It existed in wood for several centuries, and only when it was burned by lightning did stone construction begin. The first stone church in the monastery was the cathedral dedicated to St. Nicholas.

How and when did the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery arise?

The main shrines of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery are the revealed image of St. Nicholas, another icon of the same saint, as well as the “Kazan” icon of the Mother of God, painted by the monastic recluse Joachim in the 17th century.

There is no clear conclusion about how and when the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery arose. According to one version, it has existed almost since the 13th century, when Suzdal monks settled here, fleeing the city devastated by Batu. Another version recalls an ancient legend about the founding of a monastery at the site of the appearance of the icon of St. Nicholas.

The first document confirming the existence of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery dates back to 1444 - this is the spiritual letter of the Nizhny Novgorod princess Maria, in Suzdal.

The following documents confirm our opinion that the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery was by no means a desert lost in the forests. Several letters of grant to the monastery of the 15th century have been preserved. And in 1506, Grand Duke Vasily III granted him a letter of innocence. In 1553, Ivan the Terrible gave the monks a charter to take possession of villages from the patrimony of the Gorbaty princes, and his son Theodore Ioannovich, with a special protective charter, protected the monastery’s possessions from the claims of the Nesvitsky princes. In addition, the archimandrites of Nikolo-Shartom enjoyed the privilege of appearing at the sovereign’s court after St. Nicholas of the Spring to present the king with prosphora and holy water.

In 1645, the monastery was completely burned out by lightning. The last sad circumstance pushed the then Archimandrite Joasaph to stone construction. We started, naturally, with the cathedral church. In 1651 new stone temple in the name of St. Nicholas, it was consecrated with the blessing of Archbishop Serapion of Suzdal and Torus.

It was formed as a whole within the boundaries of the second half of the 17th - first half of the 19th centuries. The second oldest stone building after St. Nicholas Cathedral was the refectory building with temples in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and St. Gregory of Akraganti, built in 1678. The refectory was built not without the participation of “high trustees”: according to the decree, Archbishop Stefan of Suzdal gave the monastery 319 rubles for the construction of the refectory with the temple.

TO mid-19th century, as follows from " Brief description Nikolo-Shartomsky Monastery", compiled by priest Pavel
Rumyantsev in the 1860s, the Kazan Church became dilapidated and was “in the poorest and gloomiest state.” However, in 1858, “through the efforts of Abbot Hilarion, with the zealous donations of the Shui merchants Posylin, Kaluga and Popov and other benefactors, the entire interior of the Kazan temple was redone, restored and decorated.” From the same “Description” it is known that the icons for the single-tier iconostasis of the Kazan Church were painted by the Palekh master Sofronov. Of course, the decoration of the temple at that time has not been preserved.

Church of St. Gregory was built in the southern part of the refectory, and is marked only by a small dome above the roof of the building.

Not far from St. Nicholas Cathedral, to the north of it, there is a bell tower. It is perhaps the third oldest monastery building, and perhaps even has the right to claim second place. The exact time of its construction is unknown. In the almanac “Monuments of the Fatherland” (No. 1 for 1981), published by the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, it is said about the bell tower of the Shartom Monastery that “in early XIX century, it has changed its silhouette and from a distance is perceived as an architectural monument of a late era. Meanwhile, coming closer, you can see in its three lower tiers forms that indicate an ancient origin. Fantasy can add a fourth tier of bells with a high tent to the three ancient ones, and the bell-candle towers of Tutaev, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and other cities of the Upper Volga will immediately come to mind.” But the “Code of Monuments of Architecture and Monumental Art” clearly defines it as a “monument of late classicism,” focusing on the upper tiers with arches, which are, indeed, of later origin.

