In 1337 Sergius of Radonezh, then still bearing the worldly name of Bartholomew, and his older brother Stefan, a monk of the Khotkovo Intercession Monastery, settled on Makovets Hill, ten miles from Khotkovo. This event is considered the date of foundation of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Soon the brothers erected a small wooden church in the name of the Holy Trinity (it was consecrated in 1340). The first monastic buildings - the Church of the Holy Trinity and several cells - occupied only a small part of the modern territory of the Lavra, located in its southwestern corner. After the departure of Stephen, the future monk labored alone for some time, but over time, other monks also settled around his cell. In 1355, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus, a communal charter was introduced in the monastery. The territory of the monastery was divided into three parts - residential, public and defensive. In the center of the monastery there is a new wooden temple the Holy Trinity and the refectory, surrounded on four sides by cells; behind the cells were vegetable gardens and household services. The entire monastery was surrounded by a wooden fence (tyn). Another wooden church was built above the gate, in the name of Dmitry Solunsky. The plan of the monastery, established then, in in general terms has come down to our days. The abbot of the monastery was at first hegumen Mitrofan, who tonsured Sergius as a monk. After the death of Mitrofan, St. Sergius of Radonezh became hegumen of the monastery.
Soon the Trinity Monastery became the spiritual center of the Moscow lands, supported by the Moscow princes. Here, in 1380, St. Sergius blessed the army of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who was going to battle with Mamai. On September 8, 1380, during the Battle of Kulikovo, the monks and heroes of the Trinity Monastery - Peresvet and Oslyabya - entered the battlefield. In 1392 Saint Sergius reposed and was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity; six months before his death, Sergius handed over the leadership of the monastery to his beloved disciple Nikon.

Monastery in the XV-XVI centuries. The first stone structures
In 1408, the monastery was plundered and burned down by the Tatar Khan Edigey, but the next 200 years of its history passed almost without clouds. The Trinity Monastery was rebuilt, developed, and became one of the main Russian shrines. The monastery has been a cultural and religious center for several centuries. Russian state. Chronicles were compiled in the monastery, manuscripts were copied, icons were painted; in the 15th century it was created " Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh”, one of the largest monuments of old Russian literature, the most valuable historical document.
In 1422, on the site of a wooden church (which was moved to the east), hegumen Nikon laid the first monastery stone building Trinity Cathedral, built by the forces of Serbian monks from Kosovo who took refuge in the monastery after the Battle of Kosovo. During the construction of the cathedral were acquired relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Outstanding icon painters Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny participated in the painting of the temple, the famous “ Trinity". The Trinity Cathedral was revered by the Moscow princes: prayers were performed here before campaigns and after their successful completion (as, for example, Vasily III celebrated a successful campaign against Pskov in 1510 with a prayer service, and Ivan IV the Terrible performed a prayer service in honor of the successful capture of Kazan in 1552), By "kissing" contracts were sealed, the heirs to the throne were baptized.
One of the most dramatic events of internecine wars in Muscovite Rus' is connected with the Trinity Monastery. In 1442, in the monastery at the tomb of Sergius, the reconciliation of Vasily II with his cousin Dmitry Shemyaka took place, which ended many years of civil strife. However, two years later, Dmitry broke this oath; Shemyaka's people seized Vasily, who was praying at the tomb of Sergius, and sent him under escort to Moscow, where two days later Vasily was blinded and exiled to Uglich. The clergy of the Trinity Monastery condemned the actions of Dmitry Shemyaka (the first in the church condemnation of Shemyaka is the signature of the Trinity abbot Martinian), and Vasily II, released from imprisonment, in 1450-1462 gave the monastery a number of letters of commendation.
Trinity Cathedral for a long time was the only one stone structure monastery. In 1469, under the guidance of the Moscow architect Vasily Yermolin, a stone refectory was built on the central square. It was a two-story building, consisting of two chambers: the "small refectory of the fathers" (refectory for the brethren) on the first floor and the "royal chamber" on the second floor. The type of a one-pillar chamber, first used in the Trinity Monastery, was subsequently used by the builders of the Faceted Chamber in Moscow, after which it became widespread. In the 18th century, a modern bell tower was built on the site of the refectory. Near the refectory, according to the project of Yeromolov, a stone kitchen was built. In 1476, near the Trinity Cathedral, Pskov craftsmen built the Church of the Descent of St. Spirit.
In 1530, the sacrament of baptism of the long-awaited son of Prince Vasily III, the future Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, was performed in the Trinity Cathedral. In 1547, as soon as the magnificent celebrations on the occasion of the wedding of Ivan IV ended in Moscow, the young tsar and his wife went on foot to the Trinity Monastery, where he spent a week praying daily at the tomb of Sergius. Subsequently, the tsar often visited the monastery, performed prayers on the occasion of the largest victories of the Russian troops; during his reign, Ivan IV invested at least 25 thousand rubles in the development of the monastery. Under Ivan the Terrible, the monastery was replanned. Since the 1540s, white stone walls have been erected around the monastery. In the 1550s, a belt of walls in the shape of an irregular quadrangle about one and a half kilometers long was built. It was then that the monastery territory acquired its current dimensions. Simultaneously with the construction of the walls, dams were built in three ravines adjacent to the monastery, and a large pond was dug out on the south side. Trinity Monastery turned into a powerful fortress. In 1561 he received the status of archimandrite.
In 1559, in the presence of the king, a new large cathedral was laid, called Uspensky. The construction of the temple dragged on for many years; in 1564, it was interrupted due to a major fire, during which “the Trinity Sergius Monastery burned out, the meals and monastic treasuries in the chambers, and many bells spilled and cook everything, and host the courtyard, and serve the courtyards ...”. The consecration of the cathedral took place after the death of Ivan the Terrible, in 1585, in the presence of the new Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. After that, in 1585-1586, at the behest of the royal couple, extensive artwork. This was due to the fact that Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich and Tsarina Irina Feodorovna Godunova had no children, although the wedding took place in 1580. This was not an isolated case - famous monasteries and temples of the state were presented with expensive gifts "in prayer" for childbearing. In the Assumption Monastery, a chapel was built for Theodore Stratilates and the Holy Great Martyr Irina, who were the namesake saints of the royal couple. By the end of the 16th century, the Trinity Monastery became largest monastery Russia; he owned 2780 settlements, there was an active trade - merchant ships of the monastery went to foreign countries.

