Spaso-stone monastery. Spaso-Kamenny Monastery (Vologda region, Ust-Kubinsky district, Kamenny Island): history and modernity
One of oldest monasteries Russian North. It is located on Kamenny Island on Lake Kubenskoye, not far from the village of Ustye, Ust-Kubensky District.
It is generally accepted that the monastery was founded in the second half of the 13th century, which makes it one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North. In addition, this is the first stone monastery in the Russian North. In 1774, a powerful fire broke out on the island, destroying almost all wooden buildings after which the monastery was closed. In 1801 the monastery was renewed and the monastery existed until 1925. In 1937, the oldest temple of the Russian North, built in 1481, was blown up in order to obtain bricks for the construction of the local House of Culture. Since 1991, by the efforts of enthusiasts under the leadership of A.N. Pligin, the restoration of the Spaso-Stone Monastery began, which continues to this day.
Foundation of the monastery
According to legend, in August 1260, the Belozersky prince Gleb Vasilkovich “sailed on a plow from his fatherland from Belozero to the city of Ustyug by the Porozovitsa River and ascended into Lake Kubenskoye, but the waves were so great on the lake that the prince had to stand ten days at the shore, where the church of St. Anthony the Great is. As soon as the abyss subsided, and he set off on his way, a black cloud again overtook with terrible thunder and lightning, and the prince's nasad began to flood with waves. The prince with his people began to pray to the All-Merciful Savior in order to get rid of their proper misfortune and made a vow: where and on what day he would bring them to the shore, in that place to build a church in the name of the celebrated Saint and arrange a monastery. And so, by the grace of God, on the 6th day of August, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a storm brought them to the middle of the lake to the island called Stone.
There were about 23 desert dwellers on the island at that time. Apparently, they were people from the Anthony pier, next to which stood the Anthony Church, which is considered one of the earliest northern churches. The elders living on the island led a monastic way of life and were engaged in preaching the Christian faith among the pagans who lived along the nearest shores. “Because of their wretchedness and the attacks of unfaithful people, they did not have a church.” Gleb Vasilkovich, who, by the way, was the grandson of the Grand Duke of Rostov Konstantin Vsevolodovich and the husband of Batu’s granddaughter, and who, due to these circumstances, had great influence, kept his word and in short term The Church of the Transfiguration was built on the island.
Monastery inXV-XIX centuries
The next milestone in the history of the monastery was the first half of the 15th century, when Dionysius the Greek became rector of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery at the behest of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. According to The Legend of the Beginning of the Spaso-Stone Monastery, Dionysius was a tonsured Athos. According to A. E. Tarasov, Dionysius could be a Russian or a southern Slav who left for Greece.
This event testifies to the attention of the court of the Moscow prince, which was drawn to such a remote northern monastery. And such guardianship is quite clear.
The Spaso-Stone, along with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, was the largest cultural and religious center in the 15th century. Even the Ferapontov Monastery could not boast of such influence in the northern lands. In the Spaso-Stone Monastery, many future great ascetics took monastic vows, whose labors and prayers created the Northern Thebaid. Among them were Rev. Dionisiy Glushitsky, teacher Alexander Kushtsky, teacher Evfimy Syanzhemsky, teacher Ioasaf Kamensky.
In 1481, Rostov craftsmen erected the first stone cathedral in the Russian North, which was consecrated in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Nine years later, in 1490, the same craftsmen erected the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Ferapontov Monastery.
In 1541, a warm refectory church was erected in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God “under the bells”.
It is noteworthy that Ivan IV the Terrible, who repeatedly visited Vologda, has never been to the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery. However, it is known that the king sent a bell to the island.
In 1650 Abbot Markell installed a shrine for the relics of St. Joasaph Kamensky.
In 1773, a powerful fire broke out on the island, after which the monastery was abolished, and the brethren were transferred to the Spirits Monastery in Vologda, which in 1775 received the name Spaso-Kamenny - after the name of the burnt and abolished island monastery.
In 1801, by order of Emperor Paul I, the burned-out monastery was restored, and the brethren of the Belavinsky Epiphany Desert were transferred to the island. So the island monastery was named Belavinskaya Savior-Preobrazhenskaya desert.
In 1892, the original name Spaso-Kamenny was returned to the monastery by the decree of the Synod.
Monastery in the XX-XXI centuries
In 1925 the monastery was closed. In 1937, an attempt was made to get bricks on the island for the construction of the House of Culture by blowing up the Transfiguration Cathedral. However, the Bolsheviks failed to undermine the ancient walls in such a way that they could be used in the future, so to this day the ruined walls of the cathedral lie in the center of the island.
Until 1971, a full-time watchman of the district department of culture lived here. When this position was reduced, the island became a haven for local fishermen and hunters.
Since 1991, through the efforts of enthusiasts under the leadership of A. N. Pligin and A. A. Asafov, the restoration of the monastery began. In 1993, Alexander Asafov died, and Alexander Pligin continued the work on the revival of the monastery. In 2004, Alexander Pligin died, his widow, Nadezhda Alexandrovna, and children continue his work.
