User:Nad11na/sandbox/Molchansky Monatery

The Molchansky Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Monastery  — is a nunnery of the Konotop diocese of the [Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)], located in Putivl. Contains monuments of architecture of the XVII-XIX centuries. The main shrine is the Molchensk Icon of the Mother of God.

History
The history of the founding of the Molchansky Monastery is closely connected with the nearby Sofronievsky Hermitage. In 1405, 13 miles east of Putivl, near the present village of Novaya Sloboda above the Molcha swamp, on the site where the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared, a small monastery arose, which was called the Molchenskaya (Molchanskaya) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin hermitage.

In 1592, the Molchanskaya hermitage was burned by the Tatars, and in 1593 all the monks moved to Putivl, where there were several “sedimentary courtyards” inside the stone Putivl fortress and turned the monastery courtyard into a new Molchansky monastery. In 1603, the Russian Tsar [Boris Godunov] granted the monastery new possessions and gifted a precious panagia.

From November 18, 1604 to May 26, 1605, False Dmitry I used the monastery as his residence. Shortly before this, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and other structures were built. During the civil war of the Time of Troubles, a fire broke out in the monastery, as a result of which the building was badly damaged.

In 1653 the ruined monastery was rebuilt. To avoid confusion, the monastery in Putivl began to be called Big Molchansky, and restored over the Molcha swamp, - Small Molchansky hermitage. The last, from the end of the 17th century, began to be called the Sofronieva hermitaget, or the Sofrontievsky Monastery.

From the end of the 17th century, the monastery, like the town Putivl itself, began to gradually decline. For several centuries, the monastery housed a composition with gunpowder and an arsenal. Only from the 19th century the monastery began to perform only a church function.

In the second half of the 19th century, on the basis of the destroyed fortress walls and towers, the Church of John the Baptist was built in the Russian-Byzantine style. Subsequently, the church was built up, as a result of which the original appearance of the cathedral was lost.

In the post-revolutionary period, the monastery was closed, and the monks were dispersed. Since the 1930s, the territory and buildings of the monastery have been occupied by an orphanage, a Vocational Training School, and a military facility. The activity of these establishments brought a remarkable landmark of architecture to a catastrophic state.

Since 1960, restoration work has been carried out in the monastery, and after 17 years, the State Historical and Cultural Reserve was created here. Although in Soviet times a lot of budgetary funds were spent on restoration, none of the sights was brought out of disrepair.

In 1991 the monastery was referred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. At first, a male monastery operated here, now a female one.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
The cathedral was erected in 1602-1604 as a courtyard of the out-of-town Sofronievsky hermitage. In addition to the church function, it also performed a defensive function. Since the cathedral was erected in the middle of a cramped fortified courtyard, built up on all sides, it was necessary to combine in its building a barn - in the basement, a refectory and kitchen - in the basement, a cathedral and a warm church - on the second tier, a fighting chamber with loopholes - on the third tier above the altar.

There are three extraordinary features in the architectural plan of the building: the altar is in the form of a square tower, not a semicircular apse; a defensive chamber on the third tier of the altar is topped with a tented roof. This composition is rare for Ukrainian architecture. The cathedral belongs to the type of multifunctional places of worship adapted for defense, which are called "churches-fortresses".

In 1612, the cathedral was damaged by fire, after which it was heavily rebuilt in 1630-1636. The following reconstructions took place in 1666-1669, 1778, 1860s, when a one-storey library building was built into the cathedral.

The building has features common to Moscow architecture of the 17th-18th centuries with manifestations of the Ukrainian architectural type.

It was closed in the mid 20s along with the monastery. In 1921, a fire broke out here, after which the cathedral gallery and library had to be dismantled. In the second half of the 40s - early 50s of the 20th century, within the cathedral in honor of Saints Zosima and Savvatiy of the Solovetsky miracle workers, it was allowed to conduct worship.

The most esteemed shrines of this temple include the miraculous icon of the Movchanskaya Mother of God (1724) returned to the monastery in 1995; The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Healer of Sorrows” (XVIII century), the icon “Trinity” (XIX century), the image “Ascension” (XIX century) and others.

Gate bell tower
Initially, it was a fortress gate tower and was built approximately at the same time as the walls and corner towers in 1602-1604. In 1700 the tower was rebuilt. Now nothing reminds of the defensive nature of this building.

Defensive walls with a corner tower
These walls are the remains of the stone fortification of Putivl. Actually the walls - internal, directly surrounded the monastery territory and external, along the road to the Seim.

Refectory
The refectory is a quadrangular one-storey body built in the first half of the 19th century over the casemates adjacent to the ancient fortress wall with a round corner tower.

Warm Church of St. John the Baptist
It was built in 1866-1869 by the architect David Grimm in the Russian-Byzantine style on the site of a dilapidated church of the same name built in 1602-1604. At the heart of the building is a monastery wall with casemates, which is clearly visible in the basement of the building. The church was closed in the mid-1920s along with the monastery. In the 1930s, the temple underwent significant reconstruction and became similar to a civil building.

Other
To the west of the gate bell tower, closer to the town, there are buildings of the household yard and two stone hotel buildings, rebuilt in the post-war years. During the 90s of the XX century, they were partially returned to their original forms.

The monastery mountain is pierced by caves and underground passages. Some of them were dug simultaneously with the construction of the defensive monastery. In the 19th century, Polish coins from the early 17th century were found in these caves.

Links
Silent monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Putivl // Encyclopedia "Tree".