Monastery of David's Hermitage. Monastery of the Ascension David Hermitage. Travel across the Moscow region, the city of Chekhov. New Life

Russia is famous for its Orthodox shrines. One of the oldest is the Ascension David's Hermitage. Today we will tell you about the history of its origin, the most convenient way to get there, as well as what ministries are carried out today by one of the most ancient Christian monasteries in the Moscow region.

Where is

The address of the Voznesenskaya Davidova Hermitage is Moscow region, the village of Novy Byt, Molodezhnaya street, 7.

This village is located in the Chekhovsky district and is 80 kilometers away from the center of Moscow, if you move to the south. Historically, there were no settlements here, and the area was a kind of wasteland. With the appearance of a monastic monastery here, a small linden park appeared, and the coast of the Lopasnya River was greatly transformed, but more on that later.

How to get to the Ascension David Hermitage

By Moscow standards, the distance between the capital and the monastery is not very large, but to overcome it you will have to endure public transport and a couple of transfers between the metro, train and bus.

Action 1. Get to Chekhov.

First, you need to get to the Kursk railway station in Moscow and buy a ticket for commuter trains. Any train Moscow-Chekhov will do. The average travel time is 1-1.5 hours, and the ticket price will be about 200 rubles.

Also, the district center can be reached by other public transport. A regular bus leaves every 15 minutes from the Yuzhnaya metro station. If you use it, the travel time will be from 50 minutes to 1.5 hours. The ticket price is 70-150 rubles.

Act 2. Chekhov - Ascension David's Hermitage.

The remaining distance can be covered by bus # 428. You need to get off at the "New Life" stop.

History of appearance

The moment of the appearance of the Ascension David Hermitage dates back to 1515. This date is quite controversial, since its only confirmation is an entry in an old monastery document - a church synodikon.

Church texts have many discrepancies, which casts doubt on the exact date of the beginning of the history of the Ascension Monastery of David Hermitage.

However, the official version is as follows - at the beginning of the 16th century, the Orthodox missionary David, who at that time was already an abbot and was also famous for his healing abilities, founded a small monastic monastery 20 kilometers from the city of Serpukhov. To prove the power of his own spiritual experience, as well as the greatness of a confessed God, David planted a linden alley.

An interesting fact: the linden tree could not take root in this area. The soil on which the Ascension David's Hermitage stands is saturated with limestone and white hard stone. In addition, according to legend, the monk planted the sprouts with their roots upwards, in order to maintain the purity of the experiment. This idea was conceived for missionary purposes, in order to prove to the skeptics one of the biblical postulates that if there is faith the size of a mustard seed, then mountains can be moved.

Oddly enough, the idea was a success. Linden Alley was striking in its beauty and left its traces, which were found 500 years after its inception.

Since then, the Ascension Davidov Monastery has appeared.

Saint David - who is this

Historians and theologians raise many questions about the identity of the Monk David himself, in whose honor the monastery was named.

This Orthodox saint is unknown to most Christians, but his persona is quite interesting. The founder of the Ascension David Hermitage in the Chekhov region was a native of the Vyazemsk princes and had a worldly name Daniel. His aristocratic origin and upbringing engendered in the soul of the future miracle worker a special love for people and the desire to know God. He took monastic vows and a new name, David.

The young monk became a good spiritual example for other ministers. He was distinguished by kindheartedness, strong love for God, steadfastness in fasting and prayer.

After 40 years at the Borovsk monastery, David went on a mission to found his own monastery. Enlisting the support of two more monks and capturing the icon of the Mother of God, the future saint founded the Ascension Davidovskaya Hermitage, which consisted of a wooden church of several small cells.

The exact date of the saint's death has not been preserved, but most Orthodox historians believe that the saint departed into eternity 5 years after the founding of the new monastery.

Greatness and decline

The history of the Ascension David Hermitage knew the best and worst periods of its existence. The history of the monastery is generally distinguished by the cyclical nature of its existence with rapid ups and downs.