Now the hotel building, the bell tower with the Assumption Church have already been restored, work is underway to restore the refectory. The archbishop's residence "Savior-Stone Monastery" was created on the island.
Spaso-Kamenny Monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Kamenny Island in Kubenskoye Lake Vologda dioceseThe only currently known document about the origin of the monastery is the "Legend of the Spaso-Stone Monastery", compiled by Paisiy Yaroslavov in the century. It tells how the Belozersky Prince Gleb Vasilkovich went on ships from the White Lake along the Porozovitsa River to Lake Kubenskoye. On Lake Kubenskoye, not far from a place called the Karachevskaya abyss, he was overtaken violent storm. In moments of danger, the prince vowed to build a church and a monastery on the site where he could find salvation. The ship was washed by the wind to Kamenny Island. The prince found twenty-three monks on the island, who lived in dugouts, and gathered in the chapel for prayer. It happened on the day of the celebration of the Transfiguration of the Lord, on August 6 of the year. The prince ordered the construction of a wooden church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord and cells for the monks. So the Spaso-Stone Transfiguration Monastery was founded.
From the time of its foundation, the monastery existed under the auspices of the Belozersky princes. Due to repeated fires that damaged the monastery archive, the history of the monastery is not well known and consists of information for the most part fragmentary and incomplete.
The heyday of the monastery is associated with the name of hegumen Dionisy the Greek, who introduced a strict charter of the Holy Mount Athos into the monastery, laid down the traditions that formed the authority and glory of the monastery for several centuries. Under his rectorship, the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery became a theological school for many ascetics, and people from it - Dionysius Glushitsky, Alexander Kushtsky, Pakhomiy Kamensky, Evfimy Syanzhemsky - in turn, founded new monasteries on the coast of Kubenskoye Lake. Around the same time, the saints of God Peter Kamensky and Vasily Kamensky, holy fool for Christ's sake, resting in it, labored in the monastery.
During the cruel internecine wars in the year, Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, deposed from the throne and blinded by Prince Dimitri Shemyaka, came to the Spaso-Stone Monastery on a pilgrimage. Hegumen Evfimy blessed Vasily the Dark to continue the struggle for power: “Go, Sovereign, on your desired path to a great reign, and God will arrange your procession”. Vasily the Dark made rich land contributions to the monastery, and his wife grand duchess Mary attributed to her the monastery of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on St. Luke.
The fire of 1476. Revival of the monastery
In September of the year, during a severe storm, a fire broke out on the island. Being wooden, all the monastery buildings burned down. Many monks died in the waters of the lake, escaping in boats from the fire.
A few years later, the monastery was rebuilt again. In the year the stone Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior was erected. To decorate the cathedral, white stone was brought from Tver from the Staritsky quarries. The bricks for the construction of the temple were made by hand. The artel of Rostov architects erected the cathedral.
In the same year, Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich, together with his wife Elena Glinskaya, on a pilgrimage, visited the monastery on Kamenny Island, where they prayed for childbearing. The Grand Duke granted the monks of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery 60 rubles for the construction of a warm temple. Warm church with a refectory in the name of the Assumption Mother of God was built after death Basil III.
Prince Vasily III used the Spaso-Stone Monastery as a place of exile for disgraced clerics. At the beginning of the 16th century, the former Bishop of Smolensk Varsonofy (Khodykin) was imprisoned here. A little later, the disgraced Moscow Metropolitan Varlaam, who died in the monastery in 1533, was exiled to the monastery, his tomb has not been preserved.
In addition to churches, the monastery had six small stone buildings. There was a fortification along the coast - a wooden row with cells placed on it, protecting the coast of the island from destruction by ice and spring floods.
From heyday to decline: XVII - XVIII centuries.
The monastery flourished in the second half of the 17th century. During this period, in addition to the abbot, 93 people lived on the island, of which 27 were monastics, the rest were servants and working people. In the patrimony of the monastery there were 7 villages, 4 villages and 98 villages with 819 souls of male peasants. In Vologda, the monastery owned 2 farmsteads, in Totma - 2 salt pans. The monastery also had various trade benefits.
According to the inventory of the year, there were three stone temples on the island. The interior of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior was distinguished by its special splendor and an unusual array of icons (there were about 150 of them in the temple), which had gilded silver frames, some were decorated precious stones and pearls. There were ten bells on the bell tower. The altar Gospels, decorated with velvet and silver, priestly vestments, embroidered with pearls, were kept in the sacristy, 364 books were kept in the library, of which six were ancient manuscripts, on parchment.
As a result of the secularization reform of 1764, the Spaso-Stone Monastery was assigned to the third, lower, class of monasteries.