The development of the monastery from the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century
During the Time of Troubles, the Trinity Monastery withstood a 16-month siege by the Polish-Lithuanian invaders led by Sapieha and A. Lisovsky. Polish-Lithuanian troops approaching the monastery in September 1608, fired at the fortress from 63 guns and repeatedly attempted to storm; at the end of 1609, scurvy began in the besieged monastery, during the epidemic, more than two thousand people died. All the dead were taken to Assumption Cathedral. By the end of winter, less than 200 people remained capable of defending the monastery with weapons in their hands. Despite all the difficulties, the monastery staunchly defended itself, according to the characteristics of the Poles themselves, it was armed with “people, iron and courage”. During the successful sorties of the besieged, the Poles also lost a large number of people; during one of the sorties, Lisovsky's son Stanislav died. Having learned about the digging under the Pyatnitskaya tower, the defenders opposite the digging the second wall, and then the entrance of a successful sortie blew up the digging. On January 12 (22), 1610, the siege was lifted by Russian troops led by Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky. The monastery became one of the strongholds of the Second Militia of Minin and Pozharsky; a great contribution to the liberation was made by Archimandrite Dionysius, who helped the Home Guard with large donations and supported the spirit of the troops. The damage inflicted on the monastery is described in the “Tale of Avraamy Palitsyn” - ... from undermining and from rumors, the walls of the city were dispersed, and in other places there was little more than a handful of buildings: in the monastery, services and fraternal cells without the cover of the former and many cells and services in the monastery got burned.
However, the authority of the monastery, which became one of the symbols of the courage of the Russian people, grew, and with it, donations to the treasury also increased. The monastic fortifications were quickly restored (at the same time, the walls were built on in height and increased in width, and the towers acquired the appearance that has survived to this day), the construction of new buildings began. Near spiritual church a large bell tower was erected, the church of Mikhail Malein appeared at the eastern wall of the Refectory. The walls of the refectory were decorated with bright paintings. On the site of the wooden palace of Ivan the Terrible, royal mansions were built. Around 1640, a stone two-story building of cells was built. Among other large monastic structures of the 17th century - Church of Zosima and Savvatiy, Hospital wards.
The last time the monastery saw an enemy under its walls was in 1618, during a campaign against Moscow by the Polish prince Vladislav. The time has come for the prosperity of the monastery; the number of peasant households belonging to the monastery reached 16.8 thousand, exceeding the number of peasant possessions of the tsar and the patriarch. The monastery's own brick factories ensured continuous construction work. In the ponds surrounding the monastery, the monks bred fish, orchards were created along their banks, and windmills were set up.

In 1682, during the Streltsy rebellion, the monastery served as a refuge for Princess Sofya Alekseevna, Princes Ivan and Peter. In 1689, Peter I, who fled from Moscow, took refuge in the monastery. It was in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery that the massacre of Sophia's supporters took place; from here, as an autocratic ruler, Peter left for Moscow. Under him, a magnificent baroque refectory with temple Reverend Sergius of Radonezh. With the construction of the new Refectory, the formation of the architectural appearance of the central square of the monastery was almost completely completed. Above the eastern wall of the monastery, at the expense of the Stroganovs, in 1699, the gate church of John the Baptist was built.
At the beginning of the 18th century, construction on the territory of the monastery stopped. Russia entered the Northern War (Peter I took 400 thousand rubles from the monastery treasury for military needs); then the construction of the new capital of Russia - St. Petersburg - began - in connection with which the tsar introduced a ban on the construction of stone buildings throughout Russia. Only in 1708, construction work was launched near the walls of the monastery: due to the threat of the Swedish army penetrating deep into Russia, Moscow and nearby fortresses, including Trinity-Sergius Monastery, it was decided to strengthen. Stone bridges were built at the Assumption and Red Gates; deep ditches and bastions appeared under the monastery walls. The ditches existed until the 1830s, and earthen fortifications near the corner towers remain to this day.
The successors of Peter the Great on the Russian throne did not show much interest in the fate of the monastery; there were even plans to move the monastery closer to the new capital, but they were not destined to come true. In 1738, the monastery management system changed: it became subordinate to the Spiritual Council.

