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Monastery of the Ascension David's Hermitage. Modern life of the monastery

Ascension David's Hermitage - monastery, located in the village of Novy Byt, Chekhov district, Moscow region. It is located eighty-five kilometers from Moscow and twenty-four kilometers from Serpukhov, not far from the city of Chekhov.

The most convenient access from Moscow is along the Simferopol highway to the second concrete road, then turn left on it and after a couple of kilometers left again at the sign Novyi Byt, after another couple of kilometers you will see the monastery on the right side of the road. Photography inside is prohibited.

The Monk David of Serpukhov (in the world Daniel) came from the family of princes Vyazemsky. He was tonsured and a student of the great Pafnuty of Borovsky.

After the death of Paphnutius (1447), David remained in the Borovsky Monastery under the auspices and guidance of Joseph Volotsky (another student of Paphnutius), who would later become key figure dispute between the Josephites and the nonpossessors. And he will prevail in this dispute, creating the prerequisites for the decomposition of Russian monasticism.

But all this later, but for now Joseph leads the Pafnutiev brethren. At the same time (regarding the tightening of the hostel regime) he enters into a clinch with almost everyone. Among the seven monks who supported Joseph in this conflict was David.

The result of the contention was the departure of Joseph on a journey through the Russian monasteries. It lasted two years, and when he returned and saw that you couldn’t break a butt with a whip, Joseph decided to leave for good. Soon he will open his famous Joseph-Volotsky Monastery, where he will arrange everything to his liking.

And David remained in Borovsk. But gradually, a desire to leave the Pafnutev monastery also ripened in him. 85 km. from Moscow, on the high bank of the Lopasna River, he found a beautiful strong place and settled in it.

In May 1515 a monastery arose there. They say that on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin in 1515, Joseph Volotsky visited him. I dined with David, was very pleased with everything, blessed the new monastery and its rector.

David died in 1529. And soon began to appear in dreams different people help them, perform miracles. Now his relics are openly buried in the Church of the Sign and are the main shrine of the monastery. In fact, there are probably so many different particles of relics and other shrines, as in the Desert of David, nowhere in Holy Russia.

There are fragments of the honest bodies of Nikola Ugodnik, Eustathius Plakida, Herman of Alaska, Dmitry, Abraham and Isaiah of Rostov, Ferapont Luzhetsky, Moses Ugrin and others, and others, and others.

There is even an ark with the relics of the holy Bethlehem babies, a particle of the true Nail of the Crucifixion of the Lord, a particle of the Chiton of the Lord, a particle of the robe Holy Mother of God and the honest head of an unknown martyr from Kyiv.

In troubled times in 1619 the monastery was ravaged by the Lithuanians and Cossacks. In 1657 the hermitage was assigned to the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery (by decree of Patriarch Nikon).

In 1667, by decree of Alexei Mikhailovich, the hermitage was excluded from the New Jerusalem Monastery. The last third of the XVII century - the most prosperous times in the history of David's desert.

In the 18th century, prosperity gave way to decline. In 1712, the desert was assigned to the Chudov Monastery, from 1721 to 1727 - to the Zlatoust Monastery. In 1764, after the introduction of the monastic states, the hermitage became supernumerary, that is, it was maintained at its own expense, but already without possessions taken to the treasury.

The monastery was finally closed in October 1929. The brethren of the monastery were partly repressed, partly dispersed.

After the monastery was closed, its last rector, Fr. Valentine began to live with one of the pious parishioners. One night they came for him. And since then he has disappeared.

Some say that he was shot not here, in Novyi Byt, but in Chekhov. Others believe that they killed him near the monastery, on the banks of the Lopasna. And the body was taken away so that there would be no unnecessary talk. The conversations continued anyway. People whispered that a spring had gushed at the site of the death of the righteous man.

Indeed, under the monastery, near the bridge over the river, there is a small and almost neglected spring. Old people claim that it opened in 1937. And they admit that it is in this source that the spirit of the martyr Valentine lives. In any case, they call it Valentine's spring.

Perhaps the late Father Herman, who in 1995 became the rector of the recreated Ascension David's Hermitage, was inspired by the ideas of Joseph Volotsky that monasteries should be rich, because this is necessary for education and other public service. That is, he was inspired by ideas opposite to non-covetousness. Therefore, he was ready to go to great lengths to make his monastery rich and strong, but was killed.

On the monastery territory were buried: commander General of Infantry D.S. Dokhturov, as well as representatives of the princely and noble families of Obolensky, Romodanovsky, Vasilchikov, Golovkin and others.

But besides the spiritual fathers and nobles, other people are buried in the monastery. I did not take pictures of their graves. The first of them was Anton Malevsky, the man who was called the aluminum king of Russia and the leader of the Izmailovo criminal group. He was a citizen of Russia and Israel and a paratrooper. Having jumped over South Africa in November 2001, Anton somehow crashed like a Chekhovian.

Next to him lies Gennady Nedoseka, nicknamed "Gene Bolshoi", the former head of the administration of the Chekhov district. He did a lot for the monastery, but had an ambiguous reputation (in the eyes of the police). He also died very ambiguously: in December 2004, he almost burned to the ground in his Hammer.

Even before he was elected head of the Chekhov district of the Moscow region, Nedoseka was implicated in a high-profile criminal case about the massacre of a gang of the Korchagin brothers. This happened on the evening of March 21, 1996 in the cafe-bar "Grot" on the outskirts of Chekhov.

According to the police, this establishment was to host a meeting between the leaders of the so-called Korchagin group and its rivals, Gena Bolshoy's "brigade". However, armed men in camouflage suddenly burst into the bar.

Ten Korchagins were thrown into the back of a ZIL and taken away in an unknown direction. Three of them soon appeared in the city - beaten and intimidated to death, while the rest were found 4 years later - under a meter-long layer of concrete in a garage near Chekhov.

The investigation could not prove the involvement of Nedoseka (by this time he had already become the head of the district) in the massacre of competitors due to lack of evidence, but the deceased was included in the database of the Office for Combating Organized Crime of the Moscow Region as the leader of an organized criminal group that controls "mining of non-metallic minerals in Serpukhov and Chekhov districts, the Chekhov Central Market and various commercial structures in the Chekhov district.

And finally, the grave of Father Herman (Khapugin), abbot of David's Hermitage, who in July of this year was killed after being tortured in his monastic cell. Valuables and five thousand dollars kept in his desk the bandits did not touch, but the safe was opened and empty.

Compassionate pilgrims, passing by these graves, cross themselves and warmly commemorate the dead. In the end, miracles have been observed in this quiet monastery for a long time: it seems that not a single monastery in Russia has risen from the ruins so quickly and has not been well-equipped as thoroughly as David's Hermitage.