The fire and the abolition of the monastery in 1774
In the year a strong fire destroyed the wooden row around the island along with the cells. Of the stone structures, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior and the gate church of John the Baptist suffered the most. It was possible to save only the most precious shrines: the relics of St. Joasaph Kamensky, several images, the most ancient and valuable objects of worship, vestments, books.
The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was abolished because the necessary funds were not found to renew it after the fire. The property remaining from the fire was transferred for storage to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery. The abbot with the brethren was assigned to the Vologda Holy Spirit Monastery, which was renamed Spaso-Kamenny by decree of the Holy Synod.
Monastery restoration
In the same year, with the permission of the diocesan authorities, the first rescue station in the province of the Imperial Russian Society for Water Rescue was opened on the island. A lighthouse was installed on the roof of the brethren's building high power (kerosene lamp), the light of which was visible for 20 miles, and during fogs and winter snowstorms, the sound of a special bell was a guide for travelers. Four rowing sailors under the leadership of the ataman and a few brethren, day and night, in winter and summer, hurried to help people in distress, each time risking their own lives. The rector, Archimandrite Pavel, supervised the work of the station. He personally took part in the rescue work.
In the year, at the request of the abbot of the monastery and at the request of the inhabitants of the surrounding villages and villages, permission was received from the Synod to transport the relics of St. Joasaph to the monastery, and also to return the former name - the Spaso-Stone Monastery.
Closing of the monastery
On June 25, a commission for the closure of the monastery worked on the island, consisting of two representatives of the Provincial Department of Public Education and a policeman. Ivan Vasilyevich Fedyshin, head of the art department of the museum, was invited to determine the value of the items transferred to the museum according to the inventory. There were no old books, icons, old silver liturgical utensils, inventory books. Some of the items, including eight pounds of archival documents, were left in the monastery under the protection of Gubono's employees.
Rector Hieromonk Anatoly (Petukhov), five monks, three novices made up the population of the monastery. The novices were recognized as hiding from military service, the case was transferred to the police. The monks were temporarily allowed to stay on the island.
Two months after the opening of the colony, on September 2, a fire broke out in the monastery. The fire destroyed the brotherly-rector's stone building, which housed Orphanage and temples. The ancient buildings left without a roof gradually turned into ruins. The island has become a haven for fishermen, hunters and tourists.
In the late 1930s, the Transfiguration Cathedral was blown up. The Assumption bell tower was not touched, it was used as a lighthouse.
From year to year, the surviving buildings of the monastery (hotel, bell tower and cellars) were used for the needs of the fish factory.
Around 1970, the fishermen who spent the night on the island burned down the only residential building - the monastery hotel. After the fire, the island was left without protection. Travelers and fishermen caught in a storm found salvation here. Tourists stopped by. Over time, the Transfiguration Cathedral and the refectory turned into ruins, overgrown with grass and shrubs, and the dilapidated bell tower was close to collapse.
When compiling the Code of Monuments cultural heritage in 1960, the bell tower and the remains of ancient buildings were taken under state protection with the status of a monument: Spaso-Stone Monastery.
The beginning of the revival
In the summer of the year, regional financing of restoration work began. By the year, government funding had stopped. By this time it was possible to partially repair the hotel. In the summer of the year, a votive cross was placed in front of the altar of the Transfiguration Cathedral.
In the year a chapel was erected on the island in the name of all the Vologda saints. Radio amateurs from different cities of Russia, Vologda restorers took part in the construction of the chapel. According to the ancient Russian tradition, they built “in one day” - they started at dawn, and finished by sunset, arranged a log house, a roof, hoisted a wooden cross on it and consecrated it. The sacrament of consecration was performed by Archpriest Vasily Pavlov from Vologda.
In March of the year, the Directorate for the Protection, Restoration and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Vologda Oblast transferred the Assumption Church of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery to the use of the non-profit partnership "Spas-Kamen" for repair and restoration work.
In the year, the complex of buildings of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery of the Vologda diocese was transferred for free use. In the same year, the archbishop's residence "Savior-Stone Monastery" was established on Kamenny.
Spas-Kamenny Island- is located almost in the center of Kubenskoye Lake (the largest in the Vologda region) on a small piece of land measuring 120 by 70 meters.
The whole history of this small, God-protected island in the middle of the lake, and the monastery founded on it in the 13th century, is inextricably linked with the opposition to nature. Even the monastery itself arose here thanks to a storm in which the Belozersky prince Gleb Vasilkovich fell. The island became a salvation for the prince. In fulfillment of his vow, he founded in 1260 on Spas-Kamenny, as the legend says, the first monastery in the Vologda region. And in the XV century in this monastery, which occupies a special place in the history of the stone architecture of the Russian North, the very first stone church in the region was erected in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
In essence, this is the oldest stone monastery in the north of Russia. This monastery is much older than the famous Kirillo-Bolozersky and Ferapontov.
Island monks more than others were isolated from the world with its temptations and vices. This was facilitated not only by the geographical position of the island, but also by the strict, as on the famous Athos, charter of the Spas-Stone Monastery - the path to the island was closed to women.
