Tikhonova Uspenskaya Pustyn (Kaluga
Piously-Tikhonov Pustyn) is a male monastery of the Russian Orthodox
Church located in the village of Lev Tolstoy, Kaluga Region. It is
one of the parishes of the Kaluga diocese.
The monastery was
founded by St. Tikhon of Medyn, presumably in 1485. It is one of the
oldest monasteries in the upper reaches of the Oka, and is also one
of the most prominent monuments of historical and cultural heritage
of local importance in the Kaluga region.
In 1918 the
Tikhonova Pustyn was closed and declared “the first Soviet cultural economy
to them. Lenin ". In the early 1920s, an agricultural technical
school for the disabled was located on the territory of the
monastery. After some time, a military unit was stationed in the
buildings.
On April 5, 1991, by the decision of the Kaluga
Regional Executive Committee, 15.5 hectares of land with a source
were transferred to the Kaluga diocese of the Russian Orthodox
Church. And by the decision of the Kaluga Regional Executive
Committee of September 16, 1991, the natural component of the
territory of the Tikhonova Pustyn was declared a natural monument of local
importance. Since 1993, there has been a phased transfer of monastic
buildings.
The male monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage was founded in the second half of the
15th century by the Monk Tikhon of Medyn, the Wonderworker of Kaluga
(+1492).
During its centuries-old history, closely connected with
the historical development of the Russian state, the monastery of
Tikhonov Pustyn has experienced periods of prosperity and desolation
more than once. During the Time of Troubles in 1610, the monastery of
St. Tikhon was destroyed by the troops of False Dmitry II, but 20 years
later, with the hard work of the brethren, it was restored again. In
1684, Tikhonov Hermitage was assigned to the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.
Having lost its independence, the monastery gradually fell into decay.
In 1765, with the transfer of church institutions to the spiritual
states, the Tikhonov Monastery again gained independence, and its new
revival began.
By the middle of the 19th century, this monastery
became one of the most famous in Russia. Many miracles and healings
performed at the shrine over the whole-bearing relics of St. Tikhon and
at his Holy Spring attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over
the country to the monastery.
The second half of the 19th century
was the time of the spiritual flourishing of the Tikhonov Hermitage and
significant construction transformations of the monastery complex. In
many ways, the spiritual growth of the inhabitants of the monastery was
associated with the establishment of close ties between the two deserts:
Tikhonova and Vvedenskaya Optina, where eldership flourished at that
time. From 1837 to 1857, the builder of Tikhonov's Hermitage was hegumen
Geronty (Vasiliev), a cell-attendant of the famous Reverend Optina Elder
Lev. And in 1858, Archimandrite Moses (Krasilnikov) became the rector of
the Tikhon monastery. 37 years of his presidency (until 1895) became the
"golden period" in the history of the monastery. During the reign of
Father Moses, the spiritual life of the monastery flourished, and great
work was carried out to build and renovate the monastery complex.
In 1879–1886 The Transfiguration Cathedral was rebuilt, where since
1610 the relics of St. Tikhon were kept under a bushel. In 1894, the
construction of a five-tiered bell tower about 75 meters high was
completed. At the beginning of the 20th century, the majestic Assumption
Cathedral in the Byzantine style was erected on the site of the ancient
Assumption Church. During this period, a hospital building with a temple
in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" and a
church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a fraternal
refectory were also built. About 230 inhabitants labored in the
monastery, there were three types of monastic life: cenobitic, skete and
hermit. A candle factory operated in the monastery, there were three
baths at St. Tikhon's spring and land.
After the coup d'état of
1917, Tikhonov Hermitage, like many other monasteries in Russia, was
closed by the godless authorities (October 12, 1918). In Soviet times,
the monastery was completely destroyed, some of its churches and
buildings were wiped off the face of the earth, icons, church utensils
and other material values were confiscated. Despite this, the Monk
Tikhon was always invisibly present in his monastery and preserved it.
