Lukian's Hermitage is a monastery. Lukian Monastery - Monastery About the rules of the monastery

The Nativity of the Mother of God St. Lucian's men's hermitage was founded by the Monk Lucian on the site of the miraculous appearance of the icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The monastery gained fame due to the severity of monastic life and external splendor.

Mother of God of the Nativity of Lucian's Hermitage associated with close ties. Both the founder of the Assumption Monastery and the successor of his work, the organizer of the monastery, the Monk Cornelius, were abbots of the desert.

Tradition of the founding of the Lucian Hermitage

The history of the Lucian Hermitage dates back to 1594. In the village of Ignatyevo, not far from the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, at the behest of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Job, a wooden church was erected in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One day, the priest of this church, Father Gregory, entering it before the start of the service, did not find the temple icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in its usual place. Only a few days later, one of the local residents discovered her nearby, in the forest tract “Pskovitino Ramenye”. “And then that dearest treasure appeared to him - the holy icon of the Mother of God. Ole miracle, standing about itself, in the air..."

Both the priest and parishioners were informed about the find. Everyone hurried to the indicated place. “They fell before the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, praying with tears for many hours.” The icon was reverently taken back to the temple. After some time, everything repeated itself: the icon inexplicably disappeared, then appeared in the same deserted place in the forest, standing “in the air.” Again the icon was returned to the temple, but soon disappeared again and appeared in the same place. Saint Job, Patriarch of Moscow, having learned about this, blessed the transfer of the wooden church from the village of Ignatyevo to the place of the unusual appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The priest, with the blessing, with the help of the parishioners, moved the church to the place of the miraculous appearance of the icon and settled with it.

History of the monastery

The construction of a new five-domed stone cathedral on the very spot where the first wooden church of the Nativity of the Virgin stood began in the last years of the 17th century. The construction of the cathedral was entrusted to the mason Shabunin “and his comrades”.

The cathedral is a clear example. In this case, it is a late embodiment of this style in combination with the pillarless composition traditional for Russian temple architecture.

A tall three-light quadrangle, placed on a basement, is completed with five small cylindrical drums with heads and complemented by a three-part altar apse, three-lobed in plan. The quadrangle is covered with a steep closed vault, and the apse is covered with a three-part conch.

All facades of the temple are divided by blades into three high spindles, each of which is completed with a kokoshnik. The western facade, as well as large parts of the northern and southern facades, are surrounded by a spacious gallery. Having survived numerous “owners” of the monastery, it has survived to this day in a dilapidated state and is awaiting restoration. In the third level of light there are tall windows framed by frames in the Naryshkin Baroque style with thin columns and broken triangular pediments. In the windows of all tiers, forged iron bars made of rectangular strips have been preserved. On the windows of the second and third light, the grilles are wavy and made of rods with a round cross-section.

Noteworthy are the large, original S-shaped anchors, which were used during the restoration of the temple in 1851 along the entire perimeter to strengthen the building.

In the basement floor of the temple, before the closure of the monastery, there was a necropolis of representatives of the Sobakin family of nobles, abbot Abraham and other benefactors of the monastery who were buried here. The crypt was restored in 2016.

The Virgin Mary Cathedral of Lucian's Hermitage inside

In 1893, in the Lucian monastery they were preparing to solemnly celebrate the 300th anniversary of the apparition coming a year later. miraculous icon Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this significant date, paintings were done on the interior walls of the cathedral.

Academic in style, the paintings in the style of late classicism illustrated the life of Jesus Christ. Gospel scenes were located above the windows, three on each wall. And images of saints were placed below, between the windows. The letter is considered black and white, its proportions are somewhat refined, the drawing is correct, and the colorful combinations are restrained.

Only the northern, western and southern walls of the quadrangle are painted. On each of them there are three compositions, united by ornamental arches. On the north wall are the compositions “Healing the Blind,” “The Sermon of John the Baptist,” and “The Blessing of the Children.”

In the piers of the lower row of windows there are images of Saints Cyril, Andrew and John.

On the western wall there are scenes of “The Baptism of Rus' by St. Prince Vladimir", "Our Lady on the Throne" and "Baptism of Princess Olga". Between the windows of the lower row were painted the saints Savvaty, Sergius and Jerome, Anthony and Theodosius, and Daniel.

On the south wall are the compositions “The Resurrection of Jairus’ Daughter,” “The Sermon on the Mount,” and “The Healing of the Paralytic.” Between the windows are Saints Ephraim and Euthymius.

The images of saints are dominated by blue, light green and pinkish saturated colors.

After the closure of the monastery, when the territory of the monastery was occupied by a home for the disabled, the central part of the cathedral was used for drying clothes, so most of the paintings have survived to this day. Today they delight the eyes of the monks and pilgrims of the monastery. But the brethren do not lose hope that in the near future the paintings will be restored and will once again shine with their pristine beauty in the restored cathedral.

The Temple of the Epiphany is the most ancient in the Lucian Hermitage. Its construction began in 1680 on the initiative of St. Cornelius.

The double-domed volume of the temple, as well as the two-pillar refectory elongated along the longitudinal axis, are considered unique examples of Russian temple architecture of the late XVII century. If we talk about style, both the refectory and the temple resemble the buildings of the Assumption Monastery in Alexandrov, built by order of the Tsar. The Church of the Epiphany can easily be called an example of metropolitan architecture typical of the times.

The quadrangle and the refectory form a single, longitudinally elongated two-story volume, ending in the east with two faceted apses: a larger one on the south side and a smaller one, an apse, on the north. Above the eastern part of the entire volume rises a quadrangle common to the main and side temples, elongated in the transverse direction - it ends with two domes on round blind drums.

From the west you can see a tented bell tower with an octagonal ringing tier on a square base in plan and two tiers of rumors in the tent. The bell tower contains five bells from the 19th - early 20th centuries.

In front of the bell tower, a white stone porch with a tetrahedral tent on four pillars was erected, evoking associations with illustrations from Russian folk tales. It was added later, and its modest eclectic decor with arches and hanging “weights” imitates the fashion of that time.

The premises of the Epiphany Church on two floors are spacious, while the chapel is very small in size and has a small apse. The aisles of the temple and the apse are covered with box vaults, and the apse of the aisle is covered with a faceted conch. The rooms on the sides of the bell tower have tray vaults.

Inside the Church of the Epiphany in Lucian's Hermitage

The Church of the Epiphany with the chapel of Theodore Stratelates is the only functioning church in the monastery.

From a large stone porch with columns and a vault topped with a cross, a steep staircase leads to the entrance to the temple. The walls of the staircase were painted in 2012.

Everything inside the temple is simple, there is no pretentiousness, the walls are not painted. Small windows and high vaulted ceilings create subdued soft lighting even on the sunniest days.

In the central chapel of the Epiphany, services are performed on holidays and Sundays.

In the altar of the chapel there are most of the relics in a brass reliquary. On the wall of the altar there is an icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (19th century copy), which was kept until 1994 by the believers of the village of Isaevka.

The place for the brethren of the monastery is separated from the refectory part of the temple by a small elevation, on which there is a choir, the place of the abbot and a festive icon. Noteworthy is the three-tiered brass candle chandelier with 32 candles located here.

In the refectory part of the chapel on the western side of the second pillar there is a large icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, painted in 1998 based on information about the lost miraculous image. Around the icon, which is a centerpiece, the Lord's and Theotokos' feasts are written. At the southern wall of the refectory part of the temple, to the right of the entrance, in a wooden carved icon case, the main 19th-century image of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, revered in the monastery, discovered in the Assumption Monastery in the 1990s, is kept. Nearby there is a gilded reliquary on a brass stand with the relics of 50 saints.

