The most significant, majestic and beautiful monasteries of Crimea. On the website you will find the most necessary information about the monasteries of Crimea - descriptions, addresses, telephone numbers.
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This church was built as a monastery. It is one of the oldest religious Armenian buildings on the land of Crimea. The presence of an 11th-century khachkar in it, which means “cross-stone,” confirms the time of its creation. Khachkars are artistic symbols of the Armenian people, installed according to customs in honor of some significant events or to perpetuate the memory of the dead.
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In the 8th–9th centuries. A cave monastery appeared on the rocky shore of the bay, which is now called Inkermanskaya. The Christian bishop Clement was sent here by Emperor Trajan to the quarries. In 101 Clement was treacherously killed and centuries later the monastery was named after him. The monks used caves carved into the rock for housing and household premises. The temples were also located in caves, stone benches were cut out for worship, altars, all rooms and corridors were connected by carved stairs.
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Kiziltash Monastery of St. Stephen of Sourozh is a monastery located near the village of Krasnokamenka, 15 kilometers from Sudak. According to legends, in the Middle Ages Stefan of Sourozh lived and prayed to God in the cave, and in 1825 a monk found an icon of the Mother of God there. The Kiziltash Monastery was built in 1851 in the Kiziltash tract. Near the monastery there was a grotto with a healing spring, which was named after the ascetic. There were three churches in the monastery: in honor of Stephen of Sourozh, the Dormition of the Mother of God, and Seraphim of Sarov. The Kiziltash monastery covered a large area with stone buildings, a large farm, a pond, gardens, and vineyards.
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Toplovsky Holy Trinity Paraskevievsky Convent is of high historical value, located next to the small village of Topolevka. The monastery itself was founded here in August 1864, and it was closed in April 1923; it was opened again in 1993. The source where the monastery is located is given the name of St. Paraskeva of Rome, who was painfully executed here. Alas, by the middle of the 19th century, in 1778, when ordinary peasants were evicted from Crimea in droves, when Crimea became Russian territory, and there were negligible people here, many churches were simply abandoned, and restoration took a lot of time and effort.At one time, the land where the famous monastery was located became a gift from Catherine II to one of her favorites.
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Located near Sudak, on Mount Perchem, the monastery is an architectural monument of the 8th century. It was discovered by A. Fomin’s expedition in 1926-1928, and at the end of the 20th century the old foundations of the temple were explored. The temple building is a two-apse structure with an entrance hall on its western side, and the general style of construction indicates that the Byzantines could rely on the architectural traditions of the Armenians. In the 13th-14th centuries the temple was rebuilt, at which time frescoes probably appeared, the inscriptions on which say that the temple was erected in honor of St. Panteleimon.
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Sudak is a real treasure trove of attractions; it is no stranger to surprising tourists with unusual excursion sites. This includes the cave monastery. It is located on the road to the New World, on the slopes of Mount Sokol, which is considered the highest in these parts. This temple complex was erected by Byzantine monks who fled the iconoclastic movement in the 8th century. They lived here for a long time, until Crimea was conquered by the Turks in the 15th century, bringing with them a different religion. Military oppression and endless battles could not but affect the fate of the monastery “in the name of the Holy Great Martyr George.”
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Founded back in 891, the St. George Monastery is one of the oldest in Crimea. It is located on the upper terrace of rocks that form the local coastline, directly above the sea. The monastery became famous in the 16th century. According to legends, it was in this place that Andrew the First-Called, one of the 12 apostles, set foot on the Crimean soil. Separately, it is worth noting the necropolis at the monastery - many famous people found eternal peace within its walls. Here are the burial places of Prince Golitsyn, V.A. Perovsky, who was a friend of Pushkin, academician A.E. Karneev, Metropolitan Chrysanthus and many other famous Crimean figures. Pushkin and Griboedov visited the monastery at one time, and Admiral Lazarev lived on its territory.
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The Holy Dormition Cave Monastery was founded in the 8th century by migrant monks on the slope of the Maryam-Dere gorge. There are many legends about the formation of the holy monastery. According to one of them, the miraculous icon of Hodegetria appeared on the Assumption Rock, which in an unimaginable way ended up on the rock from the Sumel Monastery (city of Trabzon, Turkey). And no matter how many times people took her, she still ended up in a certain place. It was decided that this was a holy place and a monastery should be founded here.