The heyday of the Lavra
After the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, a new period of prosperity for the monastery began. On October 1, 1742, by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, a theological seminary was opened in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (later, in 1814, the Moscow Theological Academy, one of the largest religious educational institutions Russia). Soon (in 1744) the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was awarded the honorary title of Lavra; the head of the Lavra was the Metropolitan of Moscow.
Elizaveta Petrovna often visited the Lavra. Each of her visits was accompanied by festivities - fireworks, cannon fire and sumptuous meals. In the summer, amusements were held in the monastery; outside the monastery walls was built a magnificent pleasure palace of Korbukh, surrounded by greenhouses and a park in the French style. Construction also unfolded on the territory of the monastery itself. Back in 1738, Moscow architect Ivan Michurin was commissioned to draw up a master plan for the monastery territory. The plan was drawn up and sent to St. Petersburg, but was approved only in 1740; along with the plan came the project of a new monastery bell tower, developed by the court architect Schumacher. Petersburg architect proposed to place the bell tower in the geometric center of the main square. However, Michurin believed that in this place the bell tower would be obscured by other structures and “from such a small distance ... it cannot be seen by many people”; Michurin managed to achieve the transfer of the construction site to the north. In 1741, the laying of the bell tower took place; construction stretched for almost 30 years and was completed only in 1770. For the new belfry, a king-bell weighing 4065 pounds was cast right on the territory of the monastery.
Many buildings of the Lavra were to be rebuilt; the architectural style of the monastery buildings was planned to be brought into line with the tastes of the middle of the 18th century. In 1745, an album of restructuring of the entire Lavra territory was drawn with a detailed description of the buildings of the monastery. The strong fire that happened in 1746, which destroyed all the wooden buildings of the monastery, contributed to the acceleration of the reconstruction. The global reconstruction of the Lavra began in accordance with the album of 1745; work continued until 1789. The new appearance of the monastery buildings resembled the external decoration of the palaces of that time. The buildings were painted in bright colors that emphasized the beauty of the white and gilded stucco details. To match the external decor, the interiors of the buildings received a magnificent appearance. The most luxurious decoration was found in the Tsar's palaces (stucco molding and painting on the ceiling, typesetting parquet, tiled stoves, silk upholstery of the walls). The original decor of many old buildings has been lost; for example, the buildings along the western wall of the monastery, including the Hospital Chambers, acquired a single facade with identical windows and a gallery on pillars. Some buildings (including the forge and armory) were dismantled. The architecture of a number of buildings in the album was pretentious; The architects Ivan Michurin and Dmitry Ukhtomsky, who supervised the restructuring, managed to make a number of significant changes to the project (for example, the decision to build dutch figured roofs over the monastery buildings was canceled). The restructuring also affected the ancient temples of the monastery; yes, heads Trinity Cathedral And Spiritual Church there were replacements for onion ones, and the vaulted porch of the Trinity Cathedral was replaced with a high porch. The heads of most temples were gilded. On the territory of the Lavra, paths paved with white stone appeared, and the main alley - from the Holy Gates to the Trinity Cathedral - was decorated with forged gratings. Finally, in 1792, an obelisk with medallions was erected on the main square, the text in which tells about the history of the monastery; The obelisk was used as a chronometer - a sundial was placed on its three sides.
IN XVIII-XIX centuries Trinity Sergius Lavra became one of the richest monasteries in Russia, was one of the largest landowners (in 1763, on the eve of a major confiscation of church lands, the Lavra owned more than 100 thousand souls of peasants). Active trade (grain, salt, household items) contributed to the increase in the wealth of the monastery; his financial situation in the XVII-XVIII centuries. distinguished by great strength; donations were great in favor of the Russian army (in 1812 - about 70 thousand rubles), the militia. The value of the Lavra as cultural center also increased; in 1814, the Theological Academy was transferred here from Moscow, located in the building of the Royal Palace. In connection with the placement of the academy, a number of buildings were rebuilt, new buildings appeared - all this, according to some researchers, led to a violation of the integrity of the architectural complex.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Lavra was in charge of a printing house (it printed the works of philosophers, clergy - P. A. Florensky, Kliment Ohridsky and others), two hotels on the territory of Posad (old and new), workshops (production of toys, candlesticks, crosses and etc., woodcarving), shops, horse yards. A brisk trade was carried on near the walls of the Lavra, shopping arcades, hotels and tenement houses appeared near the monastery. In the 1910s, more than 400 monks lived in the Lavra. Some small monasteries and sketes were assigned to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Shrines of the monastery
Relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh(V Trinity Cathedral), the relics of Nikon, Sergius (Micah) of Radonezh, St. Serapion of Novgorod, Metropolitan Joasaph, Archimandrite Dionysius, Saint Maximus the Greek, icon of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity the works of Andrei Rublev (now in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) - attracted thousands of pilgrims from all over Russia.
Representatives of noble Russian houses are buried in the Lavra: Belsky, Vorotynsky, Glinsky, Obolensky, Odoevsky and others; figures of the Time of Troubles: Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy and Prokopy Lyapunov, Prince Andrei Radonezhsky, representatives of the Godunov family; many Moscow and other bishops: Macarius (Bulgakov), Macarius (Nevsky), Sergius (Golubtsov), Patriarchs Alexy I and Pimen. Numerous treasures are stored in the sacristy - these are unique objects of decorative and applied art, offerings of kings and wealthy people to the monastery. The Lavra library has a significant fund of manuscripts - Russian chronicles, handwritten books of the 15th-17th centuries, and unique samples of Russian early printed books (for 1908 - about 10,000), historical documents are stored here.
The most famous priors of the Lavra in the 19th century were Metropolitan Platon (Levshin), who was active in construction, St. Philaret, who corresponded with A. S. Pushkin and founded the Gethsemane Skete near the Lavra, and St. Innokenty (Veniaminov), former first Orthodox Bishop of America.

