Alexandrovskaya Sloboda

Perhaps, on the site of a settlement that was swept away by fires during the years of the devastating raids of the Tatar-Mongols or princely feuds, over time, not far from Staraya Sloboda, a new village grew up, more often called New Alexandrovsky village . From the beginning XVI century - New village of Alexandrovskoye and Aleksandrova (Alexandrovskaya) Sloboda.
The proximity of the settlement to Moscow, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Pereslavl-Zalessky made it a resting place for Moscow princes during pilgrimage trips in the 15th century.
In the spiritual charter of Ivan III (1504), the New village of Alexandrovskoye was bequeathed to his son Vasily, the future Grand Duke Vasily III. Grand Duke Vasily III transforms Sloboda into a traveling yard.
Later, near the Great Sloboda, from a small palace village, a hunting camp of the Pereslavl and Moscow princes, the Novaya, or Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, grew.
In 1509 - 1515 a large complex was built of several palaces, four temples and a number of economic buildings - one of the distant residences of the prince (probably the architect was Aleviz the New).

Church of the Intercession

According to archaeological discoveries of the 1990s. The Trinity Tent Church (now Pokrovskaya) was erected in the 1510s, earlier than the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye (1529-1532), in Alexandrova Sloboda, which served as the palace temple of Grand Duke Vasily III. The church previously dated back to the 1570s.
Trinity Church is the first stone tented ancient Russian temple.

Trinity Church at the Sovereign's Courtyard in Alexandrova Sloboda. The first stone tented temple.

The temple was built of white stone and large bricks. Initially, it consisted of the temple itself with a sacristy and a refectory, a basement of two spacious chambers and three huge basements intended for storing valuables. Trinity Church was the home church of Ivan the Terrible.
It is not surprising, therefore, that its tent-roofed finish is the king’s favorite architectural form. The tent is painted from the inside - this is the only, unique case of thematic painting of a temple tent. The frescoes depict Russian saints - princes and martyrs - and Old Testament paintings.
In the 17th century, after the Polish-Lithuanian devastation, new extensions were made to the temple. A new spacious refectory with a hipped bell tower was attached to it from the west, the lower tier was surrounded by galleries on three sides, and a chapel was added to the south. Probably at the same time the church was reconsecrated from Trinity to Pokrovskaya.

Spacious, huge two-story stone royal chambers were closely adjacent to the temple, forming together with it a single complex with a dominant feature - a tented church. They were built around the same time as the oldest part of the temple. The chambers were divided into spacious rooms with vaults that did not communicate with each other - each had a separate entrance. Only two chambers have survived in the eastern part of the lower tier, but even from them one can judge the luxury and splendor of the entire building. Giant basements up to 3.5 meters high were dug under the chambers.

On the top floor there was a large chamber, apparently used for official receptions and celebrations. It was dismantled during the reconstruction of the temple - now part of its place is occupied by the refectory of the Church of the Intercession. Ancient engravings preserved views of the interiors of the chambers, in particular, the large state chamber where the throne of Ivan the Terrible stood.
Legends attribute untold riches to the underground storerooms of the Intercession Church and chambers. It is alleged that it was here that the mysteriously disappeared rich library of Ivan the Terrible was kept, which he inherited from his grandmother, Sophia Paleologue, and which contained many Greek books brought from her homeland.

Assumption Church

The Assumption Church, standing at the southern wall of the complex, like most of the buildings of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, has several stages of construction. Initially, it was a single-domed white stone church on a high basement, which was surrounded by an arched gallery. This part was built in 1571-1577, apparently as a house church. In the 1660s. The church underwent significant reconstruction in connection with the needs of the Assumption Monastery, which had just been founded in the settlement: the completion of the building was completely changed, becoming five-domed, gallery arches were laid and a spacious refectory was added with powerful pillars supporting the vault. Since 1675, a hipped bell tower with a clock was added to the temple - an unusual structure in which the quadrangular pillar of the bell tower ends with an octagonal tent. A little later, at the end. 17th century, a two-story cell building was added to the refectory from the north.

The decor of the 16th century has preserved the elegant panels of the pilasters and portals of the main volume of the temple, made in the “Fryazhsky” (Italian) style, with beautiful, lush rosettes. Researchers find similarities between them and the decorations of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. The decorations of this church echo the decor of the Trinity Cathedral. The decoration of the 17th century, on the contrary, is restrained and strict.
During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the temple was connected to the sovereign's palace by galleries and passages; the remains of the arched passage are preserved in the northern basement of the temple. Therefore, the version that the miniature elegant church served as a house temple at the palace is quite likely.
See Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Trinity Cathedral

In 1513, the country palace of Grand Duke Vasily III was built and the new Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary (now Trinity Cathedral) was consecrated.
“In the summer of October 7021, 3, in the Sergius Monastery we founded a brick gate, and on the gate in the name of Sergius the Wonderworker. On the summer of 70 November 22, 28, a wooden church was sacred in Klementievo. That same year, December 1st, the Church of the Intercession of Btsy was founded in the Novy village of Oleksandrovskoye. Then the Great Prince entered the courtyard. On the same month of December 15, there was a brick church in Sergius, a monastery on the gates of Sergius, and Bishop Mitrofan of Kolomensky and Abbot Pamva spared it, and the Great Prince was in charge.”

