From a nun's notebook. Serafimo-Znamensky Skete Convent Diocesan Convent Shelter in Serafimo Znamensky Convent

The Serafimo-Znamensky Skete was founded in the year by Abbess Yuvenalia (Mardzhanova).

Architecture

Serafimo-Znamensky Skete is of undoubted interest from the architectural, artistic and planning positions. The unique project of the skete complex was created by the architect Leonid Vasilyevich Stezhensky. It has a square plan, in the center of it there is a tiered hipped temple, which plays the role of a high-rise dominant.

Temple in honor of the Sign Mother of God and St. Seraphim of Sarov, with a tomb and a throne in the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, has decorative motifs of Moscow and Pskov-Novgorod architecture, reworked in the Art Nouveau style. The temple of red brick has a cross-shaped volume, it is crowned with a slender tent of light with four rows of kokoshniks totaling 24 - according to the number of 24 apocalyptic elders.

The fence of the skete is a square with a side of 33 fathoms - in memory of 33 years of the earthly life of Christ. In the fence there were 12 small houses-cells - according to the number of 12 apostles (nine survived). Each of these cells was dedicated to one of these apostles. They were symmetrically located along the perimeter of a blank brick wall. The buildings in the skete complex are mostly brick, unplastered, their decorative elements highlighted with whitewash.

temples

• Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign" and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov with a lower church-tomb in honor of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina

shrines

• icon with the relics of Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Bishop of Tobolsk
• Relics of the Confessor Tamar (Marjanova)

abbesses

Literature

• V.G. Glushkov "Monasteries near Moscow", Moscow, Veche, 2015, pp. 140-146

Located on the banks of the Rozhayka River, near the village of Bityagovo.
The history of the creation of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete is connected with the life of Shebegumenia Tamar (in the world of Tamara Aleksandrovna Mardzhanova), who founded the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete in 1910-1912.
For the construction of the skete, a place was chosen in the Samoilovsky forest, two kilometers from the village of Zaborye and half a kilometer from the village of Bityagovo, on a hill on the right bank of the Rozhayka River among the ancient Slavic mounds.
In the creation of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete on the lands of the Pokrovskaya community in 1910-1912. Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna actively helped her mother.
Most of the sisters of the skete were spiritual children of the abbot of the Kremlin Chudov Monastery, Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) of Serpukhov.
We slipped through an inconspicuous and in no way marked turn and skete, drove into the village of Bityagovo and stopped near the Church of the Resurrection of the Word.

Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Bityagovo.

The Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Bityagovo is an architectural monument of the 17th century.

Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Bityagovo.
The environs of the village of Bityagova have been inhabited since ancient times: this is evidenced by the burial mounds of the Vyatichi, located near it. The first mention of this settlement is found in the spiritual charter of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Danilovich Kalita in 1339.
The current Church of the Resurrection of the Word was built in 1670-1671.

Worship cross near the temple.


We asked the children playing near the church for directions to the skete, and this time we correctly turned into the forest, onto an unremarkable road that led us straight to the skete.

The economy of the skete includes chickens, cows, and horses.

Sick children are taken care of in the skete, they have already helped many children to get on their feet with the help of hippotherapy (horseback riding).

You can see the dome of the church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim.



Church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim, with a tomb and a throne below in honor of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina.
There are two altars in the cathedral, one - the upper one, in honor of the icon "The Sign" and the Monk Seraphim, and the lower one, into which one must go down a steep staircase, - in honor of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Enlightener of Georgia.

Church of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim, with a tent of 24 kokoshniks rising in openwork tiers. The architect of the cathedral is A.V. Shchusev.

Cross on the altar side of the temple.

Church of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, with a tent of 24 kokoshniks rising in openwork tiers. The architect of the cathedral is A.V. Shchusev.

Cathedral dome.

The dome of the church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim.

24 white kokoshniks of the Church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and St. Seraphim.

Crosses on the wall of the Church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and St. Seraphim.

