Staro Golutvin Monastery
Traveling from Moscow to Ryazan or back by train, it's hard to miss this monastery, located on the outskirts of Kolomna.
This is the Epiphany Old Golutvin Monastery. Today, we'll take a look at this architectural masterpiece and delve a little into its history, which is quite a story.
First, a little geography. Kolomna is located almost midway between Moscow and Ryazan.
In 1385, Prince Oleg of Ryazan unexpectedly attacked Kolomna, which was under the control of the Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy, and plundered it, capturing noble boyars, and returning to Ryazan with enormous loot. It's worth noting that Oleg had been known for robberies before, but this time it was on a grand scale.
Dmitry Donskoy sent an army against Oleg, but was unable to defeat him, leaving him to the negotiating table. According to the customs of the time, the boyars intervened, but no boyar embassy could solve the problem. Therefore, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy asked his spiritual father, St. Sergius of Radonezh, for help and vowed to God that if successful, he would establish a monastery near Kolomna.
The saint prepared himself and set out on foot, in the freezing cold, for Ryazan.
It is unknown what he said to Oleg, but the princes soon met in person to conclude a peace treaty. The peace was such that Moscow and Ryazan never again fought each other. Kolomna was returned to Moscow, and the marriage of the princes' children cemented the peace between the two principalities.
St. Sergius of Radonezh himself founded the monastery church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord. The church was made of stone, and its foundations partially survive to this day in the basement of today's Epiphany Church. Monastery legends claim that when the need for a well arose, St. Sergius struck the ground with his staff, and a holy spring immediately gushed forth. It continued to flow until the first half of the 20th century, when, following the monastery's closure, the spring was filled in and later concreted over by the authorities.
When dismissing St. Sergius from Kolomna, the Moscow prince urged him to mount a horse, as the journey from Golutvin to Trinity Monastery was long, but the saint remained true to his rule of always walking.
Along with other monasteries located along the Oka River, Golutvin Monastery formed a defensive line against the Tatars, popularly known as the "Belt of the Mother of God." Grand Dukes of Moscow often visited this monastery on their way to campaigns against the Tatars.
In 1480, Grand Duke Ivan III visited the monastery. Here he prepared, gathering his forces before setting out to meet the Tatar Khan Akhmat. And the historical event we know—the "Stand on the Ugra," which ended the Mongol-Tatar yoke—is directly connected to this monastery in Kolomna.
Over time, the monastery grew in fame and land holdings. By the end of Ivan the Terrible's reign, it had amassed a library, very large by its standards—137 books, including 22 on parchment (dating back to no later than the early 15th century). The 17th century marks what can be described as the monastery's heyday.
After the fire of 1718, the Cathedral of the Epiphany of Our Lord was significantly rebuilt. In February 1764, according to the Manifesto of Empress Catherine II, the Golutvin Monastery lost absolutely all of its rich allotments (59 villages) and was relegated to the 2nd Class (which retained its high status, considering that, for example, lavras were classified as 1st Class).
With the monastery's annual salary of 1,311 rubles 90 kopecks, no more than 17 monks could live there. And yet, the monastery wasn't in the worst situation – at that time, only 452 of the 1,072 Russian monasteries remained, while the rest were converted into parishes.
On October 14, 1775, the Empress herself visited Kolomna, staying at the estate of Count P. B. Sheremetev in the village of Meshcherino in the Kolomensky District. The following day, October 15, she expressed her desire to see the Golutvin Monastery in person. Archimandrite Arseny offered a warm welcome, and the delighted empress donated a plot of land beyond the monastery's southern wall to the monastery. An orchard was later planted there.
Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, Catherine II sent her court architect, Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov, to Kolomna. In 1780, he designed towers, a chapel over the well over the spring of St. Sergius, and a fence for the Golutvin Monastery, some of which can be seen today.
By the end of the 18th century, the monastery began to decline. According to a 1788 register, the monastery's staff numbered only nine out of the 17 required. Archimandrite Arseny was then transferred to the Vladimir Diocese, and the monastery was placed under the management of the treasurer.
In 1799, the impoverished Kolomna Diocese was abolished and subordinated to Moscow. The authorities intended to use the deserted bishop's courtyard in the Kolomna Kremlin for their own needs. To prevent this, Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) of...