 3. - M .: 1996. - S. 11.
3. Klyuchevsky V.O. Russian history. Book one. - M .: 1993. - S. 254—256.
4. Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko. Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary. - M .: 1900. - S. 891.
5. Shevelkin I. A trip to the Berlukovskaya deserts // Mindful reading. - 1864. - No. 12. - S. 260.
6. Historical description of the Nikolaev Berlukovskaya desert. Ed. the fourth. - St. Petersburg: Satis, Power, 2006.

• Official site of the Nikolo-Berlyukovsk desert
• Berlukovskaya Deserts on the site www.temples.ru
• Berlukovskaya deserts on the website www.sobory.ru
• Nikolo-Berlyukovskaya Deserts
• Page of the St. Nicholas Berlukovsky Monastery on the website of the Moscow Diocese
• Berlyukovskaya in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker male deserts // Orthodox Encyclopedia
• 3D panorama of the monastery