History of the Lavra in the 20th century
In the first years of the 20th century, construction continued on the territory of the monastery, new cells and buildings, outbuildings, shopping arcades were built; in 1905 the Lavra printing house was organized.
1918 was the beginning of a difficult period in the history of the Lavra. According to the Decree on the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church on January 20, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Lavra, like other monasteries in Russia located on the territory controlled by the Bolsheviks, was legally turned into a labor artel, however monastic life continued on a secret basis until October 21, 1919, when the monks were relocated to the Chernigov and Gethsemane sketes. On November 10, 1919, the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Sergievsky District decided to close the Lavra due to the acute shortage of premises for hospitals, schools, and children's institutions. In March 1919, the Moscow Theological Academy was dissolved, and its premises were given to electrical courses; On April 11, the relics of St. Sergius were opened. On April 20, 1920, despite a number of messages from Patriarch Tikhon to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) with a request to cancel the order to close the Lavra, the Council of People's Commissars issued a resolution "On applying to the Museum of Historical and Artistic Values ​​of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra." Trinity Cathedral was closed immediately, and the brethren were evicted and found a place for themselves in labor communes; the last divine service in the Trinity Cathedral was performed on May 31, 1920. In the same 1920, a historical and architectural museum was organized on the territory of the Lavra. In 1929, the last sketes near the Lavra were closed and most of the Lavra bells were confiscated for remelting (the bell "Swan" of 1593 and the oldest, "Nikon's", of 1420 survived). On the territory of the Lavra until 1953 there was the Zagorsk Teachers' Institute.

Restoration of the Lavra
By the end of the 1930s, some monuments of the Lavra were partially rebuilt and adapted for housing and other household needs that were not characteristic of them.
The first commission for the protection of monuments of art and antiquity of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was created back in 1918, but the restoration work carried out under its supervision was not systematic, there was no single restoration project. The initiator and organizer of the systematic restoration work was the director of the Zagorsky Museum of History and Art S. A. Budaev, the customer was the Zagorsk Museum, in 1938 a young architect I. V. Trofimov was invited. He was instructed, in the development of the decree of 1920, signed by Lenin, on the conversion of the ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to the museum, to prepare a substantiated report to the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR on the allocation of funds for the scientific restoration of the monuments of this historical and artistic ensemble. In the next two years, he prepared a certificate on the historical and artistic significance of the architectural ensemble of the Lavra and a program for its scientific restoration, a general plan for restoration and restoration work, defective acts, inventories of work and estimates for fifteen objects. On the basis of these materials, on February 1, 1940, a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars was adopted, according to which the entire complex of monuments Trinity Sergius Lavra within the boundaries of the fortress walls was declared the Zagorsk State Historical and Art Museum-Reserve. Trofimov was appointed supervisor and chief architect of these works. For their production, a special research and production construction site was organized and an Academic Council was established, approved by the State Committee for the Arts; The government allocated 6 million rubles for the planned work. Architect Academician I. V. Rylsky was appointed chairman of the council, V. P. Zubov was appointed scientific secretary, and architect N. D. Vinogradov was appointed representative from the customer, the Zagorsk Museum. The council included the architect academician I. V. Zholtovsky; engineer P. V. Shchusev; archaeologist, doctor of historical sciences A. V. Artsikhovsky; historian S. V. Bakhrushin. At various times, academicians A. V. Shchusev and I. E. Grabar were invited as consultants, since 1940 he had supervised the restoration of painting; Lieutenant General, Hero of the Soviet Union D. M. Karbyshev; experts in applied art and painting N. N. Sobolev, D. I. Kiplik, F. Ya. Mishukov; historians a. G. Novitsky and A. G. Gabrichevsky. There were not enough restorers, and in 1945 an arts and crafts school was opened with a three-year training program that trained white masons, sculptors, carpenters and other masters of restoration work.

Ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra took shape over four centuries, from the 15th to the 18th century inclusive, and along with the development of the ensemble, the appearance of its individual structures also changed. The task of the restorer was to find the artistic optimum for each monument, that is, the moment of its highest artistic flowering - for this reason, the start of work was not preceded by the creation project documentation, field openings were carried out during the creation of the project. The purpose of the restoration was not to return the ensemble to some particular "optimal year", but, on the contrary, to show it as an integration or synthesis of all artistic development.
In the work of I. V. Trofimov, his father, the artist V. P. Trofimov, took a great part. Picturesque canvases by Vikenty Pavlovich “The refectory of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra”, “View from the bell tower of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra”, “In the former Trinity-Sergius Lavra” and others make it possible to see the monuments immediately after restoration.
Despite the numerous difficulties of the war and post-war period, it was possible to eliminate the emergency state of a number of monuments, to carry out a major restoration of the Hospital Chambers with Church of Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky XVII century, the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit of the XV century, the white stone base of the Bell Tower, the eastern part of the refectory of the refectory of the end of the XVII century, the Metropolitan's chambers, partly the Royal chambers and significant sections of the fortress walls and towers. Particularly significant work was carried out on the Hospital Chambers, built up with new buildings and literally returned from oblivion (however, the dismantling of the refectory of the 17th-18th centuries, attached to the church of Zosima and Savvaty, was considered insufficiently justified). At that time, these were the largest restoration and restoration works in the USSR. A 30-meter protected zone was organized around the walls of the monastery.
After 1950, restoration work, carried out mainly on the monuments transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate, began to be carried out by the former student-trainee I. V. Trofimova V. I. Baldin, in 1963, together with A. G. Ustinov who proposed a comprehensive project for the restoration of the Lavra ensemble. During the restoration in 1956-1959, all the buildings and structures of the monastery were freed from foreign institutions that occupied them. By 1970, the bulk of the restoration work was completed. The results of the restoration carried out by Baldin were assessed ambiguously, in particular, I.V. Trofimov noted the fundamental errors and damage caused to individual buildings and the entire ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra as a whole. Restoration continued in the 1970s - a number of objects were recreated under the guidance of architects Yu. D. Belyaev and Yu. N. Shakhov.