In the Middle Ages, Spas-Kamenny was not only the spiritual, but also the economic center of the region. The monastery had 7 villages, 4 villages, 98 villages, two farmsteads in Vologda and two salt pans in Totma.
On the monastery bell tower, in bad weather, they struck the bell. This five-ton bell was cast in St. Petersburg from shell casings left after the war of 1812.
The Soviet authorities closed the monastery in 1925. The monks were driven away, and in the living quarters they tried to arrange a colony for juvenile delinquents, who, however, fled in the fall.
In 1937, for the sake of brick, which was needed for the construction of the local House of Culture, the Transfiguration Cathedral was blown up. The resulting brick was never used for construction. During the war, a point for the reception and processing of fish was organized on the island. Since 1971, the island has become a haven for local fishermen and hunters. At present, of the monastery buildings on the island, only the unique Assumption Church-bell tower of the 16th century has been preserved.
The latest history of Spas-Kamenny Island is associated with the name of Alexander Nikolaevich Pligin and his wife Nadezhda Alexandrovna, their children Anna, Alexei, Ivan. Since childhood, from the first visit to Spas-Kamenny, Alexander Nikolayevich was not indifferent to the fate of the island.
For ten years, almost without a break, both in winter and in summer, he spent on the island in labor. He managed to find funds, loyal assistants, invested his personal savings in the business. The hotel building was restored, a dome and a cross were placed on the bell tower.
Every summer, since 1999, schoolchildren from the village of Ustye-Kubenskoye work on the island under the guidance of teachers. Employees arrive from Moscow Orthodox center Restavros. With the blessing of Abbot Dionisy, the workers of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery are working on the island. Provide financial assistance to the best of their ability building materials enterprises and entrepreneurs from different cities of the Vologda region and throughout Russia. In the 21st century, the restoration of the monastery finally received visible assistance from the regional authorities.
Alexander Nikolaevich did not live to see the revival of the monastery. January 27, 2004 he died. He is buried on the island, the revival of which he devoted his whole life to.
In August 2005, the 745th anniversary of the founding of the monastery on the island was celebrated with the opening of a museum. Here are preserved Orthodox cross from the bell tower and various monastic utensils found during archaeological excavations.
Getting to Spas-Kamenny Island is not easy at any time of the year. A small piece of holy land is cut off from the rest of the world. In summer and autumn, the waves are so strong that they carry away even a light motor boat. In winter, ice rises, but this is not the most reliable way get to the island. Especially if there are heavy fogs.
But Spas-Kamenny has some special attraction for those who have learned about it.
Many people dream of seeing the silhouette of the bell tower towering over the lake…
Currently, the main visitors to the island are tourists and Orthodox pilgrims from all over Russia, some of whom donate funds for its restoration.
The island can be visited by taking a weekend cruise from Vologda along the route: Vologda - Spas-Kamenny Island - Kubenskoye Mouth - Vologda Mouth - Vologda.
When writing this text, materials from the following sites were used: www.cultinfo.ru; www.ng.ru www.geocaching.ru; www.rusvera.mezha.ru; www.eparhia.ru; www.powerclip.ru
Main photo: www.temples.ru;
A small, God-protected island in the middle of Lake Kubenskoye is located 60 km from Vologda. Once upon a time there was one of the oldest monasteries, founded, according to legend, by Gleb Vasilkovich, who, sailing from Belozersk to Veliky Ustyug, was caught on the way by a strong storm. His ship washed up on a small island called Stone, on which there were several hermit monks who prayed in the chapel, because. there was no temple. In honor of his salvation, he built a wooden church there and built a monastery. It was about 1260. The very first stone church in the entire Russian North appeared in the Spas-Kamenny Monastery - in 1481 in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In 1543-1545. the united warm Assumption Church "under the bells" with a one-pillar refectory chamber was built. Later, a gallery appeared that united the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior with the refectory complex.
The monastery lived for about seven centuries, had its own farmsteads in the district; survived numerous fires and closed. At the beginning of the century, it was once again abolished. And in the 1930s, a temple of the 15th century was blown up by a private thrill-seeker. in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The rest of the buildings began to crumble over time, and remained on this moment only the temple "under the bells" of the Assumption Holy Mother of God. The island is undergoing restoration. Over the years of its existence, the Spas-Stone Monastery, famous for its strict charter, brought up many ascetics, the most famous of which are Joasaph, Dionysius Glushitsky, Alexander Kushtsky, the last two founded their monasteries in the area.
