One of the points of any excursion to Valdai is visiting the famous Iver Monastery. Find out why he is so interesting and what his story is.
History of the Iversky Monastery in Valdai
This monastery was built at the behest of Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century, and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself approved the construction. History says that the patriarch had a vision in the form of a fiery pillar, marking the place of construction of one of the three monasteries founded by him. The prototype of the cathedral in the architectural plan was the Iversky Monastery on Mount Athos.
By 1653 the first two wooden churches of the cathedral were consecrated, consecrated in honor of the Iberian icon and St. Philip the Moscow. In the following years, the stone Uspensky cathedral (the main temple of the monastery) and the church of the archistratographer Michael were built and consecrated, as well as many small farm buildings. The royal land for the monastery was assigned to the surrounding lands - the Valdai lake with its islands, the village of Borovichi, Vyshny Volochok, Yazhelbitsy and several other monasteries of this region.
In 1655, the brothers of the Belarusian Kuteinsky monastery completely moved here together with all the church utensils and even typographic machines. Since then, book printing has been actively developing here.
The founder of the monastery, Patriarch Nikon, during his stay here renamed the Valdai Posad in a village called Bogoroditskoye, and he called the local lake the Holy: hence the second name of the temple - Svyatoozersky.
The Valdai Iversky Monastery successfully functioned as a temple until the Soviet times, when it declined. In 1927 the wonderworking Iberian icon of the Mother of God was taken from the Valdai monastery, and the temple with its monastic community was transformed into a labor collective. Later there were: local history and historical archival museums, the home of disabled veterans of the Second World War, a school for children with tuberculosis, a recreation center.
At the end of the last century the monastery on Valdai returned to the Novgorod diocese. In 2008, it was finally restored and consecrated by Patriarch Alexy.
Monuments in Valdai
The main value of the Valdai monastery was previously a copy (list) of this Iberian icon, brought from Mount Athos. She was very richly decorated and framed by a magnificent golden rhizome. The cost of jewelry at that time was more than 44 thousand rubles in silver. After this miraculous icon was seized and taken away, it was found and stored in the only existing church of the Valdai district at the time - the cemetery Petropavlovskaya. When the monastery was rebuilt, the masters of the city of Zlatoust made for the icon a new precious robe in return for the stolen. It was consecrated in December 2006, and since then the holy Iver Icon has once again adorned the iconostasis of the monastery.
Interesting for the inspection and the bell tower of the Iversky Monastery in Valdai. The bells here beat off the bells every 15 minutes, as if greeting pilgrims.
How to get to the Valdai Iversky Monastery?
The monastery is located on the Selvitsky Island, which can be reached by regular boat "Zarya" or a sightseeing boat. Also you can get to the island by car if you cross a bridge near the village of Borovichi. You can get to the monastery even by crossing a ford over a shallow strait. In winter, this one can be done directly on foot on ice: the distance is about 3 km.
Pilgrims can stay in the living rooms of the monastery, and there is also a refectory there.
