Monastery of the Theotokos of Iveron (in Russian: Иверский монастырь) is an Orthodox convent of the Samara and Tolyatti Eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1850 a women's religious community was founded in Samara. It got the imperial approval in 1855. In 1860, due to its successful development, the community was transformed into a convent, which at the beginning of the 20th century was home to about 400 nuns and residents. The monastery had a hospital, a school and several workshops, including one where the Samara flag was created. Divine services were held in three churches of the monastery, which were venerated in Samara shrines: the image of the Theotokos of Jerusalem and the image of the Theotokos of Iveron, which gave its name to the monastery. About a thousand people were buried in the cemetery of the monastery, including many prominent citizens. The monastery was a significant architectural ensemble that largely determined the view of Samara, especially from the Volga River.Radchenko O. Монастыри самарского края: история и современность (24 March 2014).
During the Soviet period, the monastery continued to exist for some time as a sewing artel, but first all its valuables were taken away, and in 1925 it was closed. At the beginning of the 1930s, the monastery's Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, the second largest church in Samara, was demolished and in its place apartment houses were built. The bell tower, the monastery fence, some buildings were also destroyed, the cemetery was ruined, the surviving churches housed various organizations, the buildings were given as housing to workers of local enterprises.
The revival of the monastery began in 1992, when the preserved temples and a part of the preserved buildings, recognized as an architectural monument of regional importance, were given to the established monastic community of the Orthodox Church. The churches of the monastery were restored and renovated, the bell tower of the monastery was rebuilt in its original place, preserving the appearance of the 19th century, a new chapel church was built, security and rescue works were carried out in the necropolis of the monastery. Nowadays, the monastery has a library for the parishioners, gold embroidery and icon painting workshops. In 1999, the monastery was visited by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, and since 2001 the relics of the locally venerated Saint Alexander Chagrinsky have been kept there.
History
Context In the 16th-18th centuries, there was a female Spaso-Preobrazhensky convent in Samara. In 1764, according to the Catherine II decree On the division of ecclesiastical property, the convent was abolished and the nuns were transferred to the Simbirsk Spassky Convent.Nevostruyev K. I. Историческое описание бывших в городе Самаре мужского Спасо-Преображенского и женского Спасского монастырей // Классика самарского краеведения. Антология. Самара, 2002. pp. 39—43. In the city there arose a movement of women who tried to resemble the nuns in their dress and lifestyle, but did not take the monastic tonsure. In 1829, they tried to get permission to open an Orthodox women's community in the city, but they were not supported either by the citizens or by the diocesan leadership.
The idea of establishing such a community gradually gained the support of the citizens. M. I. Fedorov, the Samara land surveyor, who actively convinced the citizens of the necessity of opening a parish, did a lot for the establishment of the parish. He attracted to his side the priest of the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos S. M. Belsky and the archpriest of the Kazan Cathedral I. G. Khalkolivanov, the merchants Baranov and Plotnikov, the nobleman Putilov and many others. For the future congregation he also donated his land on the outskirts of the city with the area of 100 x 60 fathoms in the area of Mechetnaya Street. In time, thanks to the support of prominent citizens, the idea of opening a parish was accepted by almost all Orthodox Samaritans.
Foundation
In January 1850, the citizens of the city petitioned Bishop Theodotius of SimbirskSamara then belonged to the Simbirsk diocese. to open a women's community in Samara in memory of the destroyed monastery, pointing out that already 38 women wanted to devote themselves to monastic life. It was reported that there were a number of sectarians and old believers of various kinds living in Samara, and the establishment of the Orthodox community, if not eradicating sectarianism, would significantly weaken it. Theodotius sent the petition to the Holy Synod, attaching his own petition pointing out the necessity, timeliness and advantages of opening a parish in Samara.
The Synod asked for information about the means on which the new community would exist. In order to solve this problem, the city society formed a board of trustees for the future parish, which included the assessor Bogoroditsky, the merchant P. G. Baranov, the civil servant M. I. Fedorov, headed by the cathedral archpriest I. G. Khalkolivano. A city subscription was organized to collect funds for the establishment of the parish.
Bishop Theodotius, for his part, authorized the establishment of two chapels with attached circles for the collection of funds. One was located in the Trinity Market, the other on the bank of the Volga River near the transportation center. In addition, four cord books were issued for the collection of donations, with which several nuns traveled throughout Russia, even visiting Siberia. Theodosius was also concerned with regulating the internal life of the community, for which purpose, at his request, a special charter was sent by the Nizhny Novgorod Ecclesiastical Consistory, which was in charge of four similar communities. The charter consisted of 49 paragraphs and defined the way of life, the order in the community, the relationship between the nuns, the behavior of the nuns, etc.