Trinity Cathedral

The architecture of the temple is determined by the orientation of the masters of Vasily III towards the main shrine of the nearby Trinity-Sergius Monastery - the temple in the name of the Holy Trinity.
The huge massive temple, crowned with a large dome on a light drum, looks powerful and slightly squat, due to later buildings - a covered gallery with a porch and a porch.
The main volume of the temple is cubic, with a roof covering. Its walls were not always white; Swedish traveler Petrei de Erlesund, who wrote a lot about Russia, described the external decoration of the Intercession Cathedral as follows: “The stones were painted so that one was black, the other was white, the third was yellow and gilded. Each one has a cross on it.” The cathedral was built of white stone interspersed with brick. Such mixed masonry was characteristic, for example, of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, and the carving repeats the motifs of the Trinity Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Inside, the cathedral is also striking in its size and spaciousness; the interior is well lit thanks to the light drum and windows at the top of the walls. The carved perspective portals leading to the main part of the cathedral are very beautiful.

Paintings made in the mid-16th century in the traditions of the Dionysius school adorned all the walls, pillars and vaults of the cathedral; unfortunately, they suffered greatly in 1887-1889, when almost all the frescoes were painted with new paintings from the Safonov artel from the village of Palekh. Restorers managed to clear only two fragments of ancient frescoes; the rest are still hidden by later paintings. As for the cathedral icons, many were taken to Moscow museums, where they are still kept.
The copper doors in the western and southern portals deserve special attention. The western portal is decorated with the Tver Gates, taken from Tver by order of Ivan the Terrible in 1569. These are probably doors made in the 14th century. for the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tver. The Vasilyevsky Gates, taken from Novgorod the Great after its defeat by the troops of Grozny, were installed in the southern portal.
The stone throne was covered with silver-plated copper plates, and the carved canopy above it was gilded.
The main altar of the cathedral was originally consecrated in the name of the Intercession of the Mother of God. In the northern part of the open white-stone gallery a chapel was built in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in the southern part - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Under the altar, in a white stone basement, there was a crypt for burials.
Clergy of the Intercession Cathedral in the 17th century. consisted of an archpriest, 2 priests, a deacon, 2 sextons, 3 watchmen and a mallow maker. All of them received an annual salary from the royal treasury. Since 1672, with the diploma of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, he was issued in Alexandrova Sloboda from the circle court “without Moscow red tape.” In addition, the clergy received a salary in grain (rye and oats), and for holidays - cloth for clothing. From the royal orders, the cathedral received incense, church wine, wax for candles, and flour for baking prosphora. The rector of the cathedral, who had the rare high rank of archpriest at that time, was senior over the priests of all the surrounding villages.
Prayers to God in the Intercession Church were offered by its creator, Grand Duke Vasily III Ioannovich, during his visits to Alexandrova Sloboda. Tsar John IV Vasilyevich was a zealous worshiper of the cathedral from December 1564 to December 1581. In 1645, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich prayed in the Intercession Cathedral, and he left a gilded chalice and a large silver censer as a gift. In 1671, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich came.
Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1676-1682), who annually visited the Assumption nunnery in 1676-1681, was in the Intercession Cathedral on November 29, 1676. On September 30, 1680, he listened to the all-night vigil for the patronal feast of the Intercession, and during the Liturgy he prayed 1 October in the Nikolsky chapel.

Crucifixion Church-bell tower (Church of Metropolitan Alexei)

Next to the cathedral, as if in contrast to its squat, wide silhouette, rises the slender Crucifixion Church-bell tower with a hipped roof.
The Crucifixion Bell Tower (until 1710 – the Church of Metropolitan Alexei) dated back to the 1570s. After in the 1940s. A.S. Polonsky discovered an earlier pillar-shaped building inside it; the latter began to be attributed to the first construction period of Sloboda and dated, like the Intercession Cathedral, to 1513.
The Church of Metropolitan Alexei was an octagonal three-tiered pillar, richly and ornately decorated.

Model of the Crucifixion Church-bell tower

The church "like the bells" was built with a clear influence of Italian architecture, and probably at about the same time as the cathedral.
During the time of Ivan the Terrible (most likely in the 1570s), the church was completely rebuilt and turned into a high tower 56 meters high with a bell tier and a platform for watchmen. The bell tower was crowned with a tall blind tent (the windows in the edges of the tent were made later), the base of which rests on several tiers of kokoshniks - the so-called “fiery” completion of the volume. This bell tower was the first in Rus' to be decorated with a tent top; Subsequently, such completions spread throughout Rus', becoming almost the most popular in temple architecture.

Crucifixion Church-bell tower (Church of Metropolitan Alexei)

The bell tower is surrounded by two galleries - open and closed. The lower, open gallery goes around the second tier of the bell tower; Inside the tier with kokoshniks there was a second, closed one; it is illuminated by small round windows made in kokoshniks. Adjacent to the bell tower from the south is a small extension (Marfin's Chambers), which was occupied by Princess Martha.

“Tsarevna Marfa Alekseevna in Alexandrovskaya Sloboda.” Artist M.A. Podkopaeva. 2008 Oil on canvas.

From 1698 to 1707 In the Assumption Convent of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, the half-sister of Peter I, Tsarevna Marfa Alekseevna, stayed, accused of helping Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna during the next Streletsky revolt. And although the accusation was not actually proven, she was tonsured as a nun under the name of Margarita and settled in a special annex to the Crucifixion Church-bell tower.

She brought with her things that belonged to her: a mirror, a leather chair, a mica screen-door, an armchair, a chest (it contains a wooden ladle and scoop, a wicker bread pan, a basket and a chintz; a clay jug, a pot and a bowl; two copper dishes) .