Spaso-Kamenny Monastery, cenobitic, on a rocky island in Lake Kubenskoye, 45 versts from the city of Vologda and 40 versts from the railway station of Marzhenga. It was founded in the middle of the 13th century by the Belozersky prince Gleb Vasilkovich, in gratitude to the All-Merciful Savior for saving him from the danger that threatened him while sailing on Lake Kubenskoye. The Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration was built in 1481. In this monastery, on September 10, 1453, the son of Zaozersky Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich, Prince Andrei, who had labored in it for 5 years, died in monasticism Joasaph (see September 10), whose holy relics became famous for miracles and were visible incorruptible for about 20 years. During the fire of September 3, 1472, which destroyed the monastery, the holy relics of St. Joasaph burned down; only a few of their remains were reverently collected by one monk, put into the ark and placed under the throne; Subsequently, part of the relics of the monk was placed in a cross overlaid with silver, for the reverent worship of the pilgrims. In 1650, the reliquary with the holy relics was transferred to a tomb specially arranged in the Church of the Transfiguration, and the aforementioned cross was placed on it. After the fire on July 24, 1774, which again destroyed the Spasokamenny Monastery, this monastery was abolished, and the brethren were transferred to the Vologda Holy Spirit Monastery, where, along with the property that had survived the fire, the remains of the holy relics of St. Joasaph were transferred. Due to the petition of the surrounding population, the abolished Spasokamenny Monastery was, with the blessing of the Holy Synod in 1802, restored, with the name of the Transfiguration of the Savior Belavinsky Hermitage. In 1892, the Holy Synod, condescending to the request of the inhabitants of the villages coastal to Lake Kubenskoye, allowed the transfer of the reliquary with the remains of the holy relics of St. Joasaph from the Vologda Holy Spirit Monastery to the Transfiguration Belavin Hermitage and call it the Spasokamenny Monastery. The cross, which was on the river, with particles of the relics of the monk, was left in the Holy Spirit Monastery.
In the monastery, the relics of a monk are buried under a bushel blessed basil(see August 2); above them is a metal shrine, on it is the image of St. Basil in full growth; with cancer, iron chains and a hat made of iron strips. There are also the tombs of local ascetics Peter the Wonderworker (XV century) and Kassian Abbot of the monastery (1463). It is assigned to the monastery, 40 versts from the city of Kadnikov, and from the Spasokamenny Monastery 8 versts, on the banks of the Kushta River, founded at the beginning of the 15th century by the Monk Alexander Kushtsky (see June 9), whose relics rest here under a bushel in the aisle of his name; above them is a copper shrine; this monastery was abolished in 1764, and restored in 1833 and then assigned to the Spasokamenny monastery. The Belavinsky Epiphany Hermitage, 20 versts from the Spasokamenny Monastery, on the island of Belavinsky Lake, founded in 1630, is assigned to the same last monastery.
From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"
The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was founded in the first half of the 13th century. on one of the islands of Lake Kubenskoye, in the 47th century. northwest of Vologda. In 1774 all wooden buildings burned down. In 1775, the monastery, by decree of the Holy Synod, was abolished, and in 1790 it was restored and named Belavinskaya Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage.
The main buildings of the monastery by the beginning of the 20th century:
- The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, 1481, was built by the son of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, Andrei Vasilyevich the Lesser. Stone, two-story, cold, thrones in honor of: the Transfiguration of the Lord - the main one, the Three Saints of Moscow.
- Warm Church of the Mother of God (in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrows" or Assumption?), 1543, stone; thrones - in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin (arranged on the site of the wooden church of the Assumption that burned down in 1477) and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The relics of St. Joasaph Kamensky.
- The abolished church of St. Basil the Blessed.
- Bell tower.
- Priestly fraternal corps.
On the bell tower there was an iron clock with an inscription in Slavic letters: “Summer 7178 (1670) July 6, these hours of the Assumption of the Mother of God of the Podozerny Monastery were set under Abbot Markell hedgehog in Christ with the brethren, and Abbot Markell put his cell money 12 rubles per hour ... master Mikhailo Stefanov ". Another inscription in civilian letters: “This watch was bought on February 4, 1790, in the Nativity Monastery, which is now the parish church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which is in Shukhtovo, for which 15 rubles were paid, which were both bought and corrected by the dependency of the landowner Fyodor Ivanovich, Mr. Varaksin, and to be one the clock of this church on the bell tower according to his own will, and if this lord or his heirs wish to take them somewhere else, then do not put obstacles in anyone’s way, because they were bought and corrected by their cost, which, by repairing and staging and all the amendment, cost 50 rubles, and Grigory corrected and installed Kuznetsov.
In the lower part of the island there was a temple of the Three Hierarchs. Perhaps the temple became a cemetery. The image of the Lord of Hosts of the pre-Nikonian letter was noted in it.
On January 30, 1866, the builder of the desert, hieromonk Falassy, as reported in the Vologda diocesan journals, "according to attention to his good behavior, prudent and with special patience combined treatment of him with the brethren of the monastery and with those sent to it for correction in behavior by clergy and lay persons, also for his care about the organization of the monastery, about improving the economic part in it "he was promoted to the rank of abbot.