Cross on the wall of the Church in the name of the Sign of the Mother of God and the Monk Seraphim.

Church in the name of the Mother of God of the Sign and St. Seraphim.

Church in the name of the Mother of God of the Sign and St. Seraphim.

Mosaic icon of the Mother of God of the Sign.



A well on the territory of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete.
The gate belfry is visible in the distance on the left.

Gate belfry and cell.

Two cells.

Gate belfry and cell.

Gate belfry.

Openwork forged gates of the belfry.

Openwork Holy gates of the belfry. The belfry with the Holy Gates was recreated from photographs taken in the 1920s.

Dove on the Holy Gate of the Belfry.

On the territory of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete there are 12 small houses-cells - 12 in number

DOMODEDOVO, February 7, 2018, DOMODEDOVSKIE VESTI - Not far from the noisy Domodedovo is one of the pearls of Russian architecture of the early XX century - the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete. Its foundation and construction is associated with one of the most amazing women of the 20th century - shegumen Tamar (Mordzhanova). About the monastery, the inextricable spiritual connection between Georgia and Russia, as well as the fate of this woman will tell the correspondent of the publication "Domodedovskie Vesti" Alexander Ilyinsky

Earthly Paradise

The monastic complex seems to grow out of the surrounding nature near Moscow, showing the perfect and fabulous Russian beauty to the rare visitor. This beauty seemed to have descended from the paintings of Vasnetsov or Nesterov. Seeing the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete once is enough to fall in love with this place forever. Overgrown with pine forest and birch forest, the monastery is buried in flowers in the summer. And in winter, the whiteness of sparkling snow and the blue shadows of snowdrifts emphasize the austere architecture of the monastery. At any time of the year, the skete is an image of an earthly paradise. And reminds each of those who get here, about Heavenly Paradise.

Pine forest sheltered from the hustle and bustle of the eternal rush of the monastery complex, made of whitewashed brick in the old Russian style. In its center, built according to the project of the architect Alexei Shchusev, rises the most beautiful tiered hipped-roof church, made in the traditions of the architecture of the 17th century. The illuminated tent of the church is crowned with a slide of 32 decorative kokoshniks and a colored ceramic dome with a strict cross. The small size of the church is deceiving. It contains two temple rooms. The upper church was consecrated in honor of Seraphim of Sarov and the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign". Large arched windows and many small windows located on the tent fill the room with light and create a joyful feeling of space and flight.

Alexander ILYINSKY / DIAMO

The lower basement temple, originally conceived as a tomb and made in the Georgian style, surrounds the pilgrim with twilight and a special prayer comfort. It is dedicated to Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia. Outside, according to the project of the architect Leonid Strezhensky, the skete is surrounded by a square fence, in which twelve cell houses are intricately built. Opposite the entrance to the temple are the entrance gates to the monastery - the holy gates with a belfry.

They say that architecture is a harmony of proportions. If this is so, then internally and externally the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete is simply ideal in its beauty and architectural incorporation into the surrounding nature. The history of this God-blessed place is inextricably linked with an amazing woman who was recently glorified in the host of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia - Shegemony Tamarya (Mordzhanova).

Princess who became a nun

It seemed that Tamara Alexandrovna Mardzhanishvili, born in 1868 in a Georgian princely family, was waiting for a happy marriage, a comfortable life and troubles about numerous children. Young men from the best Georgian families looked at the charming girl. But God judged otherwise. Tamara was looking not for earthly happiness, but for heavenly. At a young age, she heard a special call from God, left behind wealth and secular joys in order to become a nun Juvenalia in 1889. Before us is a secret hidden in the depths of the human heart from prying eyes. But it is obvious that her whole previous life was only a preparation for such a step. The rapid spiritual growth of the nun Juvenalia began to the extent of unity with Christ. And very soon these spiritual gifts of love, mercy, peace of mind and fiery faith became obvious to those around. For deeds of prayer, height and purity of spiritual life in 1902, she was appointed abbess of the Bodbe convent, one of the largest monasteries of Orthodox Iberia. Her whole life is inextricably linked with the special veneration of the great Russian saint - Seraphim of Sarov, a reverent love for which Abbess Yuvenalia carried to her last breath. Matushka was distinguished by her seriousness, efficiency and impeccable adherence to high Christian virtues. At this time, Georgia was restless. In 1907, an armed attack was made on Abbess Yuvenaly. The purpose of the robbers was the money of the Bodbe Monastery, but the monastery carriage, riddled with bullets, managed to escape from the ambush. The abbess remained alive by a miracle. And ten days later the church authorities transferred her to Moscow.