Icon "Selected Saints". XVII century Wood, Tempera. On the icon “Selected Saints” are the patrons of the Royal House of Romanov, to which Marfa Alekseevna belonged.
The cabinet-case contains: the icon “Our Lady of Iveron”, a copper paraman with an image of a cross, Easter eggs, silk air, a copper cross with enamel.

Repeatedly during these years, Saint Demetrius of Rostov visited the Assumption Monastery, performing divine services there.

N. Vilkov. Wings of a slave. 1947

The bell tower is also known for the sad legend of Nikita, the slave of the boyar’s son Lupatov, who, dreaming of learning to fly “like a bird,” made wings and was able to jump from the bell tower and fly over the fortress wall. For this, Ivan the Terrible ordered his execution. The decree said this about this: “A person is not a bird - he does not have wings, but if anyone puts a demonic invention into his hands, he creates it against nature.”

Another legend is dedicated to the Time of Troubles and tells that during the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, several hundred people locked themselves in the bell tower, and one girl, not wanting to fall into the hands of the Poles, threw herself from the bell tower and died. After this, the bell tower caught fire. The latest excavations confirm that around these years a strong fire actually occurred in the Crucifixion Church-bell tower.
Now the bell tower is open to all museum visitors. From its open gallery there is a magnificent view of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda and the surrounding area, which has long ago turned into the city of Alexandrov...
After the death of Vasily III, Elena Glinskaya (Grand Duchess of Moscow 1533 - 1538) erects wooden fortress walls with gates around the complex of palace buildings and surrounds it with a moat.

The preserved ramparts of the fortifications of the 16th century.

To the east of the walls of the monastery there are remains of fortifications from the 16th century. in the form of a partially leveled shaft up to 1.5 m high, in which there is a gate opening.
On December 3, 1564, Ivan the Terrible from Moscow went on a pilgrimage. By December 21, the royal cortege arrived at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. After prayers and the traditional service, Ivan IV went not to Moscow, but to Alexandrov Sloboda. Already by the autumn of 1565, all the threads of internal governance converged in Alexandrov Sloboda. Until 1581, the settlement was the main political and cultural center of the Moscow state, the center of the oprichnina. Here the Tsar and his family stayed during the “Pestil” - a plague that swept through Moscow in 1568.
In 1569, the first printing house in Russia was transported here from Moscow. The disciples of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov Andronik Timofeev (Nevezha) and Nikifor Tarasiev in 1578 printed the Psalter in it, repeating the first Russian textbook “Teaching Psalter” published in 1568 in Moscow. Subsequently, the printing house printed not only books, but also leaflets against Stefan Batory, which were distributed in “many German cities.”

“In memory of the first provincial printing house in Russia and the Moscow printer Andronik Nevezh. The stone was laid in the year of the 480th anniversary of the Alexander Kremlin.”

The biggest and unsolved mystery of the famous Liberia of Ivan the Terrible is connected with the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. Scientists still have conflicting opinions about the fate of the royal library. The most tempting hypothesis is that it was preserved intact, walled up in the dungeons of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda.
In 1571, a brides' fair was held in Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. Two thousand beauties came here from all over Rus', from which Ivan the Terrible chose Marfa Sobakina as his wife.
In November 1581, Tsarevich Ivan died in Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, mortally wounded by Ivan IV in a fit of anger. After the death of his son, the king left the settlement forever.
In the beginning. XVII century Alexandrovskaya Sloboda was heavily destroyed by the Poles: in 1609 and 1611. it was captured by troops led by Jan Sapieha. The militia of Minin and Pozharsky liberated the settlement from the invaders and, together with the Sloboda warriors, moved towards captive Moscow.
Around 1635, a wooden royal palace was built for Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, which existed for about 100 years.

Assumption Convent

The Assumption Convent was founded in 1651 by the Monk Lucian of Alexandrovsky on the site of the sovereign's country courtyard, according to a charter from Tsar Alexy Mikhailovich and the blessing of Patriarch Joseph.

Venerable Lucian of Alexandrovsky

The Monk Lucian was born in the beginning. XVII century in the city of Galich, Kostroma land, when Rus' was gradually returning to peaceful life after the terrible disasters of the Time of Troubles. His parents Dimitri and Varvara were God-loving people. They led an ascetic life and lamented the fact that they did not have children who would pray for them after their death. They made a special vow to God to go to a monastery and end their lives there if the Lord gives them a child. A boy was born, who was named Hilarion in Holy Baptism. When his son turned eight years old, the father decided to fulfill his vow to God and enter a monastery. Hearing this, the youth Hilarion began to ask his father not to leave him in the world and to take him with him. The farewell was touching.
Dimitri and his son went to Brynsky Bor, and Illarion’s mother went to a nunnery, where she ended her life as a monk. The desert labors and exploits of his father lay deep in the soul of the youth Hilarion. As a monk, Dionysius, who built a monastery with a church in a deserted place, wore chains and a hair shirt. He learned from his father prayer, fasting, and night vigils, seeing in him a bright example of a high life.
After the death of his father, Hilarion settled in the monastery of the holy fathers Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria. For three years he carried out obediences there, gained the respect and love of the entire monastery, but soon secretly left the monastery, accepting praise as a formidable danger for the salvation of his soul.
For the same reason, he left the Intercession Monastery near Uglich.
Hilarion firmly decided to settle in a deserted place. By the providence of God, he learns about the desert, distant from worldly habitation, surrounded by forests and swamps, where, despite the abandonment of this place, there was the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the icon of Her Honest and Glorious Nativity. Three times they took her to the church in the village of Ignatyevo, but she miraculously returned to the place She had chosen and remained unharmed in the temple, where there was not even a roof. Hilarion settled there.
To the surprise of many, a monastery began to grow in the desert. Hieromonk Theodosius, who came from the Vologda land, tonsured Hilarion a monk with the name Lucian.
Through the work of the Reverend, the construction of the Assumption Convent in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda began.
In 1651, the Monk Lucian received a grant from Tsar Alexy Mikhailovich and the blessing of Patriarch Joseph to found a women’s monastery in the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda.
The restoration of churches began with the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so the monastery began to be called Assumption.
In 1654, the Assumption Church was restored and consecrated.
The second monastery was under the care of the elder and abbot Lucian, where he often visited, instructing not only the sisters of the monastery, but also the people who came here.
Numerous persecutions befell the monk Lucian, but kindly patience, zeal for fasting and prayer, tireless work on the external and internal organization of the monastery attracted the grace of God to the ascetic, especially manifested in the pastoral care of monks and laity, the power of the preaching word and the gift of insight.
The Monk Lucian rested in 1655 on the very day of the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, September 8th. To this day, miracles are performed through his intercession.
The relics of St. Lucian rest in the now active Mother of God of the Nativity Lucian Hermitage.