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built above the Holy Gate of the monastery; it was founded in 1696, and consecrated more than a hundred years later - in 1813. And at the beginning of the 19th century it was rebuilt in accordance with the tastes of the era. “The Church of the Transfiguration,” says the “Monuments of the Fatherland,” “in plan has the shape of an equal cross. An octagonal rotunda, topped with a short drum and a small dome, rises above the roof. Light drums are placed at the corners of the quadrangle. In this original way, a heavy base is lightened. You’re amazed at how many compositional options Russian architects used when building five-domed churches.”

“Monuments of the Fatherland” does not provide any precise dating of either the “most ancient layer” of the Transfiguration Church, or the gates, or the buildings adjacent to them. It only says: “In it, as in the monastery bell tower, there are two historical layers belonging to different eras. The foundation of this church, judging by the nature of the masonry, the size of the bricks and the walled niches, is of ancient origin. From time immemorial, the entrance to the monastery was from the side of the river. The cells adjacent to the gates formed a single architectural ensemble, built simultaneously.” It must be understood that by “antiquity” we mean the end of the 17th century. It looks like it. In any case, the data gleaned from pre-revolutionary descriptions of the monastery do not contradict this. True, the old authors do not say anything about the time of construction of the cell buildings. Borisov, mentioning them, notes that they are “quite spacious and strong,” and Fr. Pavel Rumyantsev talks about the restructuring of the “insides” of all “cells” in 1859-1862, as a result of which they settled down “comfortably and decently.” The “Code of Monuments” again speaks of “late classicism,” seeing its features in the “proportion and rhythm of façade divisions.”

The Code also speaks of classicism, but this time “mature”, in relation to the monastery fence.

Among the buildings of the Shartom Monastery, St. Nicholas Cathedral occupies a very special position, being the center of the entire architectural ensemble. It has a stern, “blocky” appearance, so different from the appearance of almost contemporary posad churches in nearby Suzdal. This is exactly the case when the form matches the content. The monastery church has an impressive monastic appearance.

In “Monuments of the Fatherland” we read:

“The St. Nicholas Cathedral of the monastery amazes with its height. In plan it is an elongated rectangle with a central drum shifted to the east. In accordance with this, the facades of the longitudinal part of the volume have unequal segments, separated by four flat pilasters, on which the heels of the zakomari rest.

The tops of the zakomari are leveled by a cornice of later origin. The aesthetic content underlying St. Nicholas Cathedral was not weakened by new forms of completing the drums and roofing that arose in the 18th century. The severity and beauty characteristic of ancient Russian architecture have been preserved in this building.”

The “Code of Architectural Monuments” reminds us that St. Nicholas Cathedral is “the earliest architectural monument in the region” and indicates its known proximity to the Yaroslavl school of architecture. Indeed, the cathedral has features that make it similar to Yaroslavl churches (the craftsmen who built it, if they were not Yaroslavl themselves, then, in any case, had a very complete understanding of Yaroslavl architecture). But this relationship should be approached with caution: in the 17th century, mainly parish churches were built in Yaroslavl, and the tastes of customers at that time had already acquired a certain whimsicality. A parish and monastery church is still different genres(although subsequently there was a tendency to mix them up).

Probably, when building the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the craftsmen also had to take into account the requirements of the customer - in this case, “Archimandrite Joasaph and cellarer Varlaam the monk and his brethren.” And, as can be judged by the appearance of the cathedral, their views on what a monastery church should be like were “well-archaic,” rooted in the 16th century.

By the time the monastery was transferred to the Church interior decoration St. Nicholas Cathedral was almost completely destroyed. Speaking about him, “Monuments of the Fatherland” sparingly report:

“On the interior walls of the cathedral, the vaults and the edges of the pylons, plaster with remains of frescoes has been preserved in places.”

The modern decoration of the cathedral deserves attention ancient icons, placed at the left and right choirs. On the left are the icons of the Mother of God "Tikhvinskaya" and "Shuiskaya-Smolenskaya", on the right - Image not made by hands The Savior is a very expressive letter. Judging by their size, these icons could once have been located in the local row of the iconostasis.