Foundation of the Trinity Monastery

On August 11, 1337, St. Sergius of Radonezh founded a monastery, which later became the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. According to the Life (biography) of the saint, created by his younger contemporary Epiphanius the Wise, Sergius (in the world Bartholomew) came from the family of the Rostov boyar Kirill, who moved from Rostov to the city of Radonezh, the center of a small specific principality, under the patronage of the Grand Duke of Moscow. From a young age, Bartholomew felt an inclination towards a hermitic monastic life, but at the request of his parents he was forced to postpone his tonsure and realized his intention only after their death. Having buried their parents in the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery, Bartholomew and his brother Stefan, who had already taken monasticism, retire to the forests surrounding Radonezh, and 15 kilometers away they find a place for a secluded monastery.

On a large hill, washed by the river Konchura, the brothers built a "small church" and a cell. Unable to bear the hardships of a hermit life, Stefan went to Moscow Epiphany Monastery, leaving his brother, now the monk Sergius, alone. However, a year later, monks seeking solitude begin to flock here. The author of the Life of Sergius, in addition to the hardships and hardships suffered by the inhabitants of the monastery, describes many miracles and predictions that foreshadowed the transformation of a modest monastery, where "blissful scarcity was a source of treasures," into the richest and most famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Russia. Many painted and carved icons reproduce the appearance of the Mother of God to St. Sergius of Radonezh, described in the Life, when she promised her eternal patronage of the monastery founded by him. increase in the number of brethren, the Mother of God sent him a vision of many birds as a symbol of the multitude of his disciples and followers.

What did the Trinity Monastery look like in the 15th-16th centuries can only guess. Time and fires have deprived us of the opportunity to see its ancient wooden structures. In 1408 the monastery was burned to the ground during a raid by Khan Edigei. Its inhabitants, led by the disciple and successor of St. Sergius, Abbot Nikon, managed to escape into the forests, and a few years after their return, the monastery was restored. Hegumen Nikon, using the patronage of the great Moscow princes, was active in economic activity, laying the foundation for the economic and political power of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

Even during the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Trinity Monastery received the first donations and privileges from the Grand Dukes, and from the 15th century. money, land and other contributions from representatives of various segments of the population began to regularly arrive here. One of these donations from the son of Dmitry Donskoy Prince Yuri Zvenigorodsky, the godson of St. Sergius, according to legend, was used to build the oldest of the surviving monuments of the architectural ensemble of the monastery - the white-stone Trinity Cathedral. It was erected in 1422 "in praise" of St. Sergius of Radonezh and became one of the first memorial monuments in Russia. Ancient Russian architects erected a strict and laconic in form, restrained in decor, a temple, irresistibly tearing upwards with each of its lines. This small, but majestic and monumental cathedral, created in the traditions of early Moscow architecture, is in perfect harmony with the harsh times in which St. Sergius lived, his asceticism and enlightenment, the pure and lofty idea of ​​unity and all-encompassing love, to which he dedicated the monastery.

In ancient times, when the entrance to the monastery was from the western side, the Trinity Cathedral met the stranger almost at the very gates, like Abbot Sergius himself. Now, after more than five centuries, we enter the monastery from the opposite side, from the east, and it seems symbolic that our path to the Trinity Cathedral, the heart of the monastery, lies through its entire territory, as through its entire history, through all these five centuries, which left wonderful monuments in its architectural ensemble.

Masters led by famous painters Daniil Cherny and Andrei Rublev were invited to decorate the interior of the Trinity Cathedral. Unfortunately, the frescoes they created were not preserved; in the 17th century. they were recorded new. But the iconostasis of the cathedral is still decorated with 40 icons made by masters of the 15th century. For this temple, Andrey Rublev painted the Trinity icon, now known all over the world, which has become one of the symbols of ancient Russian culture. (Since 1929, the icon has been on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery.) The Royal Gates in the center of the iconostasis, decorated with a gilded silver chased setting, were donated to the monastery by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. The Trinity Cathedral is main shrine- the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, which rest in a chased silver shrine made in the 16th century. masters of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin on the orders of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. A silver canopy rises above the shrine, donated in the 18th century. Tsarina Anna Ioannovna. Great Moscow princes and Russian tsars baptized their children here, they came here for blessing before and after important state and family affairs. In the 15th century. during the fierce feudal war for the throne, despite the attempts of the monastery to pacify the descendants of Dmitry Donskoy, who were at war with each other, it was here that the great Moscow prince Vasily II, the grandson of Prince Dmitry, who after that received the nickname Dark.

On the south side of the Trinity Cathedral adjoins the church, built in 1548 over the coffin of Abbot Nikon, who was also canonized and nicknamed Radonezh. So in architecture his spiritual connection with the founder of the monastery was emphasized Reverend Sergius. This idea of ​​unity and continuity was later reflected in the fine and applied arts: in icon painting, in sewing, in engravings of the 18th century.

By the end of the 15th century, the unification of the Russian principalities was already bearing fruit not only in the sphere of politics and economics, but also in the development artistic culture. Moscow absorbed and processed all the best that was achieved in other lands. And it is no coincidence that for the construction of a new belfry in the monastery of St. Sergius, an ardent supporter of the unity of Rus', craftsmen from distant Pskov were invited. In 1476 they erected a small church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, with bells at the base of the dome. Belfry Spiritual Church For a long time it served as a tower for observing the surroundings. In the silence of this modest chamber church, Ivan IV the Terrible prayed for a terrible sin after the death of his son Ivan, whom he inflicted a mortal blow in a fit of anger. This secret of his was entrusted by the formidable tsar, among the few, to the abbot and cellar of the Trinity Monastery.