• During the Time of Troubles, the monastery was ravaged by the Polish and Lithuanian invaders, which interrupted the work of the largest Orthodox monastery for 6 years.
• The end of the 17th century is the real dawn of the Ascension David Hermitage. The monastery received benefits from the king. The monastery owned several farmsteads, including in Moscow, as well as several serf households with a large number of workers.
• The next crisis came during the reign of Emperor Peter the Great. His reforms deprived Christian churches of all privileges, and also obliged them to pay a very serious tax to the treasury. As a result, all third-party possessions, icons and books of the Ascension David Hermitage were taken into state ownership.
• The final demise of the monastery took place during the establishment of Soviet power. At the beginning of the 20th century, the red occupation came to the church and most of the brethren were killed. Those who escaped the shackles and execution without trial or investigation fled, trying to save their lives from terror.

As a result of the actions of the new government, the monastery turned into warehouses, museums and the building of the village administration.

An Orthodox community appeared in the village of Novy Byt, and the building of the Ascension David Hermitage was handed over to it for use. Of course, there were some complications. One of the religious buildings was occupied by the village administration. In 1992, a struggle began for the expulsion of officials from the monastic monastery, which ended in an unconditional victory of the Orthodox initiative group.

Objections of skeptics

Since then, a long way of reconstruction and repair of ancient knowledge began. There are critics who questioned the honesty of the restoration work. The fact is that the repair was carried out at the expense of funds donated by people. Among the donors were not entirely honest citizens, and politicians with a bad reputation, and even open criminals. Despite the indignation of individual citizens, it is impossible to acknowledge well-grounded discontent, proceeding from the postulate: "Do not judge, but you will not be judged."

Architectural ensemble

Today the monastery has been completely restored, the Voznesenskaya Davidova male hermitage is a complex of beautiful and majestic temples and buildings for applied purposes.

The architectural ensemble includes the following buildings:

• Ascension Cathedral;
• Znamenskaya Church;
• Nikolskaya Church;
• Assumption Church;
• Spassky Cathedral;
• All Saints Church;
• Bell tower;
• fraternal corps;
• overhead chapel;
• abbot building.

Among other things, on the territory of the Holy Ascension David's Hermitage, you can find several interesting monuments. These include:

• a monument on the grave of the head of the Chekhovsky region G. M. Nedoseka;
• a monument at the grave of General DS Dokhturov;
• graves of the companions of the desert.

Also at the entrance you can find a monastery hotel where pilgrims or just random travelers can spend the night.

After 500 years of existence of the monastery of the Ascension David Hermitage, we can say that the monastery has reached its heyday. The restored buildings of temples, a pond with swans, a clean park - all this immerses you in deep thoughts that should come in such places.

The monastery today

Nowadays, the monks have begun to revive the old traditions of social service. As far as possible, the monastery helps the Chekhov orphanage, the regional hospital, and rural schools and kindergartens.

The local abbot regularly attends city events, where he speaks and conducts talks on spiritual topics. Among other things, the monastery regularly sends parcels to prisoners in places of detention and receives help from people who want to take part in such social service.

The Abode awaits those who are ready to spend their time and energy to help their neighbors, and accepts all forms of support. You can help not only financially. There is a long list of essentials that go to prisons. They include canned food, notebooks, hygiene items, books and much more. Among other things, the temples need constant support. Anyone who wants to escape from the bustle of the world can come to the monastery and accept obedience for any length of time. Often, this form of work allows you to rest and put your thoughts in order as well as a vacation on the seashore.

Relics and shrines

Ascension David's Hermitage is a real treasure of various Orthodox shrines. The most significant, perhaps, is a piece of metal to which a piece of that very nail from the Cross of Calvary is attached. It was he who was used during the execution of Jesus Christ.

Among other things, here you can find more than two hundred relics, found not only in Russia, but also abroad. For those who believe in the healing power of this form of Orthodox shrines, the Ascension David Hermitage will become a powerful source in strengthening the faith.

All shrines are accessible to parishioners and pilgrims. The very first relics that remained from the body of the ancient Jewish prophet Elisha had such divine power that they could revive the dead. Evidence for this is reflected in the Old Testament, so the monastery firmly clings to the traditions of the past, which carry Christian teachings.

Working hours

The doors of the monastery open at 7 am, 45 minutes before the start of the first liturgy. Services are held daily in the morning and in the evening. For pilgrims, early joint prayers are also available, which are held at 5 in the morning.

The schedule of services may change from time to time, so it is better to clarify this information promptly.

Orthodox Christians who dream of immersing themselves in the atmosphere of ancient beliefs will be able to spend here from a few days to a couple of weeks. The hotel at the temple accepts pilgrims at any time of the year. For those who go on a spiritual journey with children, a Sunday school is available on the territory of the monastery.

