Monasteries arose in different ways in Russia. Then a lot of worshipers will come to the desert, then the prince will decide to celebrate the victory over the enemy, then the spiritual hierarchs will make the decision. Often monasteries that arose on the site of the miracle. Tolga Monastery is exactly that.
In 1314, Bishop Tryphon of Rostov stopped for an overnight stay on the banks of the Tolga River, near Yaroslavl. In the middle of the night, the Lord awakened a bright light. He went to the bank of the river and crossed it along a beam like a bridge. The Lord went to that shore and there he saw an icon floating through the air. The bishop prayed for a long time before her, and then returned. In the morning they could not find the bishop’s staff. Then Tryphon told them to cross to the other shore. There they found the staff of the bishop and the icon already lying on the ground. The bishop blessed the building of a temple on this site.
Together with the servants, they fell trees. When the inhabitants of Yaroslavl learned about the miracle, they came to help in large numbers. The temple was built in one day. Having consecrated the temple, Tryphon decided to found a male monastery.
The chronicle reports that on September 16, 1392, the icon of the Mother of God began to flow. Miro has healed many. Through prayers at the icon, Tsar Ivan the Terrible was healed. Unfortunately, many records of miracles have been lost, but the oral tradition has survived.
In 1609 the monastery was captured and destroyed by the Poles. All the monks were killed. Later they were buried in a common grave, and then, in 1893, a chapel was built on this site. In 1914 it was consecrated as a chapel temple.
The flow of pilgrims to the monastery was so great that the hotel at the monastery could not accommodate everyone. On the main holiday, which was called “Tolgin Day”, thousands of pilgrims flocked to the monastery. From Yaroslavl they went a huge cross procession. Tolgin’s Day was especially solemn in 1914. The monastery turned 600 years old, it was repaired, the territory was put in order.
In 1929, all bells were removed from the belfry, and in 1932 the monastery was finally closed. On the Volga, it was planned to build a hydroelectric power station and the Vvedensky Cathedral and belfry were used as part of the current model. The construction of the HPP did not take place and the premises of the monastery were used
housing and children’s colony.
But the Tolga Mother of God has not forgotten her lot. A miracle happened in 1987. On the territory of the monastery, the first female monastery in the USSR was opened. In the destroyed, forgotten monastery began to stay the first inhabitants.
In May 1988, the relics of the great Orthodox thinker Ignatius Bryanchaninov were found. In June, the Savior Church was consecrated.
The sisters literally raised the monastery from the ruins. Now it is a beautifully equipped abode. In addition to the icon of Our Lady of Tolga and the relics of St. Ignatius, many other shrines are stored there, which a continuous stream of Orthodox pilgrims strive to worship.
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Russian Temples and Monasteries
