Ivanovsky Convent
Encyclopedia
Ivanovsky Convent is a large stauropegic
Russian Orthodox convent
in downtown Moscow
, inside the Boulevard Ring
, to the west of Kitai-gorod
, in the district formerly known as Kulishki
. It is the main shrine of St. John the Baptist
in the Russian capital.
The monastery was first documented in 1604 and long served as a prison for ladies of royal and noble blood. Among the famous nuns were Dosiphea, alleged to be the same person as Princess Tarakanoff, and the serial killer Darya Saltykova. In the 1730s, there were rumors that many nuns took part in khlysty rituals; the mother superior was found guilty and convicted to die.
The 1812 Fire of Moscow reduced the monastery to ashes. The nunnery was closed down and the grounds stood empty until the 1860s, when Mikhail Bykhovsky designed a new monastery compound. The domed katholikon
, loosely based on Brunelleschi
's works, is connected by covered passageways to other buildings. The grounds are thus divided into four lots.
After the Russian Revolution the nunnery was disbanded and was not revived until 2002. The buildings have served a variety of needs; some are still occupied by the Moscow Oblast archives and a police high school.
Stauropegic
Stauropegic, also rendered stavropegic, stauropegial, or stavropegial is a title or description applied to Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christian monasteries subordinated directly to a Patriarch or Synod, rather than to their local Bishop...
Russian Orthodox 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 downtown 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...
, inside the Boulevard Ring
Boulevard Ring
The Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
, to the west of Kitai-gorod
Kitai-gorod
Kitay-gorod , earlier also known as Great Posad , is a business district within Moscow, Russia, encircled by mostly-reconstructed medieval walls. It is separated from the Moscow Kremlin by Red Square. It does not constitute a district , as there are no resident voters, thus, municipal elections...
, in the district formerly known as Kulishki
Church of All Saints, Moscow
Church of All Saints na Kulichkakh is one of oldest churches in Moscow located at 2, Slavyanskaya Square.First wooden church on this place was built by Dmitry Donskoy most likely in 1380 after the Battle of Kulikovo...
. It is the main shrine of St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
in the Russian capital.
The monastery was first documented in 1604 and long served as a prison for ladies of royal and noble blood. Among the famous nuns were Dosiphea, alleged to be the same person as Princess Tarakanoff, and the serial killer Darya Saltykova. In the 1730s, there were rumors that many nuns took part in khlysty rituals; the mother superior was found guilty and convicted to die.
The 1812 Fire of Moscow reduced the monastery to ashes. The nunnery was closed down and the grounds stood empty until the 1860s, when Mikhail Bykhovsky designed a new monastery compound. The domed katholikon
Katholikon
A Katholikon or Catholicon is the major temple of a monastery, or diocese in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The name derives from the fact that it is the largest temple where all gather together to celebrate the major feast days of the liturgical year. At other times, the smaller temples or...
, loosely based on Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi
Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. He is perhaps most famous for inventing linear perspective and designing the dome of the Florence Cathedral, but his accomplishments also included bronze artwork, architecture , mathematics,...
's works, is connected by covered passageways to other buildings. The grounds are thus divided into four lots.
After the Russian Revolution the nunnery was disbanded and was not revived until 2002. The buildings have served a variety of needs; some are still occupied by the Moscow Oblast archives and a police high school.