The monastery was loved and repeatedly visited by A.P. Chekhov. Here is what he wrote to a family friend, S.A. Petrov, inviting him to come to Melikhovo: “My estate is poor, but the surroundings are magnificent, and four miles from us is the beautiful David’s Hermitage, where we would go with you.”

Part of the text is taken from the site "Changes" from the heading "Places of Power" by Oleg Davydov, part from the site of the newspaper "Izvestia".

Fais se que dois adviegne que peut.

Voznesenskaya Davidova- cenobitic male deserts, unimportant. Located in the Moscow province., in 18 ver. from the city of Serpukhov, near the village. Barantseva. Founded in 1515. There are two temples. The relics of the locally venerated David lie in the monastery… Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary

This term has other meanings, see Deserts (meanings). Hermitage is a term denoting a monastic settlement in the tradition of Orthodoxy, usually a skete remote from the main monastery. Previously, small men's were called deserts ... ... Wikipedia

DAVIDOV IN HONOR OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD MEN'S DESERT- (Moscow diocese), located in the village. New Life of the Chekhov district in the Moscow region. According to an entry in the Synod in 1602, the D. p. was founded by St. David Serpukhovsky, who, along with 2 elders and 2 “simple men”, on May 31, 1515, settled in a desert ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Moscow bishop, in the vicinity of Serpukhov, near the river. Lopasna. Founded in 1515 by a student of St. Pafnuty Borovsky by David (sk. 1520), who rested here in the Znamensky chapel of the Ascension Cathedral. Here the coffin of St. Moses Ugrin, taken ... ... Russian history

This term has other meanings, see Zosimov deserts. Monastery of the Trinity Hodegetrievskaya Zosima Hermitage ... Wikipedia

Monastery of Catherine's Hermitage ... Wikipedia

Panorama of the Voznesenskaya Davidov Hermitage Voznesenskaya Davidov Hermitage Monastery of the Moscow Patriarchate; located on the high right bank of the Lopasni River (a tributary of the Oka River), on the territory of the ancient Khatun volost, next to the current ... ... Wikipedia

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Monastic Deanery District of the Moscow Diocese of Russia Orthodox Church unites 12 male and 12 convents. Dean of the district since December 10, 2004 Bishop of Serpukhov Roman (Gavrilov), rector of the Vysotsky male ... ... Wikipedia

Books

David's Hermitage, N.P. Vinogradov. Voznesenskaya second-class cenobitic David's hermitage, Serpukhov district, Moscow province. The book is a reprint edition of 1915 (publishing house `Rus. Printing House (B. V. ...
Voznesenskaya second-clave cenobitic Davidova hermitage, Serpukhov district, Moscow province, 1515-1915. , No author. Reproduced in the original author's spelling of the 1915 edition (publishing house `Moskva`). AT…

Not far from Moscow, near modern Chekhov, there is one of the oldest and most beautiful Orthodox monasteries in Russia, which has already crossed the line of its five-hundred-year existence - Davidov Pustyn. The monastery is male, founded at the beginning of the 16th century (1515), and since then has undergone ups and downs, ruin and prosperity. But the candle of prayer here has never been extinguished.

The 16th century is the heyday of Russian monasticism. Time of spiritual discussions, conversations, opinions. But despite the nobility of the names of Pafnuty Borovsky, Joseph Volotsky, the fame of the monasteries they created, one has to restore bit by bit the chronicle of the famous monasteries.

Too much has been lost. The dashing years of wars, troubles and revolutions did not pass by the monastery of David's Hermitage. And, surprisingly, it is not as famous as the Holy Trinity Monastery or Optina Hermitage, but whoever you ask, everyone knows about it, especially about the holy spring of St. David.

Important!: Proper preparation and administration of the sacrament.

David is a worthy disciple of Saints Paphnutius and Joseph Volotsky. Little is known about the life of the saint. In past centuries, families were predominantly large, even among princes and boyars. One of the children was brought up so that the child would later devote his life to serving God and could pray for the whole family. According to legend, Daniel (Rev. David) came from a noble princely family, presumably Vyazemsky.

He went to the monastery at a young age, was a student of Father Pafnuty Borovsky and received the monastic name David. He was honored with the friendship of Rev. Joseph, the famous founder of the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery. And even became his companion.

Eminent and spirit-bearing elders were the teachers of St. David: Pafnuty Borovsky and Joseph Volotsky. No, they did not seek earthly glory, on the contrary, they sought solitude, silence and prayer.

Pafnutiy Borovsky did not even let women into his monastery, so that they would not distract the monks from their constant occupation, solitude and prayer with their beauty of face and curiosity. This contemplation and detachment from the world of St. David covers his monastery from simply curious eyes even to our time.

Why David left the Borovskaya monastery is unknown. This is also a personal secret of the monk, as, indeed, much in his life. But the saint came here, to the site of the current monastery, around May 1515 with only one icon of the “Sign”, accompanied by only a few brothers from the inhabitants former monastery. And he built the Church of the Ascension of the Lord with side chapels in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Attention! Now in the David's Hermitage, a huge stone Ascension Cathedral rises in this place.

Adjacent to the cathedral from the north is a temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Church of the Mother of God "The Sign". This architectural ensemble occupies a central place among all monastic buildings.

Desert foundation

David came to the place of the future monastic monastery only 6 years later, as this territory was freed from the rule of the Lithuanians. Previously, it was part of Lithuania, but the prince, who owns this land, in 1509 passed into the subordination of Moscow.

The Lithuanians, of course, did not want to give away a large piece of land so easily, they constantly fought for it. This area was often devastated, and its inhabitants demanded not only spiritual help, but also material care from the monastic brethren.

With the activity of Rev. David is connected not only with the erection of monastic churches and other buildings, but also with the planting of a linden alley outside the desert fence. Tradition says that the monk brought linden trees from the nearby forest and planted them with their roots up not far from the monastery. He did this in full view of the monastic brethren and the surrounding inhabitants, so that they would be confirmed in the faith. By the will of the Lord, a miracle was performed, and the trees took root.

Parishioners gave donations to the monastery, brought the fruits of their labors. The inhabitants of the monastery also worked unceasingly. Barrels with cucumbers and various pickles were lowered into those reservoirs, ponds that were located on the territory of the monastery. And in winter, all this was distributed to those in need, to those who came asking for help. The monastery has always shared with people everything that it had, leaving no one hungry. Saint David was called by the people the father-breadwinner.