To the left of the entrance, at the eastern wall of the refectory part of the temple, is the icon of the Mother of God “Abbess of Holy Mount Athos” in a wooden carved icon case, next to it are the relics in a wooden carved shrine.

The northern aisle, consecrated in the name of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates, is used for daily services during the week. The iconostasis of the chapel is three-tiered, painted in dark green tones. Local icons - the Lord Pantocrator and the Mother of God "Smolensk" (the latter remained intact after almost half a century of desolation of the first wooden church at the beginning of the 17th century, along with the revealed icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

On the northern side of the second pillar from the entrance there is an 18th-century icon of the Mother of God “Unfading Flower”. On the northern wall of the chapel, closer to the altar, there is a large icon of the Royal Passion-Bearers, painted in the early 2000s. This part of the temple is also used for the sacrament of baptism and the great blessing of water on the feast of Epiphany.

Mother of God of the Nativity of St. Lucian's Hermitage(Russia, Vladimir region, Alexandrovsky district, Lukyantsevo village)

From Aleksandrov to Lukyantsevo it’s about 13 km along the highway to the north. We arrived at the monastery in the evening, the monastery was deserted (there was a service in the church), we were the only visitors, so there was a rare opportunity to wander inside the walls in complete solitude.
The ensemble is being actively revived - intensive renovation work is underway, so the time is not far off when it will appear before us in its former beauty and grandeur.

The monastery has ancient buildings that have hardly suffered from alterations, despite all the twists and turns of history. Here a brief description of buildings with dates:
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary built and consecrated in 1712 under Abbot Abraham. Church of the Epiphany started prp. Cornelius in 1680. The consecration of the temple took place under the builder Evagrius in 1684. “Shelves” were made under the temple for storing household supplies. The sacristy of the monastery was located in a special room.
Church of the Great Martyr Catherine consecrated on November 10, 1714 as a hospital church. In 1834, the temple was rebuilt with funds from the Alexander merchants. There were hospital cells near the church. Chapel of St. Luciana delivered in the 18th century. over the grave of St. Lucian with the diligence of the residents of Alexandrov. Completely destroyed in 1926
Abbot's corps. The lower stone floor was built in 1694–1696. Abbot Joseph and was called grain cells with services. A wooden second floor was built in 1820 under Abbot Cyprian for the abbot’s premises. Cell building built in 1690 for elderly monks. IN early XIX V. a wooden chopped second floor was built on. During the abbotship of Abbot Macarius (1860-1874), the wooden floor was replaced by a stone one. Modern building - hotel
erected in 2003 to accommodate pilgrims and guests of the monastery.

S.V. Bulgakov described the monastery this way in his work “Russian Monasteries in 1913”: “Lucian’s Nativity is the Mother of God Hermitage, unemployed, communal, 10 versts from the city of Alexandrov. Founded in 1594 by priest Gregory; in the 17th century ruined by the Poles; in 1640 it was resumed by Hieromonk Lucian and began to be called the Lucian monastery. In the desert there is a miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, discovered in 1593...”

1. Layout of the monastery
2. Cathedral of the Nativity
3. Church of the Epiphany
4. Catherine's Church
5. Chapel of St. Luciana
6. Abbot's corps
7. Fraternal Corps
8. Ruins of the treasury building
9. Hotel
10. Hospice
11. Utility buildings

Fence walls

Monastery of St. Lucian after the Great October Revolution
After the closure of the desert, documents and many icons from the cathedral and the Epiphany Church went to the museum, and some icons and items of monastery property were simply looted. The non-temple buildings of the monastery were transferred to the tribal state farm, which was obliged to protect these buildings from destruction. In 1924, the warm Church of the Epiphany was given over to a school. In 1925, at the request of the Komsomol, a club was established in the Catherine Church. At the same time, when the bells were removed, the bell tower at the Epiphany Church was damaged. The chapel of St. Lucian was desecrated and completely destroyed in 1926. Subsequently, the church buildings were transferred by the museum to the prison house, which was transferred from the city of Alexandrov to the Lukian Hermitage. The burial places of the descendants of Vasily Sobakin, the father of Martha, the wife of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, as well as the abbot of the Lucian Hermitage, Father Abraham, in the Nativity Cathedral were desecrated and destroyed. In the 1970s, the rectory building housed a hospital.
In 1922, during the confiscation of church valuables from churches and monasteries, 2 pounds 24 pounds (more than forty kilograms) of silver in the form of icon frames (in particular, a robe from the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands from the cathedral weighing nine and a half kilograms) were confiscated from the Lucian Hermitage ), liturgical vessels, crosses, censers, lamps and even decorations from the ancient Gospels. The robe was also removed from the miraculous icon. Believers from the city of Alexandrov collected silver coins and scrap of silver and gold, equal to the weight of the frame of the miraculous icon (about five kilograms), and, handing it over, bought the robe. The icon itself was taken to the Alexandrova Sloboda Museum.
In 1927, parishioners of the Nativity Cathedral in the city of Alexandrov sent a letter to the museum directorate with a request to transfer to the existing cathedral the icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was very expensive “for every believer who is accustomed to honoring this icon as a shrine of his heart.” The request was not granted. At present, the whereabouts of the revealed miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary remains unknown. (The revealed miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, painted in the 16th century, belongs to the Novgorod school of icon painting. Its dimensions are 75.5 × 62 cm. The size of the hagiographic icon into which the revealed icon was inserted is 164.5 × 131.2 cm.)
The revealed icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Lucian Hermitage has been revered since ancient times in Rus' and became famous for its miracles. Along with two other famous revealed icons of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Syamskaya and Isaac, it is revered on the day of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary by all Russians Orthodox Church.
IN Soviet time The temples of the Lucian Hermitage were not repaired and were gradually destroyed. As in those distant times of the Polish invasion, they stood desecrated and plundered, without prayer or singing, on land consecrated by the threefold appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.”

Story

Founded by the Monk Lucian of Alexandrovsk on August 28 (September 10), 1650, on the site of the appearance in 1694 of the icon of the Mother of God of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, later nicknamed Lucian’s.

The first abbot of the monastery was St. Lucian of Alexandrovsky, Venerable Lucian was born in 1610 in the city of Galich. From the age of 8 he was raised by his father in a monastery. He first came to the site of the future monastery in 1640 and was tonsured a monk here. He was expelled from here three times by local residents. In the Chudov Monastery in Moscow in 1646 he was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Joseph. With the help of Moscow merchants, he rebuilt the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and cells for monastics. In 1654 he founded the convent of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Alexandrov at the request of the Alexandrov merchants. He died on September 8 (21), 1655; the memory of his repose is celebrated the next day.

The successor of the work is St. Luciana became St. Cornelius. Under him, the monastery became widely known for its high spiritual order and external splendor. From 1657 he was rector and died at a ripe old age on August 24, 1681. Lucian's hermitage was cared for by the sovereigns Theodore, John and Peter Alekseevich, other persons of the royal family. Until 2nd half. 17th century all the buildings of the monastery remained wooden, and in 1680-84. By order of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, a stone refectory Church of the Epiphany was built with a chapel of Fyodor Stratilates, the Tsar's heavenly patron. At the end of the century, the construction of stone cells began: in 1690 the Treasury building was built, in 1696 - the Bread (Rector's) cells and the Hospital Ward, and in 1712 - the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, consecrated in the presence of the sisters of Tsar Feodor, princesses Martha and Feodosia. Between the cathedral and the refectory church, in 1771 a small chapel was erected over the tomb of Lucian, the founder of the monastery. Catherine's Church was built at the Hospital Ward in 1714. By 1733, a stone fence with seven towers was built around the monastery.

