The Resurrection Monastery in Smolensk was founded during the Polish-Lithuanian invasion by the Jesuits. The time of foundation is the 30s of the 17th century. After 20 years, the novices of the Orsha Monastery were transferred here and he became Orthodox. The main temple of the monastery, according to local legend, was built by decree (this is true) of Peter the Great and according to his personal drawings (unconfirmed fact).
Legend has it that the abbess of the monastery prayed for the streltsy condemned to death after the uprising. The king pardoned them, which was met with incredible enthusiasm. Feeling Peter drew up a plan for the church and allocated money from the treasury to build a cathedral in honor of this event.
Documentary evidence of this is neither in the monastery books nor in the great scientific work “Russian monasteries” (19th century). The executions of the Streltsy took place only in Moscow, and whether Peter ever visited this monastery is unknown.
There is also no evidence that Peter’s mother was brought up in this monastery.
Moreover, Natalia Naryshkina’s father was a high-ranking military officer who would hardly have given his daughter to a horribly poor monastery. Money for the maintenance of the monastery was allocated so little that there was not enough even for food, not to mention repairs. Therefore, by the end of the 17th century, all buildings were very dilapidated. Especially sad was the state of the Sunday Cathedral. In 1693, this building was dismantled and a stone temple was built in its place. They built it with government funds.
The church is two-storey, consists of 3 parts: a four-piece decorated with three apses, a refectory and a bell tower. The church dome is helmet-shaped. For the first time in Russia eight-sided windows were used.
Since the temple was built by royal decree, the interior decoration was significant.
The iconostasis was painted by the main icon painter of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin.
After the revolution, the monastery was closed, the territory was given for urban development.
In 2004, the Ascension Women’s Monastery was revived. In 2010, the dome cross of the cathedral was installed, and the year before that the bell tower was restored. It has 14 bells, their total weight is 10 tons.
Charity FundHoly Land.
Russian Temples and Monasteries