The monastery lived rather meagerly, only on donations.
Since 1662, the monastery’s confessor was the Monk Cornelius of Alexandrovsky, rector of the Lucian Monastery.

Venerable Cornelius of Alexandrovsky

Icon of Cornelius of Alexander with a particle of relics

The Monk Cornelius was born at the beginning of the 17th century, during the difficult, sorrowful and ruinous Time of Troubles for Rus'. His parents Ignatius and Evdokia were merchants and lived near Moscow, in the Troitskaya Sloboda. In Holy Baptism they named their son Cosmas. He diligently studied the Holy Scriptures and other soul-helping books, learning to turn his mind to God. From his youth, Cosmas bore the stamp of a special man chosen by God; he was adorned beyond his age with humility, meekness, solitude and silence. The heart of the pious youth did not lie in the trading business in which his father was engaged. His soul strove for the Highest, incorruptible and truly blissful wealth hidden in faith and love for God.
Having reached the age of 23, he decided to finally renounce the world. In one of the Moscow monasteries, Cosmas took monastic vows with the name Cornelius and, after living there for five years, moved to the Florishcheva Hermitage, then already known for the severity of its rules. The ascetic performed choir services and other fraternal obediences with great diligence. The pious and righteous life of the saint, his spiritual experience, his meek loving soul keenly attracted people who wanted to receive instruction from the ascetic, and even a blessing for a new way of life.
Having learned about the labors and exploits of Blessed Lucian, the founder of the Mother of God Nativity Hermitage, Cornelius was imbued with great respect for his holy memory. He wished to remain in this God-saved monastery, sanctified by the pious life of the monk and the burial of his holy relics. The brethren, orphaned after the death of blessed Lucian, soon fell in love with the Monk Cornelius and began to beg him to accept the priestly rank, to be their shepherd, and at the same time the builder of the monastery. Coming to the Alexander Sloboda on business at the monastery, the Monk Cornelius did not ignore the nuns of the Assumption Monastery, founded by Saint Lucian, giving them alms and comforting them in their sorrows. The abbess of the monastery, Julitta, and her sisters, like the brethren of the Lucian Hermitage, also began to beg Blessed Cornelius to be their shepherd. And the elder did not refuse. From that time on, the Monk Cornelius, like Saint Lucian, looked after two monasteries.
In 1658, Patriarch Nikon confirmed the Monk Cornelius with the title of builder of the Lukin Hermitage and entrusted to him the management of both monasteries, male and female. His love and compassion, like the sun, extended widely to both monks and laity. More and more sisters came to the Assumption Convent.
The Monk Cornelius used all the time free from church affairs and cell prayer to diligently engage in physical labor. Celar, bread, kvass, livestock, sewing, dyeing, shoemaking and other works were closely related to the skill and labors of the holy builder. The monk did not hesitate to arrange a hospital for the sisters. Every week he visited those who were in it. Blessed Cornelius himself performed the funeral service and burial for those who departed and died in the monastery, and on Saturdays he diligently commemorated all the deceased nuns. The monk took great part in caring for orphans and poor young women, starting from the age of two, he collected them in the school that he founded at the monastery, and assigned one of the sisters to them for education and first teaching to read and write. The saint commanded that a meal be organized in the monastery for wanderers and the poor and taught them to venerate Christ Himself in them. Through the prayers of the Monk Cornelius, thanks to his tireless care, both monasteries significantly expanded and strengthened. Under him, the monastery expanded, the number of sisters increased to 200. He carried out their improvement with the funds of generous benefactors from members of the royal family, princes, boyars, and with contributions from the Sovereign himself.
Under him, the monastery expanded, the number of sisters increased to 200. The monastery’s charter was communal, and funds from the royal treasury were allocated for its maintenance. The Pious Sovereigns themselves, Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Fyodor Alekseevich, as well as many noble boyars, nobles and merchants visited the Assumption Monastery for pilgrimage.
In 1664, the monastery was transferred to ruba - that is, it began to receive regular benefits from the treasury.
At this time, the architectural ensemble of the monastery took on the form that it has now: a stone cell building, a stone fence with towers and the Holy Gates with the Church of Fyodor Stratilates above them, a hospital building with the Church of the Presentation of the Lord were built.
It often happened that the sovereign’s craftsmen worked during the day, and from evening until morning the Monk Cornelius and his sisters, not sparing themselves, for the glory of God and for the good of the holy monastery. The abbess of the Assumption Monastery, Anisia, asked Patriarch Joasaph II for a blessing for the stay of the Monk Cornelius in the monastery. From that time on, the elder did not leave the Assumption Monastery, continuing to take care of the Lucian Hermitage with unflagging attention. For more than twenty years, by the grace of God and the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, blessed Cornelius labored in the establishment of the monasteries founded by the Monk Lucian. The Monk Cornelius reposed on August 11/24, 1681 and was buried in the crypt under the altar of the Trinity Cathedral of the Assumption Monastery.
Celebration in the Cathedral of Vladimir Saints on June 23/July 6, as well as locally on November 1/14 and August 11/24.

