Monastery Gornensky in Jerusalem: history, description and interesting facts

The city where the Savior preached the Word of God andHe ascended to the cross for the sins of the entire human race - Jerusalem, is sacred to the Christians of all faiths. For centuries, it was visited by Russian pilgrims and devotees. Several temples and monasteries were built in Jerusalem and its environs. Among them is the monastery of Gornensky.

Ein Karem

The area where the Gornenskaya monastery is located,is located in the south-western part of Jerusalem. Translated into Russian from Hebrew, its name translates as "Source of grapes." According to the biblical tradition, it was there, to the relative Saint Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary came, after she learned that she was destined to become the mother of the son of God. In addition, in Ein Karem, John the Baptist was born, who was the son of a priest of Zechariah. While still in the womb of his mother, St. Elizabeth, he leaped at the approach of the Mother of God, thereby announcing that the Savior would soon be born.

Prehistory

According to the testimony of contemporaries, the monastery of Gornensky appeared thanks to the vigilant works of the ascetic, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin).

In the autumn of 1869, he hosted one of themembers of the State Council of the Russian Empire and the then famous politician P. P. Melnikov. While walking around the vicinities of Jerusalem, the archimandrite showed the visitor a piece of land where today the Gornensky monastery is located, and asked to help get his orthodox mission from the former French dragoman Khan Carlo Gellady.

PP Melnikov organized a committee for the collection of funds required by Father Antonina for the arrangement of the monastery. Generous donations to the charitable cause were made by the big Moscow manufacturers Putilov and Polyakov, the Eliseev brothers, well-known patrons, and also many ordinary Russians.

But fundraising was not the only concernArchimandrite Antoninus, as the village of Ein Karem liked the missionary Ratibson, thanks to which Catholics began to acquire land there, built a chapel, a school and a monastery Magnificant. Their representatives also began to negotiate with Jelly, but he was inclined to sell his property to his father Antonina.

In February 1871, after much toil,Finally, a purchase was made for a plot of a dragoman with two houses and a garden for 55,000 francs. However, the story did not end there, as in a few days Jellad died as a result of poisoning. The murder was never solved, although many considered it a revenge of Catholic fanatics.

Construction of the first church

Initially, during the summer period, services werespecially equipped tent, and in winter - in the 2-story house of the mission. Later, Archimandrite Antonin chose a place for the temple and himself inscribed an architectural plan. According to this project, for the construction seasons of 1880-1881 Arab contractor Jiries built a church and got 300 Napoleons for work. In addition, he was paid 30 French gold coins for the construction of a separate bell tower. In 1883 the church was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Gornensky Monastery: the history of the foundation

Immediately after the piece of land passed intopossession of the Russian Orthodox Church, there was built a shelter for pilgrims. After a while some nuns settled in it. Then Archimandrite Antonin conceived to found an unusual Orthodox women's monastery. According to his charter, only nuns could settle in it, who were able to build a house on their territory for their means and plant a garden around it. So, instead of the usual corps with cells appeared a small women's village, drowning in the green of olive, almond and citrus trees.

In 1898, the Holy Synod conferred on the local community the status of a monastery.

After 5 years, gold embroidery and icon painting workshops began to operate on its territory. Thanks to them the Gornensky monastery in Jerusalem has ceased to need financing from outside.

The fate of the monastery during the First World War

In 1910 the construction of the cathedral was started,which, at the request of the sisters, was to be consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. Implementation of these plans prevented the First World War, with the beginning of which the construction of the temple was stopped.

At the request of the authorities of the Ottoman Empire,the possession of which was then Jerusalem and most of Palestine, 200 nuns who lived in the monastery, were forced to move to Egyptian Alexandria. From there they could return to the monastery of Gornens only in 1918. Before their eyes appeared a thoroughly ruined monastery with damaged buildings, but thanks to the efforts of the sisters, it was quickly restored.

Further history of the monastery in the 20 th century

Since 1920, due to the inability to maintainconnection with the Moscow Patriarchate The Gornensky Monastery in Jerusalem, as part of the Russian spiritual mission, became subordinate to the ROC abroad. During this period many settlers settled in the monastery, who fled Russia, covered by the Civil War, through Bessarabia, and moved to the Holy Land through Serbia.

In 1945, His Holiness the Patriarch arrived in PalestineAlexy the First. His arrival caused discord among the sisters, as some of them decided to move under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Then it was decided to give them a Greek temple in Ein Karem.