It turned out that the place proposed by Fedorov for the village was inconvenient. The city was developing in that direction and soon threatened to surround the territory of the village with houses and estates of the citizens. Besides, there were no wells for drinking water, and the distance of the territory from the Volga and Samara created too many difficulties with the water supply of the community. And although the merchant Evdokia Sinyagina, the civil servants P. Sukhova and O. Timasheva, and the citizen M. I. Nazarov were ready to donate their lands in Mechetnaya Street for the planned convent, the future inhabitants of the convent chose a new place. Now it was planned to build the cloister outside the city, not far from the Strukovsky Garden, which was then its extreme point, on the bank of the Volga. At that time it was a wasteland overgrown with bushes, with stony soil in some places, and shallow underground waters. In general, the place was suitable for vegetable gardens and orchards, and sufficiently isolated from the city, which corresponded to the idea of monastic life.
The trustees of the future community agreed with the proposed location. Following Fedorov's example, merchants M. N. Nazarov, I. N. Sinyagin and other citizens bought these homesteads and donated them to the community.
On September 14, 1850, Bishop Theodotius arrived in Samara, where he consecrated the place allotted to the community, laid a stone in the foundation of the future church of the monastery,Самарские епархиальные ведомости. Часть неофициальная: журнал. 1897. № 18. P. 691. and blessed the future residents with an icon of the Theotokos of Jerusalem. The next day, construction began. The nuns who had their own means built at their own expense, while those who did not had the help of benefactors and trustees. In November, the first building was completed, half of which was used for cells, and the second — under the chapel, which was donated to the community icons and church utensils. The Holy Trinity Church gave the community a four-pound bell to call to prayer. At the end of 1850, the chapel was consecrated by the archpriest of the Kazan Cathedral of Samara I.G. Khalkolivanov, began to send all-night vigils and hours.
Though the community was founded in memory of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, and the bishop blessed it with the Theotokos of Jerusalem, but with the consent of the future nuns it was named Iverskaya, in fulfillment of the wish of the Yelabuga merchant E. I. Marikhina, who donated to the community a family icon of the Theotokos of Iveron in a precious frame. The first inhabitants of the community chose M.Y. Yanova as their superior. Already in 1834, she and some other nuns traveled to holy places, including monasteries, to study their way of life and principles of management.
In 1851, the community consisted of a chapel with living quarters and two small wings with cells. In total, about 40 nuns lived in the convent. Divine services were held first by the priests of the Kazan and Trinity Churches, then by the replaced off-duty priests of the Kazan Cathedral. On March 28 the first bishop of the Samara diocese, Eusebius, arrived in Samara. He continued the matter of the official opening of the community and informed the Synod that the community already numbered up to 100 people of various ages and ranks and that the monastery had up to 7 thousand rubles of capital and 5 thousand rubles of various contributions. However, Eminence Eusebius in order to open the community as soon as possible, or noticeably exaggerated the figures, or indicated the capital promised to the community after its foundation, but not actually available, because in fact in 1855 the community had only 500 rubles from the parish of public charity.
At the beginning of 1855, the territory of the parish was limited to a small plot of land of 120 × 60 sazhens, on which there was a church "with a miserable sacristy and the same furnishings", 3 wooden buildings of 12 sazhens in length, 3 wooden wings of 6 sazhens in length, all on stone foundations. The buildings were covered with wood and the rooms were cramped. The abbess lived in one of the buildings, the nuns lived in two buildings and two wings, and one wing was used as a refectory. Food was prepared by the nuns themselves. There was also a barn, a laundry, a carriage house, a stable, two cellars and a guard house. In the bell tower, four bells hung on four masts, the largest of which was 8 poods and weighed 4 pounds.
Community
Bishop Eusebius On 12 March 1855, the Emperor Alexander II approved the decision of the Holy Synod on the acceptance of the Iveron women's community in Samara under the jurisdiction and patronage of the spiritual and civil authorities.О принятіи образовавшейся въ г. Самарѣ женской общины, подъ наименованіемъ Иверской, въ вѣдѣніе и покровительство духовнаго и гражданскаго начальствъ (№ 29118, 12 марта 1855) // Полное собрание законов Российской Империи. Собрание Второе. СПб.: Тип. II Отделения Собственной Его Императорского Величества Канцелярии, 1856. V. XXX. Отделение 1. P. 197. On 20 April, M. Y. Yanova was officially appointed as the community's parson, by 24 April was complete, and on 27 April was consecrated in the name of the Theotokos of Iveron, the first church of the community, transformed from the monastery chapel. From that moment the community began to develop rapidly. Soon the territory of the monastery grew to almost 7 dessiatinas. Part of the land was allocated by the Municipality, which paid compensation to the owners of the farmsteads or gave them land elsewhere. Part of the community bought the land independently, using donated funds.