The laborious body of St. David on September 19, 1529. Shortly before his death, the saint was visited by the lamp of faith Orthodox Joseph Volotsky. This meeting is depicted on the wall frescoes of one of the temples of the monastery.

A modest wooden chapel built over the grave of the saint reminded everyone of eternity. Now over the relics of St. David of Serpukhov and Lopasnensky, a stone church dedicated to one of the most revered icons in Russia, the Sign, rises.

Seventeenth century

David's Ascension Hermitage was well known to the Russian tsars and their households, who never left the monastery with their mercy. Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible himself was especially fond of the Ascension Hermitage. He even, at his own expense, began the construction of the first stone cathedral in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, without taking a penny from the treasury for this. Heard about the exploits of Rev. David, the king issued a charter to the monastery for the possession of estates, fishing, and various lands. It was the heyday of the desert.

With all Russia survived the monastery and timelessness great turmoil, and its consequences. Miraculously survived in 1612, it was completely ruined and devastated by the dashing little people of Ataman P. Sahaydachny. His detachment, which consisted of Zaporozhian Cossacks and Lithuanians, then plundered many churches and monasteries of Muscovy.

A few years later, the tsar renewed the charter and privileges granted to the monastery by Ivan the Terrible. And the monastery began to come to life, to rise from the ruins and ashes. The desert flourished, and the surrounding villages flourished. It was not dark men and women who came to the monastery churches, but a literate, versed in Holy Scripture and the liturgy of the people, who were enlightened and taught by the monks.

XVIII century

The 18th century was coming, which for some reason is called the time of enlightenment and humanism. However, this time became the most difficult test for the entire Orthodox Church, and especially for its spiritual strongholds - holy monasteries.

Peter 1 did not like the monks very much, because he considered them loafers, parasites. He also issued a decree according to which only the disabled, the crippled and the elderly could go to the monastery. This struggle with monasticism was started by his father, Alexei Mikhailovich (Quiet). Peter 1 was an active successor to his work, became an unstoppable fighter against the church, so he could not perceive the Orthodox spirit in any way.

What kind of troubles did not undergo the Monastery of the Ascension Davidov Hermitage:

periodically lost independence,
attributed to other monasteries,
lost content.

As a result, the monastery was ruined even worse than in the Time of Troubles. But just at this time, by some miracle over the tomb of St. David, instead of a wooden chapel, a stone bell tower was built by the efforts of the benefactors of the monastery.

nineteenth century

The most fertile time for the Holy Ascension Desert was associated with the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Platon. The saint was an ardent admirer of St. David and a supporter of a strict monastic community. A new order of worship and life was introduced in the monastery, which immediately affected the spiritual growth of the brethren.

But the year 1917 struck. Black time for all Russia. Many temples and monasteries were destroyed with such cruelty, as if they wanted to wipe out all the memory of the people about their ancestors, their faith and their heritage from the face of the earth. The monastery survived a terrible time - complete desolation and devastation. And it seemed that the monastery would never be reborn for monastic life.

But in 1992 the pendulum of history swung in reverse side. Residents of the village of Novy Byt (Chekhov District) formed an Orthodox community, and the authorities transferred the cathedrals and temples of the monastery to it. The monks returned to the monastery. In the Church of the Sign over the relics of St. David, resting under a bushel, the first roses appeared. This was the beginning of the revival of the Ascension David's Hermitage.

Modern life of the monastery

Already at the entrance to the monastery, a unique picture opens up:

Several colorful churches with a beautiful golden-domed bell tower stand in a row. Thousands of pilgrims come to the monastery today to venerate the relics of the saint.
Every day, liturgies are celebrated here, children are brought up, the kindergarten of the village is fed, and a lot of social work is carried out in the parish.
The monks of the monastery carry the word of God through the school of art, orphanage, general education school, technical College.
Abbot of the monastery Sergius pays great attention social work and, above all, the support of the younger generation.
The monks help low-income families, graduates of the orphanage, who create young families.

Father Sergius and the brethren of the monastery are doing a lot in matters of moral education of the younger generation. The monks made repairs kindergarten. Father Sergiy is present at all children's holidays, communicates closely with children. The Sunday school, located in the monastery, is constantly attended by up to 25 children. They are developing here, in which they are ahead of their peers from the general education school.

Attention! You can find out the address of the monastery, its description and photo, the schedule of services by going to the official monastery website on the Internet.

Holy spring

There is a holy spring in the courtyard of the David Monastery in the village of Talezh, the first mention of which dates back to 1265. People have come here at all times, believing in healing power holy water and the grace of this divine place.

During the reign of Catherine the Second, the owner of the surrounding lands was Count Vladimir Orlov, who at the beginning of the 17th century erected a church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary here, which has not survived to this day. Since there was a church here, people came here to baptize their children, get married, and bury their dead relatives. After the destruction of the monastery, the flow of visitors to this holy place did not stop, no matter what.

In Soviet times, newlyweds very often came to the source. Then the architectural splendor was not built, which can be seen on the territory of the monastery today. But it has been noticed by believers more than once that the source helps with problems with childbearing. Through the prayers of St. David, people who drank holy water or plunged into it receive a solution to their difficult situation.

After the Soviet period of desolation in 1996, the spring was cleaned and the surrounding area was ennobled. Vladyka Yuvenaly consecrated it in the name of St. David. In 2005, this place was transformed thanks to the funds and efforts of donors. But whatever the framing of the source, its waters, by faith and prayer, carried and carry healing to those who come here, healing, and sometimes a call to repentance.

Attention! The story is well known to everyone, when a woman who had an abortion at one time came up to the font and saw a little girl in the water at the very bottom. She ran out in horror. She ran up to the monk, who first met her on the way, and asked how she could repent and what she needed to do for this.

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Summing up

For five centuries, the seed sown by the Monk David on the spiritual field of the Moscow region germinated. The monastery has been a silent witness to many events throughout its history. With the revival of this monastery, its flame flared up with renewed vigor.

David's Voznesenskaya Hermitage, provincial, communal, 25 versts from the city of Serpukhov, by the Lopasna River. It was founded in 1515 by David (October 18, 1520), a disciple of the Monk Pafnutiy of Borovsky, who rests here in the Znamensky chapel of the Ascension Cathedral. The coffin of the Monk Moses Ugrin (see July 26), taken from Kyiv and given to the desert by Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, is also kept here. The ancient miraculous image of the All-Merciful Savior, located in the chapel near the Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow, belongs to the desert.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"

The founder of the Ascension David's Hermitage was the Monk David of Serpukhov. It was founded at the beginning of the 16th century. Many sources give the exact date - 1515. Saint David and his comrades are building wooden cells, erecting a wooden church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord on the banks of the Lopasna River. After the death of Rev. David was placed over his relics in a wooden chapel.

