Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery: description of where

On our planet there are places in which, having visited times, I want to return repeatedly. Apparently, they have some special - mystical energy. To realize until the end those sensations that embrace a person in such a place are impossible, at least from the first time. That's why I want to go back again and again.

To such special places with mystical energy and an amazing atmosphere, there is no doubt the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Women's Monastery located in Polotsk. Far from all have heard of this temple. But here relics of St. Efrosinia of Polotsk, whose name is inextricably linked to the Savior-Euphrosyne monastery.

History

This temple appeared a long time ago, in the distant twenties of the twelfth century. It was then that Princess Predslava founded the Spaso-Yefrosinievsky Monastery, which was named after her. More known as Efrosinya Polotskaya, this very intelligent woman was the granddaughter of the legendary Vseslav Sorcerer. Her mother came from an equally famous family: she was the daughter of Vladimir Monomakh. Of course, with such a brilliant pedigree, the young princess expected a bright future in the light. Therefore, when her daughter was barely twelve, her parents began to think about looking for a worthy husband. However, the little princess, distinguished by the firmness of her character, adopted her own, completely different decision: the girl wanted to become a nun. Parents did not manage to dissuade Predslav: she secretly escaped from her father's house, took in one of the Polotsk monasteries, where the abbess was her own aunt, tonsured. The girl received a new name: she was named Euphrosyne.

Many years later. Efrosinya, with the permission of the bishop of Polotsk, settled in one of the cells in the St. Sophia Cathedral. She, according to the chroniclers, rewrote, and sometimes translated books. Somewhere in 1124 a nun from the bishop was granted a small piece of land, located in the vicinity of Polotsk. Here she decided to build a monastery.

Legend

This decision Efrosinje came not by chance. According to the legend, Bishop Elijah of Polotsk had a prophetic dream, in which the angel allegedly ordered the nun Efrosinier to establish a monastery under the Spas church. A similar dream was seen by the Reverend herself, and not one, but three times. That's how it was decided to build a monastery, which today is called the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery (Polotsk).

The temple stands on the very bank of the Polota. He was erected on the spot where the wooden church of the Savior stood. The first nuns who moved here were the cousin of Euphrosyne's own. And soon women from all parts of the country began to come to the Savior-Efrosinievsky Monastery.

Description

The peak of active construction occurred in the period from 1133 to 1143 years. Then on the Polotsk throne sat the brother of the Monk Euphrosyne. The architecture of the church combined several directions at once, in which the influence of various schools is evident. The Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery itself, whose photo is proof of its ascetic beauty, is a six-columned three-nave single-dome structure, covered with arches and crenellated wide arches. He has a narthex, as well as choirs on the second floor, which are led by a narrow staircase.

On either side of the choir are two cruciform very tight cells. In one of them, according to church records, the Reverend Euphrosyne herself was praying, and in the other prayed relatives of the holy - nun Evdokia (her own sister) and Eupraxia (cousin). Kelias are made by the type of tiny cross-domed temples. Moreover, one of them (south-west) is closed with a small dome, and the second one - the north-west one - with a vault of a cylindrical configuration.

Features

The Spaso-Euphrosyne convent for women has one amazing characteristic both in the interior and in the external appearance. This is the verticalism of the whole composition, the emphasis on the "aspiration" of the temple skyward. The monastery is small enough in size: its length is 14.4, its width is about 10, and its height is twenty-two meters. The size of the dome space is less than three hundred centimeters, and the side naves are already twice.

Restoration

The appearance in which the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery reached us was greatly distorted by numerous perestroika. Although, in fairness, it should be said that these changes did not affect the ancient masonry. Studies of many historians of architecture, for example, Rakitsky, Rappoport, Stender and others, make it possible to restore the original appearance of the temple with utmost precision. They managed to accurately recreate one of those main elements that form the unique image of this church, dating from the twelfth century. It is a question of a double row of keel-shaped three-lobed kokoshniks framing a faceted drum of the monastery, crowned with a helmet-shaped dome. There is no doubt that the builders who built the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery in the twelfth century had quite a lot of technical knowledge. This confirms the excellent quality of the plinfa - brick, the purity of the masonry and the composition of the lime mortar.

Uneasy years

The history of the Savior-Euphrosyne Monastery knows both good and bad times. In 1579 the monastery became the residence of the sovereign Stefan Batory, the king, who later transferred it to the Jesuits. Those, in turn, began to rebuild the building. When in 1656 Russian troops captured Polotsk, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich returned the monastery to the Orthodox, but not for long. In 1667 the temple again passed to the Jesuits. Such an endless change of owners ended only in 1832, when the monastery finally got Orthodox. And since 1841 he is female.

Values

In 1899, the Spaso-Efrosinievsky Monastery experienced another reconstruction: a majestic cathedral was erected on the territory of the complex. During the war there was organized a camp for Soviet prisoners. At this time, many buildings in the complex were destroyed. And only after the liberation of Belarus the monastery again became operational. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, fifty nuns already lived here. They lived in a large two-story house and cultivated three hectares of land. Regulated the order of life of those who took under their roof Spaso-Efrosinievsky monastery, abbesses. The nuns sewed blankets for Polotsk residents, grew vegetables, handicrafts.

Where is the monastery

From Minsk the monastery is distant for two hundred twenty seven kilometers. It's easy to get there: on the twenty-second kilometer of the MKAD you need to turn towards the village of Ostroshitsky town. From there you need to get to Pleschenits (forty-five kilometers), then turn towards Polotsk. The journey will take several hours.

In Polotsk itself it is easy to navigate. From the city center to the monastery is the street of Euphrosyne of Polotsk. It is almost impossible to not see the gate with the bell tower. Not far from the monastery itself, two hundred meters from it to the right, there is a parking lot where you can park the car.