In 1771, the monastery icon of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary became famous for another miracle. After the religious procession performed with the image around the city of Alexandrov, the plague epidemic stopped. Since that time, the religious procession began to take place annually (the tradition continues to this day), and the icon became universally known as “Lukianovskaya”.

In the beginning. 19th century a new Brethren building was built, and a monastery hotel was erected to the south of the monastery. In 1894, the interior of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was painted. The monastery had its own horse, brick and tile factories, as well as several mills. Hermitage owned three wooden chapels on the Moscow road and near Pereslavl. In Moscow, at the Sretensky Gate there was a monastery courtyard.

In 1922 the monastery was closed. All property was taken away, some icons and shrines were desecrated and destroyed. The whereabouts of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary remains unknown to this day. A nursing home was placed in the monastery, with departments for the mentally ill and the blind.

In 1991, the Lukian Hermitage was the first in the Vladimir diocese to be revived from oblivion. In 1992, the holy relics of St. Luciana. Nowadays they are in the Church of the Epiphany in a carved wooden shrine. The relics of St. Cornelia were found in 1995 and laid in the Trinity Church of the Assumption Convent in the city of Alexandrov.

In 1999, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II on Athos, the Greek icon painter Schemamonk Paisius painted the icon “Abbess of Holy Mount Athos” for the monastery. By that time, the Church of the Epiphany had been completely renovated. In 2001, restoration of the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral began. For a number of reasons, it was never completed, limiting itself to the restoration of the roof, domes and domes of the temple. In 2002, the southern wall was restored - one of the first stone buildings from 1718. One of the seven towers was restored in 2005, and another one was restored in 2011.

At the beginning of 2008, Archimandrite Dosifei (Danilenko), who headed the Lucian Hermitage for 17 years, was transferred to serve in the Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. Having stayed there for less than a year, on March 13, 2009, while on vacation, he died suddenly of a heart attack. The rite of monastic burial was held on March 18 at the St. Daniel Monastery. Father Archimandrite was buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow.

In 2008, Humen Tikhon (Shebeko) was appointed rector of the Lucian Hermitage.

On May 28-29, 2011, celebrations dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the revival of the St. Lucian Hermitage and the Holy Assumption Convent in the city of Alexandrov took place. The monastery was awarded the medal of St. blgv. book Andrei Bogolyubsky, 1st degree “for diligent service.”

The monastery is an example of a late medieval monastery with a regular composition and an ensemble of buildings from the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. The territory, surrounded by walls, has a trapezoidal plan, approximating a square oriented to the cardinal points. From the site of the lost Holy Gate, located in the middle of the southern side of the fence, a linden alley runs north, leading to the monastery square. To the right of the alley there is a large volume of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, facing the square with its western facade, at the end of the alley is the refectory Church of the Epiphany. From the west, the square is limited by the Rector's building, a little to the north - the Church of Catherine with hospital cells. To the north stands the Fraternal Corps, stretching from west to east, and to the east of it along the same line are the ruins of the Treasury Corps. A small rectangular pond is located in the northeastern corner of the territory, a larger rectangular pond lined with trees is in the southwestern part of the monastery. A fence with four square and two round towers has been preserved around the monastery. Three arched gates were made in the northern and southern sections. To the south of the monastery complex there is a hotel building. All surviving buildings are built of brick, most of them have plastered or whitewashed facades.

Currently, the monastery has land for farming, vegetable gardens, meadows, a barnyard, and a small apiary. However, the continuation of the restoration of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary requires a lot of money. There are no destroyed Holy Gates in the monastery; only the foundation remains of the chapel that once stood on the burial site of St. Lucian. The hospital church of the VMC has not been restored. Catherine. The abbot's building, the monastery wall, its towers and much more need major repairs.

About the rules of the monastery

Anyone entering the monastery must know the purpose and meaning of his stay in the monastery - correcting his life according to God's commandments and struggling with his passions. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to have an inner aspiration towards God as the Source of grace-filled life, to always do everything with prayer to Him, to strive to know the meaning and meaning of God’s commandments, to be diligent in reading the word of God. It is also necessary to remain in complete obedience to Fr. Abbot and elder brethren. Attitudes towards food, housing and clothing should be moderate and modest. It is necessary to refrain from idleness, idle talk and, especially, from condemnation. To endure all the sorrows and temptations that occur patiently, without grumbling, with hope for God’s help, treating them as opportunities sent from God for learning and correcting oneself.

Responsibilities of a monastery resident.

1. Unquestioningly follow the requirements of the monastery Charter.
2. Do not leave the territory of the monastery without the blessing of the Abbot.
3. Strictly and promptly attend monastic services, according to the order accepted in the monastery: on weekdays it is obligatory to attend the Midnight Office, on holidays - all holiday services.
4. Behave reverently and decorously in the church during the service, both externally and internally: do not engage in idle conversations in the temple, do not walk around the temple during the service and do not leave before the end of the service without good reason, listen carefully to the service and pray yourself.
5. Confess to the confessor of the monastery weekly and receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ at least once a month. The confessor of the monastery is the Abbot. In his absence and with his blessing, confession can be accepted by any priest of the monastery. The time of general confession is the evening service on Saturday and the morning service on Sunday.
6. Attend the fraternal meal religiously and on time. In the refectory, behave decorously and reverently, as during a divine service, listening carefully to the reading offered. Missing or being late for meals is not allowed.
7. Do not keep food in your cell and do not eat food privately.
8. Do not hold or drink alcoholic beverages.
9. To submit to obediences in a timely manner and to fulfill them conscientiously, with full dedication, as before the face of God, treating one’s obedience as a matter that can serve for the salvation of the soul.
10. Do not take anything for yourself from the monastery property and from what is donated to the monastery without the blessing of the Abbot.
11. Limit your communication with outsiders to a minimum, do not accept any outsiders into your cell, do not use mobile phones without the blessing of the Viceroy.

Holidays and honored dates

Temples and Worships

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the scribe books of 1675, the temple built by the Monk Lucian in 1649 is described as follows: “In the sovereign’s palace Staroslobodskaya volost in the swamp, the monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lucian’s hermitage, and on the monastery there is a church in the name of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, wood for stone work about five chapters , the heads are scaly, the crosses are upholstered with white iron, and in the church there is God’s mercy...” There were a hundred images in the temple. To the right of the royal doors was the image of the Savior Almighty, Not Made by Hands, then the temple miraculous image of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life. To the left of the royal doors was the revered icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Passionate”, according to legend, brought by the monk from Moscow.

In the last years of the 17th century, through the diligence of the tonsured Lucian Hermitage, the abbot of the monastery from 1694 to 1696, and during the construction period - the cellarer of the Chudov Monastery, Hieromonk Joasaph (Koldychevsky), the construction of a five-domed stone cathedral began on the very spot where the image of the Queen of Heaven appeared and where stood the first wooden church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The construction of the cathedral continued under the builder, Hieromonk Moses (he ruled the monastery from 1696 to 1705). The temple was built at the expense of the Moscow merchant Onisim Feodorovich Shcherbakov and other zealots named in the annals of the monastery.

The cathedral was consecrated in 1712 by decree of Tsar Peter Alekseevich and the blessing of Metropolitan Stephen, Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, under the leadership of the Lucian Hermitage builder Abraham. The consecration was attended by the sisters of Tsar Peter Alekseevich, princesses Marfa and Feodosia Alekseevna.