The first inhabitants appeared in the revived Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery in 1990. Both the temples and other buildings of the monastery were in a dilapidated state, so the brethren settled in a construction trailer. It must be said that many surrounding residents greeted the revival of the monastery with great enthusiasm. They brought ancient icons that were preserved in their homes, food, things, and helped with their own efforts.

Nikolo-Shartomsky Monastery with. Introduction of the Shuisky district. This monastery is located 15 versts from the city of Shuya. The area occupied by the monastery is very picturesque. The monastery is located at the confluence of the Molokhta River and the Teza River. The legend says that the Shartomsky Monastery arose here on the occasion of the appearance in this place of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This event happened during the reign of Vasily the Dark. In commemoration of the miraculous image of the saint of God, at the same time, on the site of the appearance of the icon, a monastery was founded, and in the 14th century the Nikolo-Shartomskaya monastery became famous. At this time, Abbot Nikon gained great fame and worked hard to improve the monastery. There were four churches in the monastery. The main one is the ancient cathedral, in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in the middle of the 17th century. The main shrines of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery are considered to be: the revealed image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra, as well as the icon of the Kazan Mother of God located in this monastery. This image was painted in the 17th century by the reclusive Rev. Iakim, who lived in the monastery, whose tomb is located under the foundation of the Kazan Church. In 1897, according to pious custom, these two icons began to be worn in the homes of residents of Ivanovo-Voznesensk. In the monastery, in addition to the mentioned image of St. Nicholas, painted on a stone tablet and considered the most ancient, another icon of this saint, painted on wood, is also famous.

In 1506, Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich gave the monastery the so-called “unjudged letter”, according to which only the Grand Duke himself or his boyars can judge the archimandrite and the brethren. A similar charter was given by Ivan the Terrible in 1533. Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (son of the Terrible) also sent a letter of protection to the rector. She gave the Shartom archimandrites the honor of appearing in Moscow at the Sovereign's court after the summer St. Nicholas Day to present prosphora and holy water. The monastery was not spared from troubles. In 1619, it was devastated by Polish-Lithuanian troops, and in 1649, “by the will of God, it burned down from lightning to the foundation.” In 1651, the formerly wooden monastery was built in stone.

In the early 1920s, the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery was closed. Valuable utensils and icons were requisitioned, the library and the rest of the icons were burned. The monastery buildings began to be used for economic needs. In the fall of 1990, the ancient St. Nicholas-Shartom monastery was returned to the Church. Now the monastery is being transformed by the prayers and labors of the inhabitants and, of course, the help of benefactors. The rector - sacred archimandrite of this men's monastery is Archbishop of Ivanovo and Kineshma Ambrose, who constantly delves into all the needs of the monastery. In the management of the monastery, the Vladyka is assisted by the monastery governor appointed by him, Archimandrite Nikon (Fomin). There are more than 100 brethren in the monastery. The monastery has a courtyard in Ivanovo, in the city of Shuya and the village of Palekh. In the courtyards, with the blessing of Vladyka Ambrose, spiritual and educational work is carried out, educational work is carried out through confession and extra-liturgical conversations.

At the end of the 1990s, with the blessing of Bishop Ambrose, the monastery in Ivanovo carried out the construction of the temple “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” which is located in a pit on the site of the temple of the same name that was blown up in the 1970s. Also in the city of Ivanovo, the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh was opened as a monastery courtyard in a former kindergarten, transferred to the monastery by the City Duma. In addition to the temple, there are also fraternal cells here.