Sretenskaya Church

Sretenskaya Church

Church of the Presentation of the Lord. 1601 - 1699

On the site of the cemetery, the Sretenskaya Hospital Church was built, with a hospital ward and later a small almshouse attached to it. This is a small, modest temple with simple architecture - a low quadrangle with one dome and a single-span belfry above the western entrance. Inside, the temple is divided by three arched openings into the main volume and the refectory. Under the altar there is a vast basement, where, in particular, the sisters of Peter I, Martha and Theodosius, were buried.

Hospital building

Cell building

Long cell body

The decoration of the first floor is noticeably different from the later second floor - it is made in a characteristic Russian style, with rich figured platbands on the windows and carved door decorations. The building was divided into “clean” and “black” halves – residential and utility.
In the “clean” half, magnificent tiled stoves with benches have been preserved, and also on some vaults of the first floor, rich rosettes have survived, probably preserved from buildings from the time of Ivan the Terrible, which were partially included in the new building.
In 1858, the monastery was badly damaged by fire; in particular, the cell building was severely damaged. According to the project by N.A. Artleben it was rebuilt, and by 1870 it had a brick second floor.

In addition to the large cell building, several more cells were built on the territory of the monastery - these are much simpler houses, built into the second floor. XIX century

Gate Church of Theodore Stratilates

Monastery towers


Monastery wall

The entire territory of the Kremlin is surrounded by a high stone fence with towers, built in the end. XVII century The shape of the fence is extremely simple - it is an irregular quadrangle with a U-shaped protrusion at the southern entrance; There are four round towers with spiers in the corners, connected by a high wall. Construction began in the 1670s. The walls on the north side were built first, and by the 1680s all work was completed, with the exception of the eastern part of the monastery. The last, eastern section of the wall was completed already in the 18th century. and on a smaller scale - the walls there are lower and thinner than in other places.
The walls are made in compliance with all the rules of fortification, but most of the loopholes are already decorative, in particular, the machicolations - holes for mounted combat - are not real, they are just an imitation. Along the outer side of the walls there is a decorative arcature-columnar belt. On the inside, along all the walls there are niches with recesses called stoves.
Despite their impressive appearance, the walls never served defensive purposes. But these powerful fortifications, like a fortress, preserved for posterity in their original form many monuments of the 16th-18th centuries, which saw many of the most important events of those times.
On the territory of the Assumption Monastery, several more buildings of the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved, which also served the everyday needs of the monastery. Firstly, there is a guardhouse at the entrance gate with a tent for lime. This building has partially preserved the features of ancient Russian architecture - its windows are decorated with characteristic frame platbands.
In the far part of the Kremlin there is a carriage house - a simple large building.
By 1682, the parish Intercession Cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the Assumption Monastery, and, probably, at the same time it was reconsecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. The monastery confessor began to receive a salary from the archpriest, from then on monastery priests and deacons served in the church, and the prosphora tray was no longer needed, since prosphora was now baked by nuns.
In September 1687, for the arrival of Tsar Peter Alekseevich at the monastery, Moscow royal craftsmen erected a new five-tiered iconostasis in the Trinity Cathedral, which also preserved some of the 16th-century icons. In front of him in 1696, 6 silver lamps with gilded decorations and a 7th lifting lamp, donated by Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich to commemorate his grandmother, Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, glowed.
In September 1700, in the former St. Nicholas chapel, a throne was consecrated in honor of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver (abolished in 1870).
To the beginning XVIII century the gallery surrounding the cathedral was closed, combining into one building two western white-stone chambers, which housed a rich sacristy and a monastery library with a collection of manuscripts, documents and early printed books.
In 1727, there were already about 400 nuns in the monastery, among them many nuns from famous Moscow boyars.
In 1764, with the introduction of monastic states by Empress Catherine II, the Assumption Convent in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda was ranked first class; funds were allocated from the treasury for the maintenance of the abbess and 100 nuns. There were only four such convents in Russia at that time.
The way of life in the Assumption Monastery was set as an example to others at meetings of the Holy Synod. Diocesan bishops sent nuns there to learn how to bake prosphoras and harmonious church singing. The monastery's sewing of robes for icons and the embroidery of church vestments were famous. Repeatedly, the nuns of the monastery were elected abbesses of other monasteries in the diocese.
They lived in the monastery by their own labor: all the time, free from divine services, they were engaged in cultivating the land, keeping livestock, mowing, handicrafts, teaching at the monastery school for girls, serving old and sick nuns in the almshouse, and during the First World War, caring for wounded soldiers.
The monastery was famous for its gardens with apple and cedar trees, linden alleys, flower beds, bee gardens and ponds.

