What are the pre-Christian caves of the ancient elders near Voronezh famous for: Kostomarovskaya monastery

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Kostomaros Spassky Monastery, located not far from Voronezh, in one of the oldest settlements in the Don region, was formed in chalk pillars-outliers. And it was founded by the first Christians who fled to these lands from Byzantium. Even after the revolution, they hid here in caves, cells, not wanting to give up their faith. This place is mysteriously attractive and incredibly beautiful. It is also called Russian Palestine.

The refuge of Christians persecuted from Byzantium

The time of the creation of the amazing monastery, arranged in the thickness of the chalk rocks, is not recorded anywhere in writing. It is only known that the temple was created even before the official adoption of Christianity in Russia. Archaeologists and local historians suggest (and not without reason) that for the first time these caves were inhabited around the 8th century by Christians who fled from Byzantium during the persecution of the Roman emperors. Fleeing from cruel persecution, they settled in Syria, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and also went further - to the banks of the Don.

This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that the Kostomarovsky monastery, like the underground monasteries in this area in general, is very similar to those in the same Crimea or the Caucasus. And since the natural landscape of the Kostomarovskaya monastery outwardly somewhat resembles the meager beauty of the Sinai desert, local residents and tourists even called this area Russian Palestine.

The chalk pillars-remnants located in the Kostomarovskaya gully, which are also called "divas", were created by nature itself (they arose as a result of erosion of rocks), while people carved eight caves inside. Many recluse elders lived here, who lived and prayed in secluded stone cells. The locals venerated them as saints. The Kostomarovskaya monastery was actually a skete for monks located nearby Divnogorsk and Belogorsk monasteries.

By the way, before the revolution, the temple was very well fortified: it even had an emergency exit and a secret well. They say that this miraculous structure could, if necessary, withstand a long siege of enemies.

Legendary Elder

After the revolution, despite the fact that monasteries were closed en masse in the country, monks continued to hide in the caves of the Kostomarov monastery. Local residents, among whom almost no one renounced Christianity, collected clothes and food for the hermits and secretly carried them to the caves. In those days, the blessed Elder Peter Eremeenko was very famous and revered among the people, the legends about whom have survived to this day. He lived here in the so-called "cave of repentance".

Old-timers recalled that the elder possessed the gift of foresight and the healing of serious ailments. He predicted the future in the form of parables. For example, he bitterly mourned certain churches - and later they were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. And a few years before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the elder began to make many small mounds-graves from the road earth and dust.

In the late 1930s, blessed Peter was arrested. He died in the Ostrogozh prison. But even this fact in his biography gave rise to a legend: they say that he did not die at all, but disappeared from a closed cell, like his holy namesake, the Apostle Peter, and the prison authorities, so that rumors about this would not spread among the people, presented people the body of another deceased prisoner (covering his face),passing him off for Peter Eremeenko.

There is a legend about the pillar-dweller who lived here, who spent all his time in his cell, standing in prayer. They say he also slept while standing (at night he was somehow tied to the wall).

The monastery today

In the 1990s, the monastery began to be restored. The inscriptions on the walls, left by negligent visitors during the desolation, were erased and painted over. The abandoned caves were cleared. In 1997, the Spassky Diocesan Monastery for Women was opened here.

The most important attraction of the Kostomarovsky Monastery is the Cathedral of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The main border of it is consecrated in honor of the Savior, and the side one - in honor of the holy martyrs Faith, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia.

Caves, cloisters, located in the thickness of the chalk mountain, you can visit and experience what the ancient monks felt: peace, tranquility, solitude. Especially famous is the "cave of repentance" - the one in which Elder Peter lived. It is a gradually narrowing corridor. To feel its effect on yourself, you need to walk along it with a lighted candle in your hand, gradually bending over the ceiling, which becomes lower and lower as you move. They say, having visited this cave, even the most hopeless sinner is able to change.

The monastery also has its own miraculous shrine - the icon of the Valaam Mother of God, which, according to legend, was presented to the monastery by Tsar Alexander I. It shows traces of bullets - they say that in the post-revolutionary years one of the Red Army soldiers came here and began to shoot the icon, aiming at it face, but not a single bullet hit him. And in 2002, this icon was pacified.

Now the monastery has changed - services are held here, the walls are decorated with frescoes carved directly into the chalk rock. The place is regularly visited by tourists and pilgrims from both Russia and abroad.

The cave temples are open for visits on weekdays from 9.00 to 17.00, and on weekends and holidays - from 10.30 to 16.00. You can even book a tour here.

Read also: Famous pillars. Is it easy to live on pillars for decades, and why do Christians need it?