Conception monastery is an operating Russian Orthodox

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

 in Khamovniki District of Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. The Convent, closed in 1918, reopened in 1995 and has now been restored.

History

The first church and convent for women on the site of present-day monastery was laid down by Saint Alexis (1304–1378, born Eleuthery Byakont, later Alexis, Metropolitan bishop

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 of Moscow) in 1360 in the name of Conception of Saint Anne

Saint Anne

Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...

. Alexis (Alekseevsky) convent housed Eupraxia and Iuliania, sisters of Alexis (both canonized

Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...

 by Russian Orthodox Church in 2001).

After the Fire of Moscow (1547)

Fire of Moscow (1547)

The great fire of Moscow in 1547 destroyed sections of Moscow which had been built almost entirely of wood. The fire began on June 24, several months after Ivan IV was officially crowned as first Tsar of Russia...

, Alexis convent relocated to the site of present-day Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Conception Convent was established on the old site in 1584 by childless Feodor I of Russia

Feodor I of Russia

Fyodor I Ivanovich 1598) was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches. However, in Russian the name...

 and his wife, Irina Godunova

Irina Godunova

Irina Feodorovna Godunova later Alexandra was the wife of Tsar Feodor I Ivanovich and the sister of Tsar Boris Godunov Irina Feodorovna Godunova later Alexandra (1557–1603) was the wife of Tsar Feodor I Ivanovich (r. 1584–1598) and the sister of Tsar Boris Godunov Irina Feodorovna Godunova...

. Soon, it was looted and damaged during the Time of Troubles

Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik Dynasty, Feodor Ivanovich, in 1598, and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. In 1601-1603, Russia suffered a famine that killed one-third...

.
Extant barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

 church was built in 1696, financed by Rimsky-Korsakov family. This church and walls are the only remains of the Convent as it existed before the Russian Revolution of 1917

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

. The main Neo-gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 Nativity cathedral, built in 1804-1807 and attributed to Matvey Kazakov

Matvey Kazakov

Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...

, was torn down in 1924. Fortified convent itself served as a juvenile prison, later, the city built a red brick School No.36 on site of old cathedral. Its principal relic, icon of Theotokos

Theotokos

Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...

 the Merciful, was saved at nearby Church of Elijah.

Reconstruction

Efforts to restore the Convent began in 1991; the new institution was established by Patriarch

Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

 in May 1995. By 2005, church of St.Anne (third from right on the 1882 photograph) was completed; the Convent, backed by the City of Moscow, is raising funds to rebuild the main cathedral. However, recent publications assert that the Church deems the historical Gothic style improper and the new cathedral will be built in traditional Russian style. Draft, published by architect Ilia Utkin, proposes excavating the earth around old foundations, and locking these historical ruins under a raised sarcophagus

Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...

 slab. The new five-domed church, taller than the old cathedral, will rest on this slab, unlinked from historical foundations. In October 2006, Yuri Luzhkov approved a similar concept by Alexander Obolensky, but required decrease of new cathedral height.

As of June, 2009, the new cathedral, made of in situ concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

, is structurally complete. On November 25, 2010 the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady was consecrated.

Public transportation access

Moscow Metro

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...

: Kropotkinskaya

Kropotkinskaya

Kropotkinskaya is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. One of the better-known Metro stations, it was designed by Alexey Dushkin and Ya...

, Park Kultury-Radialnaya

Park Kultury-Radialnaya

Park Kultury is a Moscow Metro station in the Khamovniki District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Frunzenskaya and Kropotkinskaya stations...

Convent territory is open for general public in daytime, until the end of 5pm Vespers, with certain limitations; photography inside the walls requires prior consent of hegumen

Hegumen

Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...

ia Iuliania.

External links

• Russian: Map, schedule of services http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Hram/168.htm
• Draft of new Nativity Cathedral, October 2006 www.archi.ru