On December 10, 1867, a renewed church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the rector of the desert, hegumen Thalassius, conciliar with the monastic brethren and the surrounding priests. The rebuilt church in the name of St. blessings Prince Ioasaph was consecrated on February 3, 1874. A new side-altar church in the name of St. St. Basil the Blessed Kamensky wonderworker was consecrated on August 20, 1874. On August 16, 1886, a storm tore off the cross from the southeastern dome of the Transfiguration Cathedral Church.
On May 22, 1887, the renewed cold church was consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The consecration was performed by His Grace Israel, Bishop of Vologda and Ustyug, with the participation of the Dean of the monasteries, hegumen of the Lopotov Monastery Anatoly, the local abbot hegumen Paul, the sacristan cathedral N. Kirikov, dean of the 2nd district of Kadnikovsky district A. Levitsky and two local hieromonks, with a large gathering of pilgrims.
In the spring of 1899, during the ice drift, during the flooding of Lake Kubenskoye, almost all the wooden buildings in the monastery were damaged: an extension on the western side of the fraternal building, a laundry hut, a bathhouse and a fisherman's hut; many spare logs, porches with retreat places (toilets) and log cabins along the fortified shores of the island were carried away. The shores of the island were damaged the most: waves during strong wind washed away the coast from all sides by almost 1 1/2 sazhens, and in some places even more. The total loss amounted to at least 3 thousand rubles.
Once upon a time, the wonderful buildings of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery delighted the eyes of travelers who sailed along the lake or passed along the shore. The monastery on a small island arose like a magical vision that appeared for a moment from the depths of the waters. On a small island measuring 120 meters in length and 70 meters in width, called Kamenny, there now rises only a church that looks like a bell tower and the building of a monastery hotel. This is all that remains of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery, one of the oldest in the North.
The founding date of the monastery is considered to be August 19, 1260, when Prince Gleb Vasilkovich of Beloozero, the grandson of Prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich of Rostov, sailing from Beloozero to Veliky Ustyug, was caught en route on Lake Kubenskoye by a strong storm. His ship washed up on a small island called Stone. In honor of his salvation, the prince ordered to erect a temple here and build a monastery. For more than two hundred years, the buildings on the island were only wooden. After a big fire that destroyed all the monastery buildings, in 1478 the construction of the first stone temple throughout the Russian North - the Transfiguration Cathedral, completed and consecrated in 1481. The construction was carried out at the expense of the specific prince Andrei the Less, who owned Vologda, Kubena and Zaozerye. White stone was delivered for him from Staritsa, and brick from Tver. The brick was a flat plinth, the century of mass use of which in construction in Russia was then just coming to an end. Much speculation has been made about where the craftsmen who built the cathedral came from. At present, there is reason to believe that the architects were invited from Rostov, because the monastery itself was part of the Rostov diocese in the 15th century.
The architecture of the cathedral showed the influence of Moscow and Rostov architecture. In his original form The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior was a four-pillar, three-apse cross-domed church on a low basement. At the end there were three tiers of kokoshniks and two domes: a large one in the center and a small one above the southeast corner, where the chapel was located. The rich decor that covered the walls, apses and drums of domes consisted of ceramic relief tiles, curbs, runners and niches. The Cathedral of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery served as a model for the construction of subsequent churches in the northern monasteries - Ferapontov, Kirillo-Belozersky, Spaso-Prilutsky. The surviving Assumption Church was built together with the refectory at the expense of Vasily III in 1543-1549 by Rostov masters Pakhomiy Goryainov and one of the most famous architects of the 16th century Grigory Borisov. The refectory chamber was a rather characteristic building in its type: placed on the basement rectangular volume with the main hall, the vaulted ceilings of which rested on a pillar in the center. The Assumption Church adjoined the eastern wall of the refectory, but not in the middle, but closer to the southeast corner. This is an original temple in the form of a three-tiered pillar. Its two lower tiers are multifaceted: the first served as a basement, and the church was placed in the second. The third tier with open arches was a bell tower, which is why the temple itself was called "under the bells" in ancient times. In the second half of the 17th century, the church received a new completion - a drum with an onion cupola was placed on an octagonal base.
After the establishment of the monastic states with the withdrawal of monastic property to the treasury, the Spaso-Stone Monastery began to decline, which was accelerated by an even greater fire in 1774, which destroyed all the wooden monastic buildings to the ground. After this fire, the Spaso-Stone Monastery was closed, and this desolation continued for 26 years. In 1801, at the behest of Emperor Paul I, the monastery was restored under the name of the Belavinsky Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, since the brethren of the Belavinsky Epiphany Desert were transferred here along with church property. In 1892, by decree of the Holy Synod, the monastery was returned to its former name Spaso-Stone.