Nina Martynova

Located in the village of Vvedenye, the St. Nicholas-Shartomsky Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Russia. The exact time of the founding of the monastery has not been established; there are several legends. According to one of them, the monastery received its name from the river, formerly called Shartoma (Shakhma), which flows into the Molokhta River not far from the monastery. At the confluence of this with the Teza River the monastery is located. According to another legend, in the second half of the 12th century, the fugitive slave of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky Nikola Shart with his comrades Fedos, Sidor and others settled on the banks of an unnamed river, which they called Shartoma, soon built a monastery, and the founder became the first abbot. The first documentary mention of this temple dates back to 1425. In the spiritual charter of the Nizhny Novgorod appanage princess Maria, there is a legend that the monastery was built in honor of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker found on the banks of the Shartoma even before the reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily the Dark. The monastery looked different in ancient times than it does now. The existing stone five-domed building was built, according to the mark on one of its crosses, in 1651, opened on April 27 with the blessing of Archbishop Sfapion of Suzdal and Tarusa. In 1654, the monastery was burned to the ground by lightning, and previously it was repeatedly ruined by the Poles and Lithuanians. The monastery in Vvedenye was built in the style of the Byzantine-Russian architectural school. This is an ensemble of church buildings and structures. The tallest of them is a free-standing five-tier bell tower. Next to it is the majestic St. Nicholas Cathedral Church, built in 1651. 27 years later, a spacious (with cells and a refectory) Kazan Church was built, and along with it a small everyday church - the Temple of Gregory of Akraganti. The Gateway Church of the Transfiguration has a somewhat separate estate. It was founded earlier than all its neighbors (meaning the stone version) - in 1626, and opened only in 1813.

The complex of monastery buildings is strict and expressive, which fully corresponds to the spirit of ancient Russian architecture. St. Nicholas Cathedral of the monastery amazes with its height. In plan it is an elongated rectangle with a central drum shifted to the east. In accordance with this, the facades of the longitudinal part of the volume have unequal segments, separated by four flat pilasters, on which the heels of the zakomari rest. The tops of the zakomari are lined with a cornice of later origin. Massive tetrahedral pylons support the light drum and vaults inside. The interior walls of the cathedral, the vaults and the edges of the pylons were painted with frescoes. 20 m from the northwestern side of the cathedral, a five-tiered bell tower soared upward. At the beginning of the 19th century it was rebuilt and is perceived as an architectural monument of a later era. Meanwhile, in those lower tiers you can see forms that indicate an ancient origin. In the western and southern sides of the Nikolo-Shartomsky Monastery there are cells and passages to the refectory of the Kazan Church, which has two chapels. The architectural merits of the gateway Church of the Transfiguration are undoubted. In it, as in the monastery bell tower, there are two historical layers belonging to different eras. The foundation of this church, judging by the nature of the masonry, the size of the bricks and the walled niches, is of ancient origin. From time immemorial, the entrance to the monastery was from the river. The cells adjacent to the gate formed a single architectural ensemble, built simultaneously. The gate, judging by its powerful base, also ended with a church, which was rebuilt in 1813. The Church of the Transfiguration has the shape of an equal cross in plan. An octagonal rotunda, topped with a short drum and a small dome, rises above the roof. Light drums are placed at the corners of the quadrangle. In this original way, a heavy base is lightened.

Sources: Monuments of the Fatherland. Almanac of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments No. 1(3) 1981. Website Russian Civilization http://rustrana.ru

Shartomsky Nikolaevsky Monastery, 3rd class, 13 versts from the city of Shuya, near the village of Pulkova. Founded before 1425. There is a legend that the monastery was founded on the occasion of the appearance of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker under Grand Duke Vasily the Dark. The cathedral church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 1650. Here are two ancient images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - one on a tree, the other depicted on a stone tablet, and the especially revered Kazan Icon of the Mother of God; With these icons people go from house to house to worship in the city of Ivanovo-Voznesensk. Of the ancient monuments, the following are remarkable: the royal carved gates in the Church of St. Gregory; a wooden altar cross in a silver frame, according to legend, a gift from St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow; Ostrog Bible, printed in 1580, and so on.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"