Classes in it consist in the child's participation in the Divine Liturgy, spiritual studies, the study of the Holy Scriptures, and acquaintance with the Lives of the Saints. Among other things, many circles and sections of completely different directions are available for the youngest children.

Ascension David's Hermitage is a real focus of an ambiguous and long history. For 500 years now, these majestic temples have withstood the oppression of time, bad weather, anger of people and historical vicissitudes. And only thanks to the strong faith and strong spirit of believers, the same timid and at the same time majestic atmosphere of Orthodoxy is preserved here.

The Voznesenskaya Davidova Hermitage is a men's monastery located in the village of Novy Byt in the Chekhov District of the Moscow Region. It is located eighty-five kilometers from Moscow and twenty-four kilometers from Serpukhov, not far from the city of Chekhov.

The most convenient approach from Moscow is along the Simferopol highway to the second concrete road, then to it to the left and after a couple of kilometers again to the left at the Novy Byt sign, after another couple of kilometers on the right side of the road you will see a monastery. Taking pictures inside is prohibited.

The Monk David of Serpukhov (in the world of Daniel) came from the family of the princes of Vyazemsky. He was a tonsured and a disciple of the great Pafnuti Borovsky.

After the death of Paphnutius (1447), David remained in the Borovsky monastery under the patronage and leadership of Joseph Volotsky (another student of Paphnutius), who would later become a key figure in the dispute between the Josephites and the non-possessors. And he will gain the upper hand in this dispute, creating the preconditions for the disintegration of Russian monasticism.

But all this later, in the meantime, Joseph leads the Pafnutiev brethren. At the same time (regarding the toughening of the dormitory regime) it enters into a clinch with almost everyone. Among the seven monks who supported Joseph in this conflict was David.

The result of the discord was the departure of Joseph on a journey to the Russian monasteries. It lasted two years, and when he returned and saw that you couldn't break a butt with a whip, Joseph decides to leave for good. Soon he will open his famous Joseph-Volotsk Monastery, where he will arrange everything to his liking.

And David stayed in Borovsk. But gradually a desire to leave the Pafnutyev monastery also matured in him. 85 km. from Moscow, on the high bank of the Lopasnya River, he found a wonderful strong place and settled in it.

In May 1515 a monastery was founded there. They say that on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos in 1515, Joseph Volotsky visited him. I dined with David, was very pleased with everything, blessed the new monastery and its abbot.

David died in 1529. And soon he began to appear in dreams to different people, help them, perform miracles. Now his relics openly rest in the Church of the Sign and are the main shrine of the monastery. In fact, there are probably so many different particles of relics and other shrines, as in the David's Hermitage, nowhere else in Holy Russia.

There are fragments of the honest bodies of Nikola the Ugodnik, Eustathius Plakis, Herman of Alaska, Dmitry, Abraham and Isaiah of Rostov, Ferapont Luzhetsky, Moisey Ugrin and others, and others, and others.

There is even an ark with the relics of the holy Bethlehem infants, a particle of the true Nail of the Crucifixion of the Lord, a particle of the Lord's Tunic, a particle of the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos and the honest head of the unknown martyr from Kiev.

In the time of troubles in 1619, the monastery was ravaged by the Lithuanians and Cossacks. In 1657, the hermitage was assigned to the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery (by order of Patriarch Nikon).

In 1667, by decree of Alexei Mikhailovich, the hermitage was excluded from the New Jerusalem Monastery. The last third of the 17th century is the most prosperous time in the history of the David Hermitage.

In the 18th century, prosperity gave way to decline. In 1712 the hermitage was assigned to the Chudov Monastery, from 1721 to 1727 - to the Zlatoust Monastery. In 1764, after the introduction of the monastic states, the desert became neglected, that is, it was maintained at its own expense, but already without the possessions taken into the treasury.

The monastery was finally closed in October 1929. The brethren of the monastery were partly repressed, partly dispersed.

After the monastery was closed, its last abbot, Fr. Valentine began to live with one of the pious parishioners. One night they came for him. And since then he has disappeared.

Some say that he was not shot here, in Novy Byt, but in Chekhov. Others believe that they killed him near the monastery, on the banks of the Lopasnya. And the body was taken away so that there would be no unnecessary conversations. Conversations started anyway. People whispered that a spring had spilled at the place of the death of the righteous man.