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Not far from the village of Bashtanovka, in the Kachin Valley, there is the ancient settlement of Kachi Canyon. It is located under a rock. If you look closely, the latter resembles a ship. In the part where the stern of this stone ship appears, you can see the image of a large cross, outlined by deep cracks.
Toplovsky St. Paraskevievsky Convent in Crimea belongs to the objects, not unreasonably called “the pearl of the peninsula” - it fully deserves such a name. Like most Christian monasteries, it is located in an unusually beautiful and picturesque area - on the slope of a mountain, from where a bewitching, enchanting, incomparable view opens up for many kilometers!
Immersed in the emerald greenery of the dense, virgin forest surrounding on all sides, seeming like a magical garden, the monastery complex really seems to be a connecting link between heaven and earth, God and people. Every year, the Trinity-Paraskevievsky Monastery is visited by hundreds of pilgrims and non-believers who gravitate toward worldly joys and beauty that can inspire, uplift and inspire. For this, there is literally everything here - beautiful, unforgettable landscapes, and a wonderful monastery, completely different from the prison of mortal flesh.
Where is the monastery located in Crimea?
It is located in the South-Eastern Crimea, in the Belogorsk region, halfway between Simferopol and. The Toplovsky Monastery is located on the heights, towering above the river valley of Mokrogo Indol, on the territory of the village of Uchebnoye, near the village of Topolevka.
Monastery on the map of Crimea
Prerequisites for establishing a sacred place
According to legend, the holy great martyr Paraskeva of Rome was executed here in the 2nd century. Whether this is actually true or not is quite difficult to say now, but written sources point to this place. Archaeologists and historians confirm that starting from the 16th century, several Greek and Armenian churches dedicated to Paraskeva were built in the vicinity of the villages of Toplu and Ortalan. The surviving ruins, like silent witnesses, prove the truth of these words. But something else is more interesting - a thousand years before their appearance, local residents revered the Roman saint, there was even something like her cult.
Toplovsky Convent and its history
Not long before, at the source where the monastery is now located, an image of St. Paraskeva was found. At the end of the 18th century, he was transported to Mariupol; according to legend, he saved the city from a cholera epidemic - the details of this are unknown, as is the whereabouts of the miraculous icon. But already in the early 50s. In the 19th century, a resident of the nearby village of Kishlav, a simple Bulgarian girl named Konstantina, who lived in solitude for 7 years in the Kiziltasha cave, founded something like a cinnamon at the spring. However, her dream was to build a nunnery here - for this purpose, she and several of her followers raised funds wherever they could. As a result, in 1863, the Topolevsky Monastery in Crimea, which at that time was only a small chapel, was founded near the font.
The founder of the Kiziltash monastery, Abbot Parfeniy, took an active part in the large-scale construction of the Topolevsky Trinity-Paraskevievsky monastery that soon followed. The builders found full support in the person of the Archbishop of Tauride and Simferopol, Reverend Alexy, who petitioned the Holy Synod to establish a new monastery and helped Constantine and Parthenius in every possible way.
The temple, named in honor of Saint Paraskeva, was consecrated in 1864 by the archbishop himself, who appointed the abbot as the first rector. A new round of construction of sacred buildings began in 1872 - when, through the efforts of the manager Apollinaria, the monastery significantly expanded due to various outbuildings. But the real takeoff occurred in 1890, when Paraskeva (in the world Olga Rodimtseva) was appointed abbess here. Thanks to her tireless work, the St. Paraskevievsky Monastery in Crimea turned into a real pearl.
Destruction and Rebirth
With the advent of Soviet power on the Crimean peninsula, everything changed dramatically - the affairs of the convent became worse and worse. First, the new administration confiscated land grants, ruined an established economy that regularly generated income, and ruined it in a few months. Somewhat later, church valuables made of gold and silver were confiscated, and in 1928 the complex was completely closed, blowing up many of the buildings.
During the twentieth century, buildings that escaped a sad fate were adapted either as a state farm or as a pioneer camp. Only after the collapse of the USSR did a revival begin; in 1994, restoration work began, the monasteries were allocated a plot of land and donated icons and relics of saints. In 1998, nun Paraskeva was appointed abbess to the Toplovsky St. Paraskevievsky Convent in Crimea, which can be called symbolic.
What is interesting about the St. Paraskevievsky monastery?