The first stone building began to be erected by the end of the 16th century - a stone church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord. But with the death of Ivan IV, the Time of Troubles began, which also affected the deserts. In 1619 it was ravaged by the Lithuanians.

Finally, it came to the Ascension Cathedral. It remained unfinished until the second half of the 17th century. Other buildings were built in the 18th century. But because of the poverty of the deserts, they begin to attribute it to one Moscow monastery, then to another. The brethren are getting smaller and smaller. This went on until early XIX century. The flowering of David's desert begins. New temples are erected, old ones are repaired and decorated. New auxiliary buildings appear.

Since 1917, the desert enters a new period in its history. Destroyed, plundered, destroyed… I have nothing more to add about this period. Desert revival begins in 1992. First, the cathedral was handed over in the name of the All-Merciful Savior. In 1995, a decision was made to resume monastic life. From 1997 to 1999, restoration work took place in the desert. And, finally, in 2003 the Ascension Cathedral was consecrated.

Voznesenskaya Davidova is an unimportant coenobitic male desert 8 versts from the Sharapova Okhota station of the Moscow-Kursk Railway, near the village of Barantseva, 18 versts from the county town of Serpukhov. Founded in 1515 by the locally venerated David, a student of St. There is a chapel near the Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow, where an ancient shrine is located - the miraculous image of the All-Merciful Savior.

There are two temples in the desert: 1) a cathedral in the name of the Ascension of the Lord, with two aisles: in honor of the Sign of St. Mother of God, under the bell tower, and in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker; 2) above the gate, in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God. In the cathedral church, in the chapel of the Sign of the Holy Mother of God, the relics of the locally revered David rest under a shadow. The coffin is also kept there, in which the body of St. Moses Ugrin, taken from Kiev, where his relics rest in another coffin, and given to Davidov Hermitage by Metropolitan Platon of Moscow.

Of the remarkable things in the desert are stored: vessels used in the service, made in 1598 by order of Tsarevich Feodor Borisovich. Pustyn owns 83 dec. earth. Igumen. Monakhov 33, novices 17.

Denisov L.I. Orthodox monasteries Russian Empire, 1908, pp. 489-490

In 1515, St. David, from the family of Prince. Vyazemsky, who labored for more than 40 years in the Borovsky Monastery, in a desert area on the banks of the Lopasnya, which was in the possession of Prince. Vasily Semenovich Starodubsky, founded a monastery. By decree of Ivan the Terrible, they began to build a stone Ascension Cathedral here, but the construction was not completed. In 1619 the monastery was ravaged by Lithuanians and Circassians. At that time the monastery was the poorest. In 1657 he was assigned to the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery, then to Chudov, in 1721 - to Zlatoust. In 1727 David's hermitage gained independence. In 1760-1778. The Khatun Spiritual Board was located in the monastery. In 1792, a hostel was introduced in the monastery and it was restored by order of Metropolitan Platon by Hieromonk Macarius.

Since the 19th century the flowering of the monastery began, many stone buildings appeared; formed the existing architectural form. In 1915 the monastery received the status of a second-class monastery. The growth of the welfare of the monastery was interrupted by the events of 1917. In the 1930s. left the monastery last monks. An agricultural technical school was located on the territory of the monastery and in its buildings. The monastery cemetery was destroyed, where the ashes of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Dokhturov, were buried. In 1992, the inhabitants of the village formed a community, to which the Cathedral of the All-Merciful Savior was transferred. Since 1995, the monastery was re-established and its revival began. In 1997, the relics of St. David of Serpukhov were found. More than 150 particles of the relics of the holy saints of God have been collected in the monastery.

Source: Reference book "Moscow region. Monasteries. Temples. Sources". M., UKINO "Spiritual transformation", 2008, pp. 28-30.

Monastery "Voznesenskaya St. David's hermitage" at the address: Chekhov district, settlement of Novy Byt, Molodezhnaya st. , Decree of the President of Russia dated February 20, 1995 No. 176). In its composition, only the Ascension Cathedral and the Assumption Gate Church are noted. The rest of the buildings in the monastery ensemble are identified objects of cultural heritage (Decree of the Ministry of Culture of the Moscow Region dated July 12, 2005 No. 237-r). It includes: an almshouse; hotel; carriage house; bell tower with northern gatehouse; horse yard; hospital building; residential building "A"; outbuilding residential southeast; residential building "B"; the chaplain's corps; corps of elders; prosphora; Spassky Cathedral; fence; hotel wing; Church of All Saints, with a new refectory and fraternal building; overhead chapel; northeast tower; northwest tower; southeast tower; southwest tower; fence of the southern part of the monastery.

Hermitage was assigned to the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery in 1657, in 1667 it was excluded from its jurisdiction by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1712, it was assigned to the Chudov Monastery, and in 1721, by the decision of the Holy Synod of April 28, to the Moscow Zlatoust Monastery, which received all the land and cattle of the desert, as well as income from the chapel at the Arbat Gates. In 1724, according to the decision of the Spiritual Dicastery (the Synodal Office in Moscow), the sacristy of the desert was taken to the monastery.

Source: Archpriest Oleg Penezhko. "Chekhov. Temples of the Chekhov district of the Moscow region". 2001

The main restoration work in the monastery was carried out under the guidance of the architect O.V. Gaeva.

Shortly after his righteous death, hegumen David was named in the Synod as a reverend (record of 1602), and a few decades later - a miracle worker (record of 1657). This speaks of his local veneration. Above the coffin Reverend Abbot a wooden chapel of the image of the Mother of God "The Sign" was built. There they also placed the icon with which David came from the Borovskoye monastery: his cell prayer image. It depicts the Mother of God in the same way as on the icon “The Sign” - stretching out her hands in prayer, the baby Jesus is written in the womb: The holy prophets Habakkuk and Daniel are coming to the Blessed Lady and Saints Peter and Onuphrius of Athos. Later, the chapel was dismantled, and a bell tower was built on this site (1740), on the first floor of which was the Church of the Sign (later the bell tower was dismantled, and a new one was built in its place, which now serves as the gate to the monastery). In the 19th century the veneration of St. David expanded. His miracles were recorded.

In Soviet times, when the monastery was finally closed, the authority building was taken away as an agricultural technical school. The fraternal buildings housed hostels for students. In the temples of the monastery, which previously amazed with the grandeur of their beauty, they arranged garages and warehouses. A village club was opened in the St. Nicholas Church - a new "center of culture" with obligatory anti-religious disputes, films and dances. A sports hall was set up in the Assumption Church, a dining room in the Church of All Saints, and a red flag was hoisted on the bell tower.

