The sights of the capital are the functioning nunnery of Moscow. Founded many centuries ago, they still provide shelter to nuns and are the pilgrimage centers of believers.
One of the most famous among these cultural monuments is the Zachatievsky Monastery. Moscow has repeatedly witnessed the miracles that took place in it.
Women come to the monastery with a terriblediagnosed as infertility, begging to conceive and bear a child. Kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God, having repented of sins, having prayed in the church of Holy Orthodox Anna, women miraculously recover and give birth to healthy, strong children. One of the women said that she had gone through 8 IVF procedures, but doctors could not help. Only by arriving at the monastery and finding faith in recovery, could she become a happy mother.
The monastery helps not only to barren women - there is a poorhouse here, which provides shelter for the elderly and the care of sick nuns.
Zachatievsky monastery has its history since 1360of the year. It was at this time that Alexy of Moscow, a famous prelate of that time, laid the foundation of the church and founded a monastery with her. It is believed that his first nuns were Alexia's half-sisters: Mother Superior Juliana and a simple nun named Eupraxia.
In 1547 the monastery burned down.They did not restore it, but transferred it to another place. However, a small community of monks remained to live on the ashes, and it was restoring burnt buildings. 40 years later Zachatievsky monastery began to function again.
In 1612 the monastery was again destroyed, this time during the Polish invasion, and was again revived after a while.
Gradually, the complex begins to increase.Several new cathedrals appear, and for the almshouse, which has operated at the monastery since the beginning of its history, a new building is being built with its own temple in honor of the descent of the Holy Spirit. On the site of the old dilapidated buildings stands the Nativity Cathedral, and new and new residential and farm buildings are growing throughout.
In 1927, the Soviets issued a decree on the closure of the monastery.Zachatievsky monastery ceased to exist. The walls surrounding the territory of the monastery were destroyed, the temples and buildings were destroyed. On the territory of the monastery opened a school. Some icons were saved and transferred to other churches, but most of the works of ancient icon painters disappeared without a trace.
Restore Zachatievsky monastery began only in the 1960s. However, instead of reconstructing the ruins, the pool “Moscow” was built here - this was the second desecration of the holy monastery.
A procession took place, during which the Staff of the last prioress and some icons were returned to the monastery. In 2001, the first nuns of the monastery of Juliana and Eupraxia were joined to the ranks of the saints.
Now divine services are held in several churches operating in the territory: the Conception of the Righteous Anna, the Nativity of Christ and the Most Holy Mother of God, the Savior of the Hands, etc.