Abbess Elisaveta (Lavrova) abbess from 1794 to 1883.
In 1794, a daughter, Anna, was born into the family of a deacon in the village of Voskresensky, Kovrov district, Vladimir province, Nikolai Lavrov. She was taught by her father to read and write, although literacy at that time was a luxury for girl children. Having reached adulthood, Anna wished to leave the world and entered the Suzdal Robe Monastery. In 1832 she was transferred to the Murom Trinity Convent, where in 1837 she was tonsured into the mantle with the name of Elizabeth.
Archbishop Parthenius of Vladimir, who saw the obedience and strict monastic life of nun Elizabeth, in 1838 appointed her treasurer of the Deposition of the Robe of the Suzdal Monastery, and in 1843 - abbess of the Trinity Murom Monastery. In 1844, the Pereslavl Feodorovsky Monastery was entrusted to its management, and in 1845, the Suzdal Pokrovsky Monastery. Finally, as an active and experienced abbess, on January 21, 1846, she was appointed abbess to the Assumption Monastery in the city of Alexandrov, which she brought into a flourishing state, wisely ruling for 37 years.
Mother Elizabeth's day began and ended with cell prayer. At the first strike of the bell, she hurried to the service, devoting the rest of her time to caring for the monastery. If business did not allow her to be in church, the Abbess listened to services in her cell.
As a kind and caring mother, the sisters entrusted to her especially loved Mother, seeing in her an example of monastic life. She aroused deep respect and love for her prayerfulness, work and courtesy among city residents, who considered her an exemplary abbess. For good governance from the Imperial Cabinet in 1858, Abbess Elisaveta Lavrova was awarded a gold pectoral cross, in 1873 - a cross with decorations; in 1871 and 1883 awarded the blessing of the Holy Synod.
Weakened, in the 90th year of her life, Abbess Elisaveta submitted a petition for retirement, and on May 29, 1883, she settled in a separate cell with her nun nieces, devoting all her time to prayer and thoughts about the future eternal life.
A few hours before her death, she was awarded the Communion of the Holy Mysteries, without letting go of the rosary from her hands, quietly and peacefully, with prayer on her lips. On August 7, 1883, she died.

Chapel of the water sanctuary. 1825

This is a low, wide octagon without windows, covered with a wide octagonal roof. The roof is crowned with a small dome. Above the entrance there is a place for the icon. Inside the tent there was a large vat with a pipe connected to it, and a stove. The well served a very prosaic purpose - ordinary (not holy) water was taken here for the daily needs of the monastery.

Abbess Euphrasia (Likhareva) abbess from 1883 to 1913.
In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Major repair work was repeatedly carried out in the Trinity Cathedral. At the expense of the merchant Zubov, a new carved gilded iconostasis was installed in the Sergius chapel in 1852, and by 1889, in the same style at the expense of the Alexander merchants Pervushins, a five-tiered one was installed in the central church, with the old icons preserved. In 1887-1889 under the leadership of archaeologist G.D. Filimonov by artist-painter A.D. Belousov cleaned the altar paintings and 6 frescoes on the pillars from three-layer oil paints, and well-preserved towels were discovered along the lower part of the walls.