The Soviet authorities closed the monastery in 1925. The monks were driven away, and in the living quarters they tried to arrange a colony for juvenile delinquents, who fled already in the fall. In addition, the autumn fire damaged many buildings. In 1925, the most ancient temple of the Russian North (by that time already five-domed) was destroyed by an explosion. In its place is a pile of rubble. In 1937, for the sake of brick, which they wanted to use for the construction of the local House of Culture, the Transfiguration Cathedral was also blown up. The resulting brick was never used for construction. Until 1971, a full-time watchman, appointed from the Department of Culture of the Ust-Kubensky District, lived here. When this position was reduced, the island became a haven for local fishermen and independent tourists. At present, of the monastery buildings on the island, only the unique Assumption Church-bell tower has been preserved.
In 1991, two Vologda enthusiasts began to slowly restore the surviving buildings. Soon they were joined by caring people. Funds for restoration were constantly lacking. First, the last of the capital buildings that appeared here before the revolution rose from the ruins - a one-story monastery hotel that burned down in 1971 due to the fault of fishermen.
In 2006, on Kamenny Island, by decree of the Archbishop of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug Maximilian (Lazarenko), the archbishop's metochion "Savior-Stone Monastery" was established, the rector of which was appointed hegumen Dionysius (Vozdvizhensky). In 2009, the first prayer service was served in the Dormition Church, and on August 17, 2010, Bishop Maximilian consecrated the temple, and since then divine services in the temple have become regular. By 2010, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary, the restoration of the Assumption Church-bell tower was completed, in the second tier of which a small church was built in the name of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. On October 6, 2017, the monastery was officially revived.
Information from the book: Vygolov V.P., Udralova N.V. "To the edge of white nights". Guide. - M .: Profizdat, 1986 and from the site: ru.wikipedia.org / Spaso-Kamenny Monastery.
Spaso-Stone Monastery (Belavinskaya Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage). Current location: Kamenny Island on the lake. Kubensky, Ust-Kubinsky district, Vologda region Historical location: Vologda district, Vologda province.
The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was founded in the first half of the 13th century. on one of the islands of Lake Kubenskoye, in the 47th century. northwest of Vologda. In 1774 all the wooden buildings burned down. In 1775, the monastery, by decree of the Holy Synod, was abolished, and in 1790 it was restored and named Belavinskaya Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Hermitage. The main buildings of the monastery by the beginning of the 20th century: the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, 1481, built by the son of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, Andrei Vasilyevich Menshiy. Stone, two-story, cold, thrones in honor of: the Transfiguration of the Lord - the main one, the Three Saints of Moscow. Warm Bogoroditskaya Church (in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrows" or Assumption), 1543, stone; thrones - in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin (arranged on the site of the wooden church of the Assumption that burned down in 1477) and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The relics of St. Joasaph Kamensky. The abolished church of St. Basil the Blessed.
On the bell tower there was an iron clock with an inscription in Slavic letters: “Summer 7178 (1670) July 6, these hours of the Assumption of the Mother of God of the Podozerny Monastery were set under Abbot Markell hedgehog in Christ with the brethren, and Abbot Markell put his cell money 12 rubles per hour ... master Mikhailo Stefanov ". Another inscription in civilian letters: “This watch was bought on February 4, 1790, in the Nativity Monastery, which is now the parish church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which is in Shukhtovo, for which 15 rubles were paid, which were both bought and corrected by the dependency of the landowner Fyodor Ivanovich, Mr. Varaksin, and to be one the clock of this church on the bell tower at his own request, and if this lord or his heirs wish to take them somewhere else, then no one should be hindered in that, because they were bought and corrected by their cost, which by repairing and staging and all the amendment cost 50 rubles, and Grigory Kuznetsov corrected and installed. In the lower part of the island there was a temple of the Three Hierarchs. Perhaps the temple became a cemetery. The image of the Lord of Hosts of the pre-Nikonian letter was noted in it.
On January 30, 1866, the builder of the desert, hieromonk Falassy, as reported in the Vologda diocesan journals, "according to attention to his good behavior, prudent and with special patience combined treatment of him with the brethren of the monastery and with those sent to it for correction in behavior by clergy and lay persons, also for his care about the organization of the monastery, about improving the economic part in it "he was promoted to the rank of abbot. On December 10, 1867, a renewed church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the rector of the desert, hegumen Thalassius, conciliar with the monastic brethren and the surrounding priests. The rebuilt church in the name of St. blessings Prince Ioasaph was consecrated on February 3, 1874. A new side-altar church in the name of St. St. Basil the Blessed Kamensky wonderworker was consecrated on August 20, 1874. On August 16, 1886, a storm tore off the cross from the southeastern dome of the Transfiguration Cathedral Church.
On May 22, 1887, the renewed cold church was consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The consecration was performed by His Grace Israel, Bishop of Vologda and Ustyug, with the participation of the dean of the monasteries, hegumen of the Lopotov Monastery Anatoly, the local rector hegumen paul, the dean of the cathedral N. Kirikov, the dean of the 2nd district of the Kadnikovsky district A. Levitsky and two local hieromonks, with a large gathering pilgrims. In the spring of 1899, during the ice drift, during the flooding of Lake Kubenskoye, almost all the wooden buildings in the monastery were damaged: an extension on the western side of the fraternal building, a laundry hut, a bathhouse and a fisherman's hut; many spare logs, porches with retreat places (toilets) and log cabins along the fortified shores of the island were carried away. The shores of the island were damaged most of all: waves, with a strong wind, washed away the coast from all sides by almost 1 1/2 sazhens, and in some places even more. The total loss amounted to at least 3 thousand rubles.