It is quite difficult to describe the sights of the monastery - there are many of them and they are very diverse. First of all, these are restored and restored churches: 
a small, one-story Holy Martyr Paraskeva, and a slightly larger one - Joy of All Who Sorrow.
Here is a small chapel, one of the first to be built, and a font on the grave of the first abbess Paraskeva, who died in the year the monastic unit was closed in 1928. And the ark with the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk Saints, handed over by Bishop Lazar, and the remains of Panteleimon and Paraskeva, returned here almost 100 years later years, and the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. However, construction continues even now - a new cathedral is being built here.
In Crimea, you can visit not only popular palaces and temples, but also amazing monasteries, which with their history can win the hearts of even the most avid travelers.
The most ancient
The most ancient monastery in Crimea is considered to be the St. Clement Inkerman Cave Monastery. Its foundation is associated with the name of the Roman bishop St. Clement, a disciple of the Apostle Peter, exiled to Chersonesos in 92. One of the places of exile at that time was the Inkerman quarry in the vicinity of Chersonesus, on the banks of the Chernaya River, where building limestone is still mined. Saint Clement, arriving at the place of exile, found here more than two thousand Christians, condemned, like him, to hew stones in the mountains. Caves were formed in the rocks of Inkerman during stone breaking work. Saint Clement expanded one of them and built a church in it. In 101, Clement suffered martyrdom here (he was drowned in the sea, tied to an anchor). In the 8th–9th centuries, caves, churches and cells began to be cut into the rock above the fortress, where monks from Byzantium settled.
However, after the capture of the nearby fortress by the Turks in 1475, the monastery that arose here gradually fell into decay.
The revival of the Inkerman Monastery began in 1850, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia. The ancient church in the name of St. Clement, carved into the rock, became the first operating temple of the monastery. Tradition says that this temple was carved by the hands of Clement himself. In 1926, the monastery was closed, and was revived again only in 1992. Today it is one of the oldest operating monasteries in Russia.
The only Armenian
In the 13th century, there was a large Armenian colony in Crimea. In Solkhat (Old Crimea) alone in the 14th-15th centuries there were nine Armenian churches and four Armenian monasteries. Today, of these four, only one remains - Surb Khach. And now this is the only Armenian monastery not only in Old Crimea, but on the entire peninsula.
According to legend, the name of the monastery - Surb Khach, that is, the Holy Cross - is associated with a khachkar (as the Armenians call stone crosses) of the 6th century, which was taken to Crimea from the ancient Armenian capital of Ani in the 13th century.
Founded in the 14th century, the monastery four centuries later became one of the main centers of pilgrimage for the Armenian Church in Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. In 1925, Surb Khach as a spiritual institution was liquidated; before the Great Patriotic War, there was a pioneer camp and a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients on its territory. During the war years, the monastery's buildings were seriously damaged by fighting and looting; after the war, it stood abandoned for a long time. Surb Khach became operational again in 2009. And now it is open for visits and pilgrimages, Krymskaya Gazeta reports.
The highest
The highest mountain monastery in Crimea is called the Kosmo-Damianovsky Monastery. It is located in a picturesque gorge at the foot of Chatyr-Dag. According to legend, here, at the source of Savlukh-Su, lived the holy unmercenary brothers Cosmas and Damian, who healed people from various diseases. Among the Crimean Tatars there was a belief that the saints were killed and buried above the source, near two identical beech trees. After washing in the spring, the Crimean Tatars always went up to these two trees - Cosmas and Damian were revered not only by the Orthodox. The legend says that after the death of the brothers, a local resident who hated his wife took her to the mountains, gouged out her eyes and left her there alone. Two strangers appeared to the unfortunate woman, saying that they were brother doctors Cosmas and Damian, took her to the source and ordered her to wash. After this, the woman’s vision returned. Already in our time, studies conducted by scientists have shown that the water of the source, in addition to potassium, magnesium, manganese, contains lithium and silver, which is rarely found in natural sources.
At the beginning of the 19th century, dwellings for pilgrims appeared here. Grateful for his healing with water from the spring, the Simferopol merchant built a log house here. And in 1856, a men's monastery was established here, which remained as such for forty-three years, becoming a monastery for women in 1899. During the Great Patriotic War, the monastery was badly damaged; only the chapel above the wonderful spring remained. In 1992, the Cosmo-Damianovsky monastery was revived again and was registered as a monastery for men. As before, on July 14, the day of remembrance of the holy unmercenaries and wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian, believers and those thirsting for healing flock to the monastery.