Introduction (Vvedenskoe, Navels). It is located on both banks of the small river Molokhta, not far from its confluence with the Teza. Formed from two villages: Vvedenye proper (right bank) and Pupki (left bank), which arose in the end. 14th century at the intersection of the river and the old road from Kostroma to Vladimir. The first news about the village. Pupki dates back to 1425 - in the charter of Nizhny Novgorod Princess Maria, the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery located here is mentioned. According to legend, the village was founded by Prince. Vasily the Dark, and in the 16th century. served as the patrimony of the Gorbaty-Suzdal princes (their family cemetery was located at the monastery). Already at an early stage, Pupki had a predominantly commercial character in connection with the St. Nicholas fairs established near the walls of the monastery. Traders came here from Ivanov, Vasilievsky, Dunilov, as well as cities of the Nizhny Novgorod district. The devastations of 1609 and 1624 from the Polish-Lithuanian troops and Cossacks did not change the activities of local residents. Tailors, blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, shoemakers and watchmakers lived here, which indicates the strengthening, along with trade, of the population's craft activities. The core of the planning composition of the village was the ensemble of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, located on a slight increase in the relief near the bridge over the river at the entrance from the village. Introduction. To the north of the monastery walls there is a vast shopping area, to which three streets converge. Their directions are determined by the roads to Dunilovo (modern Severnaya Street), to Kokhma (Melnichnaya), the latter leads to the crossing at the former monastery mill, then rushes south, across the bridge to the village. Introduction and further to Shuya. Both villages - Pupki and Vvedenskoye (Vvedenye) - were assigned to the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery. Built in the 2nd half. 18th century merchants Ryabov and Talitsky, the linen manufactory was the first of 10 calico-printing factories that soon emerged in both villages. At the same time, there were several candle factories.

Development of the planning structure with new orders of huts in the north-western direction of the village. Pupki served to form the second posad center with a small area and two parish churches: with the chapel of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa (1806) and (1843). , located northwest of the shopping area, at the beginning of the street. Northern, significantly enriched the panorama of the village. By 1851, the fame of this sprawling industrial village was reflected in its naming as Big Navels. The layout of the right bank part is subordinated to the original river bed, along which, along the road to Kokhma, street development was formed. The second guide was the road to Shuya, which led to the central part of the village, where Vvedensky was previously located convent, assigned to Nikolo-Shartomsky, but already abolished in 1764. In its place at the beginning. 19th century built . It is characteristic that for the development of both villages the main element is not the river, but roads; Moreover, the roads through the villages functioned only in the summer, while in the winter the transit passage was located three miles to the east.

The flourishing of industrial production was reflected in the increase in stone residential development in both villages. The most interesting are the merchant mansions, built in the forms of late classicism, in the north-eastern part of the shopping area with. Introduction. However, already in 1886, in connection with the construction of the Shuya-Ivanovo railway, Nikolsky fairs became less popular. In Pupki there remain only 41 courtyards with 216 inhabitants, one cotton-printing factory, several shops and one tavern. Subsequently, development developed in the area of ​​the textile factory, located to the north-west, in the right bank part. In the 20th century a club, a children's factory, a school, as well as two-story standard houses were built here. The modern general plan of the village, developed by Rosgiproniiselstroy in 1982, involves the development of residential buildings in a southern direction, without affecting the historical part.