The cathedral was five-domed and had a porch. The middle chapter of the cathedral was covered with white iron, the other four were covered with green tiles. The crosses on the domes were gilded. The cathedral had a five-tiered carved gilded iconostasis. To the right of the royal doors was an ancient image of the All-Merciful Savior in a silver-gilded robe, and behind it in a row was the miraculous image of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the form of a centerpiece inserted into the icon with the marks of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The decoration of the cathedral was attended by royal isographers from the school of icon painter Simon Ushakov and goldsmiths from the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.

Not only members of the royal family, but also the royal servants, persons of noble families close to the royal court took part in the improvement of the cathedral. At this time, numerous contributions were received from people of different classes: landowners, merchants, military officers of various ranks and other patrons and admirers of the monastery, including from residents of the city of Alexandrov. In the synodikon of the Lukian Hermitage, the boyars Miloslavsky (relatives of the first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich), Lopukhins (relatives of the first wife of Peter Alekseevich) and many noble and unknown families are remembered. This is how the prophecy of St. Lucian came true: “... and great people, princes and bolyars, and noble kings will visit you.”

White cathedral church with golden crosses only once required major repairs, which was done under the rector, Father Platon, in 1850. The porch that surrounded the cathedral with three sides, the outside was decorated with bright tiles with floral patterns. They were made at the monastery tile factory. The top of the cathedral was painted with frescoes of the twelve great holidays. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the cathedral was not painted from the inside. It was only by 1894 that its interior walls and, apparently, galleries were painted with scenes from the life of Jesus Christ in the Byzantine style and figures of individual saints. The cathedral was decorated with a porch made of white stone.

The majestic gilded six-tiered iconostasis of the cathedral housed ancient revered icons of the 16th-17th centuries: to the right of the royal doors is the image of the Savior not made by hands with two forthcoming Angels in a new silver robe, behind it in a row in an icon case under a carved canopy is the temple miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, inserted into a frame with twelve marks of the life of the Virgin Mary; to the left of the royal doors is the image of the “Passionate” Mother of God, brought by the Monk Lucian from Moscow, and the ancient Mother of God image of the “Burning Bush”. This image had stamps on which the apparitions of the Mother of God were depicted.

In 1893, under Abbot Jerome (abbot 1887 - 95), the monastery solemnly celebrated the 300th anniversary of the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We were seriously preparing for the celebrations. At this time, painting appears on the interior walls of the temple. Academic in style, in the style of late classicism, the paintings illustrated the life of Jesus Christ and depicted saints. The saints were placed below between the windows, gospel scenes - above the windows, three on each wall. The writing is chiaroscuro, the proportions are somewhat refined, the drawing is correct, the colorful combinations are restrained.

On the northern wall there were compositions: “Healing of the Man Born Blind”, “Sermon of John the Baptist in the Wilderness” and “Blessing of the Children”. In the bottom row between the windows were depicted the Reverends Cyril, Andrew and John.

On the south wall were depicted “The Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter,” “The Sermon on the Mount,” and “The Healing of the Paralytic.” Between the windows are St. Ephraim and Euthymius.

On the western wall there were three compositions: “The Baptism of Rus'”, “The Mother of God Enthroned with Saints” and “The Baptism of Olga”. Between the windows of the lower row were painted the saints Savvaty, Sergius and Jerome, Anthony and Theodosius, and Daniel.

After the monastery was closed in 1920, the central part of the cathedral was mainly used as a clothes dryer, therefore, by the grace and providence of God, most of the paintings have been preserved to this day. For now they delight the eyes of the brethren and the few pilgrims of our monastery, but in the future, we hope, they will again shine with their beauty for all those praying in the restored temple.

The facade repairs of the temple were carried out in the early 2000s, but, unfortunately, the restoration of the temple after the devastation of the atheistic years was limited to this.

The temple is under restoration.

Temple in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord

1658 - 1684

Under the Venerable Cornelius, a second temple was erected in the Lucian Hermitage in 1658 - in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord. This temple was warm, unlike the first cold one in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The Epiphany Church stood for ten years, after which the Monk Cornelius asked the Patriarch for blessings to dismantle it and rebuild it. “... a warm wooden church of the Epiphany of the Lord was built... Opposite the warm church there is a tented bell tower, there are seven bells on it, an iron clock is connected to the same bells” (scribe book for 1675).

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

By: Mon., Tue., Wed., Thursday, Fri., Sun.

By: Sat., holidays

To: Sun., holidays

In 1680, the wooden church was dismantled due to its disrepair, etc. Cornelius asked Patriarch Joachim for a blessing to build a new stone church. The new temple was completed in 1684, already under its successor, the builder Evagrius, and was consecrated on August 30 of the same year.

By building in it a chapel of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates, the heavenly patron of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich, the Monk Cornelius worthily honored with eternal prayerful memory the king-benefactor, who throughout his six-year reign favored Lucian's hermitage, both with his personal visits and contributions. The Tsar loved to make pilgrimage trips to Zalesye and repeatedly visited Lucian’s Hermitage on those occasions when his path passed in this direction. He revered Lucian’s miraculous image of the Nativity of the Mother of God, honored the memory of the founder of the desert, St. Lucian, and used the advice and instructions of St. Cornelius. And, as a consequence of his benevolence, he generously endowed Lucian’s hermitage with lands and lands. In the sacristy of the monastery, before the revolution, his original charters of 1677, 1678, 1680 and 1681 were preserved. to own the granted lands, which became the main source of wealth for the monastery. The monastery kept the memory of each personal visit of the king. It was September 19, 1677, when he went from Moscow to Alexandrov Sloboda and after that visited the Lukian Hermitage, September 21, 1678, under the same circumstances, September 15, 1679 on the way to Pereslavl Zalessky, having stayed in the desert for two days.

This wonderful temple, which still exists in the monastery with minor renovations, is a striking example of the skill of Russian architects of that time. Its two heads were covered with wooden scales, the cross with white iron, and the roof with planks. Inside the temple, everything was simple, free of pretentiousness, everything was conducive to prayer, the walls were not painted until the 20th century. The icons in the iconostases of two chapels - the Epiphany of the Lord and the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates - were large in size, not covered with vestments. They were decorated with chased silver crowns, gilded with stones, as well as pearl necklaces. In the four-tiered iconostasis of the main chapel, to the right of the royal doors, the temple icon of the Epiphany of the Lord was placed, and to the left of them was the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. This was one of the early copies of the icon brought from Athos to Moscow during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. Thus, the Goalkeeper of Mount Athos guarded Lucian’s monastery from the end of the 17th century.

In the refectory part of the temple, on the first pillar hung the image of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and around the image, which was a centerpiece, the Lord's and Theotokos' feasts were written; they were under a gilded silver frame.

There were fifteen bells on the bell tower: one large, one everyday weighing 21 pounds 28 pounds, seven small and six more small.

“Shelves” were made under the temple to store monastery property and household supplies.

In a special room there was the sacristy of the monastery, in which two ancient Gospels of the Moscow press (one from 1677, and the other from 1685), richly decorated, were kept, two silver-gilded crosses with particles of relics - contributions from admirers of the Lucian monastery, church vessels - the contribution of Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna. Four letters of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich and other monastic documents were kept here.

The temple iconostases were two-tiered. Unfortunately, they have not survived. It can be assumed that some icons were painted by famous painters; most likely they were local icons. In the synodikon of the Lucian Hermitage the names of the painters are recorded: sovereign Simon Ushakov, patriarchal Feodor Elizarov, painters of the Armory Chamber Karp Ivanov, sovereign Feodor Evstifeev. We can say with almost certainty that the temple icon that was in the iconostasis of the chapel of Theodore Stratilates. written by one of these painters.