The only Muslim
Tekie (abode) of dervishes - a monastery of wandering Muslim dervish monks who led an ascetic lifestyle ("dervish" translated from Persian means "beggar") - appeared on the outskirts of Evpatoria in the 15th century. At that time the city was still called Gezlev. To be more precise, in medieval Gezlev there were several tekie, but only the main monastery of the dervishes, the tekie of the Mevlevi order, has survived to this day. And today it is the only Muslim monastery in Crimea (although at the end of the 18th century there were 22 tekiye in Crimea).
The unique historical and architectural complex of tekie dervishes consists of a mosque with a minaret, an inn building and the tekie building itself. In the latter, there are 19 small rooms-cells of dervishes around the central hall. In the prayer hall, these dervishes performed prayers in the evening: to the sounds of drums and pipes, they twirled, singing suras from the Koran. Moving faster and faster, the dervishes fell into a trance, achieving complete renunciation from the world.
In the 1930s, the tekie was closed and until recently was used as a storage facility for the Black Sea Fleet. The buildings have generally been preserved, but the mosque is half destroyed.
The most unusual
The most unusual among the Crimean monasteries is the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker on the slope of Mount Fytski, not far from the cave town of Kachi-Kalyon, in the vicinity of the villages of Bashtanovka and Preduschelnoye.
No exact information has been preserved about the time of formation of this monastery. It is known that the monastery existed here until 1778, then was revived again in 1850 - and was completely destroyed in the 1930s: the church building and the cells of the monastery were blown up and dismantled to the ground.
Until 2005, rock was mined above the monastery, there was a quarry here, and everything was filled with stones. Then this place was declared a nature reserve and stone mining was banned. In 2005, the monks built a new temple here in an old adit, going several tens of meters deep. It’s damp in an abandoned limestone adit, which means the paint on the walls and vaults wouldn’t stick. Therefore, it was decided to decorate the temple... with beads and beads, multi-colored stones. And although there are no windows inside this unusual temple, everything is flooded with unusual light - the flames of candles are reflected in the beaded mosaic on the ceiling and beaded lamps, filling the temple with thousands of blessed rays.
Crimea– one of the most beautiful corners of the world, with a unique and absolutely amazing nature. It attracts tourists even more with its magnificent resorts and beaches, historically significant places associated with important events and people. Moreover, Crimea is famous for its numerous holy places, great Christian shrines and monasteries, which attract pilgrims from all over the world. Today we will talk about the most famous monasteries of Crimea.
The modern Holy Trinity Cathedral was erected on the site of a wooden Greek church built in 1796. In 1868, it was dismantled and a new stone building was erected with classical architectural forms and an octagonal light drum in the middle. And a small bell tower was built above the left aisle. Only after the end of the Great Patriotic War the temple was proclaimed a “cathedral”, and in 2003 the Holy Trinity Convent was organized here. This holy place of Crimea is notable for the fact that the relics of St. Luke are buried in the monastery, who in the world was a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of Kiev University, and then becoming a doctor, became the founder of new medical directions; by the twentieth year of the last century he was already a professor at Tashkent University, but decided accept the ecclesiastical rank of deacon, and by 1923 he took monastic vows. However, with the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon, he did not give up medicine. Despite life's difficulties: he was arrested three times, he served eleven years in prison and spent in exile, but was still able to receive the “Stalin Prize of the 1st degree” for “Essays on Purulent Surgery”, which was in 1943, then successfully combined the tedious work of a surgeon hospital with service at the temple. In November 1995, Archbishop Luke was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. On March 20, 1996, the relics of St. Luke were transferred in procession to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, and by 2001, a silver shrine was delivered from Greece for his relics. On the territory of the monastery there is a museum of St. Luke, where they will gladly tell you about the miracles of healing received after prayers at the relics of this saint. Another especially revered shrine of the monastery is the “Sorrowful” Icon of the Mother of God, which was completely miraculously renewed in 1998. And it was like this: one of the local parishioners of the St. John the Baptist Church in the village of Pervomaisky, Kirov region of Feodosia, donated for the temple an icon of the Mother of God, which was painted on a small wooden board and had a rather dim and barely visible image. The rector accepted the gift and installed this icon in the church altar, and when a couple of weeks later, on the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated, through the open Royal Doors, the former owner of the icon saw that the image was very clear and bright. At the end of the service, she approached the priest and said that she did not expect that the church servants would be able to restore her icon so quickly and efficiently. But the priest himself was surprised, because nothing like this had ever been done with the icon. A special commission was created, which included artists, scientists, local historians - they made an unequivocal conclusion that no restoration was carried out, and the icon was self-renewed. There are no analogues of such an icon, but after the renovation a very clear inscription appeared on it: “Image of the Most Holy Theotokos of Sorrow.” After this, in the Holy Trinity Cathedral or, as it is now called, the Holy Trinity Convent, they served a thanksgiving prayer service with an akathist, and blessed the parishioners for the church veneration of this icon, setting its celebration on the sixth of November - the day of veneration of the icon of “All Who Sorrow” Joy". In 1999, the icon was taken with a religious procession throughout the Crimean peninsula, and there were such cases that during the journey this icon more than once streamed myrrh and exuded a wonderful fragrance.