Nikolo-Shartomsky Monastery, mid. 17 - 1st half. 19th century Laid into con. 14th century at the confluence of the river Shartoma, from which it received its name, in the river. Molokhta, 3 km above the modern location. Soon after they were laid, the wooden structures were washed away by the flood to the village. The navels, where its final foundation occurred. The authority of this largest and richest monastery in the Shuya region was secured by a non-judicial charter issued in 1506 by Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich and confirmed in 1553 by Ivan the Terrible. Among the investors of the monastery were the last Suzdal princes Gorbaty, from their possessions the village was donated to the monastery in 1535. Chernetsy, and in 1553 the palace estate of Goritsa. His synodikon commemorated the princes Pepinsky, Khovansky, Pronsky, and Paletsky, executed in 1537 by Ivan IV. The monastery owned salt pans in the Nerekhta settlement, leather farmsteads and serf farms in the Pulkovo volost. The buildings of the monastery, which were before the middle. 17th century exclusively wooden, first suffered greatly from the Lithuanian devastation in 1609, and then died during the fire of 1645. The first after the fire in 1649-51. In the center of the territory, a brick St. Nicholas Cathedral appeared, built with the assistance of Archimandrite Joasaph and cellarer Varlaam. Its monumental forms are largely oriented towards the architecture of the previous century. Soon, on the southern border of the monastery, somewhat west of the cathedral, on a high basement, a church was erected in honor of the Kazan Icon Mother of God(1678) with the Church of Gregory of Agragantia adjoining it from the west, which later became a fraternal refectory. Next to them in the 17th century. there was a third, wooden, temple, which was later rebuilt into a stone one in the name of Dmitry of Thessalonica. Later it was abolished, and in its place in the western part of the building a sacristy, library and archive premises were built.

The wooden Holy Gate with the Church of Metropolitan Alexy, located in the western part of the fence on the same axis with the cathedral, was later replaced by brick ones, with the Church of the Presentation above them. At the same time, a bell tower with cells in the first and second tiers was erected to the north-west of the cathedral. Thus, the main composition of the ensemble was already formed by the end. 17th century Subsequently, the territory of the monastery expanded to the north and northeast due to the walls and wooden monastery buildings. The bathhouse and other outbuildings were moved beyond the southern wall of the fence to the river bank. The monastery reached its peak in the 1st half. - sir. 18th century, when eight monasteries were under his control, including such as Troitsky in Shuya, assigned in 1724, and Vorobyovo Hermitage, assigned in 1755, near the village. Dunilovo. However, already in 1764, most of these properties were taken over by the treasury, and the monastery itself was transferred to a third-class monastery according to the new states. The fire of 1783 was the reason for the renovation of the complex. The construction of the gateway on the site of the Presentation Church, completed only in 1813, was especially delayed. Its composition reflected both the influences of Baroque and late classicism. Adjoining the southern façade of the gate church is a simultaneous rectory building, connected to it by an internal passage and touching the corner of the end façade with the Church of Gregory of Agraganti. Adjacent to the gate church from the north is a modest two-story building fraternal cells, built in late 1830s and rebuilt in 1859-62. Rebuilt in the 1st floor. 19th century The tiers of the bell tower, as well as the new stone fence with four low corner towers (only one of which has survived) belong to the final, classic stage of the formation of the monastery. The buildings that have survived to this day occupy the southwestern part of the vast, trapezoidal in plan, territory of the monastery, surrounded by a fence. The largest architectural complex of the southern (Vladimir) region of the Ivanovo region, including the most valuable buildings of the middle. 17 - 1st floor. 19th century

The main and most ancient building of the monastery. A magnificent example of cult architecture. 17th century, the earliest architectural monument of the region, created under the influence of the Yaroslavl school of architecture. The original completion of the domes and roof with roof covering was replaced in the 18th century. The walls are whitewashed. The massive main volume, crowned with a powerful five-domed dome, is adjacent to three lowered apses of the altar. The architecture of the building is still largely connected with examples of monumental monastery buildings of the 16th century. The planes of the side facades are divided by relatively narrow blades into three sections corresponding to the internal division of the cathedral; their width decreases from west to east. The upper part of the spindles with zakomar arches (in the middle ones there are icon cases), resting on the profiled ends of the shoulder blades, is separated by a slightly lowered belt loosened on the shoulder blades. In the center of each spindle there are narrow arched windows of the upper light, recessed into the same form of embrasure. In contrast, the lower openings of the eastern spindles and the windows of the apses are surrounded by framed frames with triangular and keeled finishes. The main entrance in the center of the western facade is highlighted by a massive arched vestibule with large flies on the pylons and half-roll belts along the edge of the plinth and in the archivolt. The arched perspective portal of the entrance differs from similar ones on the side facades in greater elegance: it is decorated with terracotta carved melons and a profiled base. The high drums of the domes with small semicircular kokoshniks at the bases are processed with arched-columnar belts and cut with narrow slit-like windows at the cardinal points.