In the mid 1950s. a large monastic cemetery, where, in addition to monks and laity (for example, the princes Obolensky, the hero of the war of 1812, General Dokhturov, etc.), it was destroyed, the graves were excavated, and the tombstones were used to build a new technical school dormitory. At the same time, the monastery fence was almost completely destroyed, the domes of the Ascension Cathedral, St. Nicholas, Znamensky and All Saints churches were destroyed - the authorities tried with all their might to give the monastery complex a “non-cult” look. Even the village, which at one time grew up next to the monastery, was symbolically named "New Life". More than 250 particles of holy relics were collected by the abbots of the monastery within its walls.

Church of the Sign

How it is customary to start a visit to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra with a prayer at the relics St. Sergius in the Trinity Cathedral, and in the David's Hermitage it would be nice to bow to the relics of David in the Church of the Sign. A direct path from the gates of the monastery leads to the entrance to it. The Church of the Sign stands exactly where a wooden chapel once stood over the burial place of St. David. In the middle of the XVIII century. there was a small stone Church of the Sign, and in 1867-1870. built in its place new temple. In this temple there is a shrine with the relics of St. David, and everyone goes to her to kneel, pray and ask St. David for help.

Nicholas Church

The church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in the style of classicism, adjoins the Ascension Cathedral from the north. It dates back to 1804. The building is rectangular in plan, crowned with pediments and a dome on a drum with a dome above it. On the eastern side of the building adjoins a semicircular apse, equal in width and height to the main volume of the temple. Two rows of windows cut through the space of the church, including the apse. The church has a rich decor, represented by stucco friezes, floral ornaments, garlands and masks.

Ascension Cathedral

The construction of the church began, as the entry in the synodics testifies, on May 4, 1682. The cathedral was built on the old foundation laid by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. Its basement was a vast room, partly plastered, with barely noticeable traces of painting, which indicated that the lower temple was located here. From the 16th century some of the walls have been preserved. The building of the cathedral is a two-tiered quadrangle, completed with five domes. From the east, a three-part apse adjoins the quadrangle, reaching the middle of the quadrangle. At the time of construction, on the western, southern and northern sides, the cathedral was surrounded by a covered two-story gallery, and on the northeastern and southeastern ends, aisles adjoined it closely.

Cathedral of the All-Merciful Savior

Along with the monastery bell tower, this temple is one of the architectural dominants of the Danilova Pustyn. Its building in plan is a rectangle, the central part of which is with a massive light drum and a dome above it. An apse adjoins the domed space from the east, and a refectory from the west. From the northern and southern facades, the under-dome space is highlighted by projections completed with four decorative cupolas. The walls of the cathedral are richly decorated in accordance with the requirements of the pseudo-Russian style: decorative elements are stylized as keeled arches, curbs, kokoshniks. The building is cut through by oblong high windows. The Cathedral of the All-Merciful Savior was built on the site of the refectory church at the end of the 19th century. From this cathedral began the revival of the monastery after its desecration in Soviet times. In 1992, the inhabitants of the village of Novy Byt formed an Orthodox community, which was given the cathedral in the name of the All-Merciful Savior. In 1995, shortly after Hieromonk German was appointed rector, the first Divine Liturgy was served here on the first Saturday of Great Lent.

Church of All Saints

The one-domed All Saints Church was built shortly before the start of the First World War - the last of the temples of the Danilov Hermitage. It contained a copy of miraculous icon of the All-Merciful Savior from the attached chapel near the Moskvoretsky Bridge.

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The second most preserved building of the Danilov Hermitage is the church in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was built in 1740 above the northern gates of the monastery. The temple belongs to the type of “octagon on a quadrangle” that was widespread at that time. From the east, a faceted apse adjoins its main volume, from the west - a refectory with a gate under it. A dome rises above the octagon, crowned with a small cupola on a faceted drum. The chetverik of the temple is cut from the north and south by two rows of semicircular windows, decorated with rectangular architraves. Each face of the octagon has one window surrounded by architraves in the form of columns with keeled ends. The corners of the volumes of the temple are marked with pilasters.

Bell tower

The bell tower is the dominant feature of the monastic architectural ensemble. It is located in the middle of the western part of the wall surrounding the desert. The bell tower was built under the influence of the Russian-Byzantine style. On the quadrangle, in which the main gate of the monastery is located, an octagon is placed; on it - a cylindrical tier of ringing; even higher - a small drum crowned with a massive head with a clock on the four cardinal points. The facades are decorated with decorative platbands, threads with panels, kokoshniks. Historians have noticed that the second - octahedral - tier of the bell tower imitates the ringing tier, characteristic of ancient bell towers, but it remains unclear whether it performs exclusively decorative functions or is designed to place bells in it according to the project. The current bell tower was built in the 19th century.

Source: "Voznesenskaya Davidova Hermitage. History. Temples. Shrines. Life of St. David". Guide.

The Voznesenskaya Davidova Hermitage is located eighty-five kilometers from Moscow and twenty-four kilometers from Serpukhov, not far from the city of Chekhov. It is located in a beautiful area on the banks of the Lopasna River, which flows into the Oka, on a high semi-mountain abounding in white stone. The monastery was founded on May 31, 1515 by the Monk David, hegumen Voznesensky, Serpukhov miracle worker, who came to this place with the icon of the Sign of the Mother of God with two monks and two novices. Having settled here, he set up cells, erected the first wooden churches in honor of the divine Ascension of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ with a chapel in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a meal. Near his desert, the Monk planted a linden grove.

The veneration of Saint David began shortly after his righteous death. In the synodicon of 1602, he is called a reverend, and in the documents of 1657, in addition, a miracle worker. Protected by the holy prayers of its founder, the monastery of St. David has been around for 500 years. During this time, she has repeatedly endured various kinds of adversity and disorder, but by the grace of God, with the support of pious people, she patiently endured them and is currently continuing to actively recover and develop. Today the monastery has 12 inhabitants. The abbot of the monastery is hegumen Sergius (Kuksov). Liturgy is served daily within the walls of the monastery.

Before the revolution, the coffin of the Monk Moses Ugrin, brought here by the Moscow Metropolitan Platon (Levshin), was kept in the Znamensky Church before the revolution. Unfortunately, it has not survived to this day. In addition, more than 200 particles of the relics of God's saints have been collected in the monastery, among which are St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. John the Baptist, ap. Andrew the First-Called, Vmts. Panteleimon, vmts. Barbara, mts. Tatiana, great teachers and saints, Kiev-Pechersk saints and many other revered saints of God.