It is located in a picturesque wooded mountainous area, forty-five kilometers from Feodosia, near the village of Topolevka and the beautiful river valley Wet Indol. The monastery appeared here on the twenty-fifth of September 1864, not far from the source of St. Praskeva, which is equally revered by both Orthodox Christians and Muslims, but they call it “Chokrak-Saglyk-su” - “Source of living, healthy water.” This place for the founding of the Toplovsky monastery was chosen by Archbishop Innocent during his Crimean travel. He was impressed by the old local legend, passed down from mouth to mouth by the local population, that it was here that the Holy Martyr Paraskeva experienced her last torment, an icon with her image was found here, however, the icon was transported by Greek settlers to the city of Mariupol in 1778 to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and As they say, it was thanks to her that the city was saved from cholera. They say that at the place where the Great Martyr Paraskeva’s head was cut off, a miraculous spring flowed. Today, on the territory of the monastery, pilgrims have the opportunity to plunge into several miraculous springs: “Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa”, “Three Saints”, “George the Victorious”, attend divine services, and worship the monastery shrines kept in the monastery churches. And they are here: in 1994, the ark-cross with the relics of the Kiev-Pechersk saints was transferred to the monastery, now it is in the Church of St. Paraskeva; there is an ark-casket with holy relics - a particle of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, particles of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon and the Holy Martyr Paraskeva, located in the altar of the Church of St. Paraskeva and taken out for worship by the faithful during the Liturgy. In the temple there is a copy of the Icon of the Mother of God “Kazan”, which is a miraculous icon, especially revered by believers. In addition, several icons were sent from the St. Michael's Monastery in Odessa as a gift to the monastery: “The Savior”, “Theotokos”, “Nicholas the Wonderworker”, “Mother of God of Kasperovskaya”, “Healer Panteleimon”.
It is located in the Mairam-Dere gorge, not far from Bakhchisarai and was founded in the fifteenth century in honor of the miraculous appearance of the icon of the Mother of God at that place. It was a large monastery, called Lavra. The monastery buildings were located in the manner of buildings on Mount Athos in Greece, also in three tiers. The gracious power of the icon of the Mother of God was so great that even Muslims came to worship it. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Assumption Bakhchisarai Monastery had grown into a huge complex, including five churches, chapels, and other monastic buildings, but in 1921, it was closed by the Bolsheviks who came to power, and, having fallen into disrepair, began to collapse. The territory was allocated for a colony of disabled people, and even later the monastery premises began to be dismantled for building materials. During the Great Patriotic War there was a hospital here. And one hundred and seventy heroes who died during the liberation of Crimea were buried in the cemetery in Monastyrskaya Balka. The monastery began its revival in 1992, after the Divine Liturgy held in the cave church by Archbishop Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, which ended with the consecration of the source. The cave church of the Holy Assumption, the belfry, cells, utility rooms, the cave church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, the Temple of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Kings Constantine and Helen were rebuilt. In 1993, a monastery opened here. Among the local shrines of the monastery, one can note the miraculous icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which creates healings from mental and physical illnesses. Pilgrims can see from below the icon many gold and silver pendants, which are gratitude for healing from various ailments. In addition, icons are especially revered here: a copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Panagia”, revealed here on the rock; a copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Pechersk, in front of which on the temple holiday - the fifteenth of August, an all-night vigil is served; the icon of the “Savior” containing eighty-four particles of the holy relics of the saints of God; a copy from the lost “Bakhchisarai” icon, which took over the grace-filled power from the prototype; list with the miraculous Mother of God “Pantanessa” from Athos. Not far from the entrance to the monastery, you can get water and wash yourself from a miraculous holy spring.
