Tserkov' Uspeniya Presvyatoy Bogoroditsy V Novodevich'yem Monastyre, Moscow

Saint Peter, transferring the residence of the Russian metropolitans from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325, placed the strength and piety of Moscow in close connection with the construction in this city of a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary; he recommended the Grand Duke Ivan Danilovich Kalita to erect here "a temple worthy of the Mother of God." According to this will of the saint, in 1326 the first stone church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God was laid in Moscow, and subsequently a significant part of the churches erected in Russia were named in honor of this holiday, and among them - the ancient temple revered by the believers of Moscow in b. Novodevichy Convent. According to its original purpose, the b. The Novodevichy Convent belongs to the type of special temples built only in monasteries - refectory temples. This is a construction of a semi-church, semi-civil nature: the temple itself occupies a small part here; everything else has been adjusted for needs not directly related to worship. Temples of this type arose and were erected in communal monasteries. The father of northern Russian monasticism, Reverend Sergius of Radonezh, bequeathed to the monks: “to keep firmly with all the commandments of the holy fathers and nothing to acquire ... have everything in common”, and according to this will the monastics had nothing of their own; clothes and footwear were obtained "from the treasury", food was eaten at a common meal. “Everyone can eat and drink in the meal together,” says one of the monastic regulations of the 15th century, “and don't eat anything outside the meal.” A large number of inhabitants, who ate according to the charter together and at the same time, made it necessary to build spacious dining rooms in the monasteries. Such premises, intended to satisfy the natural needs of the monastic community, were connected according to the plan with the church. Along with the temple, services were also built here, necessary for the communal canteen. The combination of various parts into one whole and created a characteristic type of building, called the temple-refectory. Refectory b. The Novodevichy Convent with the Assumption Church attached to it is one of the most magnificent and interesting structures of this kind. The monastery (founded in 1524) for a long time, it was a courtier, privileged monastery for a long time, and its refectory was built not only for the daily dining of monks, but also for receiving kings and other dignitaries who often came here, arranging crowded celebrations and memorial dinners ... It is a vast (over 2,000 square meters) well-lit building, arranged on a high basement, with a number of halls, three front porches and rich interior and exterior decoration. The refectory itself and the temple with it form a single structure, and the temple in relation to the refectory is very elevated and is equal to two cubes, placed one on top of the other. The temple has two floors; below is a "warm" church in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God, above - a "cold" (unheated) church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. A narrow staircase in the south wall leads to it. Both churches and the refectory were built in 1685-1686. by order of the sister of Peter I, Princess Sophia. The construction of the building was associated with the general reconstruction of the monastery. Almost the entire monastery settlement was then rebuilt in the same style. The churches of the Assumption and the Holy Spirit, built at the same time, were consecrated in a short time, one after the other. In the "Deeds of the Patriarchal Order" of the end of the 17th century, there are the following entries about their consecration: "On September 194 (1686), the Holy Patriarch went to the Novodevichy Convent to consecrate the Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is near the meal ... 195 (1687) July 24, Great Sovereign and Grand Duke John Alekseevich and Grand Duchess Sofia Alekseevna deigned to go from Moscow to the Novodevichy Monastery to consecrate the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit ... ”The Patriarch then was Joachim (1674-1690), at the consecration of the throne he was co-served by His Graces Krutitsky, Suzdaltsky and Tambov. By the time of the emergence of the refectory of the Novodevichy Convent, an architectural style had developed, which was called the Moscow, or Naryshkinsky, Baroque. The nature of the Uspensko architecture

A place where the soul rests. I like to visit when there are no services and the temple is half empty. It evokes history and the very territory of the Novodevichy Convent. Imagine people who have lived here or visited these places since the 15th century.