Abbess Tamara (Likhareva) abbess from 1913 to 1922.
The dear niece of Abbess Euphrasia, Alexandra Vasilievna Likhareva was born around 1866 into the noble family of an official at the Moscow Mariinsky Hospital. Having received her education, in 1883, 18-year-old Sasha became a resident of the Assumption Alexander Monastery. As a cell attendant to the abbess, she also taught needlework at the monastery school, and during the Russo-Japanese War she cared for wounded soldiers.
In 1907, novice Alexandra Likhareva, who was 41 years old, was tonsured into monasticism and given the name Tamara.
In 1909 she was appointed sacristan, and in 1911 she was approved as dean of the monastery.
In November 1913, after the death of Aunt Abbess, nun Tamara became her worthy successor. On January 2, 1917, Abbess Tamara was awarded the pectoral cross by the Holy Synod. A heavy cross in life also awaited her - sorrow, need and persecution for her faith. The destruction of the monastery began, searches and “requisitions”, famine and a typhus epidemic, hard work in the labor artel created to preserve the community - all this primarily fell on the shoulders of Mother. In 1918, Abbess Tamara was deprived of voting rights as the head of the monastery, and in March 1922, during the confiscation of church valuables, she was arrested for concealing property and sentenced to 2 years in prison. At this time the monastery was closed.
After her release in 1924, Mother went to her sister in Ruza, near Moscow. To survive, she quilted blankets to sell, but devoted most of her time to prayer. On May 19, 1931, 65-year-old Mother Superior Tamara was arrested again following a denunciation. She was accused under Article 58 Part 10 of the Criminal Code of “conducting systematic anti-Soviet agitation aimed at disrupting the activities of the Soviet government (against the closure of the Ruza Cathedral); using religion, she treats women who come to her in an anti-Soviet spirit; has a close connection with the arrested priests and the highest clergy of Moscow.” On June 10, 1931, Likhareva was sentenced to deportation to Kazakhstan for 5 years. Directed by stage.
Around 1942, very sick and infirm, Matushka settled in Pavshino near Moscow with her brother, a supernumerary priest, Leonid Likharev. Always dressed like a monk, never letting go of her rosary, Abbess Tamara attracted people with her kindness, quietness and spiritual wisdom. Receiving many people, she herself traveled to Petushki and Strunino to instruct the nuns. She maintained a spiritual connection with Bishop Afanasy (Sakharov), receiving his letters from prison. Mother’s earthly journey ended on February 14, 1953 in the village. Pavshina.
After the revolution, the gradual destruction of the monastery began, which at that time had 300 sisters. Few of them managed to escape persecution for their faith: the majority were deprived of voting rights, others faced arrest, prison and camps for the so-called “anti-Soviet and religious agitation, participation in counter-revolutionary groups of churchmen.”
In the spring of 1922, the commission for the confiscation of church valuables removed many precious frames, chasubles and crowns from icons, and the most valuable items were transferred to the local museum. In January 1923, the Trinity Cathedral was taken away from the monastery and transferred to the jurisdiction of the museum, which was used as a warehouse for storing requisitioned church valuables from churches and monasteries of the Alexander district, and from 1931 - as an anti-religious department.
On February 13, 1923, the Assumption Monastery in the city of Alexandrov was closed, and all property and valuables were transferred to the museum.
The territory of the monastery was officially named the village of “Zarya”: people settled in most of the residential buildings and carried on farming. Barns, cellars, vegetable gardens and even pigsties were located within the monastery walls. In addition to museum exhibitions, the temples were used for warehouses, a vegetable store, a dairy factory, a confectionery shop, a film distribution center, and a planetarium. Unique architectural monuments, at the mercy of new owners and without proper restoration, were subject to gradual destruction.
In May 1923, during the restoration, architect P.D. Baranovsky removed 4 later chapters from the Trinity Cathedral (1824-1825). In 1926, the gilding from the iconostases was washed off, and soon the iconostasis of the cathedral itself was dismantled.
In 1927, street children housed on the premises stole several candlesticks and lamps from the Trinity Cathedral. In subsequent years, the most valuable icons and frames, church utensils, manuscripts, and tiles were taken to the funds of the State Historical Museum (Moscow) and the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum (Suzdal).
Following persistent requests from believers, in 1946 the authorities allowed the resumption of services in the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery. On August 24 (the day of memory of St. Cornelius), it was leased to the parish community and for many years became the only functioning church in the area.
1946-1947 - Archpriest Nikolai Petrovich Delectorsky (Rector of the Trinity Cathedral). Born in 1878 in the city of Pokrov. He graduated from the Pereslavl Theological School and the Vladimir Seminary. In 1903, he was ordained a priest in the Bobruisk diocese of Belarus, where he served until his arrest in 1933. Until 1937, he was imprisoned in the Dmitrov camps. Since October 1944, he was appointed rector of the Dmitrov Church in the village. Baksheev Struninsky (now Aleksandrovsky) district. In August 1946, he was transferred to the position of rector of the newly opened Trinity Cathedral in the city of Alexandrov. From October 1947 he served in the village. Perniki, Sobinsky district, Vladimir region, where he died on December 6, 1952.
1947-1948 - Archpriest Alexander Sakharov
1948-1949 – Archpriest Nikolai Tsvetkov

1949-1960 - Archpriest Pyotr Stepanovich Uspensky.
Born in 1884 in the Veretyevo churchyard, Kovrov district, Vladimir province. He graduated from the Theological School and the Vladimir Theological Seminary.
Ordained a priest in 1905, he served in the village. Voznesensky, Kovrovsky district, before his arrest in 1930. Sentenced to exile for 5 years.
Upon his return, he served in the churches of the Kirzhach region, and from August 1949 he was rector of the Trinity Cathedral. From 1948 to 1959 - confessor of the deanery, then - dean. He died on June 8, 1960, and was buried in the old city cemetery. He was respected for his hard work, honesty and conscientiousness in the performance of duty, demanding of himself and his colleagues, loved by parishioners for his peacefulness, long-suffering and humility.

1960-1961 – Priest Vladimir Zyryanov (after – Bishop Job)
1961-1972 - Archpriest Andrei Prokopyevich Borodachev. Born in 1900 into a family of peasants from the village. Spassky Privolzhsky district, Samara region. Ordained to the priesthood in 1956 in Saratov. Since August 1959 - the third priest of the Trinity Cathedral, since December 1961 - its rector. In the end In 1972, due to health reasons, he left the staff and served in various churches of the Vladimir diocese. Since April 1974 - rector of the Intercession Church in the village. Davydovsky Kolchuginsky district, Vladimir region. In 1986, upon request, he was added to the staff. He died in 1992 and was buried near the church in the village. Davydovsky.
1973-1976 – Archpriest Alexander Filippov
1976-1980 – Archpriest Konstantin Zakharko
1980 – Abbot Alexander (Chernavtsev)
1981 – Hieromonk Platon (Znamensky)
1982-1984 – Archpriest Andrei Kamenyaka (after – Hierome Job)
1984-1986 – Archpriest Dimitry Yurtin
1986-1988 – Archimandrite Filaret (Radaev)
1988-1991 - Archpriest Georgy Zapolnov.
During these difficult years for the church, its clergy were educated, pastors of high spiritual life: Archpriest Peter Uspensky, Nikolai Kharyuzov, Leonid Rozanov, Andrei Borodachev, professor Archpriest Andrei Sergeenko, Protodeacon Sergius Zenziveev, etc. Almost all of them suffered for their faith: prison and camps, humiliation and oppression. Among the parishioners of the temple there were surviving nuns who sang in the choir and served at the altar.
The lost iconostasis was replaced with a new one, made in the style of late classicism, from the church in the village of Intercession. In the end 1940s under the leadership of architects P.S. Polonsky and N.V. Sibiryakov, the significantly dilapidated church was repaired at the expense of the parish. Two side porches were removed, a blind area was made around the temple with water drainage, the basements were restored, the dome was repaired and water heating was installed.
In the 1980s The Vladimir restoration workshop carried out test clearings of the 16th century frescoes, and also renewed the fresco painting of the dome part, the northern and western walls of the main volume.
On November 10, 1991, the Assumption Convent opened again.
With the opening of the monastery on January 1, 1992, services in the Trinity Cathedral resumed according to the monastery charter and the reading of the incessant psalter. In May 1995, the discovered relics of St. Cornelius (d. 1681) were placed in the cathedral, before which prayer services began to be served. Over the course of two decades, the monastery has carried out extensive repair and restoration work, and the restoration of unique frescoes has been completed. In 2010, the five-tiered iconostasis was recreated.
The most important event in the modern history of the monastery was the discovery of the relics of the confessor and builder of the monastery, St. Cornelius, in 1995, which now rest openly in the Trinity Cathedral.
In the basement of the cathedral, under the altar, there are seven tombs. Not all burials have been identified, but it is known for sure that the first one from the entrance belongs to Hieromonk Cornelius, confessor and builder of the Assumption Monastery (died August 11, 1681). Also buried here is Chief General I.I. Buturlin, exiled during the reign of Catherine I to the Krutets estate near Alexandrov. It is assumed that two young daughters of Ivan the Terrible and Maria Temryukovna are buried here.

