Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery

explore

The Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery is a Russian Orthodox male monastery located in the town of Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region. The monastery was founded by Dmitry Donskoy, who, according to the legend, made a stay there on his way to the Kulikovo Field and was determined to give a decisive battle to the Tatars after seeing an image of St. Nicholas in a pious dream. He founded a monastery on the very spot. The monastery was repeatedly burned and ruined but quickly restored. In 1521, the monastery was burned down during a raid on Moscow by Crimean Khan Mehmed I Giray, but the previous cases were restored soon. In the 1680s, the monastery was often visited by the young Tsar Peter I. After the suppression of the Moscow Uprising, Ugreshskaya abode became a prison for the rebel archers, who spoke against the young Tsar Peter. The Grand Transfiguration Cathedral, built by architect A. Kaminski in 1880-1894, became the dominant of the monastic ensemble. July 1, 1919, the monastery was converted into a labor artel of monks, called the Nicholas Ugreshskaya Labor Community, headed by a prior, Archimandrite Macarius. In 1925, the monastery was closed entirely. In 1940, the ancient cathedral of the sanctuary — the St. Nicholas Cathedral built in XVI century was destroyed. January 30, 1991, the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 1990s, the restoration of many buildings was carried out. New churches were built. In 2004, the construction of the Chapel in honor of the Passion of Christ was completed. In the same year, a new iconostasis was made in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the monastery. The St. Nicholas Cathedral was wholly rebuilt also by the project of Hieromonk Arseny. In 2009, the inside painting of the Transfiguration Cathedral was finished. Nowadays, the monastery is fully restored and operates several museums, including one dedicated to Nicholas II of Russia.

to top -