There are mysterious places in Russia, the mystery of which is impossible to solve, even with all the knowledge accumulated by mankind at the moment. We are talking about the Rdeysky monastery, located in a picturesque and at the same time inaccessible place of the Novgorod region. Although the monastery itself is surrounded on three sides by the beautiful Rdeiskoye Lake, the path to it goes through impenetrable swamps. They say that the first time few people manage to reach this sacred place, which supposedly tests those who want to visit there, for faith and perseverance in achieving the goal.
Imagine the territory of Moscow before its increase in the last five years - it is about 1100 sq. km, on which there are houses, cars move along numerous lanes of roads, trees rustle in parks. Now mentally recreate an area of the same size, filled with undersized pine forest, bogs and bumps under green-brown moss, overgrown rosemary and bright cranberries - then before your mind's eye is the largest, in size, swamp in Europe, called Rdeysky.
One of the mysteries of the monastery is associated with a legend. It says that the place of the future monastery was indicated by Andrew the First-Called himself, during his journey from the glorious city of Kiev to the great city of Novgorod. Having reached the lake, the saint blessed this place. From the legends it is known that after the apostle's visit to Rdeya, this place was considered a reserved place for a long time, and rumors about it were about being fastidious, who did not let anyone near. The first monks came to Rdeya in the 17th century. The hermits were convinced that this secluded place was very suitable for offering prayers. The first buildings of the future beautiful monastery were erected by monks from wood and were dedicated to the Monks Zosimus and Savvaty. A few decades later, a church of the Assumption was erected on the territory of the monastery, also wooden. Years passed: the monastery grew, many buildings were rebuilt,after the fires, industrious monks rebuilt everything. The monastery had good and difficult times.
Despite the fact that Catherine II ordered the abolition of the monastery, monks continued to live in it, the stream of people wishing to visit the monastery did not stop for a day, despite the highest command.
A reliable road was made through the swamp made of solid logs. Along it, not only pilgrims, but also carriages moved fearlessly. Traces of this gati are still visible on the surface of the swamps. The road ran from the nearest settlement to the very walls of the monastery.
Since 1887, the Rdei nuns have been teaching young children. The monastery received financial support from one of the representatives of the Mamontov merchant dynasty - Alexander Nikolaevich. It was he who paid for the construction of the Assumption Cathedral on the territory of the Rdeysky Monastery. For the construction of the cathedral, a brick factory was built outside the swamp. The iconostasis of the cathedral was made of Italian marble, the floor tiles were brought from Poland, and the paintings of the cathedral and icons were created by the Kremlin masters. A steam boiler was delivered from the Demidov plant, thanks to which the temple was heated.
An unusual detail of the construction: the altar is oriented not to the east, as is expected in Orthodox churches, but to the northwest. It is unlikely that this was a mistake, but the secret went away with Mamontov.
In 1902, a new temple was opened on the territory of the Rdeysky Monastery, capable of accommodating about 800 people! And this temple stood not somewhere in the center of a big city, but in the wilderness, among the swamps, on the shore of a forest lake. Despite such a distance, the temple was always filled with believers. Many pilgrims came from the most distant parts of the country to visit the place blessed by Andrew the First-Called himself. Believers strove to see and kneel before the numerous shrines of the Rdean monastery: the canvas robe of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and several miraculous icons. In 1938 the monastery was ruthlessly plundered. The search for the stolen shrines of the monastery has been going on for many years, but so far to no avail. Black diggers, when searching, did not even spare the grave.
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During World War II, fierce battles were fought in the area of the Rdeysky monastery. Victory in this local and seemingly local battle was so important to the Germans that they issued a special award badge. The Nazis suffered a lot from the local partisans. The fascists believed that the monastery was used by the people's avengers as an observation post: from the bell tower of the Assumption Church it was possible to view the entire area. To get rid of the "problem" monastery, the Germans mined the entire territory. Until now, no one can understand how the Assumption Cathedral could survive when mines exploded around.
Why today this dilapidated temple, which has lost all its shrines, attracts numerous pilgrims and local residents? Most likely, the reason is that the territory of the Rdeya monastery is considered a place of power that can heal not only the body, but also the soul. In addition, this place itself chooses whom to let in and who not, and does not forgive the one who damages the monastery. They say that everyone who left their "memorable inscriptions" on the walls of the monastery quickly passed away. Once a young man came to the monastery to fulfill his father's dying request and to erase the inscription from the wall, which he made "in memory", having once visited the monastery.
The fact that the monastery never forgives vandalism is confirmed by another story. Once, an enterprising comrade, having arrived by car on a winter road to the monastery, removed a part of the unique blue tile from the floor of the temple in order to use it to equip his own bathhouse and a relative. A month later, both built baths burned down, the kidnapper himself fell seriously ill, and a relative was seriously injured while working with a chainsaw. Only after the thief returned the tiles back to the temple, his health began to recover.
There are legends about the miraculous power of the monastery. Here is one of them. Miron was fond of flying on a motor glider. Once he landed unsuccessfully and received a serious injury: doctors barely managed to restore his leg, but he could only move with the help of crutches. With great difficulty he managed to get to the Rdeysky monastery. He spent only one night in the monastery. Returning home, he suffered from unbearable pain for several days, but the leg function fully recovered within a month, and he was able to climb into the sky on a motor glider again.
Pilgrims, who often attend services in the Rdeya monastery, say that those who are going to visit the monastery should leave all their plans and calculations at home, since Rdeya herself decides to let the visitor in or not. What does Rdeya's refusal look like? Pilgrims unwanted for Rdeya either begin to walk in circles around the lake, or a person, not understanding the reason, suddenly decides to return home halfway through, or a terrible fear attacks the pilgrim, which does not allow him to continue his journey.
The magic abode allows only “its own” to enter, and then invites them to it again and again …