Bomother's command

For the nun, accustomed to spiritual silence and contemplative life, the Mother See, with all its metropolitan discord and bustle, became spiritual torture. She began to look for opportunities to move to a more peaceful place.

But it is at this moment that a turning point occurs in her fate. During the prayer, she receives a command from the Queen of Heaven Herself to found a small convent. But you never know who will like it! Being spiritually sober and alien to exaltation, Abbess Juvenal seeks advice from the great confessors of that time - Alexei Zosimovsky, Anatoly Optinsky and Gabriel Sedmiezersky. And they, without saying a word, unexpectedly support the initiative of the forty-year-old nun.

Serafimo-Znamensky Skete

And then the impossible begins. Benefactors come to an unknown provincial abbess, ready to invest heavily in construction. It is located in a convenient place in the Podolsk district, 36 versts from Moscow, in the forest near the Vostryakovo station. Paveletskaya branch was supposed to pass on this land railway. At the very last moment, the railway company suddenly sells land plot and moves construction five kilometers to the east. Holy Synod - supreme body church authority gives permission for the construction of the skete. The famous Moscow architects Shchusev and Strezhensky, delighted with the prospect of embodying the image of the Heavenly City of Jerusalem in stone, are developing a detailed project in the shortest possible time.

Finally, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanova, the founder of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, takes an active part in the creation of the skete. Love to Saint Seraphim Sarovsky forever united these two different women.

The first stone in the foundation of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete was laid on July 27, 1910. Construction was completed in September 1912. The rite of consecration of the newly created monastery was conducted by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow. 33 nuns settled in the skete - according to the number of earthly years of Jesus Christ. They spent their lives in work, prayer and solitude. Worship was performed daily. The external symbolism and the internal charter of the skete were designed to follow the gospel words: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness." The spiritual support of the new monastery was provided by famous priests of that time - Bishop Arseny (Zhdanovsky) and Bishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky). And in 1915, in the spiritual life of Abbess Yuvenalia, something special happened. significant event. She was tonsured into the Great Schema with the name Tamar. The Great Schema meant for mother Tamar the most complete, ultimate estrangement from the world and its rejection for the sake of union with God. All her thoughts and spiritual impulses were now directed towards only one thing - unceasing prayer. Life became life. Under the name Tamar, she remained in the history of the Domodedovo region. Under this name, she will enter the saints of the Georgian and Russian Orthodox Churches.

Years of hard times

The difficult time of civil unrest did not bypass the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete. In 1924 it was closed, and in 1934 the nuns, together with the Mother Superior, were arrested, imprisoned, and then deported to Siberia. After closing, the Zaboryevskaya hospital was placed in the monastery, which became the best in the county. In the 60s there was a pioneer camp, then - a recreation center. Gradually, the buildings began to fall into disrepair, and the territory - into desolation.

