The Intercession Convent in Suzdal is rightfully considered one of the most famous. And people are attracted here not only by ancient temples and miraculous shrines. It just so happened that for several centuries real historical tragedies were played out outside the walls of this monastery, the plot of which even the most popular modern television series can hardly convey.
Salvation vow
The Pokrovsk monastery can be called one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian land, because it was founded on the right bank of the Kamenka River in 1364. Tradition says that the monastery owes its appearance to a terrible storm, which captured the boat of the ruler of the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal principality Andrei Konstantinovich on the way. Preparing for death, the prince made a vow that if he was saved, he would build a new nunnery on the banks of the river.
His prayer was heard, and the storm immediately subsided. Remembering his promise, the prince began building a new monastery, building the first wooden temples and sister buildings.
But initially it was a small, unremarkable monastery, of which there were quite a few on Russian soil at that time, and it flourished in the last years of the 15th - early 16th century, when the eldest daughter of Ivan III Alexander wanted to be tonsured here.
Since then, the small nunnery in Suzdal has become very popular with noble people. Women and girls from the most noble families became its nuns, which allowed the monastery to receive generous contributions from the relatives of these nuns. In the 16th century, its territory was adorned with beautiful stone buildings, including the Intercession Cathedral, the majestic gateway Church of the Annunciation and a massive wall with octagonal towers.
And in the 17th century, an order hut was built here - a house of judgment, where the fate of the guilty monks and nuns of the Suzdal land were decided and the peasants were punished for arrears.
Promotional video:
Princely divorce
However, all the passions simmering in the command hut pale before the tragedy that unfolded in the main monastery cathedral in the winter of 1525, when Grand Duchess Solomonia Saburova was forcibly tonsured as a nun there. Not wanting to part with worldly life, the rejected wife of Basil III cried, pulled out of the hands of her tormentors, and then snatched the monastic robe prepared for her from the priest and began to trample it with her feet, for which she was severely beaten with a whip. However, her fate was sealed. Having fallen under the spell of the young beauty Elena Glinskaya, the Grand Duke sent his disgraceful wife to the Pokrovsky Monastery, accusing her of infertility.
But, apparently, Vasily was wrong. Many historians believe that forcibly tonsured under the name of nun Sophia Solomonia was pregnant when she arrived at the monastery. A few months later, the newly-minted nun gave birth to a boy - Tsarevich George, whom she soon declared dead, fearing the intrigues of her rival. Tradition says that this boy, saved and raised by compassionate nuns, a few years later became the famous robber Kudeyar - the defender of the offended, whose adventures brought a lot of serious unrest to his brother Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Confirmation of this legend was found 400 years later, when, during excavations in the monastery, scientists discovered a stone tombstone, under which lay a rag doll, dressed in a shirt decorated with pearls. Today this find can be seen by every visitor to the Museum of the Intercession Monastery. Apparentlythe unfortunate mother passed off this doll for a dead baby.
As for nun Sophia, she made peace with her cruel fate and led the life of an ordinary nun. She died in 1542 and was later canonized among the Orthodox saints as the Monk Sophia of Suzdal.
"Prodigal" business
It must be said that the example of Vasily III turned out to be "contagious", and for several decades many noble and monarchs exiled unwanted wives to the Intercession Monastery. Among such crowned prisoners were the spouses of Vladimir Staritsky and Vasily Shuisky, Anna Vasilchikova - the fifth wife of Ivan the Terrible.
However, the most unfortunate of these ladies turned out to be Evdokia Lopukhina - the first wife of Peter I, whom even the monastery walls did not save from the anger of the emperor who fell out of love with her.
In 1698, the tsar returning from Europe ordered to send the tsarina to the Pokrovsk monastery and there she would be tonsured as a nun, whether she wanted it or not. Moreover, Peter did not even allocate a ruble for the maintenance of his ex-wife, and therefore at first the unfortunate queen had to starve and literally beg for firewood from the nuns in order to heat her cell. But such cruel treatment, albeit with the former, but the empress caused indignation among the boyars, and soon Evdokia began to receive generous "favors" from noble families, and in addition, some of her courtiers also moved to Suzdal. In part, the former queen received such attention thanks to the prediction of Bishop Dositheus of Rostov, revered as a saint, which said that “Evdokia will be on the throne again,” that is why noble people were in a hurry to make “investments” in future favors.
In the monastery a special “courtyard” was built for Evdokia - a house with several gorenki, where the eldress Elena (the queen received this name during her tonsure) led a completely social life. All day long she received guests, including even a Suzdal voivode, wore secular clothes and did not even think about fasting and prayer.
However, such a carefree life of the former queen continued until 1718, when Peter began an investigation into the case of his son Alexei. After a vain search for weighty evidence of the tsarevich's betrayal, the sovereign decided to search the cells of his mother, since he had no doubt that she could be the keeper of the secrets of her child.
The officer sent by the emperor "for the investigation" arrested several nuns, who, during interrogations, revealed the only secret of Evdokia: for several years she had been in love with Glebov, Major of the Preobrazhensky regiment. Since no evidence of Lopukhina's participation in her son's conspiracy was found, her case became not political, but “prodigal,” which angered Peter even more. Evdokia was taken to the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, and after a public flogging with a whip, she was sent first to the Alexander Dormition Monastery, then to the Ladoga Dormition Monastery, and then the Shlisselburg Fortress was imprisoned. Glebov was subjected to the most severe torture, after which he was impaled.
However, Dositheus's prediction came true. In 1727, the grandson of Evdokia, Peter II, ascended the Russian throne. He rescued her grandmother from captivity, and Evdokia spent her last years in contentment and peace in the Moscow Novodevichy Convent.
Holy intercessor
And yet it should be noted that if it were not for all these tragedies of the royal and monastic grand-ducal “exposing the waters”, the Suzdal land would not have received the saint, which to this day gives help to people who turn to it.
The first miracles at the tomb of Sophia of Suzdal were noticed as early as the beginning of the 17th century, when the blind daughter of Prince Nogtev, who attached to her, regained her sight. The news of this miracle spread throughout many cities and villages, after which the sick and suffering reached the Pokrovsky Monastery.
However, the saint performed her most famous miracle during the Time of Troubles. Tradition says: when a detachment led by Pan Lisovsky captured Suzdal and laid siege to the Pokrovsk monastery, the saint appeared before the leader of the robbers, holding a burning candle in her hands. A terrible heat went from the flame in her palms, which forced Lisovsky to give the order to lift the siege from the monastery and leave the devastated city.
After the revolution, when the Intercession Monastery was closed, the relics of St. Sophia were considered lost for a long time, and they were miraculously found again in 1995.
Today the remains of the former Grand Duchess are the main shrine of the Intercession Monastery. I must say that to this day she performs many miracles of healing, many of which are noted in the monastery chronicle.
Saint Sophia especially responds to the requests of mothers who pray for the health of their children, and she is able to “cope” with any, even hopeless (from the point of view of doctors) diagnosis.