The relationship of Ivan IV with the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was quite complex and contradictory, as well as his relationship with the church in general. The tsar accused the monks of non-observance of the monastic charters, made attempts to limit the land ownership of the monasteries; Among those tortured and executed in the "oprichnina capital" of Alexander's Sloboda (which is just a few kilometers from the Sergius Monastery) was a Trinity monk hunted by bears. The boyars who were forcibly tonsured at the will of the tsar and objectionable to him were also among the monks of the monastery. At the same time, Ivan the Terrible often visited the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, made numerous valuable contributions, under him the Trinity abbots received the title of archimandrites - "the first among all monasteries."

By order and at the expense of Ivan IV, the largest five-domed Assumption Cathedral of the monastery (1559-1585) was being built. Almost all Russian monasteries had churches dedicated to the Mother of God, who was considered the patroness of Rus'. The temple of the Trinity Monastery is dedicated to the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The austere and massive cathedral occupied most of the space in the center of the monastery, freed up after the wooden cells that had previously been located here were moved to the wall of the fence.

End of the 17th century was marked in the history of the architectural ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery by the construction of the Refectory with the Church of St. Sergius (1686-1692) and the Royal Palace (palace building). These elegant, impressive in size (about 86 m long) structures decorated the central part of the monastery from the south and from the north.

The Trinity-Sergius Monastery, generally recognized as the first in the country, often visited by the royal family, has long had special royal and queen chambers. At the end of the XVII century. to receive distinguished guests, a real palace was built - the Royal Palace. Simultaneously with the construction of the Refectory and the Halls, perhaps by the same craftsmen, a small Nadkladeznaya chapel was built over the source at the southwestern corner of the Assumption Cathedral.

In the 90s of the XVII century. the main entrance to the monastery was decorated with the gate church of John the Baptist (1693-1699).

The baroque style that flourished in Russia in the 18th century left its mark on the architecture of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In 1745-1748. at the expense of the favorite of Queen Elizabeth Petrovna, Count A.G. Razumovsky, a church was built in honor of Smolenskaya miraculous icon Mother of God. The Smolensk Church resembles the graceful pavilions of 18th-century park ensembles, and the miniature cupola crowning it resembles the intricate hairstyle of a court lady. In the 19th century the walls of the church were covered with narrative paintings, and in 1856, in place of the lost iconostasis, an iconostasis similar in time and architecture from the dismantled Moscow church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa from Pyatnitskaya Street was installed. The iconostasis, decorated with intricate gilded carvings, is one of the best examples of the mid-18th century. Especially skillful are the Royal Doors of through carving with three-dimensional images of the Evangelists. The traditional images of Christ and the Mother of God on the sides of the gates are carved along the contour of the figures and pushed forward. The slender blue Smolensk church with white trim is in perfect harmony with the nearby bell tower, which was founded almost simultaneously with it, but completed twenty years later.

The greatness and glory of Russian monasteries were often associated in the perception of contemporaries with the height and beauty of their bell towers. From this point of view, the bell tower of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (1740-1770) has become a worthy symbol of its significance in the history of the country. The five-tiered bell tower of the Lavra is one of the best architectural monuments of the 18th century in Russia. Its slenderness is emphasized by numerous white columns that stand out brightly against the blue walls. Wide arched openings of the tiers, graceful architectural flowerpots and columns of balustrades give its appearance lightness and airiness. At the same time, the bell tower is monumental and stable due to the massive lower tier, decorated with pediments with carved white stone cartouches, in which the royal monograms are inscribed. Unusually majestically, the bell tower bears its head in the form of a figured bowl with imperial crowns. Its gold shines dazzlingly against the bright blue velvet of the summer sky. Dozens of bells, among which the most ancient "Nikonovsky" (1420) and "Swan" (1594), a gift from Boris Godunov, announce the neighborhood.

In 1792, an obelisk made of wild stone was placed next to the bell tower, on which a sundial and four oval boards with a text were installed, reminding visitors of the role of the monastery in "preserving the Fatherland". Metropolitan Platon himself was the author of the text. The bell tower of the Lavra, the highest in Russia (more than 87 m), has become an architectural center that unites all the buildings of the monastery of different times and different characteristics. It became the final "chord" of the amazing architectural "symphony" - the ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, in which each monument has its own unique "party", emphasizing with its individuality the features of the buildings next to it.

In the XIX - early XX century. in the Trinity Monastery, only various alterations were made and attempts were made to adapt them to one or another need, which distorted the appearance of the ancient ensemble. Only thanks to the large-scale restoration work of the 40-60s of the XX century. unique monuments were freed from remakes that distorted them. In 1993 architectural ensemble The monastery is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

There was a dense forest in which Sergius of Radonezh with his brother Stefan, they founded a small monastery in order to concentrate in solitude and send prayers to the Creator for the help of all Rus'.

The fact is that it was in those distant times when Rus' suffered from the constant devastating raids of the Horde troops. Saving their family from death, the parents of the future Sergius - Kirill and Maria with three children fled from Rostov to the town of Radonezh. At the end of his life, his parents went to the Khotkov Monastery, where they later died. And Bartholomew (the future Sergius of Radonezh) and his brother Stefan decided to become hermits.

Foundation of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

Together the brothers cut down a cell and a small church in honor of Trinity in a remote uninhabited place. However, Stefan, unable to endure the harsh life in the forest: the scarcity of lean vegetable food and the hard work of obtaining it, winter frosts and fear from wild animals, soon left for a comfortable Moscow monastery. Saint Sergius remained one among firs and bears. But he was not alone in soul - God and his Saints were with him.

The rumor about the hermit life of Sergius spread throughout Rus', and his coexistence with God attracted the souls of people who were looking for righteousness. And people flocked to Sergius, and many stayed with him to live - this is how the Sergius community, which in the first decades of its existence lived in dire poverty. But gradually the wilderness turned into a monastic city. And Sergius of Radonezh for his boundless love for God and people began to be called saints.