The founder of the monastery, schema-nun Tamar, at the request of her brother Konstantin, a well-known Soviet director and theater reformer, was released from exile in 1934 to die in Moscow. Despite the physical weakness from the tuberculosis she had earned in prisons, the spiritual greatness and beauty of the mother's spirit remained unchanged. Moreover, this inner radiance seemed to gain strength over the years. She is all - has become a prayer and love for people and God. This is how the artist Pavel Korin saw her. A few days before the death of the nun, he managed to finish the portrait of "Sheigumenya Tamar", well known to our contemporaries and now in the artist's museum. Matushka died peacefully in June 1936 in a small house near the Pionerskaya station of the Belarusian railway and was buried in the German cemetery in Moscow. Most of the sisters of the Seraphim-Znamenskaya monastery were repressed. Bishop Arseny, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna and Bishop Seraphim were shot.

rebirth

The deserted and dilapidated monastery was handed over Orthodox Church in 1999. The renovation work has now been completed. The Serafimo-Znamensky Skete, under the leadership of Abbess Innocentia (Popova), began to live a spiritual life and again pleases pilgrims with the miracle of the fusion of architecture with nature near Moscow, the treasures of Orthodoxy and the special silence that is so necessary in our time. On December 22, 2016, the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church made a decision to canonize the founder of the monastery, Sheikhumene Famari. The Orthodox Church of Iveria is fraternal for the Russian Church. And therefore, on December 28, 2017, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, a decision was made to include the name of the Confessor Tamar (in Russian transcription - Mordzhanova) in the official months. The date of her prayerful memory is June 23rd.

Igor MOISEEV / DIAMO

February 8 at the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete will be held Divine Liturgy, which will be attended by all the clergy of the Domodedovo deanery. And after the Liturgy, the first solemn prayer service dedicated to the newly glorified holy Russian and Georgian Church of Famari (Mordzhanova) will take place. Rich in spirituality and traditions, Domodedovo land has found a new saint. This cannot but rejoice!

Address: Moscow region, Domodedovo district, sanatorium "Podmoskovye", 26

Directions: to the station Domodedovo Paveletskaya railway, then by bus number 23 to the stop "Selo Bityagovo". Or by buses 31, 32, 58 to the village of Zaborye, then walk 2.5 km towards the Neftyanik recreation center.

Serafimo-Znamensky Skete occupies a special place among the monasteries of the Moscow region. It was founded in 1910 by the Georgian princess Tamara Alexandrovna Mardzhanishvili (Abbess Yuvenalia at that time) - the future shiigumeniya Tamaryu.

Mother Tamar came from a noble family, she was beautiful and educated. She lost her parents early and chose the monastic life in her youth.

The saint had a significant influence on the spiritual life of the girl. righteous John Kronstadtsky, whom she met in 1892. Foreseeing the fate of the young novice, Father John laid three crosses on her. As mother later recalled, Father John put crosses on her and said: “Tamara-Tamara, you have chosen the good part. That's what an abbess you are - look at her! During her life, Mother Tamar was the abbess of three monasteries: Bodbe (in Georgia), the Intercession community in Moscow and the Seraphim-Znamensky Skete near Moscow. Two years later, more than twenty years later, Father John predicted the schema to the novice Tamara, writing to her in memory on his photograph: “For the blessing of the schema nun.”

Not only Father John, but also other high clergymen appreciated Matushka for her seriousness, efficiency, strictly church Orthodox direction and impeccable monastic life. Metropolitans Flavian, Vladimir, Macarius, the elders - Schemagumen Herman, Hieroschemamonk Anatoly Optinsky, Alexy Zosimovsky and others - knew her and treated her with deep respect.

The Monk Seraphim was the main patron and, so to speak, the "ideal" in the life of Shegeumena Tamar. His biography was the first book of spiritual and moral content that she read.

In 1902, the novice Tamara was tonsured a monk with the name of Yuvenaly, and then was appointed abbess of the largest monastery in Georgia, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina in Bodbi, from where she was later transferred to Moscow, and then received a blessing to build a skete.

The history of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete is inextricably linked with the name Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna Romanova. Mother Tamar was very friendly with her, confided her plans to her and received support and approval.

Sheigumenia Tamar ruled the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete until 1924, when it was closed. She closely followed the life of the wanderers, she herself showed in everything an example of strict hermitage.