In 1892, a tented porch was built in front of the bell tower.

In 1911 the temple was painted.

During the Soviet period, the domes were lost, the windows of the second floor and the refectory were chipped, the decoration of the facades was partially lost, the quadrangle was covered with a four-slope slate roof, the top was completely lost, and an additional entrance was attached to the altar. The wide arched opening connecting the main volume with the aisle was partially blocked. Before the monastery was transferred to the Church, there was a dining room in the church.

After the opening of the monastery, the Church of the Epiphany began to be restored very first. With God's help, all historical architectural forms were restored.

The temple is located in the central part of the monastery ensemble. This is a type of three-part pillarless temple of 2 lights. A tall, pillarless quadrangle unites the main volume of the temple itself and the northern aisle. The double-domed volume of the temple is quite rare for the architecture of the 17th century, as is the two-pillar refectory part elongated along the longitudinal axis. The temple and the refectory form a single, longitudinally elongated two-story volume, ending in the east with two faceted apses: a larger one in the south and a smaller side apse in the north. Above the eastern part of the total volume rises a quadrangle common to the main and side churches, elongated in the transverse direction and ending with two domes on round blind drums. From the west rises a tented bell tower with an octagonal ringing tier on a square base in plan and with two tiers of rumors in the tent. In front of the bell tower there is a porch with a tetrahedral tent on four pillars.

The warm winter refectory and warm temple premises were located on the first floor, and the summer ones on the second. The refectory halls on both floors are covered with a system of box vaults on strippings, supported by two square pillars. The premises of the Church of the Epiphany on both floors are larger, while the chapel of Theodore Stratelates is very small in size and has a small apse. Both the temple, its apse, and the chapel are covered with box vaults, while the apse of the chapel is covered with a faceted conch. The rooms on the sides of the bell tower have tray vaults.

Temple in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine

Catherine's Church is located in the northwestern part of the monastery ensemble. It stands next to the ruined remains of a hospital ward built at the end of the 17th century. The small temple, built of brick, initially received discreet decoration in the spirit of late classicism. The volume of the temple, rectangular in plan, extends from the north to the south and is completed with a late hipped roof with a bulbous dome on the original round blind drum.

Preparations for the construction of the temple began in 1712. On March 1, 150 barrels of lime were prepared for the hospital church, “500 fathoms of firewood were purchased for firing bricks for the construction of the hospital church.”

On May 13, 1713, the builder Avraamy submitted a petition to Tsar Peter Alekseevich “that they have not built a Church of God in the desert near the hospital, and many of the monks in the hospital, due to ancient times, cannot go to the cathedral church with the other brethren for the liturgy, and now Lieutenant Colonel Kirillo has promised to contribute to them Karpov’s son Sytin rebuilt a stone church in that hospital in the name of the Great Martyr Catherine” and asked permission to do so. Metropolitan Stefan, the guardian of the patriarchate, gave a blessed letter for the construction of the hospital church.

The temple was built at the expense of the landowner of the village of Dubrovy, Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Karpovich Sytin. The church building was built in 1714. Immediately behind the temple there was a brotherly cemetery; it was adjacent to the building of the monastery hospital for the convenience of attending services for the sick and infirm monks kept there. The temple was consecrated on November 10, 1714, at the request of the temple builder, in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine.

The first description of the Catherine Church dates back to 1718: “At the hospital there is a stone church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. The church has a wooden dome, upholstered with wooden scales, an iron cross with a gilded shine in one direction. There are six glass windows in the church and the sanctuary.”

The inventory of the monastery for 1756 noted that the church was “empty.” Apparently, by 1756, no services were held in the temple.

By 1772, the Church of the Great Martyr Catherine was “renovated by the landowner Karp Kirillovich Sytin.” Apparently, the son of Kirill Karpovich Sytin, at whose expense the temple was built.

In 1834, the building was rebuilt again “at the expense of the Alexander 2nd Guild of merchants Ivan, Grigory and Alexander Dmitrievich Ugolkov-Zubov.”

In 1891, a new ceiling, beating and floor were made in the Catherine Church. The temple and the sacristy are lined with brick on the outside and inside. cement mortar, again plastered and painted with oil paint. “Two crosses are gilded, the entire roof is painted copper, the entrance to it is reattached on the south side.” The interior of the temple is painted. The temple was re-consecrated on July 29, 1891.

The first iconostasis of the Catherine Church was built in 1714 in “one belt with carved pillars and a canopy over the royal doors, and a special mark.”

In 1806, the iconostasis was gilded and updated with newly painted images.

According to the decree of the spiritual consistory of February 16, 1833, it was allowed in the Catherine Church “to rebuild the iconostasis, which had become dilapidated and faded, and to paint icons in it again after the dilapidation of the previous ones.” This work was carried out at the expense of Ivan and Grigory Dmitriev Zubov.

In 1891, in the Catherine Church, “the iconostasis was rebuilt with new carvings, painted and gilded. The icons have all been corrected again.” This new three-tier iconostasis is described in the inventory of the Lucian Hermitage for 1895: “The carpentry iconostasis has three tiers. The Royal Doors are carved, with icons on them: the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, ... By right side the royal gates are icons of the Lord Almighty, ... On the southern door of the Archangel Gabriel, the Great Martyr Catherine, ... On the left side of the royal gates are icons of the Mother of God with the Eternal Child sitting on the throne... On the northern door of the Archangel Michael, All Saints ..., St. Nicholas. In the second tier there are icons: above the royal doors of the Last Supper. On the right side of the icon: the Life-Giving Trinity, the Epiphany of the Lord, the Ascension of the Lord. On the left side are the icons of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Christ, the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the third tier there are icons. In the middle is the Position of the Savior in the tomb. On the right side is the Prayer for the Cup, the Kiss of Judas, the Meeting of the Lord, the Transfiguration of the Lord. On the left side is the Descent from the Cross, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross of the Lord, the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” In this inventory behind the throne, “a seven-candlestick gilded metal candlestick on the same chains with seven cups is indicated... In the middle of the church there was a bleached copper chandelier, gilded in places with 24 candlesticks on iron chains, lowered along the booth.”

After the closure of the monastery in 1925, a club was equipped in the Catherine Church. IN post-war period in the monastery there was a nursing home where the elderly and “quietly insane” were kept (“violently insane” were sent to Vladimir). The Church of the Great Martyr Catherine with a hospital ward was adapted to the needs of this institution. In the altar part of the Catherine Church there was a bakery, and in the other part there was a bathhouse, which was heated with wood.

In the bathhouse there was a huge cauldron built into the stove, where water was heated, and next to it stood a huge, man-sized, vat for cold water. Water was supplied here by a water tanker. The working day of the bathhouse was as follows: one day was for men, the other was for women. The remaining days were given over to the laundry, where government-issued disabled clothes were washed by hand.

The home for the disabled was opened at the end of 1984, and since then the monastery has been formally on the balance sheet of the Vladimir Regional Department of Culture. But in fact, the monastery was left to the mercy of fate, the territory of the monastery was not guarded by anyone, and during these 7 years before the transfer of the monastery to the Church of the Deserts it suffered significant destruction. The buildings fell into disrepair and were dismantled for building materials. At this time, the hospital ward at the Catherine Church was also lost, and the temple itself fell into disrepair.