Indeed, under the monastery, near the bridge over the river, there is a small and almost unkempt spring. Old people claim that it opened in 1937. And they admit that it is in this source that the spirit of the martyr Valentine lives. In any case, they call it the Valentine's Spring.

Perhaps the late Father Herman, who became the abbot of the reconstructed Ascension David Hermitage in 1995, was inspired by the ideas of Joseph Volotsky that monasteries should be rich, because this is necessary for enlightenment and other public service. That is, he was inspired by ideas opposite to non-acquisitiveness. Therefore, he was ready to go to great lengths to make his monastery rich and strong, but he was killed.

On the territory of the monastery were buried: the commander General of Infantry D.S.Dokhturov, as well as representatives of the princely and noble families of the Obolensky, Romodanovsky, Vasilchikovs, Golovkins, etc.

But besides the spiritual fathers and nobles, other people are buried in the monastery. I did not photograph their graves. The first of them is Anton Malevsky, a man who was called the aluminum king of Russia and the leader of the Izmailovskaya criminal group. He was a citizen of Russia and Israel and a parachutist. Jumping over South Africa in November 2001, Anton somehow stupidly crashed in Chekhov's way.

Next to him lies Gennady Nedoseka, nicknamed "Gena Bolshoi", the former head of the Chekhov district administration. He did a lot for the monastery, but had an ambiguous reputation (in the eyes of the police). He also died in a very ambiguous way: in December 2004 he almost burned to the ground in his Hummer.

Even before he was elected head of the Chekhov District of the Moscow Region, Nedosek was involved in a high-profile criminal case on the massacre of the Korchagin brothers' gang. It happened on the evening of March 21, 1996 in the Grotto cafe-bar on the outskirts of Chekhov.

According to the police, in this institution a meeting of the leaders of the so-called Korchagin group with competitors - the "brigade" of Gena Bolshoi, was to take place. However, armed men in camouflage suddenly burst into the bar.

Ten "Korchagins" were thrown into the back of a "ZIL" and taken away in an unknown direction. Three of them soon appeared in the city - beaten and intimidated to death, the rest were found 4 years later - under a meter layer of concrete in a garage not far from Chekhov.

The investigation was unable to prove the involvement of Nedoseki (by this time he had already become the head of the district) in the massacre of competitors due to lack of evidence, but the deceased was included in the database of the Office for Combating Organized Crime of the Moscow Region as the leader of an organized criminal group controlling the "mining of nonmetallic minerals in Serpukhovskoe and Chekhovsky districts, Chekhov's central market and various commercial structures in the Chekhovsky district ".

And finally, the grave of Father Herman (Khapugin), the abbot of David's Hermitage, who was killed in July of this year after being tortured in his monastery cell. Valuables and five thousand dollars stored in his desk were not touched by the bandits, but the safe was opened and empty.

Compassionate pilgrims, passing by these graves, cross themselves and warmly commemorate the dead. After all, miracles have been observed in this quiet monastery for a long time: it seems that not a single monastery in Russia has risen from the ruins so quickly and has not improved so thoroughly as David's Hermitage.

A.P. Chekhov loved and visited the monastery several times. Here is what he writes to a family friend S.A. Petrov, inviting him to come to Melikhovo: "My estate is poor, but the surroundings are magnificent, and there is a beautiful David's hermitage four miles away from us, wherever we would go with you."

Part of the text was taken from the site "Changes" from the rubric "Places of Power" by Oleg Davydov, part from the site of the newspaper "Izvestia".

Fais se que dois adviegne que peut.

Known as the founder of the monastery of David's Hermitage. Visiting Russian monasteries has a beneficial effect on a person's peace of mind. But pilgrimage trips do not always cure physical ailments, priests constantly remind of this. Sometimes you need to contact a qualified specialist for advice and help.
To get from Talezh to the monastery, you will have to make a big detour - return to the Simferopol highway, cross it in the direction of Chekhov and at the fork go straight along the sign “Novy Byt”. Although, recently, signs have appeared indicating the monastery. From experience, if you need to find a monastery, and its location is known only approximately, then you should be guided by Soviet names such as "Youth", them. Comintern, "Leo Tolstoy" or, as in this case, "New life".