Non-acquisitiveness, complete renunciation of one's will, obedience and work for the common good were put at the forefront in the monastery. In fulfillment of this, the sisters were not to consider anything their property, they were not to have money or things, nor were they to work for personal gain. It was strictly required to observe external neatness and accuracy in everything. Each sister was required to observe silence, especially in the morning before the service and in the evening after the prayer. It was forbidden to talk idle, to speak loudly, insolently, in a raised voice and laugh. The sisters performed all the obediences only between services in fulfillment of the words of the Savior: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the rest will be added to you” (Matt. 6, 33). The nuns constantly said the Jesus Prayer and did not part with it in obedience. General work accompanied by the singing of psalms or the reading of akathists.

Sisters day started at five in the morning. After the Liturgy, a common tea was served, at one in the afternoon - lunch, at half past two - tea, at five o'clock - dinner, after which it was no longer supposed to eat anything and drink water. Satisfied with a common meal, the sisters could not have anything edible in their cells, nor could they impose an unauthorized fast on themselves. Living according to the rules of the skete hostel, each sister checked herself daily, asking herself questions about how she spent the day: was she lazy, didn’t she grumble, was she offended, etc. The order of attending divine services was strict, and the wanderers were not supposed to leave their cell prayers. A table of all the rules was given to each sister for constant reading and guidance.

In addition to the general charter, which is subject to indispensable execution, the sisters were recommended, with the blessing and appointment of the abbess, to devote every day of the week to exercise in a certain virtue in order to acquire skill in it.

Monday was devoted to silence. The nuns kept their feelings from any external impressions, indulged in self-deepening, which, however, was not accompanied by isolation that was unpleasant for others, but, on the contrary, complacency in everything.

In Tuesday emphasis was placed on meekness and humility. It was necessary to walk and stand in the temple with a bowed head, to observe silence in all actions; in the cell, do nothing according to your own desire, but first find out the opinion and desire of the sister living together; the first to come and the last to leave from obedience; the last to sit down at the table and touch the meal; those who meet bow to the waist and, if it happens to upset someone with words or actions, immediately with bow to the ground ask for forgiveness from the offended.

Wednesday- a day of self-reproach. On this day, the thoughts and deeds of the last days were checked.

was a day of prayer Thursday. Each sister determined the time and place for private prayer; came to worship according to the first agenda; she memorized a few lines from the Holy Gospel, the Apostle, the Psalter, or from her favorite akathist.

Friday - a day of fasting, contrition and weeping. The sisters abstained from pleasant food, dainties, and supper; deepened their thoughts into the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross to such an extent as to cause weeping over their sins.

Mandatory was the day of good deeds, which was dedicated to Saturday. In their free time, the sisters helped at the meal, kitchen, regular housework, or did something for a sick, infirm, or elderly sister.

The week ended with a day of joy. AT Sunday the sisters tried to concentrate on the blessings and mercies of God. They walked with a feeling of gratitude and glorification of the Lord, listing in their minds individual events of His earthly life, as well as cases of God's mercy from their past and present; a rosary passed with joyful greetings to the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints instead of the usual prayer for salvation and mercy; found words of comfort for the grieving and discouraged sisters.

Most of the sisters of the skete were spiritual children of the abbot of the Kremlin Chudov Monastery, Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) of Serpukhov. In the era of persecution of faith and the Church, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, Vladyka Arseniy and his spiritual friend Archimandrite Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), the future Bishop of Dmitrovsky, a hieromartyr, lived without a break in the skete in a half-lock from July 1918 to 1919. They lived in a small house in the forest and held services there.

Compiled according to the memoirs of Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky)

Nun Tamara tells about the modern life of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete

How do the sisters of the Seraphim-Znamensky Skete live now?

Now there are twenty nuns living in the skete, but I think that the time will come when we will reach the number of thirty-three. Usually, novices come with the blessing of their confessors, already having recommendations. Mother is looking to see if a person can live in these conditions and observe the monastic charter.

As before, every day begins (as in any monastery) with the morning rule. These are morning prayers, midnight office, sotitsa, which consists of one hundred prayers to the Mother of God. We remember our benefactors. If the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated, we read Mass: the hours are pictorial.

