«Abode of labor and charity has become a phenomenon unprecedented in the history of the Orthodox in Moscow. According to the concept's founder, her sisters were combined prayer and crafts with the help of the laity, and poor people could find themselves here, and comfort, and real help, especially qualified medical - good doctors in Moscow have worked at a local free hospital, and at special courses at the monastery, taught Sisters of the basics of medicine. Particularly they were prepared to care for the terminally ill, not comfort them hope for recovery is imaginary, and helping to prepare the soul passing into eternity. In addition, the nurses were in hospital at Abode, in orphanages, hospitals, and helped the needy and poor families with many children - in a Superior collect charitable donations from all over Russia and has never refused assistance to the laity.
In the same abode taken Orthodox girls and women from 21 to 45 years. The sisters were not given the monastic vows, not wore a black, could go out into the world, calmly leave the monastery and marry (Pavel Korin, who worked on the painting of the cathedral church of the monastery, he was married to her former pupil), and could become a monk and a haircut. Sometimes, believe that St.. Elizabeth originally wanted to revive the ancient institution of deaconess.
Spiritual power for a long time could not reconcile with such an original idea of the monastery, where the main objective was to provide practical assistance to the poor laity. The idea of St. Elizabeth still materialize because she was a sister of Catherine the Great. Her and nicknamed "the high mother, bearing in mind not only the San people, but also the growth of the Princess.
In the monastery on Ordynka were built two churches, a chapel, free hospital, pharmacy, dispensary, dining room, Sunday school, a shelter for orphaned girls and a library. On the outer wall of the monastery hanging box where throwing a note asking for help, and those requests received up to 12 thousand a year. Mother Superior of the monastery was going to open offices in all provinces of Russia, to arrange a skit for a country gone to rest Sisters and in Moscow itself organized in all parts of the orphanages, almshouses, and to build a house with cheap apartments for workers.
May 22, 1908, the feast of the Assumption on the Big Ordynka held bookmark Cathedral Church of Intercession, which was built until 1912 by the architect A. Shchusev to a modernist style with elements of ancient Novgorod and Pskov architecture. Decorate the temple Elizabeth Feodorovna has invited outstanding artists Mikhail Nesterov, his pupil Pavel Korin, and well-known sculptor S. Konenkova. Nesterov created here known their songs "The Way to Christ," depicting 25 figures, "Christ of Martha and Mary", "Morning of the Resurrection, and cupola Safaofa image of God and the face of the Savior on the portal. In the Protection church was organized secret staircase leading to the underground vault - her painted Corinne on the story "The path of the righteous to the Lord." There prioress willed himself to bury: after the heart has chosen Russia as his second home, she decided to change his will and wanted to find peace not in the Palestinian Church of St.. Mary Magdalene, and in Moscow, within the walls of the monastery. In memory of the same grace in her youth visiting the Holy Land, on the facade of Protection Church was depicted view of Jerusalem, with the rotunda and dome of the Holy Sepulcher Church of Mary Magdalene. 12 bells of the belfry of the temple were deliberately chosen by "Rostov bells" that is sounded like the famous bells of Rostov the Great. One of the pre-revolutionary local historian pointed squat appearance cathedral church, "to the ground pegs," "earthy, working nature of the temple, as if embodying the plan of the entire monastery. Outwardly very small, almost miniature shrine was calculated per thousand population, and requires both lecture hall. To the left of the gate under the pines set sineglavuyu chapel, where the sisters read the psalms for the dead sisters and philanthropists of the monastery, and where the nights are often prayed herself prioress.