And it was to St. Sergius that he turned for blessing Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy before the decisive battle with the Mongol adversaries - the Battle of Kulikovo. The monk strengthened the spirit of the Russian army, predicting victory for him, as a result of which Dmitry became the national leader of all Russian lands, and Moscow became the center of the unification of Rus'.

Thanks to the support of the holy elder Dmitry Donskoy introduced in Rus' monocracy and a new order of succession, which contributed to the centralization of power. St. Sergius has always advocated an end to internecine wars, for the unity and strengthening of the Russian state.

After the death of St. Sergius, both the Russian nobility and the common people flocked to the monastery to pray at the tomb of the Reverend. The Russian monarchs did not disregard the Lavra - the reign of each of them was marked by some kind of construction or restructuring on the territory of the monastery. And over time, the monastery turned into a beautiful architectural ensemble.

At the beginning of the 15th century, a white stone church was erected on the site of the very first wooden church. Trinity Cathedral, during the construction of which the relics of the Reverend were found. Thus began the formation of the stone temple complex Laurel.

In the middle of the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible monastery in Sergiev Posad, in which, by the way, Ivan was baptized, turned into a defensive structure - brick walls were built, reinforced with towers, ditches were dug and dams were built. Then a powerful Assumption Cathedral as an image and likeness of Moscow.

In times of Troubles behind these walls, the monks of the monastery courageously withstood the sixteen-month siege of the Polish troops. After the Time of Troubles, the times of rapid development of the monastery began. The number of peasant farms belonging to him was much larger than that of the tsar himself. At the monastery there were factories producing bricks for building needs. Orchards were created around the monastery, fish were bred in the ponds.

At Peter the Great the elegant and fundamental Refectory Church and the Royal Halls, as well as the Church of John the Baptist, were built. But after Russia entered into a confrontation with Sweden and the beginning of the creation of a new capital on the Neva in the early 18th century, by decree of the tsar, construction on the territory of the monastery temporarily stopped.

However, in the middle of the 18th century, Queen Elizabeth, a new stage in the development of the Lavra began. Was open Dtheological seminary, and later the Moscow Theological Academy moved here. Elizabeth herself often visited the monastery, accompanying her visits with entertainment events, for which a special Palace was built outside the walls of the monastery (now it is the Skitskiye Ponds Park). Under Elizabeth, the construction of the Bell Tower began.

By the middle of the 19th century the monastery is a large and wealthy landowner who traded in grain, household items, and salt. By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery operated: a printing house, hotels, trading shops, and various workshops.

After the revolution, the monastery was closed, the monks were evicted, church valuables were confiscated, many bells were destroyed, the temple premises were used as educational institutions, clubs, and canteens.

But the history of the Lavra did not end there.

The history of the Sergius Lavra after the revolution

Interestingly, in the midst of Great Patriotic War Stalin went to negotiate with Orthodox Church, as a result of which part places of worship returned to the believers. This also affected the Sergius Lavra, in which, since 1946, the building of the Theological Academy began to function again, in Assumption Cathedral services resumed, the monks began to return to the monastery.

In the 90s of the 20th century in the Lavra, active restoration and restoration work began to save architectural and cultural monuments. And near the walls of the monastery was built a bronze Monument to St. Sergius Radonezh.

Today the Sergius Lavra is one of the world centers Orthodox culture and enlightenment. The Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, the Regency and Icon Painting Schools are located here, Christmas and Glinsky readings, theological conferences, etc. are held here.

The Trinity-Sergius Lavra is one of the most ancient and revered monasteries in Russia. Its founder and first leader was Sergius of Radonezh himself, whose relics are laid to rest in the local cathedral. The Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery is the oldest building that has survived to this day. It is still in effect: anyone can enter and pray or stay for the service.

Trinity Sergius Lavra

In church texts, it is usually called the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. Today it is the largest Russian monastery, which belongs to the ROC. It is located on the Konchura River in the center of Sergiev Posad. Despite its solid history, it is still active and attracts pilgrims from all over the world. The monastery is stauropegial, that is, it reports directly to the patriarch.

The history of the monastery - the first decades

The history of the monastery began in 1337, when the brothers Bartholomew (the future Sergius of Radonezh) and Stefan, a monk of the Intercession Monastery, settled on a hill ten versts from Khotkovo. They soon built a small wooden church of the Holy Trinity, consecrated it in 1340, and several cells. All buildings took up little space and were located in the southwestern corner of the modern Lavra.

A few years later, Stefan went to the Epiphany Monastery, and Sergius was left alone. Gradually, other hermits began to settle near him. Soon a monastery appeared on the site of the desert. The first abbot was abbot Mitrofan, who tonsured Sergius as a monk.

At that time, the entire territory of the monastery was divided into three parts: residential, public and defensive. In the center stood the Church of the Trinity and the refectory, they were surrounded by cells. The latter were followed by vegetable gardens and other household services.

Along the perimeter there is a wooden palisade, over the fence of which a wooden church of Dmitry Solunsky was built. It is noteworthy that such a plan has been preserved in the Lavra to this day. The Trinity Monastery quickly became the spiritual center of Rus': in 1380, before the battle with Mamai, Prince Dmitry Donskoy came here to receive a blessing.

Sergius of Radonezh died in 1392. Six months before his death, he handed over leadership to his beloved disciple Nikon of Radonezh.

After the death of the pastor

The subsequent history of the monastery is quite remarkable. At the beginning of the 15th century, the monastery was plundered and burned by the Tatars under the leadership of Khan Edigei, but these were the last dark days. For the next two centuries, no one touched the monastery: it developed, rebuilt and rebuilt, chronicles were compiled here, books were copied, icons were painted. In the 15th century, the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh was created in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, which became the largest literary medieval monument.