By: Sat., holidays

To: Sun., holidays

Lucian's hermitage

The history of the Lucianovo Monastery begins with the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God. In 1594 in the village. In Ignatyevo, not far from Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, a wooden Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God was built. One day, her priest Gregory entered and discovered that the temple icon had disappeared. The search did not yield any results. A few days later, one of the village residents found an icon in the nearby forest “standing about itself, in the air.” The icon was returned, but everything happened again. Then the priest turned to Patriarch Job of Moscow with a request to bless the transfer of the temple from the village. Ignatyevo to the place of the miraculous appearance of the icon. The blessing was given and the temple was moved. During the Time of Troubles it was abandoned.

The future Saint Lucian, in the world Hilarion, was born within the city of Galich. His parents Dimitri and Varvara, leading a strict and pious life, lamented their infertility. They made a special vow to God - to go to a monastery and there end their lives in repentance if He heard their prayer for a child who, having grown up, would be left in peace for the commemoration of their souls. God did not reject their prayers and gave them a son, who was named Hilarion in holy baptism. Literacy and especially Holy Scripture he learned from his father, who became a monk with the name Dionysius in the hermitage he built. From him the blessed youth adopted life as a feat, as salvation, learned prayer, fasting, night vigils, seeing a bright example in his father high life. Many were attracted by the image of faith of the monk Dionysius, and after the death of the elder, in memory of him, his disciples erected a church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity.

Wanting to find himself an experienced mentor for monastic exploits, Hilarion came to the monastery of Saints Athanasius and Cyril on the river. Mologe and [carried obedience for three years, gaining the respect and love of the entire monastery, starting with the abbot. But then the novice, to the bewilderment of everyone, secretly left the monks’ hostel, not accepting praise for it as a terrible danger to himself, and moved to the Intercession Monastery near the city of Uglich, founded by the Monk Paisius, but here for the same reason he also spent a short time. Striving for perfection, Hilarion sought solitude for himself in order to surrender more fully and diligently to God. The answer came to him invisibly - to go to the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky, to Sloboda Alexandrovskaya.

This was in 1640. From the villagers of Sloboda, Hilarion, to his joy, learned about the desert, remote from worldly places. Surrounded by a large forest and swamps, there was a church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary with the image of the Nativity of the Mother of God, miraculously remaining, despite the complete devastation and abandonment of this place. “I often went to this church,” the pious villager Mark from the village told Hilarion. Avksentyevo, which is four miles from Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, - and prayed with tears before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, so that in that place she would grant a good inhabitant, and we would be saved under his leadership.” Hilarion's soul was touched by the news about the icon of the Mother of God, to which he had been particularly attached since his youth. From Mark he heard a wondrous story of how the holy icon of the Mother of God miraculously moved three times through the air from the village of Ignatieva to a place chosen by Her, near the swamp dug up by Bogoroditsky, also known as Pskovitinovo Ramenye. Soon here, led by the Providence of God, the hieromonk of Theodosius from the monastery of the Savior came from the Dologda lands.

He formed Hilarion with the desire to share his labors and especially with a lively story about how during prayer he heard Her voice: “Theodosius, go to the Pereslavl borders of Zalesskie and cover my church there, open and desolate.” Feodosia went to look for this church in the Chereslavl lands, carefully asking about it. With difficulty he reached the desert, and his joy knew no end when he saw the Church of the Mother of God with Her icon. In Hieromonk Theodosius, Hilarion found for himself a presbyter sent from above, who would perform monastic tonsure on him, which happened in the 30th year of his life. Hilarion was tonsured Lucian, having received fatherly instructions from the hieromonk as a novice. They restored the temple, and several more people joined them.

They wanted to build a new one on the site of the dilapidated Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, asked for the patriarch’s blessing, prepared timber, but Archimandrite Joseph of the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir, who had charge of the Simeonovsky Monastery near Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, came with unkind people, stole the logs, dispersed the brethren, and Lucian was sent in chains to Moscow, slandered in his unclean life. Lucian was assigned to menial work at the Chudov Monastery. The monk humbled himself and carried out the most difficult work. Full of meekness and gentleness, he spiritually shone within the walls of the Kremlin monastery and surprised all its inhabitants, especially Abbot Kirill. Some time later, the monk Tikhon, a resident of the monastery of the All-Merciful Savior, also called the Kozieruchevsky monastery, arrived from the Arkhangelsk lands to Moscow, asking the Moscow patriarch to bless a capable leader in this northern monastery. Patriarch Joseph could not refuse the messenger of the monastery of the All-Merciful Savior. He began to ask his closest servants where to find a good old man and builder for the orphaned monastery? Miracle Archimandrite Kirill said: “I have a valiant monk in my monastery, intelligent and experienced in everything, who may well become abbot.” The Holy Patriarch was surprised at such a kind word about the monk sent for correction, and immediately sent for him. He asked the monk in detail about his origin and monastic feat, saw the depth and strength of his mind, as well as the bright humility of his soul. The Patriarch ordained the monk Lucian as a hierodeacon, and then as a hieromonk, and appointed him to the Arkhangelsk monastery. This happened in 1646. The main task of the new abbot was the construction of the monastery, which he began diligently and carefully, without abandoning his virtuous life as a monk. Temples were erected in the monastery. But through the monk Tikhon the expulsion of the Monk Lucian took place.

He did not resist and, having thanked the Gracious Savior for everything, blessed the brethren and went from the monastery to his former places of prayer, to his beloved hermitage, which is behind the Alexander Sloboda, to the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God. He was expelled again and returned for the third time with a new patriarchal blessed letter. With him came the pious, living hundreds of merchants Gerasim Shevelev, Timofey Rabenskoy, John Gavrilov, son of Shiltsov, from the Chudov Monastery Theodore the Foreigner, from the gardeners - Onisim Borisov, son of Gorlov - they formed a spiritual army, from which the former haters of the desert retreated. The third move into it began: they cut down two cells for everyone, then began to move into the church buildings. The merchants brought timber with their support, they paid for the entire temple building, and they themselves, leaving Moscow, took on the monastic rank. The Monk Lucian, communicating with people who were very busy in life, could not keep silent about himself, who loved solitude, about his desert, chosen by the Queen of Heaven Herself, who blessed this place with her icon. The pious people of Moscow were imbued with love and jealousy for the holy place from what they heard in the Chudov Monastery.

The royal stoker Alexander Feodorov, son of Borkov, as well as Pereslavl Timofey Ioannov, son of Mikulaev, also a prominent person in Moscow. After consulting with the Monk Lucian, they asked Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, as well as His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow, to issue a charter and blessing for the construction of the desert, and to approve Hieromonk Lucian as a permanent servant in it. Everything for the complete establishment of the desert was given into the hands of the monk. The merchants of Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda asked the Monk Lucian to create a monastery of nuns from Sloboda at the dilapidated Church of the Assumption, in which, moreover, they wanted to see him as a shepherd and trustee. At first he refused, considering himself sinful and unworthy of such acts, but then, due to many requests merchant people, who defeated him with their love for him, humbly agreed. Together with them, he departed for Moscow, where they appeared before the sovereign of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich himself and Patriarch Nikon with a request to build a monastery in the once famous royal Sloboda, for which an order was received - to build a nunnery, as well as the blessing of the patriarch for the restoration of the Assumption Church and its sanctification. Having returned, the monk built a monastery, fencing it on all sides, and also cutting down the cells. The Church of the Assumption was built in splendor for prayer and consecrated. This happened in 1654. The monastery became a communal monastery and consisted of 20 sisters, and an abbess was assigned to them. The monk was a shepherd and father for them, tirelessly caring for everything necessary for life and salvation. Abbot Lucian had two monasteries under his care. Everyone looked at him as a living image of monastic life, striving in every possible way to imitate him in the exploits of faith. While caring for two monasteries, the monk often visited Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, pastorally instructing not only the sisters of the monastery, but also the people who came to it.