The interior of a large four-pillar church gives the impression of being double-pillared due to the fact that the eastern pillars, as in Yaroslavl churches of that time, are fused with the altar barrier. The central chapter rests on longitudinal girth arches and additional arches running in the transverse direction. For the construction of small domes, small arches are also laid out in the corner cells, adjacent to the walls and the main supporting arches. The arms of the cross are covered with box and cross (western) vaults. The apses of the altar part, communicating with each other, are separated from the main space by a low wall with three arched openings. At the base of the vaults there is a profiled molded cornice of a classic profile, drawn profiles frame the openings. The floor is covered with square ceramic tiles. On the eastern wall and in the altar the glue painting of the 1st floor has been preserved. 19th century The main volume is painted with oil paints in a third of the 19th century. Some compositions on the walls and almost all on the vaults have been lost. The original painting is an expressive work of monumental art, which combines baroque and classicist features. The painting is characterized by a subtle brushwork and exquisite coloring, built on intense violet-red, blue and golden-ocher tones. In the conch of the central apse there is the composition “Tsar by Tsar”, in the northern apse - “The Great Sacrifice”. On the eastern wall in the center is written “The New Testament Trinity”, and on either side of it on an ocher background are unusual grisaille compositions “The Crucifixion” and “The Last Supper” in gray-brown and pale purple tones. Two evangelists are depicted on the eastern wall, the other two are depicted on the western edges of the eastern pillars. The painting in the main volume is an interesting example of painting in the spirit of late academicism. The plot scenes here are characterized by competent, balanced compositional structures, well-developed backgrounds and a dim, cold color scheme, dominated by washed-out blue, green and yellow colors. More traditional are images of saints painted frontally in static poses. On the walls the compositions are arranged in three tiers. In the upper one (in the lunettes) only “The Coronation of the Mother of God” and “The Nativity of the Mother of God” have been preserved. The middle and lower tiers contain gospel compositions and scenes from the life of St. Nicholas. On the western pillars are images of saints (in the lower part of the morning); the slopes of the arches and the frames of the compositions are decorated with ornamental wickerwork.

United in one building located along the river bank in the southern part of the ensemble. The warm Kazan Church with galleries and porches on a high basement is extended to the west by the Church of Gregory of Agraganti with a fraternal refectory. Despite significant alterations (the gallery was destroyed and a number of openings were rebuilt), the building retained its original appearance. Its composition as a whole resembles the type of refectory church placed on a high basement in the modest forms of Suzdal architecture of the 17th-18th centuries. The Kazan Church is distinguished by a slightly elevated, blind quadrangle stretched along the north-south axis with a decorative dome above a flat hipped roof, and the Church of Gregory of Agraganti is marked only by the dome as a refectory chapel. The three-part apse of the eastern facade of the building rests on the rectangular projection of the basement.

The modest decoration of the facades consists of blades marking the corners and divisions of the main volumes, a number of decorative kokoshniks at the end of the Kazan Church and framed platbands of small arched windows with gabled completion. The interior of the main floor of the Kazan Church is covered with a transverse tray vault. Three arched openings connect the quadrangle with the altar part, covered with a transverse cylindrical vault with trays at the ends and conchs in the apse niches. The western part of the single-pillar refectory is covered with a complex system of box vaults. In the basement there are box vaults; in the western part they rest on a powerful tetrahedral pillar. The previously existing box vaults over the western porch have been lost. In the 17th century the walls of the Kazan Church were painted, and in 1858 the paintings were renewed. On the second floor, on the vault of the main volume, gray glue painting has been preserved. 19th century - fragment of the composition “My soul magnifies the Lord.” The Church of Gregory of Agraganti in both floors is a square, single-pillar chamber, covered with a cylindrical vault and illuminated by three windows on the southern facade. The church itself occupied only one part of the upper chamber; the rest of the room contained a refectory. The basement part was used for economic purposes.