It stands in the most beautiful place in Crimea on the outskirts of the city of Sevastopol, on the edge of a cliff, next to the upper terrace of the Black Sea, and is adjacent to Cape Fiolent and Mramornaya Balka. Despite the fact that the official date of construction of the monastery is 1578, according to legend, the monastery appeared here much earlier, in 891, when a ship sailing from Greece crashed off the local coast, and its sailors prayed to the heavenly patron of sailors - the Holy Great Martyr St. George the Victorious. He heard their requests and, pacifying the storm, pointed with a miraculous fire in the direction to the shore. When people swam out and came to the boulder on which they saw the glow, they were shocked that this glow came from the icon of the Holy Great Martyr George lying on it. In gratitude for their salvation, they decided to devote their future lives to serving God and built a cave church in a rocky cliff. But this fact became known only after the research of archaeologists who discovered ancient small cells and an ancient temple in the cave. A little later, the Church of the Nativity of Christ was built next to the cave temple, but the altar itself remained in the cave. Tourists love to visit the Balaklava St. George Monastery to admire its stunning architectural ensemble and amazing natural landscapes. On the Rock of the Holy Apparition, the top of which is marked by a stone cross, there is an image of St. George the Victorious and a commemorative engraving “891 – 1891” with the inscription. On especially significant church holidays, services are held here, because this holy place of Crimea is very revered by pilgrims and parishioners for its miraculous powers. Next to the monastery there is a chapel, where many famous people of Crimea found their final refuge. Next to the spring of St. George, there is a well, topped with a golden cross and a bell on its roof. The monastery complex is located at a height of two hundred meters and is approached by a staircase with seven hundred and seventy-seven steps. In the morning and evening, the surrounding area is filled with the sound of the monastery bells.
Inkerman is a suburb of Sevastopol, where in ancient times a cave monastery appeared among the rocks. According to church tradition, this event is associated with the name of St. Clement, who was the Roman bishop in the period from ninety-second to one hundred and one, but was exiled by Emperor Trajan to the quarries of Chersonesus for preaching Christianity, it was here, in 101, that he met his martyrdom. The relics of St. Clement were found a year after his death, they were kept in Chersonesos until the tenth century in an underwater grotto, since it was there that they were found, and access to the relics was opened once a year, on the date of death of the righteous man, at that time the sea was receding from the shores. According to legend, on a small island in the middle of the bay, now called Cossack Island, angels built a church, next to which a cave monastery appeared in the eighth century. For the first monks, caves were housing, utility rooms, and the location of temples, the altars of which were carved out of stone, as well as the throne with benches. But these places were captured by the Turks, who, by the way, gave the name of the monastery - “Inkerman”, that is, “Cave Fortress”. All the monks moved to Cape Fiolent, founding the St. George Monastery there. The revival of the monastery began with the annexation of Crimea to Russia, then the Inkerman monastery opened again, this was in 1850, but it did not last long, because in 1926, it was closed by order of the Soviet government. The next stage of the revival of the Inkerman St. Clement Monastery began in 1991, Archimandrite Augustine played a very important role in this, who considered the meaning of his life to be the restoration of the Christian shrines of Crimea. Today, archaeologists still work here and make amazing finds. To date, thirty medieval cave churches and ten pastoral complexes have already been found in the rocks of Inkerman.