The Monk Lucian reposed in 1654, on the patronal feast day of his monastery. He was small in stature, with gray streaks in his thick brown beard. The monk predicted an imminent disaster - a pestilence that occurred three years after his death. Everything he said came true exactly. Then the doubters remembered the prophecies of the saint and were imbued with great respect for him.

The first successor of the monk was Hierodeacon Onuphrius, but he did not remain in this title for long - from 1654 to 1657. The most significant successor of the Monk Lucian was the Monk Cornelius, elected by the brotherhood and ordained a hieromonk by the most holy patriarch. Both monasteries became famous far beyond their borders for their high spiritual order and external splendor.

Since 1658, Cornelius was “made the builder and confessor of both his monastery and the maiden monastery (in Alexandrova Sloboda).” At the request of the abbess of the Assumption Monastery, Anisiy, the saint's blessing and a letter were received, in which the monk was ordered to live in the Assumption Monastery and to travel to the Lukian Hermitage “from week to week.” The mentoring of the hieromonks of the Lucian Hermitage in the Assumption Monastery continued until its closure; its last confessor was Abbot Ignatius.

Under the monk Cornelius, a second, warm temple was erected in the Lucian Hermitage - the Epiphany. A tented bell tower was built.

In 1675, “there were 15 cells in the monastery, and Elder Cornelius and his brethren lived in them. The holy gate is tented. The monastery is surrounded by a fence. Behind the monastery there is a stable and cattle yard.”

The wooden Epiphany Church was dismantled in 1680, and in its place construction began on the stone Church of the Epiphany with the chapel of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates, the guardian angel of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich, who repeatedly visited the monastery. The temple was consecrated already under the successor of the Monk Cornelius, Evagrius. In 1892, a tented porch was built in front of the bell tower.

In the 18th century A stone chapel was built over the grave of St. Lucian (its ruins, covered with an iron roof with a dome and a cross, are located on the southern side of the Epiphany Church). The Lukian Hermitage was patronized by the sovereigns Theodore Alekseevich, John and Peter Alekseevich, who granted it lands. Particularly notable for their care for the desert were the guards of the royal court, Alexy and Timofey Likhachev, who deserved eternal commemoration from the brethren. The Monk Cornelius died on August 24, 1681. After the Monk Cornelius, the monastery was ruled by the builder Evagrius from 1681 to 1689.

In 1689, while in the Assumption Monastery of Alexandrova Sloboda, His Holiness Patriarch Joachim “on the 20th day of September... granted in Alexandrov Sloboda of the Pereslavl district of Zalessky the Lukyanova hermitage to the builder Elder Andreyan and his brothers of alms 10 rubles.” The builder Adrian ruled the monastery from March 9, 1689 to 1690, and after him Sergius ruled from 1690 to 1693. In the monastery in 1694-1696. the abbot's building was built (added in the 1950s), at the beginning of the 19th century. - fraternal corps, treasury in 1690

In the last years of the 17th century. Through the zeal of the tonsured Lucian Hermitage, rector of the Hermitage (from 1694 to 1696), and during the construction period, the cellarer of the Chudov Monastery, Hieromonk Joasaph (Kolychevsky), the construction of a stone five-domed cathedral began on the site of the appearance of the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (and where the first wooden Church of the Nativity stood Mother of God).

The construction of the cathedral continued under the builder, Hieromonk Moses (he ruled the monastery from 1696 to 1705, and retired from 1709). The temple was built with funds from the Moscow merchant Onisim Feodorovich Shcherbakov and other zealots named in the annals of the monastery. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated in 1712 under the rector Hieromonk Abraham (appointed rector in 1705, elevated to the rank of hegumen in 1717, ruled the monastery until 1719).

The consecration was attended by the sisters of Tsar Peter Alekseevich, princesses Marfa and Feodosia Alekseevna.

In the cathedral, after many years of ruin and neglect, large fragments of paintings from the mid-19th century have been preserved. In 1714, at the expense of Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Karpovich Sytin, the owner of the village neighboring the desert. Dubrov, the father of Elizaveta Kirillovna Shubina (nee Sytina), buried near the cold cathedral, a stone hospital church of the Great Martyr Catherine was built. In 1713, the abbot of the Abrahamia monastery submitted a petition to Tsar Peter Alekseevich, “that they had not built a Church of God in the desert near the hospital, and many of the hospital monks, due to ancient times, could not go to the cathedral church with the other brethren, and now Lieutenant Colonel Kirilo was promised to contribute to them Karpov’s son Sytin to build a new stone church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine at that hospital.” The church was rebuilt in 1834 at the expense of the Alexandrovsky 2nd guild of merchants, brothers Ivan, Grigory, Alexander Dmitrievich Ugolkov-Zubov. There were hospital cells near the church. The southern part of the stone fence with the holy gate (the gate was destroyed during Soviet times) and two towers were also built. Under the builder Abraham, a synodik and a deposit book were established in the monastery. Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky) Fr. Abraham in 1717 was elevated to the rank of abbot. He died in 1719 and was buried under the altar of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1719, the monastery was ruled by Abbot Joasaph (d. 1724). In his place on August 12, 1724, the builder Joasaph was appointed, and on January 22, 1727, he was transferred to the Pereslavl Danilov Monastery.

In 1728, the sacristan hieromonk Onuphry and all the brethren of the Lukyanova Hermitage turned to Emperor Peter II with a request to restore the abbot in the Lukyanova Hermitage. “Your pilgrims, the Pereyaslavsky district of Zalessky, the Lukoyan hermitage, hieromonks and hierodeacons and all the brethren, beat their foreheads. By decree... of Sovereign Peter the Great... and with the blessing of the then ruler of the throne of the All-Russian Patriarchate, His Eminence Stefan of Yavorsky, Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom, in 1717, in the monastery of our Lukoyan Hermitage, an abbot was created from the builders, and Abrahamia was dedicated as the first abbot, and after his death... hegumens were appointed to our monastery: Hieromonk Varlaam was from Pereslavl from the Nikitsky Monastery, and after him... Hieromonk Joasaph was the abbot of our Lukoyan Hermitage, and after him, Joasaph, was from Pereslavl, Borisoglebsk the builder of the monastery was Joasaph, and from us he was taken to Pereslavl in the Danilov Monastery to become an archimandrite, and when the former Novogorod Archbishop Theodosius was in charge and a decree was announced from the Holy Governing Synod to diminish the power of the monasteries and assign small monasteries to large ones, then in Our monastery's abbess was cut short, and now among us, your pilgrims, a builder has been commissioned - that's another year - of our monastery, Hieromonk Joseph, and he is an ancient man, and weak, and comes to the church in need, and cannot endure his service. And now we... seeing your all-merciful mercy, that in many monasteries the previous ranks of rulership have been renewed and are honored to continue to exist, for this reason we, the pilgrims, and in our monastery Lukoyanov Hermitage, both we are monks and contributors, from the general We wish to have consent as before to have the abbot, whom, according to us... we have now chosen the Miracle Monastery, which is in the Kremlin, Hieromonk Macarius, seeing and seeing him worthy of being an abbot for this reign... by decree of His Imperial Majesty, the Most Holy Governing Synod ordered: of the above-mentioned Chudov Monastery, Hieromonk Macarius, to the aforementioned Lukoyanov Hermitage... to make hegumen...". On October 5, 1728, Hieromonk Macarius was elevated to abbot of the Lukyanova Hermitage; on October 27, 1729, he was dismissed due to illness.

