Bobrenev Monastery (Бобренев Монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox religious complex on the outskirts of Kolomna. According to a legend it was found by Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy and his commander D.M. Bobrok- Volinsky who played a key role in the victory over Mongol Hoards at Kulikovo Field in 1380. Nothing remains of the original medieval structure since it was reconstructed in the 18th century. Main cathedral of the convent Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin was also constructed around that time. Winter Church of Saint Theodore as well as living quarters date back to 1860. South gates of Bobrenev monastery were erected in a shape of a triumphal arch. It offers a picturesque panorama of the Moskva (Moscow) river below. Like many other religious complexes in Russia, Bobrenev Monastery was closed by the atheists in 1930. Many of the monks were executed or send to Siberia. Abbey was re- opened only in 1992.
The monastery has been documented since 1578. The circumstances and
time of its foundation are not known for certain.
The most
popular, especially in recent times, is the story that it was founded by
the voivode Bobrok (commander of the ambush regiment in the Battle of
Kulikovo). Visitors to the monastery are told that upon returning from
Kulikovo Field to Kolomna, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy vowed to
build a holy monastery in honor of the feast of the Nativity of the
Virgin (the day of victory over Mamai). This promise was fulfilled the
following year.
According to another version, the monastery was
founded by the repentant robber Bobrenya. Etymologists indicate the
likelihood of the origin of the toponym on behalf of the founder -
Bobren or Bobren (a diminutive of "beaver").
The monastery was
founded not in Kolomna, but on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. He
became the "watchman" of Kolomna and allegedly participated in the
defense of Moscow as a link in the defensive line in the southeast
(although until the end of the 16th century it was never mentioned in
any document).
The cathedral church, mentioned in 1654 by Paul of Aleppo, was pretty
dilapidated by the beginning of the 18th century. Officers' inventories
of 1763 report that the construction of a new brick cathedral began in
1757. The second monastery church - the entrance to Jerusalem -
preserved in the XVIII century its ancient appearance of a refectory
with a hipped temple. The same officer inventory points to another stone
structure - the Holy Gates, everything else was wooden.
In 1790,
under Bishop Athanasius of Kolomna, instead of the existing temple, a
church of a new architectural form was erected on two floors with a
refectory at the top - the church in the name of Alexy the Man of God.
Then the abbot's chambers and the bishop's house were built, which in
the summer served as the summer residence of the Kolomna bishop.
In 1800, after the transfer of the Kolomna hierarchal see to Tula, the
remaining vacant hierarchical house in Kolomna was converted by
Metropolitan Platon into the Trinity Novo-Golutvin Monastery, to which
the monks from the Staro-Golutvin Monastery were transferred, and at the
same time, to this latter was attributed Bobrenev monastery with all the
surrounding land.
In 1830, the church, built in 1790, was
converted from a two-story church into a one-story one, the main throne
- the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos - was moved down, the upper
floor was broken down and the windows were blocked, the throne of Alexy
the Man of God was abolished. Since this temple was cold, two chapels
were arranged in the refectory for the winter service: on the right - in
honor of the Kazan Icon, and on the left - in honor of the Feodorovskaya
Icon of the Mother of God.
In 1850, the Bobrenev Monastery again
gained independence. In 1861, the benefactor D. I. Khludov, with the
blessing of St. Philaret, was built on the site where a residential
building with a church inside the Entrance to Jerusalem existed and was
destroyed by time, a separate warm temple in the name of the
Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God with two chapels: the Kazan Icon
Mother of God and Saint David of Thessalonica. Instead of the
dilapidated fraternal premises, two stone buildings were built with all
the overhead accessories, and arable land was donated in addition.
Probably, in the second half of the 19th century, outbuildings of
the monastery appeared and the additional area of the site, donated by
D. I. Khludov, is surrounded by a new stone fence, repeating the
architectural forms of the fence of the late 18th century.
The
Bobrenev Monastery was elevated on July 29, 1865 to the level of an
independent monastery in order to have one rector, one treasurer and 15
brethren in it. By the end of the 19th century, a three-tiered carved
iconostasis, an icon of ancient painting, was gilded in the Cathedral of
the Nativity of the Virgin.
At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the monastery was known for
its medical care to the surrounding population and Kolomna residents. On
April 14, 1903, a parochial school was opened by Hegumen Varlaam at the
Bobrenev Monastery. Until the closing of the monastery, prayers were
offered here daily for the soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo field.
In 1929, the monastery was closed and desecrated: the Cathedral of
the Nativity of the Mother of God and the Feodorovskaya Church were used
for many decades as warehouses for storing mineral fertilizers.
Buildings and structures began to fall into disrepair. By 1987, the
entire monastery was in disrepair, the stable and hay sheds were
dismantled, the fortress walls, the cathedral and two fraternal
buildings were partially preserved.