Temples of the monastery

Rev. David, laying the foundation of the monastery, created churches in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Nicholas with a meal. For many centuries, churches in Russia were mostly wooden. This applied to both parish churches and monastic ones. Only the richest monasteries could build stone temples. was no exception to general rule and the Wilderness of David.

In the first decades of the existence of the Desert of David, all its churches were built of wood. Already under the Monk David there were two of them, and the Cathedral Ascension Church had a chapel. As the monastery synodique of 1602 testifies, the founder of the monastery “build a church in the name of the divine Ascension of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, putting the church to the limit Holy Lady Our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary of the honorable and glorious Assumption of Her, and with a meal put up a church in the name of our father St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. These ancient temples, like all later wooden buildings, have not been preserved. In 1600, at the expense of Abbot Leonid, a new wooden Ascension Church was erected, which, presumably, replaced the dilapidated and dismantled church of the time of St. David, which was later transferred to the village of Legchishchevo. According to the inventory of 1627-1628. in the monastery there was a wooden church in honor of the Ascension of the Lord with a chapel in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a refectory. In 1657, on the territory of the monastery, there was a wooden tent church of the Ascension of the Lord “on three heights” with two thrones in the aisles in the name of the Assumption Mother of God and St. Nicholas, the Znamenskaya Chapel, in which the relics of St. David rested under a bushel, a wooden bell tower with five bells, outbuildings and a fence, as well as an unfinished stone Ascension Cathedral.

Building history

In 1627-1628. In addition to the temples, David's hermitage had the hegumen's cell, and three fraternal cells, a bakery, a cookery, a stable yard, and near it a linden grove, and arable land under the monastery.

In 1657 the monastery had the following appearance: it was surrounded by a fence, near the monastery there was a linden grove, and between the grove and the fence there was a garden with apple trees. Behind the monastery is a barnyard where the janitor lived.

According to the inventory of 1745, there is a stone fence around the monastery, in many places it is dilapidated and has collapsed, two gates - one is holy, the other on the right side is passable. Abbess' cells front and back are made of stone with stone vestibules. against them on right side- a stone state cell, and in it state charters and decrees printed and written, fortresses and extracts of yard and land and payment inventories on sheets and columns and all kinds of letters a box and two boxes, as well as copper and pewter utensils. Under the abbot's and government cells, the cells are empty. At the holy gates, going to the monastery on the right side, there are two fraternal stone cells with stone vestibules for two dwellings. Under the church and under the altar are winter cellars. Under the meal and under the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker there is a bread-box with a passage, under the altar there is a tent for flour. At the corner, a stone tower was made instead of a kvass factory. The cellar is stone and wooden. Wooden dryer with a supply of oatmeal and barley groats, hemp seeds and peas. Four granaries. Behind the monastery is a stable yard with a wooden mansion. Animal yard, it has five huts, in which the monastic servants of various services live.

According to the inventory of 1764, the stone structure of the desert: cells, about two apartments, in the upper one - the abbot's cell and the fraternal cell, in the lower - fraternal cells, two malt houses and a storeroom; other cells were near the fence. Wooden structure: kitchen, cellar, five granaries. In the monastery there is a pond around 80 fathoms and a garden, and there are 15 apple trees and 78 beehives in it. There is a stone dilapidated fence around the monastery. Near the monastery there are stables and barnyards, with two huts; a linden grove, near the grove there is a monastery bean gum and a hay barn. On the Lopasni River there is a mill with three stands, on the banks of the Lopasni River there is a lake Krugloye, and there is fish for monastic use in it, on the Rodinka River there are two monastery ponds.

At this time, "David's hermitage - according to its rector, hegumen Gideon - came into considerable disrepair: as in the holy churches and cells of the roof and the monastery walls, everything dilapidated and collapsed in many places." Monastery inventories give reason to believe that churches and other buildings were renovated around 1788.

AT late XVIII century in David's hermitage was the Khatun spiritual Board, which was attended by a builder and two priests at the choice of local clergymen. It was placed in 1762 in two hegumen's winter cells with a vestibule, covered with boards, with stone vaults, "went into the monastery directly from the holy gates." It existed before 1760 and is mentioned until 1788.

In the 19th century, along with the beautification of the holy temples, various monastic buildings were maintained: some of them were repaired, others were destroyed, and new ones were erected in their place. Thus, under Abbot Gennady (1833-1836), the rector's cell was covered with iron. Hegumen Paisios (1843-1854) in 1845 “carried the fence at an angle of 50 sec., and built a tower on the angle. The old fence to the west was dismantled. The view of the monastery to the west has completely changed.” He made two ponds. Finished a new sacristy between two churches (“and it is done intricately”). On the other side of the bell tower, a gatehouse and a gate to the horse yard were built, while the old fence with the gate, which was attached to the old turret, was dismantled.

In 1848, a fraternal two-story stone building for 20 cells and a fence were built near the garden planted inside the monastery to the southwestern corner, where in the past there was a pond. A wooden hotel was built against the southwestern tower with 10 rooms. A northwestern corner three-story tower and a stone barnyard were built instead of the first old one that burned down in 1846, which was against the northwestern corner of the tower, and the second, newly built on the site of the current barnyard, burned down in 1848, a pond was dug near the barnyard .

In 1851 the eastern part of the monastery was extended 15 sazhens further to the east; the moat, which was in that place, was covered up, subsequently everything is occupied by a garden. The north-eastern side of the monastery was built, starting from the Assumption Church, where stone prosphora, a bakery, a kvass factory, cellars with pantries above them, cellars, grain barns were erected in the corner north-eastern tower with outbuildings.

In 1852, the entire eastern side was completed with a corner half-tower, in which seven cells were placed, and part of the fence near the garden. In 1853 between Voznesenskaya and Nikolskaya churches a sacristy with a library was built, where up to 500 volumes of books were placed, and the former sacristy near the altar of the cathedral church on the southeast corner was connected by an altar to the southern vestibule. Under Abbot Varlaam (1854-1865), a third floor was laid on the old two-story building and a stone fraternal bath was built on the Lopasna River with a lower underground passage to it from the monastery. In 1885, all the roofs of the monastery were painted with green verdigris and various other repairs and corrections were made to the buildings. In 1886, a cattle yard was covered and arranged, various sheds were made for storing firewood, the monastery fence was cleared of a dilapidated plank roof and covered with iron, ditches and pits in the monastery itself were filled up and the place was leveled, a stone wall was made for the garden with stone pillars, about an overgrown pond has been cleaned out of the barnyard. A laundry room with a yard, a greenhouse were re-arranged and various corrections were made.