It is located in an absolutely amazing place in Crimea, in a picturesque gorge between Babugan-Yayla and Sinap-Dag, twenty kilometers from the city of Alushta, and stands on the territory of the Crimean Nature Reserve. This is where the famous healing spring Savlukh-Su is located. Looking ahead, it is worth saying that there used to be a church, a hotel, and a stone chapel near the source, but only the latter has survived to this day. This holy place of Crimea is very revered not only among Christian pilgrims, but also Muslims. According to an ancient legend, in the Middle Ages the holy unmercenary brothers Cosmas and Damian lived here, they were engaged in selfless healing of people from various diseases. Here they accepted their tragic death, after which the healing spring Savlukh-Su bubbled up among the mountains. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Countess Sofia Pototskaya allocated funds for the construction of housing for pilgrims. A little later, a merchant from Simferopol, grateful for his healing with water from a local source, erected a log house here, where the images of Saints Cosmas and Damian were placed. And in 1895, a men's monastery was established here, which remained as such for forty-three years, and in 1899 it became a monastery for women. The dean nun Barsanuphia was appointed abbess, and under her leadership, the previously poor monastery at the foot of Chatyrdag was completely transformed: the Cosmodamian Church and other buildings were repaired, a stone retaining wall was erected supporting the terrace with the church, new cells, a prosphora room, a bakery, a workshop were built, a laundry, a barn, a hay barn, two hotels, each with twenty rooms for pilgrims. In 1913, in honor of the three hundredth anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov, the chapel over the source was restored. Russian emperors always loved to visit the Cosmodamian monastery; they came here to pray and drink water from the source of Saints Cosmas and Damian. During the Great Patriotic War, the monastery was badly damaged: its buildings were destroyed, only the chapel above the wonderful spring remained intact. And only in 1992 the Cosmo-Damianovsky monastery was revived again and was registered as a men’s monastery. In 1998, water from the Savlukh-Su source was included in the “Directory of Mineral Medicinal Table Waters of Ukraine”; it is considered healing due to the high content of silver and zinc ions in it. Today, several monks live in the monastery, but it is visited by numerous pilgrims who have heard about amazing cases of healing from water from the holy spring of Savlukh-Su. And in the monastery there is a miraculous icon of Saints Cosmas and Damian, with particles of their relics, and the “Jerusalem” Icon of the Mother of God, painted and consecrated in the Greek Athos.
This is the youngest monastery in Crimea, located near Sevastopol, it began its existence in the year two thousand. The story began with a shock: during a festive service in honor of the Nativity of Christ, the rector of the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in Chersonesus, and at the same time, the vicar of the monastic monastery that had just begun to be revived within these walls, Hieromonk Paisius, discovered that they had been robbed from his cell icons, silver vessels, books, crosses, relics, and church vestments were stolen. But God's help came immediately in the person of one of the parishioners, who, approaching the priest after the service, presented a gift from her family of land on which it was possible to build a monastery. On the lands of the Monastic Balka, the monks discovered the caves of the first Christian ascetics, the ruins of the cemetery of an ancient convent, unfortunately, with graves desecrated by the actions of “black archaeologists”. The remains of the unknown nuns were collected by the brethren and reburied on the territory of the monastery. Hieromonk Paisius received a blessing for the founding of a monastic monastery, and as a blessing he was given the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, this image you can see on the iconostasis of the temple erected in the name of St. Paisius of Velichkovsky. In 2011, the Sevastopol City Council approved the boundaries of the monastic monastery, and a year before that, the monastery was given the status of “Stavropegial”. Today, seven brothers serve in the monastery, headed by the viceroy, Archimandrite Gabriel; in addition, this monastery has a courtyard of the Ascension of the Lord, located in the village of Goncharnoye, Balaklava region, where three more brother monks serve. The monastery in Morozovka is a holy place in Crimea, which is very revered by parishioners and pilgrims, because a particle of the relics of Elder Paisius Velichkovsky is kept there. And also, many sufferers come here to get to the Chapel of St. Nektarios, the Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Aegina, the miracle worker, whose prayers heal cancer patients. At the local monastery church there are great Christian shrines, representing more than seven hundred fragments of the relics of God's saints.
The monastery stands in a picturesque place, fifteen kilometers from the Crimean resort town of Sudak, which locals call “Crimean Switzerland”, namely in the Kiziltash tract, surrounded by high red rocks. According to an ancient legend, in the eighth century the summer residence of the Archbishop of Sourozh was located here. In honor of the memory of St. Stephen, the Kiziltash Monastery was built here in 1858. But he did not grow up out of nowhere, but next to the Sacred Rock, in one of the caves of which there is a healing spring. In the twenties of the nineteenth century, a Tatar shepherd accidentally came across this cave, looking for a place to hide from the rain. Here he saw an icon of the Mother of God floating in the water of a spring, he took it with him and along the way gave it to a Greek merchant who lived in Feodosia, and he, in turn, gave the icon to the priest in the church. For some time the icon was at the monastery, but where it is today is unknown. Then, here in 1858, Abbot Parthenius arrived for a church service. Unfortunately, he could not get along with the local residents - the Tatars, who cut down the monastery forest and stole from the monastery. On August 21, 1866, Abbot Partheny, who had gone to Sudak, was found shot dead on a forest road. Moreover, his body was burned along with his horse in the gorge, but a witness was found and the crime was solved. A monument was erected at the site of the murder of the abbot, and in 2000 it was decided to canonize Abbot Parthenius, as an ascetic and Christian martyr. The Kiziltash Monastery, always well-maintained and independent, was plundered by armed men in 1920, and since 1923 it has been closed. A club and a dormitory were opened in the churches, and the domes were removed from the churches. In the post-war years, nuclear ammunition for ships and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet was stored here. But in 1997, the monastery was opened again, and Priest Nikolai Demjanjuk was appointed vicar.