In 1989-1990, Patriarch Pimen
and then Patriarch Alexy II corresponded with the Council of Ministers
of the RSFSR about the transfer of the monastery to the church. As soon
as Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' blessed the opening of the
monastery in March 1991, repair and restoration work began there. The
restoration of the monastery was undertaken by the community of the
Church of All Saints on Sokol, headed by the headman Boris Kudinkin. In
the fraternal building, a house church was built, restoration of the
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Fedorov Church began.
The first rector was hegumen Ignatius (Krekshin), a student of
Alexander Men. Together with him, the brethren of the monastery were
Hieromonk Ambrose (Timrot), Hieromonk Philip (Simonov), and Hierodeacon
Dimitry. On July 18, 1992, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna
celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the resurgent monastery.
September 4, 1992 Boris Kudinkin died; the funds allocated to them for
the restoration of the monastery dried up. On the day of the Holy
Spirit, June 7, 1993, Patriarch Alexy II visited the monastery.
According to the memoirs of Deacon Alexander Zanemonets, “The monastery
was founded by the children of Fr. Alexander Men, so that openness to
the world and to heterodox Christians was an important part of the
identity of the monastic community, which was fully supported by its
bishop, Metropolitan Juvenaly, who for many years was associated with
the ecumenical ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church. They say that o.
Ignatius saw the French community of Teze as an example for his
monastery, the main thing for which is the ministry of youth and the
ministry of reconciliation of Christians. The Bobrenev fathers
themselves were then a little over 30… <…> In the nineties, the
monastery was gradually rebuilt and restored, carried out parish
service, like many other Russian monasteries. Most of the parishioners
were residents of Kolomna. Moscow youth also came. The fathers of the
monastery were among the first teachers of the Kolomna Theological
School, which eventually turned into the Kolomna Seminary <...> by the
mid-nineties, the monastery - instead of flourishing - began to decline.
<...> In 1998, Fr. Ignatius was removed from the position of abbess, and
he himself, and the whole community, left the walls of the monastery
with him.
In 1998, a new hegumen was appointed - Ignatius
(Zhidkov), who changed both the appearance of the monastery and its
inner life. It was under him that the monastery began to recover
quickly. However, it was not possible to restore the monastery complex,
most of which was in ruins.
In 2017, the monastery was included
in the “Culture of the Moscow Region” program, design work was carried
out, and in 2019 the restoration of the main cathedral began. On
September 22, 2020, on the day of the memory of the holy righteous
Fathers of God Joachim and Anna, Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov)
performed a great consecration of the restored Cathedral of the Nativity
of the Most Holy Theotokos.
On February 2, 2021, the Bank of
Russia issued a commemorative silver coin with a face value of 3 rubles
“The Nativity of the Virgin Bobrenev Monastery, Moscow Region” of the
“Architectural Monuments of Russia” series.
Since 2013, hegumen Peter (Dmitriev) has been the abbot of the
monastery. Restoration work continues. There is a Sunday school, active
local history work is carried out. In 2014, the Society of Church
History Lovers named after the clergyman Theodosius, Bishop of
Kolomensky was established at the monastery - a local branch of the
Union of Local Historians of Russia since 2016.
The shrines of
the monastery are: the Fedorovskaya icon of the Mother of God, a cross
with a particle of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, an icon with a
particle of the relics of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, an icon of St.
The two-story cathedral church of the Nativity of the Virgin was
built from 1757 to 1790. In the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin
there is a side chapel, which was nicknamed "the temple of singing
angels." This place has unique acoustics: when one chorister sings in
the choirs (even very quietly), it seems as if they are singing from
everywhere. It is impossible to indicate a clear direction of the sound
source.
The octagonal bell tower topped with a tent on a square
base typologically goes back to the examples of the 17th century,
however, the interpretation of architectural forms and baroque details
allow it to be considered modern to the cathedral.
The rectory
building is a two-story brick building. The first floor belongs to the
bishop's house of the end of the 18th century, the upper one was built
on in 1861. The two-storey cell building is made of bricks. The lower
floor belongs to the abbot's cells of the end of the 18th century, the
upper one was built in 1861. The one-storey cell and stable buildings
are modest brick buildings, interesting in the form of window and door
openings with a triangular top.
The fence along the eastern and
southern borders of the territory with four round two-tiered towers at
the corners was built in 1790-1795 in pseudo-Gothic style. The
attribution of these structures to Matvey Kazakov is not seriously
substantiated.
The elegant decoration of snow-white towers
against the background of red-brick walls gives them great decorative
effect. The fence on the western and northern sides of the monastery was
erected in the middle of the 19th century, reproducing the nature of the
architecture of the 18th century.