During the Arab-Israeli war in the summer of 1948Ein Karem was bombed. The sisters had to leave Gornensky monastery (the history of the monastery before the First World War is presented above), they fled to the part of Palestine, which belonged to Jordan.

After the formation of Israel

In 1948 the monastery was handed over by the authoritiesMoscow Patriarchate. The women who did not want to return under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate went to London and founded the Annunciation Monastery there. Another 5 nuns moved to Chile, where in 1958, under the leadership of Archbishop Leonty founded the Assumption monastery.

From the middle of the last century to the monasteryOrthodox women and girls who came from the USSR began to come to the village of Gornensky. They quickly became full members of the community and labored swiftly in the name of the Lord.

In the future, for many years, the monastery continued to be the only overseas operating convent of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In 1987, for the first time in many years on its territory in the name of St. John the Baptist was consecrated cave temple.

Revival of the monastery

In 1997, it was decided to resume constructionCathedral of the Holy Trinity. It lasted 10 years and ended in 2007. October 28, the temple was consecrated in the name of All Saints, in the land of the Russian shining (small rank).

Later, in November 2012, the Gornensky Monastery (as it was founded, you already know) was visited by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. He solemnly consecrated the cathedral and talked with his sisters.

For the revival of the monastery much has made herthe present superior of Abbess Georgy (Shchukin). She was appointed to the Gorny monastery with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy in 1991. Mother George in her childhood survived the blockade of Leningrad, and when she and her mother were evacuated to the Krasnodar Territory, she was in the zone of German occupation. After long ordeals, the girl returned to her hometown, and a few years later retired to a female Orthodox monastery in Estonia, where she lived for 40 years.

When she took control of the abode,the latter was in decline. Suffice it to say that in the houses of the nuns there was not even running water and sewage systems, and many of them were in a dilapidated condition.

Gornensky monastery: description

Today 60 sisters live in the monastery. The main cathedral of the monastery is the church of All Saints, who shone in the Russian land. It contains the miraculous Kazan image of the Mother of God. To the right of the entrance you can see the holy stone, on which, according to ancient tradition, John the Baptist himself preached. The boulder was brought to the monastery from the vicinity of Jerusalem from the "desert", located near the village of Even Sapir. It is believed that there, shortly before his execution, with calls to be freed from sins and to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, he turned to the Israelites of St. John the Baptist.

In addition, in 2012, the monastery consecratedcave temple. He is dedicated to sv. John the Baptist (Forerunner). According to ancient tradition, this small church is located on the place where, shortly before the birth of Christ, the holy saints Zachariah and Elizabeth built their dwelling. Its stone niches are decorated with icons depicting scenes from the life of John, who christened the Savior in the waters of the Jordan River.

On the territory of the monastery is locatedGreek Orthodox Church, which was built in the 19th century. After the nun who lived at this temple died and dedicated many years to the creation of a mural on its walls, he rarely opens its doors to visitors.

Monastic way

All the nuns who chose the Gornensky monastery (Ein Karem) as their place of ministry have their obedience. Their day is arranged by the hour:

• from 5:30 to 9:00 in the monastery passes morning service;
• from 9:00 to 9:30 - breakfast in the refectory;
• from 9:30 to 12:30 - time for obedience, during which the nuns perform tasks that are assigned to them by the royal sister;
• from 12:30 to 13:00 - lunch;
• from 13:00 to 15:00 - obedience;
• from 15:00 to 18:00 - evening service;
• from 18:00 to 21:00 - obedience.

Workers

In recent years, more and more people want to devotesome period of their life serving the Lord. To this end, they are sent to the monastery, where they seek to find answers to their questions regarding the salvation of the soul and the meaning of man’s being on earth.

In particular, women and girls canbecome working women of the Gornensky monastery for up to three months. To do this, they should receive a tourist visa to Israel, as well as the blessing and recommendation of the priest from the temple, which they usually attend.

How to get to the monastery

The main question that interests those who wantto see the Gornensky monastery: how to get there from Jerusalem? The easiest way to do this is by bus number 19 and number 27 (until the Hadassah Hospital bus stop). In addition, from the Central Bus Station you can go there, first using the tram number 1, and then bus number 28.

Now you know what history Gornensky hasmonastery. How to get there, you also know, and you can visit it if you find yourself in Jerusalem and want to visit places connected with the earthly life of the Mother of God.