In 1888 a brick factory was built. A two-storey stone house with a mezzanine for barnyard servants was put up again and covered with iron. In 1889, a wooden outbuilding with six rooms with a mezzanine was rebuilt on a stone foundation and covered with iron for the visitors of the monastery, and other corrections were made in the yard of the hotel. A stone cellar with a pantry was built again to save the farmyard. A stone two-story hotel was started in rough and made again with the arrangement of 16 rooms for pilgrims in it, other dilapidated things were put in order.

In 1890, the following buildings were built: a two-story stone hotel was finished inside, the front side was plastered, floors, ceilings, bulkheads, frames were put in place. The entrance was put on a stone staircase, cast iron with a decent umbrella, and the unfinished stone work was roughly finished this year. A new stone hospitable building was built with a kitchen section for desert visitors with a mezzanine and covered with iron.

In 1891, a monastic fence was laid on the southwestern side and a stone one-story outbuilding for elderly honored elders was built to it, which was covered with iron and plastered inside and out. Stone house for visitors to the desert, the inside is finished and plastered, surrounded by a stone fence with a stable and two sheds that are covered with iron.

Finally, it should be noted that since the middle of the 19th century, a bee-keeper was established at the monastery with such a system of beehives, which at the exhibitions of beekeepers deserved to be awarded a large silver medal in 1867, and a gold medal in 1868.

In October 1929 the monastery was closed. The abbot's building was taken under the agricultural technical school. Dormitories for students were housed in the fraternal buildings, garages and warehouses were built in the temples of the monastery, which previously amazed with the grandeur of their beauty. A village club was opened in the St. Nicholas Church, a sports hall was located in the Assumption Church, and a dining room was located in the Church of All Saints. A red banner was hoisted on the bell tower. A large monastery cemetery, where, in addition to monks, lay people were buried, was in the mid-1950s. destroyed, the graves were excavated, and the tombstones went to the foundation of the new dormitory of the technical school. The fence of the monastery was almost completely destroyed, the domes on the Cathedral, Nikolsky, Znamensky and the Church of All Saints were destroyed. The “non-cult look” was indulged in the monastic complex with all its might. The memory of the glorious past was erased. The new authorities tried to establish a new "culture", a new "spirituality", to make people forget the faith of their fathers, their roots. Even the village that grew up next to the monastery was renamed "New Life".

In 1992, the Cathedral in the name of the All-Merciful Savior was transferred to the Orthodox community formed in the village of Novyi Byt. This was the beginning of the revival of the monastery. On January 11, 1995, Hieromonk German (Khaputin) became rector of the Ascension Church on the territory of the former David's Hermitage, and on June 1, 1995, Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna announced the decision to resume monastic life in David's Hermitage. At the same time, Hieromonk Herman was elevated to the rank of abbot with the award of the abbot's baton to him.

David's Hermitage was in a deplorable state. The monastery complex was used for completely different purposes than it was intended: 13 families lived on the territory of the desert, an agricultural technical school and a canteen were also located here. Father Herman settled in the corner tower of the monastery. Time passed, and the ancient monastery gradually came to life. In the winter of 1997, work began on the restoration of the Church of the Sign. A joyful event for the brethren and parishioners took place in April 1998: a bell weighing 1 ton was donated to the monastery. On June 5 of the same year, in celebration of the Ascension of the Lord, he was raised to the bell tower.

By the end of 1999, the monastery fence, the domes of the Cathedrals of the All-Merciful Savior and the Ascension of the Lord, St. Nicholas and Znamenskaya churches were partially restored in David's Hermitage.

Currently, the monastery continues to be actively restored. Much has already been done, the abbot's building has been restored, the monastery cemetery has been put in order. The territory of the monastery is beautified and expanded. Once upon a time there was a pond in the middle of the monastery, which not only decorated the monastery, but also collected groundwater. It is currently restored. It is necessary to build a hotel complex for pilgrims, as well as an almshouse for the clergy who have retired. The buildings for the hotel and Sunday school. In addition, it is planned to restore the underground passage to the Lopasna River, laid in the middle of the 19th century.

On the east and south sides from the old cathedral there was a rather extensive monastery cemetery, in which, in addition to the brethren of the monastery, outsiders were buried. Here were the graves of the general from infantry Dmitry Sergeevich Dokhturov (1759-1816), a participant in the wars of 1805-1815, the princes Obolensky, lieutenant colonel P.I. Zybina, captain I.I. Unfortunately, the cemetery was destroyed in the mid-1950s. of the 20th century, the graves were excavated, and the tombstones went to the foundation of the new hostel of the agricultural technical school, which was located on the territory of the monastery after its closure in 1929. cemetery of General of Infantry D.S. Dokhturov, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Source: http://www.davidova-pustyn.ru

According to the scribe books of the Moscow district 1627 - 28. in the Khatun volost: “the monastery is the mansion of Davydov (Davidov) is a desert, and on the monastery is the Church of the Ascension of Christ, and in the aisle of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a meal, wooden, kletski, a monastery building and parish people, and on the monastery there is a stone church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Most Pure Mother of God of the Assumption , it was started to do blessed memory under Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, but it was not completed, but the structure was sovereign; yes, at the monastery there is a hegumen’s cell and 3 fraternal cells; but at the monastery there is bread and a fraternal kitchen, at the monastery there is a stable yard, and near the stable yard there is a linden grove all around; and under the monastery, 50 quarters of arable land were plowed over ... hay on the Lopasna River 300 kopecks, a linden grove near the monastery 15 acres in the forest ... a mill on the Lopasna River ... In total, Davydov deserts in the Khatun volost, a village and 8 villages, yes 11 wastelands, in them 55 peasant yards Yes, 11 Bobyl yards ... plowed arable land with overgrown arable land and forest land 1220 four with half a dozen in the field, hay 770 kopecks, unplowed forest 33 acres, and forest groves 18 acres.