Each sister has her own obedience. All obediences are different. For some this is accounting. Someone has a garden, a farm, cows, horses. Someone has an excursion program. It all depends on the abilities that are given to a person.

Under mother Thamari, the skete had a very unusual charter. What features of this charter are preserved now?

We continue to read the akathist to St. Seraphim of Sarov. Previously, it was performed on the hill of the reverend. Now this place has been lost to the skete, as it turned out to be on private territory. When the monastery began to recover, we were just reading an akathist on a small hill. At first, the All-Night Vigils were even held there. Now the tradition continues, but prayer rule takes place in a log house built in honor of Arseny the Great, heavenly patron Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky). Once the log house was in the woods, not far from this very hill.

Currently, the skete has a more modern charter. The reading of the Midnight Office continues, of course, not at night, but in the morning. Of the rest of the traditions, not much has been preserved.

The days used to be devoted to some kind of virtue. Now we have attempts to arrange days of silence, but we definitely do not adhere to this rule yet.

We have more works aimed at external communication with the world.

Previously, the skete was a more secluded place and pilgrims did not come here so often. Now everything is different, people have a great need for spiritual nourishment, and therefore we have more social service than internal.

What comes first in the sisters' lives now? What's on the second?

I think prayer should always come first, and the rest will follow. When a person sincerely turns to God from the heart, the Lord already gives him what he asks for. If obediences are done with prayer, then I think the Lord will always help.

What role did those who found temporary shelter here play in the spiritual life of the skete. Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) and Bishop. Arseny (Zhadanovsky)?

The bishops played a very important role in the life of the skete.

In 1919, the Miracle Monastery was closed, its inhabitants began to look for a new monastery. Initially, the premises of the monastery housed the Kommunist cooperative and a reading room, and then it was transferred to the Kremlin Lechsanupr, who was responsible for the health of high-ranking officials from the Soviet government. In 1929, the Chudov Monastery, the Small Nikolaevsky Palace and the Ascension Monastery were destroyed, and on this site it was decided to build the building of the School of Red Commanders, the project of which was developed by the architect I. Rerberg.

In 1918 Bishop Seraphim and Bishop Arseniy settled in the skete. At that time, few abbesses received persecuted bishops. Mother Tamar, with her Georgian hospitality and fearlessness, accepted both of them. She not only accepted, but also arranged for them a wooden kennel - a wooden frame in honor of Arseny the Great. There the bishops lived and performed divine services. They say that Matushka herself sang at the Liturgy there.

Everything that concerned the external and internal organization of the skete was done with the blessing of Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky), who was the spiritual father of our skete.

His close spiritual friend Vladyka Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) helped him in caring for the sisters. They were people of one spirit, one dispensation. I think that the baggage that the bishops and mother herself gave to the sisters, the sisters could well appreciate, having already gone through arrests, prisons and exile.

Comparing the life of the skete with the life of other monasteries, they understood how high was the prayer feat of the lords and mother. They passed on this spirit of prayer to the sisters, which helped them survive in those difficult years of persecution of the Church and maintain a truly high moral character.

What part of the past history of the monastery is especially dear to the sisters now?

Most of all, the very appearance of Mother Tamar and her asceticism, the prayerful spirit of this monastery are dearest.

We have acquaintances of nuns who, in the 1980s, were in close contact with the sisters of our monastery—Mother Taisia ​​(in the world Tatyana Nikolaevna Protasyeva) and nun Arsenia (in the world Tatyana Sergeevna Volkova). From the memoirs of the Skete sisters, it was clear that the monastery was a paradise for them. They recalled the tenure in the monastery as the brightest period in their lives. Their memories of the Serafimo-Znamensky Skete came from the very heart, and this is not surprising. In those years, the skete had such a prayer dispensation that raised the sisters to a special spiritual height. Here everything was focused on inner prayer work, because when God is in the soul, the Lord will add the rest.