Through the prayers of the first hegumen of the monastery, in 1991,
the revival of Tikhon's Hermitage began: the construction of a new
church over the "well of the Monk Tikhon" instead of the old, destroyed
one, as well as the improvement of the area around the Holy Spring.
Another significant event took place in 1992, when the Orthodox Church
celebrated a joyful anniversary - the 500th anniversary of the repose of
St. Tikhon the Wonderworker. For the first time in the history of the
Kaluga land, the jubilee celebration was led by His Holiness Patriarch
Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'. The celebration of the day of
remembrance of the Reverend took place especially solemnly and
majestically. At the confluence of a huge number of people at the source
of St. Tikhon, the Patriarch performed a prayer service for the blessing
of water. And soon, in November 1993, by the decision of the Holy Synod
of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage
Monastery was officially opened.
25 years have passed since the
beginning of the revival of the monastery. With many labors of the newly
assembled brethren, the ancient monastery, destroyed during the years of
atheistic power, was restored. Today, great changes have taken place in
the monastery of St. Tikhon: the cathedral in honor of the Assumption of
the Most Holy Theotokos has been restored, as well as the St. Nicholas
and Sorrowful churches, the cathedral in honor of the Transfiguration of
the Lord has been rebuilt, where the relics of the Reverend rest under a
bushel in the lower Tikhon church. Three sketes were created: in honor
of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" with two baths and
in the name of St. Ephraim the Syrian. In memory of the Great Standing
on the Ugra River in 1480, as well as for spiritual help and service to
people, the Vladimir Skete was built three kilometers from the monastery
- in which there is a temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God
"Vladimirskaya" with a lower church in the name of St. Sergius of
Radonezh and museum complex with the diorama "Great Standing on the
Ugra".
Today, in the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage, a great work of
spiritual transformation of human souls is taking place. The inhabitants
of the holy monastery daily perform services, pray for all donors and
parishioners, strive to be an example for their contemporaries,
sacrificially serving God and neighbors. In order to bring people out of
spiritual oblivion, show them the true meaning of life and strengthen
them in the Orthodox faith, the Transfiguration Spiritual and
Educational Center was organized in the monastery, which houses a
library, a video library, as well as a correspondence department of the
Kaluga Seminary.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Kaluga
St. Tikhon Hermitage again appeared before the gaze of pilgrims in all
its beauty and grandeur. Guests of the monastery are received by the
pilgrimage department; three comfortable hotels and a monastery
refectory have been created for them. The ancient monastery of St.
Tikhon is included in the all-Russian pilgrimage routes. Today, not only
the inhabitants of the Kaluga region, but also many people from other
regions of Russia go to the Reverend in his holy monastery. Through the
marvelous intercession of God's saint Tikhon the wonderworker, they
receive first aid, healing, grace-filled strengthening and good
consolation.
The railway station is located in the central part of the Kaluga region, in the zone of coniferous-deciduous forests, within the northwestern slope of the Central Russian Upland, near the Northern Bypass of Kaluga, at a distance of approximately 23 kilometers (in a straight line) northwest of the city of Kaluga, the administrative center of the region and districts.
The climate is characterized as temperate continental, with warm summers and cold snowy winters. The average annual long-term air temperature is 3.8 °C. The average air temperature of the warmest month (July) is 17.6 °C (the absolute maximum is 38 °C); the coldest (January) -10 °C (absolute minimum -46 °C). The frost-free period lasts an average of 149 days. The average annual amount of precipitation is 738 mm, of which most (467 mm) falls during the warm period. Snow cover lasts for 139 days.
The Tikhonova Pustyn railway station, like the entire Kaluga region, is located in the MSK time zone (Moscow time). The offset of the applicable time from UTC is +3:00.
According to the results of the 2002 census, Russians made up 93% of the national population structure.
There are thirteen streets in the railway station. There is a school.