On October 29, 1729, the former builder of the Solbinsky Monastery, Varlaam, was appointed rector of the Lukyanova Hermitage. He ruled the Lukyanova Hermitage until 1732. In 1732, Abbot Varlaam was released due to illness, witnessed by the brethren of the Lukyanova Hermitage, up to 20 people. His place of residence was indicated as Nikolskaya Hermitage on the river. Solbe.

The construction of the walls (a stone fence with seven towers was built in 1712-1733) was completed under the abbot, Abbot Macarius (he ruled the monastery from 1730 to 1733).

In 1733, hieromonk Jessei from the Spaso-Kukotsky Monastery was appointed rector of the Lukian Monastery, with the elevation to the rank of hegumen; he is mentioned in the documents of the monastery until 1740

From 1754 to 1755 the monastery was ruled by Abbot Bogolep. In 1764, with the establishment of states, the abbots of the Lucian Hermitage were no longer in the rank of abbot, but of construction. Hieromonk Ioannikiy, transferred from the Peshnosha Monastery, ruled the Lucian Desert from 1767 to 1772.

In 1771, at the request of the residents of the city of Alexandrov, an annual religious procession with a miraculous icon was established in the sixth week of Easter from the Lucian Hermitage to Alexandrov in memory of the deliverance of the city and the surrounding area from the plague. On the way to the village. Baksheev had a prayer service for the miraculous icon with blessing of water, then three more, the last in Alexandrov, in Sloboda Sadovnaya, where the icon was greeted by a procession of the clergy of the Alexandrovsky Monastery and the city Transfiguration Church. After Ioannikiy, the builders ruled: Filaret (from 1773 to 1777), and Macarius (from 1792 to 1798).

Since 1792, the rector of the Lukian Hermitage was Hegumen Macarius, in the world the priest Yakov Ozeretskovsky. (until 1792 - abbot of the Arkhangelsk Monastery in the city of Yuryev-Polsky, buried in the Lucianova Monastery). He was the father of two famous persons in Russian history: the natural scientist and traveler, academician Nikolai Yakovlevich Ozeretskovsky (1750-1827) and the first chief priest of the army and navy, Pavel Yakovlevich Ozeretskovsky (1758-1807).

On September 17, 1799, Lucian's builder Joasaph was transferred to the Vyaznikovsky Annunciation Monastery, and from there Hieromonk Theophilus was transferred to Lucian's Hermitage.

At the beginning of the 19th century. the monastery was run by hieramonks Andrei and Nikandr

In 1804, the monastery was managed by the builder Hieromonk Nikon, prefect of the Vladimir Theological Seminary, from 1810 to 1811 - by the builder Ignatius.

In 1815, the rector was Hieromonk Israel. From 1818 to 1825 it was managed by the builder Cyprian.

Under Abbot Platon in 1850, the cathedral was overhauled, and the porch surrounding it on three sides is decorated with tiles.

The hotel located outside the monastery fence was built under Abbot Macarius (Mikhail Mylnikov, a native of Murom, one of the merchants, died 1874), who was abbot from 1860 to 1874. In his youth, he was a novice for 9 years in the Sarov Hermitage, then moved to Spaso-Vifansky monastery, where in 1838 he took monastic vows and was named Macarius, in 1843 he entered the Makhrishchi monastery, was in the Nyametsky monastery and honored the memory of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, in 1860 he was assigned as a builder to the Lucian Hermitage, in 1861 he was elevated to the rank of hegumen . He was awarded a gold pectoral cross and the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. At this time, there were 30 brethren in the monastery, 3-4 hieromonks and 2-3 hierodeacons.

In 1893, in the monastery, under Abbot Jerome and with the participation of the abbess of the Assumption Convent, Abbess Euphrasia, the 300th anniversary of the appearance of the miraculous icon was solemnly celebrated.

IN late XIX V. the two original square corner towers on the south wall have been replaced by new round ones.

In 1916, Abbot Cornelius was the rector. In 1920, the Venerable Martyr Elijah (Vyatlin) entered the Lukian Hermitage and was tonsured a monk here. He was born on February 24, 1867 in the village. Kariyskoye, Alexandrovsky district, Vladimir province, in the family of the peasant Ivan Vyatlin, who raised his son in faith and piety. Having come of age, Ilya Ivanovich got married and in 1892 he and his wife had a son, Pavel. Ilya Ivanovich worked at a weaving factory in the city of Alexandrov as a weaver and served in the church. Having become a widower, he made a firm decision to enter a monastery. Questions of his own salvation, prayer and faith always came first for him, and for him it seemed unimportant that a revolution had occurred and persecution had begun. In 1922, the monastic hostel was ruined by the godless authorities; Monk Elijah was ordained a hieromonk and began to serve in one of the churches in the city of Alexandrov. In the summer of 1937, churches in Alexandrov were closed and the priesthood was arrested. Father Ilya was not arrested then, most likely because the NKVD considered him too old; he was then seventy years old. On June 27, 1937, he settled in the village. Eremeevo, Istrinsky district, Moscow region, and began to serve here in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord.

However, the wave of arrests did not escape this village either. On February 20, 1938, the local NKVD detective sent a report to his superiors about the need to arrest the priest “as a notorious enemy of the people.” On February 25, an arrest warrant was issued for the priest; in support of the arrest it was written that Fr. Elijah said: “The Soviet government drove all the peasants into the collective farm and tortures them, and we, the priests, were completely strangled by the Soviet government. The Bolsheviks are not taking us here, that’s where I used to serve as a priest, they took everyone there and put them in prison.” February 28, 1938 Fr. Elijah was arrested. The interrogation report states that Fr. Elijah said: Since I am a person convinced of the faith, I do not like the policy of the Soviet government, which agitates against religion, so I really told the parishioners that the Soviet government had completely strangled religion and we, priests and peasants on collective farms, were being tortured and not allowed to believe in God..." On April 5, 1938, Hieromonk Elijah (Vyatlin) was shot at the Butovo firing range near Moscow, and thrown into one of the ditches in which lie tens of thousands of people shot at this firing range.

In the 1920s the monastery was closed, the monks were ordered to leave it, and the churches, as monuments of antiquity, were placed under the protection of the museum created on the territory of the Assumption Monastery in the city of Alexandrov. In 1922, the monks, warned by well-wishers about the impending arrest, left the hermitage, taking with them what they could take away. The remaining icons and shrines went to the museum, some of them were destroyed and desecrated. The desert was devastated beyond recognition.

In 1924, a school was located in the Church of the Epiphany, in 1925 a club was set up in the Catherine Church, the chapel of St. Lucian was destroyed in 1926. Later, a prison was set up in the monastery. In the 1970s There was a hospital in the abbot's building. The location of the miraculous icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God taken to the museum in Alexandrov is currently unknown. The buildings housed a home for the disabled.

May 12, 1991 The Mother of God of the Nativity of Lucian Hermitage was revived. On this day, the first religious procession took place with the icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bequeathed by St. Lucian. It was headed by His Eminence Eulogius, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal.

The solemn procession followed from the Trinity Cathedral of the Holy Dormition Women's Monastery into the desert with a large crowd of people. This marked the beginning of the resumption of the Lucian monastery - the first monastery opened in the Vladimir-Suzdal diocese after a 70-year period of persecution of the Church. Abbot Dosifey (Danilenko) became the rector. Alexander's parishioners with great zeal and love help the monks in the restoration of their monastery, so famous in the past.