In such a huge country like Russia, there are inevitably many mysterious places where unexplained events take place. All the power of modern science sometimes turns out to be helpless in trying to understand what exactly we are facing.
One of these places is the Rdeysky Monastery. It is located in the Novgorod region. The amazingly beautiful Rdeiskoye Lake approaches the monastery from three sides. In order to get to the sacred and mysterious place, you will have to go through a swampy swamp. Local residents say that rarely does anyone get to the monastery on the first try, and so, allegedly, the faith of the walker is tested.
According to legend, the place where the monastery was founded was seen by Andrew the First-Called during his wanderings from Novgorod to Kiev. Once near the lake, the saint admired it and pronounced his blessing. This place gained fame as a reserved place, but they said that few people manage to visit it.
Monks appeared here in the 17th century. They found the remote place suitable for solitary meditation on God. The wooden monastery was built to the glory of the Monks Zosim and Savvaty.
After some time, a wooden church of the Assumption appeared in the monastery. Gradually, the monastery expanded, new ones arose to replace damaged or burnt buildings.
By order of Catherine II, the monastery was to be dissolved, but the monks remained in it, and the number of people who went to the holy place only increased every year. A wooden road was laid along the swamp, along which even a carriage could drive.
In 1887, the nuns began teaching children. Alexander Nikolaevich Mamontov, who belonged to a famous merchant family, helped with money. He gave funds for the construction of the Assumption Cathedral. In order to erect this beautiful building, a brick factory had to be built not far from the monastery. Italian marble was used for the iconostasis of the cathedral, and the cathedral itself and the icons were painted by the best Kremlin artists. The Demidov Plant manufactured a steam boiler that heated the cathedral.
Unusually, the altar of the cathedral is oriented to the northwest, and not to the east, as is customary in the Orthodox tradition. The reason for this is unknown. It is doubtful that this was done by mistake.
Promotional video:
In 1902, a new church was opened in the monastery, which could simultaneously accommodate 800 people. The temple stood in the middle of a swamp, far from inhabited places, and yet there was rarely a free space in it. Pilgrims from all over the country were drawn to the wonderful monastery built on the land blessed by Andrew the First-Called.
In the Rdeysky monastery, pilgrims could see the canvas robe of the Apostle. There were also miraculous icons here. In 1938, the monastery was plundered, and all these shrines disappeared.
During the Great Patriotic War, local forests and swamps became a refuge for partisans who gave no rest to the Nazis. The Nazis were convinced that the bell tower of the Assumption Cathedral was used by the partisans as a convenient place to explore the area. The invaders surrounded the entire territory of the monastery with mines and blew them up. The fact that the cathedral has survived is a true miracle.
And to this day, the dilapidated monastery is a place that attracts pilgrims. His land is believed to carry a holy miraculous power that heals the soul and body. Those who have visited the monastery claim that it admits only those who are worthy, who have come with sincere and pure thoughts. They say that when you go to the Rdeysky Monastery, you cannot plan anything and set a deadline. Those who are persistent and firm in faith will find what they seek here. Those who came here to desecrate, to leave graffiti on the walls, usually died soon after.
If the holy place does not want to let a person in, then he can either endlessly wander around the lake, or experience incredible horror and cannot go further, or suddenly just understands that he needs to turn back.
GUSAKOVA IRINA YURIEVNA