Shrines of the monastery

Shrines of the monastery:
- revered Passionate Icon of the Mother of God (XVII century),
- ancient monastery reliquary (120 pieces of relics),

The relics of St. Cornelius of Alexandrovsky (they rest openly).

The relics of St. Cornelius of Alexandrovsky

Kornily Alexandrovsky

Sunday School

Each monastery, created primarily for the salvation of the souls of those who labor in it, in our days is especially called upon to also be a source of enlightenment and revival of the region where the Lord placed it. A Sunday school has been opened at the monastery, in which the sisters teach the Law of God and church scripture. Now there are more than 50 students.
Traditional monastic obediences were revived: painting icons and artistic painting, wood carving, sewing and gold embroidery. The monastic cross is difficult, but this “narrow path” leading to the Kingdom of Heaven is also saving. Working with prayer, with joy in the Lord, with sincere gratitude to Him in all circumstances is not so easy. This art is learned from older sisters, inspired by the experience of ecumenical and domestic ascetics, who come to the monastery from the world.

Monastery courtyard

In 1993, a monastery compound with the Holy Cross Church was opened in the village of Snegirevo, Kalchuginsky district, Vladimir region.

Saltykov estate, XVII-XX centuries.

Address: Vladimir region, p. Snegirevo, Kolchuginsky district, village. Snegirevo. In the 18th century, the Saltykovs, owners of many estates on the Vladimir land, built a new estate on the banks of the Vorsha River. The place where the estate was founded began to be called the village of Snegirev. A large manor house, a house church in honor of the Placement of the Robe of the Lord, and various outbuildings were built on the estate. All manor buildings were located in a large park with two ponds.
In 1813, the owner of the village, Prince N.I. Saltykov, Field Marshal General and Chairman of the State Council and Committee of Ministers, built a new estate church of the Exaltation of the Cross with a stone bell tower. The crypt of this church became the family burial place of the Saltykov princes. Princes N.I. were buried here. Saltykov with his wife, his son S.N. Saltykov and grandson A.D. Saltykov with his wife. Nowadays only the basement from the burial of Prince A.D. has survived. Saltykov, who died in 1859. In the 1920s. The coffins with the bodies of the deceased Saltykovs were stolen from the crypt. The obelisk of S.N. has been preserved next to the church. Saltykov, made in the workshops of M.S. Anisimov in St. Petersburg and installed by the nephew of Prince S.N. Saltykova. In the first half of the 19th century, a hospice house was built next to the Church of the Exaltation.

Holy Cross Church in the village of Snegirevo

The church is a rare type of temple - a three-nave basilica. The central nave extends from west to east. From the east is the entrance to the crypt under the altar, to the Saltykovs’ tomb. A round, single-tier bell tower rises above the central transept. The church is made of brick. The interior of the temple has four pillars, the vaults of the central nave are brick, the side naves have flat ceilings. The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is a rare monument of religious architecture of the early 19th century. Used for its original purpose by the Vladimir Diocese.

In 1887, a parochial school was opened in Snegirev, which by that time had become a village, located in the house of the Saltykov princes. The ensemble of the estate of the Saltykov princes is an interesting example of a noble estate of the classicism era.

Park, XVIII-XIX centuries.

The park of the Saltykov estate ensemble has existed since the establishment of the estate. The park consists of regular and landscape zones; a cascade of ponds is preserved. The small (north-eastern) part of the park is regularly cultivated. An alley has been preserved along the road from north to south from the village of Snegirevo across the Vorshu River and a group of planted trees to the west of the alley. The park occupies the territory within the boundaries: from the north - the Vorsha River, from the south - the field road to the village of Snegirevo, from the west - the Medvedka River, from the east - the border of the Sobinsky district (forest trail). In the western part of the park, closer to its edge (the Vorshe River), a cemetery was built, which is now operational.

After the revolution, the estate was destroyed. Nothing remains of the large palace complex, decorated with rotundas. During the years of persecution of the Church, the temple was not closed, but was not repaired. Only in the early 90s of the XX century. The parishioners carried out a major overhaul of the temple and restoration of the murals.
See Kolchuginsky District. . Alexandrovsky district, village Lukyantsevo.
Smolensk Zosimova men's hermitage. Alexandrovsky district, village. them. Lenin.
Trinity Stefanov Makhrishchi Convent. Alexandrovsky district, village Mahra.