The first stone church appeared in the 20s of the XV century: it was the rebuilt first church of the monastery, which was erected by Sergius of Radonezh. His relics were transferred here, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Cherny were involved in the design. Rublev's famous "Trinity" was written specifically for the Trinity Cathedral.

The princes of Moscow did not forget the monastery: they came here to pray before the campaign, they stopped by after the victories. Ivan the Terrible was very fond of the monastery: in the main cathedral of the monastery he was baptized as a child, he came here after major victories for a prayer service.

Under the tsar, redevelopment was carried out, white-stone walls and new churches were erected, and the territory acquired its modern dimensions.

At the end of the 16th century, the Holy Trinity Monastery became the largest Russian monastery. He owned almost three thousand settlements, active maritime trade with foreign countries was conducted on his behalf.

The further fate of the monastery was no less eventful:

By the 19th century, the Sergius Lavra was one of the largest Russian monasteries and one of the richest landowners and merchants.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery was in charge of several small monasteries and hermitages, two hotels, shops, workshops, horse yards, tenement houses, printing house. More than four hundred monks lived in it, thousands of pilgrims came from all over the country, many representatives of noble families rested on the territory. Unique treasures of decorative and applied arts were also stored here, a huge library was located (at the beginning of the 20th century, it contained more than 10 thousand handwritten books, annals, and the first printed books).

In the twentieth century

In 1918, the Trinity Lavra was turned into a labor artel in accordance with the decree "On the separation of church and state." IN next year the monks were relocated to the Chernigov and Gethsemane sketes, the theological academy was closed, the premises were transferred to electrical courses. In the same year, the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh were opened.

In 1920, despite the requests of Patriarch Tikhon, the Lavra was closed. On its territory, a historical and architectural museum and the Zagorodsky Teachers' Institute (Pedagogical College) were opened. Most of the premises were rebuilt and adapted for household and residential needs.

However, experts could not disappear architectural monuments laurel: already in 1918, the first commission for the protection of monuments and antiquity was convened. In 1938, a young architect Trofimov was invited, who prepared a certificate on the artistic and historical value of the monastery and the need to preserve it. Based on the data he collected, it was decided to recognize the monastery as the Zagorsk State Museum-Reserve. Trofimov himself received the post of chief architect of restoration work.

The very essence of the restoration is noteworthy: Trofimov's task was to restore each building at the moment of its highest artistic flowering. This made it possible to identify the most successful forms for each building, but did not allow creating a single ensemble.

Until 1950, restoration was carried out in the buildings transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate in 1946, then the work touched on all the premises. In the second half of the 50s of the twentieth century, all outside organizations were removed, and the Lavra completely returned to the hands of the patriarchy. Until 1983, the residence of the patriarch was located here. The bulk of the restoration work was completed in 1970.

In 1993, the ensemble was included in the UNESCO list. The relics of St. Radonezh were returned to the Trinity Cathedral in 1946. The Moscow Theological Academy reopened in 1949.

The architectural ensemble of the monastery

On the territory of the monastery there are more than fifty buildings, most of which were built in the XV-XIX centuries. There are more than a dozen churches on the territory, the most revered churches of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery are:

Also live on the territory about two hundred monks the following institutions operate:

1. Moscow Theological Seminary;
2. Pilgrimage and excursion centers;
3. Workshops: stained glass, sewing and gold embroidery, candle, mosaic, ceramic, carpentry;
4. Sound recording studio;
5. Publishing house;
6. Healing source;
7. Historical Museum.

Holy Trinity Cathedral

This is the oldest temple of the Lavra, which has survived to this day. It was erected in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh by his disciple and leader of the Lavra, Nikon of Radonezh, in the 20s of the 15th century. The relics of the monk were transferred here, and Andrei Rublev's "Trinity" is also located here. In addition to the cathedral, the Nikonovsky chapel was added. The cathedral is active: it is held daily Divine Liturgies and prayers to the saint, they immediately take monastic vows. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is protected.

The Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery is the “reference point” for the entire architecture of the monastery: the formation of the entire appearance of the monastery began from it. He is a representative of early Moscow architecture. The church itself is small, built of white stone, has one gilded dome. Its forms are simple but elegant, carved ornaments and outdoor icons are used as decorations. It is noteworthy that the walls of the building are tilted inward (quite noticeably) - this was required by the drum tapering upwards.

The iconostasis was created Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny. They also painted the walls, but the painting of the 15th century has not been preserved. Instead, a work of the middle of the 17th century is presented, which repeats the original one.

Information for pilgrims

So that the trip to the Lavra is not in vain, you should familiarize yourself with the following information:

You also need to know where the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is located and how to get to it. There are several ways to get from Moscow to the Trinity Church:

1. By car: along the Yaroslavl highway (M8 highway). It will pass into the Old Yaroslavl Highway, then into the Moscow Highway, and at the end - into the Prospect of the Red Army, which will go all the way to the Lavra;
2. By bus: from VDNH metro station by bus number 388 to Sergiev Posad bus station. From there, you can walk to the monastery in about 10-15 minutes. Travel time will be at least an hour and depends on traffic congestion;
3. By train: from the Yaroslavl railway station to the Sergiev Posad station. The railway station is located near the bus station, and you can also walk to your destination in a few minutes. Travel time will be approximately 1.5 hours.

Among all Russian Orthodox monasteries, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra occupies a special place. This is not just the largest and one of the most famous monasteries, but also a place founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh. Thousands of pilgrims come here every day to venerate the relics of the saint in the main Holy Trinity Cathedral.