Date of construction: 1912
Patronal feast: Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, January 15, N.S.
Temples: St. Seraphim of Sarov, Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign", Church of Equal to the Apostle Nina, Enlightener of Georgia

Eraphim-Znamensky Skete is located on the banks of the river. Rozhayki, near the village of Bityagovo, 6 km south of Domodedovo. The heigum was founded in 1912. Juvenalia, in the world Princess Tamara Alexandrovna Mardzhanova, who later accepted the great schema with the name of Shegehumenia Tamar.

She was tonsured at the Bodbe Monastery, where in the 4th c. died and was buried by St. equal to ap. Nina, Enlightener of Georgia. Long before her tonsure, Tamara met with St. rights. John of Kronstadt. The perspicacious old man, laying three crosses on the young novice, said: “This is what an abbess I have - look at her!” Subsequently, she really was the abbess of three monasteries.

In 1902 he was abbot. Juvenalia headed the Bodbe monastery, and from December 1907, mother went to the Seraphim-Ponetaevsky monastery with the intention of settling in a skete nearby. During the prayer, she heard the voice of the Queen of Heaven, commanding her not to stay here, but to arrange her own skete.

Igum. Juvenaly was respected and highly valued by such pillars of Orthodoxy as Metropolitans Flavian (Gorodetsky), Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky), Macarius (Nevsky); elders: shiigum. Herman, Rev. Anatoly Optinsky, Alexy Zosimovsky and others. With their spiritual support, all obstacles on the way to the foundation of the monastery were overcome. Its laying took place on July 27, 1910, and by September 1912 the construction of the skete was completed. The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna took a close part in the work. September 23, 1912 The monastery was consecrated by Mr. Vladimir, the future New Martyr of Russia.

The fence of the monastery is a square with a side of 33 fathoms - in memory of 33 years of the Savior's earthly life. In the center stands a temple in honor of the Sign of the Mother of God and St. Seraphim of Sarov with a tomb and a throne in the name of Equal to the Apostles. Nina. The temple has 24 kokoshniks according to the number of 24 apocalyptic elders. In the fence there are 12 small houses-cells - according to the number of 12 apostles, each has a corresponding name: St. Andrew's, St. John the Theologian, etc. Only 33 sisters could live in the skete - according to the number of years of the Lord's earthly life.

On September 21, 1916, with the blessing of Met. Macarius, Apostle of Altai, Bishop. Arseniy (Zhadanovsky) took vows as igum. Juvenaly in schema with the name Tamar. In 1918-1919 in the skete with the blessing of St. Patr. Tikhon mother Tamar sheltered Bishop. Serpukhov Arseny (Zhadanovsky) and archim. Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), later Bishop. Dmitrovsky - the future New Martyrs of Russia. The skete operated for 12 years and was closed in 1924 by Schigum. Tamar lived another 12 years of suffering. In 1936, Vladyka Arseny admonished her before her death, and then buried her.

After closing, the walls of the skete housed the Zaboryevskaya hospital, and since 1965 - a pioneer camp and a recreation center of the Krypton plant. The decision to transfer the skete to the jurisdiction of the Church was made at the end of 1998. On January 27, 1999, on the day of memory of St. equal to ap. Nina, the first Divine Liturgy took place in the skete church. Here began the revival of monastic life.

This is an amazingly picturesque and romantic place. In the wilderness, among the ship pines, there is a miniature, exquisite temple, as if descended from the pages of ancient Russian chronicles...

Holy Spring of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

The holy spring is located near the skete on the other side of the river. Rozhayki, next to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Bityagovo.

Monastery authorities

• Mother Superior Nun Innokenty (Popova)

• by electric train from Paveletsky railway station in Moscow to Domodedovo station. Then - by bus No. 23 to the village of Bityagovo or by buses No. 31, 32, 58 to the village of Zaborye, then on foot (2.5 km)

• 142040, Moscow region, Domodedovsky district, s. Bityagovo, Serafimo-Znamensky Skete