Summer 1657 On August 7, “by decree of the great sovereign, His Holiness Nikon, Patriarch of Moscow and all great and small Russia, and according to memory from his sovereign patriarch rank, with the attribution of clerk Ivan Kalitin, clerk Yakov Yakovlev went to the Moscow district, to Khatunskaya volost, to David's Hermitage, and having arrived, in that desert he copied the churches and in the churches of God Mercy - local images, deesis, prophets, forefather, censer, chandelier, books, vestments, bells on the bell tower and all church utensils, and in the monastery of the sovereign letters and fortresses, all kinds of dishes and brothers in the monastery, servants and servants by name, in dryers and granaries bread and all kinds of table supplies and cooking vessels, in the stables and in the bullock yards, horses, oxen, cows and all small animals, and under the monastery in the settlements and in the monastic estates of peasants and bobs and their brothers, nephews and neighbors with a name with a nickname, in the granaries milked bread and in the fields in stacks not milked, arable land and all kinds of land, but having rewritten that monastery of Davydov Hermitage, he refused the new sovereign patriarch of the building to the Resurrection Monastery, on the Istra River. At the monastery, the chapel is made of wood, and in it the image of the Most Pure Mother of God Hodegetria and the deesis on one tsk are written on greenery. Yes, in that chapel rests Rev. father David under a bushel, on the tomb there is a cover of black cloth, among the cross is silver. There are 4 cells at the monastery, and in them the treasurer elder Joseph, 2 black priests Harlapey and Ephraim; ordinary elders 4 people, servants 4 people, a groom, a baker and a church deacon. At the monastery there is a bell tower, cut into a beam, with a tent up, on it there is a 5 bell, an evangelist weighing 47 pounds, another 7 pounds. 16 hryvnias, the third - 5 poods, 2 small beeps, one per pood, the other half a pood. To the monastery of David's desert in the estate in the Khatun volost, the village of Levchishchevo, and in it the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, and in the aisle of the great martyr. Paraskeva, called Friday.

On January 1728, a decree was sealed on the construction of the throne, the Ascension Monastery of the David Hermitage, to Abbot Jacob, according to his petition, hegumen, ordered “in that desert in the Nikolaev warm church on the throne, instead of the old robe, put the robe again, and in the cold Ascension Church, instead of the old throne, rebuild the throne in the name of the Ascension of the Lord and make the dedication according to order; duties 3 altyns 2 money, the most necessary ¼ taken.

Hegumen of David's Desert Jacob and his brother in a petition submitted to the Synodal State Order on March 7, 1732, wrote: “In our Ascension Monastery, which is reputed to be David's Desert, in the Moscow district, in the Khatun tithe, there is a Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on it the head of the church has collapsed and the vaults in it are collapsing, and in the church of God and in the altar the floors have all fallen down and burned, and it is impossible to serve the divine service in it, and the holy stone gates have collapsed. And so that it was ordered to dismantle this church due to dilapidation and build again over the holy gates and give them a decree about that structure.

As a result of this petition, in the Synodal State Order it was written out: “there is no written in the scribe and census books of the Moscow district in the Khatun tithe of the Ascension Monastery of the Davydov Hermitage.” Resolution: “April 1732 on the 2nd day, by decree of Her Imperial Majesty and with the blessing of the Holy Governing Synod, on the dismantling old church and issue a decree on building again at the gates. The same year in April, No. 216, a decree was issued from the Synodal treasury order to hegumen Jacob on the construction of a church.

1764 inventory of the Ascension Monastery, called David's Hermitage, compiled by lieutenant Andrei Pisarev, which says: “This desert, consisting of the Lopasna River, is 75 from Moscow, and from the mountains. Serpukhov 20 versts; according to what decrees this monastery, in which year and under what sovereign it was built - there is no news in the monastery about that. The grant of a charter for this monastery and for the estates of this monastery was the first of blessed memory from the sovereign tsar and Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, which in 1619 in the royal parish, like Lithuanian people and Cherkasy, stood in this monastery, disappeared, instead of which, at the request of this monastery, hegumen Anthony with his brother, was given the second in April 1625 on the 1st day, after signing the blessed memory of the Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich with his own hand. There are two stone churches in this desert, there are 4 thrones in them: - a cathedral church in the name of the Ascension of the Lord with 5 chapters, with it 2 chapels: the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is under the bell tower, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in it the furnace is very dilapidated; windows in the cathedral 18, in the aisles of Nicholas the Wonderworker 6 and in Znamenskoye 2, all of them with glass windows ... The cathedral church and the aisles are covered with boards and painted with paint, and the domes are upholstered with wooden scales. At this church, a stone bell tower with one dome, there are 8 bells on it, and since there are no signatures in them weighing poods; Yes, she has a Russian watch on her. Under this church there is a bread chamber and two cellars. Around the church, from the aisles and under the bell tower, the measure of the earth is 11 fathoms long and across. - Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is on the holy gates, with a meal, about 1 head, covered with boards, painted with paint, and the head is tiled; in the church, the carpentry iconostasis is silvered, about 3 tiers ... In the same desert there are stone buildings: cells 15 sazhens long and 5 sazhens wide, about 2 apartments, in the upper - the abbot's cell and the fraternal cell, in the lower - fraternal cells, 2 malt houses and pantry; near the fence cells about 2 apartments. Wooden structure: kitchen, cellar, 5 granaries. In this monastery there is a pond around 80 sazhens, a garden with 15 apple trees and 78 beehives. Around the monastery there is a dilapidated stone fence, measuring 221 sazhens. Near the monastery there are stables and barnyards, with 2 huts; linden grove on 7 acres; near the grove there is a monastery bean goumen and a hay barn. On the river Lopasna, a mill with 3 posts; on the banks of the Lopasni River there is a lake Krugloye, in which there is fish for monastic use. In Moscow, at the Arbat Gates, there is a stone chapel, which was granted to this hermitage in 1681. for correction in the monastery of candles, palm and church wine; from this chapel there is an income of up to 10 rubles a year.

Kholmogorov V. I., Kholmogorov G. I. "Historical materials about churches and villages of the XVII - XVIII centuries." Issue 7, Przemysl and Khotun tithes of the Moscow district. Moscow, University Printing House, Strastnoy Boulevard, 1889

Before the revolution, the coffin of the Monk Moses Ugrin, brought here by the Moscow Metropolitan Platon (Levshin), was kept in the Znamensky Church before the revolution. Unfortunately, it has not survived to this day. But now people possessed by carnal passions and their relatives can lift up their prayers for deliverance from these ailments before a particle of the relics of this wondrous saint of God. In addition, the monastery has collected more, among which St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. John the Baptist, ap. Andrew the First-Called, Vmts. Panteleimon, vmts. Barbara, mts. Tatiana, great teachers and saints, Kiev-Pechersk saints and many other revered saints of God.

Not far from the monastery, in the village of Talezh, Chekhov District, Moscow Region, there is a desert courtyard. There, an abundant source of spring water comes out of the ground, consecrated in the name of St. David. The holy spring has quenched the thirst of numerous pilgrims for centuries. Orthodox people came here to drink the life-giving moisture, which was consecrated through the prayers of St. David - the patron of our land of Lopasna, who went to the spring from the desert on foot. On the territory of the courtyard there is a temple in the name of St. David, baths are arranged. Everyone who has visited this holy place leaves comforted and takes with him a particle of the grace of God, which is abundantly transmitted through communion and washing with holy spring water from the source of St. David.