The Church of the Transfiguration (gate) is built of brick and plastered. The almost cubic volume with two arched gates in the first tier ends with a large octagonal drum (the diagonal edges are narrowed) with a faceted dome and a crown dome. The remaining four blind chapters, also on faceted drums, are placed at the corners of the main quadrangle. The architecture of the building is mainly characteristic of the Classicist era, but the faceted forms of the completion and round windows indicate the stability of Baroque techniques in the province. The basis of the decorative decoration of the western facade is a two-tier composition: above the four-column Doric portico with a triangular pediment, in the center of a poorly developed projection there is a three-part semicircular window (the projection also ends with a pediment). The altar on the courtyard facade is highlighted with a risalit with rounded corners. In the first tier, the risalit is cut through by a wide arch and a lower light window, inscribed in a two-pilaster pediment portico; in the second tier there is a semicircular window. A wide smooth belt covers the facades under the second-light windows. The corners are highlighted with pilasters to the height of the first tier. On both sides of the central composition on the eastern and western facades there are round windows framed by flat frames. The interior of the lower tier rooms are covered with barrel vaults. In the center upper tier girth arches and sails transfer the load of the massive light octagon to four pylons rounded from the inside, and a bypass is formed around them, covered with cylindrical vaults. A doorway in the southern wall connects the church with the rectory, and in the northern wall with cells. Fragments of grisaille glue painting of the 1st half have been preserved. 19th century

The bell tower is located in the northern part of the monastery. Three octagonal tiers (the lower one is divided into two half-tiers) are placed on a low quadrangle and are completed with a high ovoid faceted dome with lucarnes, which is crowned with an octagonal drum with a bulbous dome. With an overall traditional and even somewhat archaic composition, it is a monument of late classicism. This is evidenced by the decoration of the facades and the calm finish. The two upper octagons of the bell are cut through by arched openings decorated with Doric semi-columns and pilasters. The rest of the external decoration consists of blades going around the corners and inter-tier belts. Inside, the tiers are connected by a narrow internal staircase. In the quadrangle of the base there is a cell, covered with a closed vault.

The fraternal cells, adjacent to the Church of the Transfiguration from the north, are a two-story, rectangular building facing the village with an extended façade with seven axes of windows. The proportions and rhythm of façade divisions are characteristic of late classicism. The interior of the building has lost its original layout. The abbot's building is stretched along the western border of the monastery south of the Transfiguration Church. Built of brick, the facades are plastered and whitewashed. The two-story rectangular volume under a hip roof is made in the forms of late classicism. The dry, although not uniform, rhythm of the nine axes of the windows is enlivened by fluted pilasters and buttresses (on the first floor). The interior of the building has not retained its original decoration. On the second floor there is a large chamber in the center, at the ends there are small rooms connected to the sacristy and the gate church.

The fence surrounding the territory of the monastery - a brick, relatively low wall - is made in the modest forms of mature classicism. The wide spindles are separated by simple shoulder blades with a frieze-belt loosened above them. Of the four corner towers, only the northwestern one has survived. Massive, two-tiered (octagonal on quadrangular), it is completed with a low, gently sloping tent with a spire. The lower tier, up to half its height, is decorated with wide paired pilasters on the sides of the arched niche. Rhombic panels are placed above them. The edges of the quadrangle are completed by triangular pediments. Volume cornices consist of several straight shelves.

Article from the book "Code of architectural monuments and monumental art of Russia. Ivanovo region. Part 3."