Today we talked about the most significant holy places - its Christian monasteries. Numerous pilgrims come here every year to pray to miraculous icons and relics, drink water from healing springs and get at least a little closer to God.
Crimea is an amazing peninsula with a unique climate and nature of extraordinary beauty. Its picturesque corners are unusual and unique.
In addition to the natural resources that Crimea is so generously endowed with, it is also famous for the huge number of churches and monasteries on its territory. The monasteries of Crimea have a rich history of development. They attract you. like a magnet, they attract with their unknown secrets and amaze with their indescribable beauty.
Monasteries of Crimea
Everyone knows the St. George Monastery, located on Cape Fiolent. It was founded in 891. It is very connected with it. According to it, Greek sailors suffered a shipwreck at the cape. Desperate sailors began to ask St. George for help. He heeded their prayers, and the storm was pacified. The sailors who survived the fight against the elements founded the St. George Monastery in gratitude to the saint who saved them.
Crimea is also famous for its picturesqueness. which is located near Simferopol, has three temples on its territory. Two of them are active. The holy springs of the convent attract a large number of people every year, many of whom find healing from their ailments here.
Particularly interesting are the cave monasteries in Crimea. Each of them has its own unique history and attracts tourists with its mystery.
Cave monasteries of Crimea
Shuldan Monastery is located in the cliffs of the rock of the same name, which hangs over the Shul Valley.
Translated, Shuldan means “giving off an echo.” The monastery consists of two churches. In addition, on its territory there are up to twenty accompanying premises located on several tiers. The most significant monuments of the monastery include two cave churches. It is noteworthy that after the capture of the peninsula by the Turks, most likely, the complex hardly functioned. Residents of a nearby village used its premises to keep livestock.
Chelter Marmara Monastery was founded at the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century. It is located in the cliffs of Mount Chelter-Kaya near the village of Ternovka. The caves here are located in four tiers. Their total number is more than fifty. There are also four churches. A rocky path leads to the foot of the monastery, passing through thickets of juniper, cotoneaster and dwarf tree.
Assumption Monastery in Crimea
No self-respecting tourist will neglect the opportunity to visit the most sacred place in the city of Bakhchisarai - the Assumption Monastery.
Crimea is rich in extraordinary places, but this monastery stands out from many others. It has a rich history. Over the twelve centuries of its existence, the monastery experienced many periods of both prosperity and decline. In the middle of the 15th century, the holy monastery served as the main support for Christianity on the Crimean peninsula.
The monastery is located in one of the most deserted areas of Crimea - the Mariam-Dere tract. It is surrounded on both sides by high cliffs. The panorama of the Crimean Mountains opening from the temple amazes even the most experienced travelers. Many great people visited the territory of the monastery - Emperors Alexander I and II, the last Emperor of Russia and others.
St. Klimentyevsky Monastery
The monasteries of Crimea attract a large number of tourists every year. Among them there is the St. Klimentyevsky Monastery, which is the most ancient on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. In its place, the first Christians of Crimea found their refuge. In the same area is the Church of St. Clement, which is carved into the rock.
From the holy monastery you can go to the ruins of the old Byzantine
The monasteries of Crimea are the greatest wealth of the peninsula. An Orthodox person will find here everything he needs to connect with nature and the Creator. Picturesque places will fill the soul of any person, whether he is a believer or not, with bliss and harmony. And the many legends with which the history of each monastery is connected will not leave anyone indifferent. The Orthodox shrines of the Crimean Peninsula are unique historical and cultural monuments necessary for the spiritual life of society.