Autumn 1909 was consecrated by the second hospital in the name of the monastery church of Sts. Martha and Mary - intended abbess was arranged so that seriously ill, not getting out of bed, straight out of the chambers through the open door could see the divine. The next year, when the monastery opened, St. Elizabeth took in its walls monastic vows - dedicated it to the monk St. Metropolitan Volodymyr (Epiphany), the future new martyr, who died in Kiev in January 1918. In April 1910 at the all-night vigil on special compiled by the Holy Synod of the rank is done devoted to the 17 nuns, along with St. Elizabeth to become Christ's sisters, and the next morning for the Liturgy. Elizabeth was elevated to the rank of abbess of the monastery. Bishop, turning to St. Elizabeth said: "These clothes will hide you from the world and the world will be hidden from you, but at the same time will be witness to your charitable activities, which will shine before the Lord in His glory."
Superior lived as an ascetic, spending time in prayer and in the care of seriously ill patients, sometimes even assistiruya medical staff on operations and doing his own dressing. According to the testimony of patients, most of the "Great Mother" was based on some sort of healing power, which is beneficial for them and helped to recover - is healed many of those who are already denied access to doctors, and the last abode of hope remained. Very same prioress always drawn to patients with a principal means of
Superior sisters actively out in the world and treated leprosy society: helping orphans, the terminally ill, the poor, the inhabitants Khitrovo, which the princess tried to persuade her to give children in foster care. She organized a dormitory for boys, which then amounted gang messengers, and for girls - home workers with cheap or free apartment, where they safeguard against hunger and the streets. Christmas trees suited for poor children with gifts and warm clothing, made by hands sisters. She opened a shelter for the terminally ill with tuberculosis. Consumptive women embraced the princess, unaware of the danger to her embrace, and she never shied away from them. She helped the prioress and the clergy, especially in rural areas, where there were no funds to build or upgrade a temple, priests, missionaries in the Far North and other outlying regions of Russia, Russian pilgrims who went to visit the Holy Land. At its facilities had been built Russian Orthodox church in the Italian city of Bari, where the tomb of St. Nicholas.
After the revolution, the monastery has not been touched and helped with food and medicines. In order not to give rise to provocation, the prioress and sisters almost never came out of the walls, and every day he served the Liturgy. Gradually, the authorities were selected to the Christian island of: first, sent questionnaires to residents and to heal, and then arrested several people from the hospital, and then announced the decision to transfer orphans in an orphanage. And in April 1918, at Bright Tuesday after Easter, in the monastery served as liturgy and prayer of St.. Patriarch Tikhon, who gave St. Elizabeth last blessing. Immediately after his departure, the prioress was arrested - she was not even given we ask two hours to pack, selecting only "half an hour. Farewell to the sisters, under armed guard Latvian riflemen, she left in a car accompanied by two sisters - his beloved assistant Varvara Yakovleva and Catherine Yanysheva.
Her Moscow monastery lasted until 1926, and then another two years it operated a clinic, where they worked under the guidance of former sister Princess Golitsyn. After her arrest, some nuns were sent to Turkestan, and others created a small vegetable garden planting in the Tver region and survived there under the guidance of Fr. Mitrophan. After closing in the Cathedral of the monastery opened the city theater, then home health education, and the Martha and Mary Church - outpatient them. Professor F. Reina. Her temple holy icon of the Myrrh-handed in the next zamoskvorechenskuyu Church of St. Nicholas in the blacksmith, in the former convent set up a statue of Stalin. After the war in the former Public Protection church housed restoration workshops, transferred here from St. Nicholas church at Bersenevke. Until recently, the organization under the name Artistic and restoration center it. IE Grabar occupies zamoskvorechenskoy monastery. And in the Martha and Mary Church back in the 1980's the laboratory of All-Union Institute of Mineral Resources and room equipped with exercise therapy in a former church gym.
Revival of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy started in 1992, when the decision of the Moscow city government architectural complex of the Martha and Maria monastery was transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate. Keys to the main cathedral of the monastery - Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary - was built by Alexander Shchusev painted V. Nesterov, and P. Korin, were returned to the Church of the All-Russia scientific and artistic restoration center named IE Grabar only in late 2006.
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08.09.2009, 09:44
Marfo-Mariinsky Convent celebrated its 100 th anniversary of the founding
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