Ferapontov Monastery

Ferapontov Monastery

Monastery information
Order	Russian Orthodox Church
Established	1398
Disestablished	1924
People
Founder(s)	Saint Ferapont
Site
Location	Ferapontovo, Vologda Oblast, Russia
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (iv)
Reference	982
Inscription	2000 (24th Session)
Area	2.1 ha (230,000 sq ft)
Buffer zone	20 ha (2,200,000 sq ft)
Coordinates	59°57′23″N 38°34′03″E
Location of Ferapontov Monastery in European Russia Ferapontov Monastery (Europe)

Ferapontov Monastery is a monastery of the Vologda Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, located in the village of Ferapontovo in the Kirillovsky district of the Vologda Region; one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North, founded in the 14th century. In 2000, the UNESCO include the monastery into world heritage list.

Location

The monastery, located 20 km northeast of Kirillov and 120 km northwest of Vologda, is built on a hill between two lakes, Ferapontovskoye and Spassokye, which are connected by a small river Paska. The village of Ferapontovo itself is located mainly on the opposite bank of the river from the monastery. The monastery dominates the surrounding area, however, due to its chamber size and elegant style, it does not overwhelm with grandeur, like its closest neighbour, the Kirillo—Belozersky Monastery.

History of the monastery

The monastery was founded by Saint Ferapont in 1398 in the inhospitable Russian North, to the east from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, named after his fellow monk, Saint Cyril of Beloozero. The fame of the monastery started to spread under Kirill's disciple, Saint Martinian, who was to become a father superior of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra in 1447.

Even after Martinian's death, his monastery was protected and favoured by members of Ivan III's family. The most ancient structure, the Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin (1490), was built in brick by the masters of Rostov. This edifice is the best preserved of three sister cathedrals erected in the 1490s in the Russian North. All the interior walls are covered with invaluable frescoes by the great medieval painter Dionisius. This is the last surviving Russian medieval church with fully painted walls.

During the 1530s, they added a treasury, a refectory, and the unique Annunciation church surmounted by a belfry. At that time the monastery enjoyed special privileges conferred upon it by Ivan the Terrible, and possessed some 60 villages in the vicinity. The tsar himself frequently visited the monastery as a pilgrim.

In the Time of Troubles, the monastery was ravaged by the Poles. During its recovery the last buildings — the tent-like church of Saint Martinian (1641), a two-tented barbican church (1650), and a bell-tower (1680) — were added to the complex. The belfry clocks (1638) are said to be the oldest in Russia.

As the monastery gradually lost its religious importance, it was being turned into a place of exile for distinguished clerics, such as the Patriarch Nikon. It was abolished by Emperor Paul in 1798, reinstituted as a convent in 1904, closed by the Bolsheviks 20 years later, and turned into a museum in 1975. The museum constitutes a part of the Russky Sever (Russian North) National Park since 1991.

As of January 2013, images of the monastery and grounds were available via Google Street View.

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  Difficulty of access helped preserve the monastery intact since the 17th century.
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  St Nicholas, the patron saint of Russian merchants. Fresco by Dionisius from the Ferapontov Monastery.

External links

• All the murals of the Ferapontov Monastery online
• Official web page of the monastery