The road will make a loop, again cross the federal highway M3, but without a junction - at this point you can neither go to the Simferopol highway, nor leave it. And only after about 15 km we will reach the monastery, which stands on a high hill above Lopasnya.

The monastery was founded by a disciple of the famous Joseph Volotsky, a monk named David. His worldly name was Daniel, and he was from the princes of Vyazemsky. David was a monk of the Pafnutev Borovsk monastery for 40 years. In 1515 he left the former monastery in order to found his own monastery.

David built the monastery in accordance with the ideas of his spiritual mentor Joseph Volotsky, the creator of the doctrine of Josephite or “money-grubbing”: a harsh charter, considerable wealth, and extensive charitable activities. The Joseph-Volotsk monastery, founded by Joseph himself in 1479, operated according to the same principles. Joseph Volotsky substantiated the need for church wealth in the following words: “We need to build churches and church vessels, and books, and feed the brethren. And to the poor, the sire, the poor, give and feed those who pass by ”. In the dispute between the Josephites and their opponents, the non-possessors, the former won.
The oldest temples of the monastery, built under David, have not survived to this day. They were consecrated in the name of the Ascension, the Dormition of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. The oldest building in the monastery is the Ascension Cathedral, built in the 70-80s of the 17th century on the site of an earlier stone church, begun in the time of Ivan the Terrible, but never completed.

The next church of the times of David, rebuilt in stone, was the gateway Church of the Assumption in 1740. The gates as such no longer exist - their arch is bricked up. A narrow passage, closed by an iron door, closed by a hefty barn lock, has survived.

Now the monastery is entered not from the north, but from the west through the arch of the gate bell tower.

The monastery bell tower was built on the site of the previous one, dismantled "for dilapidation" in 1843-45. The massive tower, erected in the Russian-Byzantine style, is a bit like Ivan the Great. The height of the bell tower is about 70 meters, it can be clearly seen even from the M3 highway. Unfortunately, the bells, cast in 1848 weighing 3.3 tons, and in 1892 weighing 11.2 tons, have not survived.

The monastery ensemble is a very picturesque sight due to the varied architecture and bright colors of the churches.

One of the oldest in the David's Hermitage, the Nikolskaya Church with a refectory was rebuilt in 1804. An arched passage connects it with the cathedral.

From the west to the complex of the Ascension Cathedral and St. Nicholas Church adjoins the Temple of the Sign, which grew out of the chapel built over the grave of St. David. The pink Church of the Sign is visible in the center of the photo.

Once there was a monastery cemetery behind the altar of the cathedral. In Soviet times, it shared the fate of the entire monastery. But if the temples, albeit desecrated, were still preserved, then nothing remained of the gravestones. Quite recently - in 2002 - it was possible to find the lost one in the 50s. last century, the grave of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Dokhturov. Dmitry Sergeevich Dokhturov, died in 1816 and was buried in the monastery cemetery.

Since the issue of graves was touched upon, it is worth mentioning the businessman buried in the monastery, who was actively involved in charity work and was killed at the request of competitors, the head of the Chekhov district administration, who also died not by his own death and was found dead in his cell, the archimandrite of the monastery, Father German (Khapugin). I did not take pictures of their luxurious gravestones, but conversations about “bandit money”, which were supposedly used to restore the monastery, surfaced in my memory.
It can be seen that considerable funds have been invested here. Through the windows of the new refectory one can see the luxurious decoration of the main hall, crowned with the gilded head of the Church of All Saints in 1913.

The same splendor and decency can be seen in the ornamented abbot's chambers.

and in the neighboring Church of the Most Merciful Savior, erected at the turn of the century before last and in the Russian-Byzantine style.

Perhaps all this looks somewhat "restored", but in my opinion the monastery only benefits from this. This is much better than the "abomination of desolation."

The Voznesenskaya Davidova Hermitage has a very “soulful” atmosphere. There is no fuss, crowds of pilgrims and curious, costumed Cossacks at the entrance. This is where people come to God. The monastery is distinguished by silence, tranquility and a complete absence of negativity, which sometimes you feel in the prohibitions on photos, sidelong glances, etc. To the south of Lopasnya flows the Serpeyka River, which flows into the Nara. Serpeyka gave the name to our next target south of Moscow - the city.

Many thanks to Sapozhnik 1 for sharing a photo of the 1987 David Desert on the Internet.