On April 5 and 7, 1903, the guest building of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was destroyed by ice drift. All the walls between the windows on the south side of the building were broken, the iron roof on the building was mangled, all the rooms were filled with ice. A wooden outbuilding and a bathhouse were also destroyed. The total loss amounted to at least 1,000 rubles.
http://parishes.mrezha.ru/monastery_history.php?id=10007
The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery on Kamenny Island in Lake Kubenskoye is the oldest Orthodox monastery in the entire Russian and European North. The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance. It is located on Kamenny Island in Lake Kubenskoye in the territory of the Ust-Kubinsky municipal district of the Vologda region. Lake Kubenskoye is located 30 kilometers northwest of the city of Vologda, is one of the largest reservoirs in the Vologda region. The area of the lake is 648 sq. km, the length of the lake is about 60 kilometers, the maximum width is 12 kilometers. Kamenny Island is located off the eastern shore, not far from the confluence of the Kubena River. The Kubena River ranks second after the Sukhona River in terms of its length across the region.
Who and when founded the Spaso Stone Monastery is not exactly known. AT historical sources The date of foundation of the monastery is 1260. There is a monastic legend about the origin of the monastery, written down at the end of the 15th century by the elder Paisiy Yaroslavov, the former abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a vows of the Spaso Kamenny Monastery. From the books that survived after the fire, he collected materials for his famous Tale of the Spaso-Stone Monastery on Lake Kubensky. According to the Legend, the Belozersky prince Gleb Vasilkovich, following to his estate in the White Lake and further to Veliky Ustyug on a ship along the Porozovitsa River through Lake Kubenskoye, was suddenly caught by a strong storm. The prince prayed to God for salvation and promised to build a church in the place of salvation in the name of that saint, on what day he would be brought to the shore and create a monastery. On August 6, the prince's ship brought to Kamenny Island. On the island, the prince was met by 23 hermit monks. The prince fulfilled his vow and ordered to build a wooden church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on the island, decorate it with icons and books, gave alms for the construction of the monastery. This is how the ancient Spaso-Kamenny Monastery was founded.
The way from the Volga through Lake Kubenskoye to the Northern Dvina, according to archaeologists, has been known since the Neolithic, and Kamenny Island has existed since the same time. Researchers claim that the first Christians appeared on the island at the beginning of the 11th century. The governor of Novgorod, sent for tribute to the “midnight countries”, fleeing the storm, accidentally stumbled upon the pagans on the island, praying here at the “sacred stone”, over which a wooden canopy was made. Until the lake subsided, the prince talked with the pagans, tried to convert them to the true Orthodox faith, and argued with the Magi. On the way back, returning from Zavolochye, the Novgorod governor again landed on a familiar island, found it deserted, erected a cross on it, having previously destroyed the pagan shrine. The veneration of the cross on the island lasted two and a half centuries. Those who, during distant wanderings, fled on the island from storms and storms, prayed here. Subsequently, Spaso Kamenny Monastery became a major missionary center throughout the region.
Until the 14th century, monasteries were built mainly in or near cities. The island monastery in Kubenskoye Lake had a very important strategic importance, opening the waterway Old Russian state to the East, to the Urals and to Siberia. All the famous northern island monasteries have the same name - the Transfiguration of the Savior. Historical news about the first centuries of the life of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery, due to its isolation from large centers, has not reached us. The patron saints of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery are Saints Basil the Blessed and Iosaaf Kamensky. The most revered wonderworker of the monastery and of the entire Kubenozozersky region was the holy reverend prince-monk Ioasaph Kamensky - the right-believing prince Andrei, son of Dmitry Zaozersky.
The fate of the island is very tragic. Spas Kamen, as the island is usually called, was repeatedly burned and ruined, but each time it was reborn. The first strong fire on the island occurred in September 1476, when a wooden church, icons, books, a refectory and cells burned down in the fire, the relics of St. In 1481, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior was built on the island; it amazed everyone who saw it with its beauty. It was the very first stone building in the Russian North. Only a few years later, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ferapontovo will be built, which later became famous for the frescoes of Dionysius. During the Time of Troubles, Polish-Lithuanian and Cossack gangs of robbers robbed and destroyed local villages, parish churches, and monasteries. Then came pestilence, lean years. But the trials for the monastic brethren did not end there.
On the night of August 24, 1657, the entire monastery on Kamenny Island flared up. Why the fire broke out is unknown. Despite the fact that there was water all around, nothing could be saved. After the second fire, by 1670 the monastery was quickly restored. Help for the victims of the fire was gathered in all church parishes and fairs. In the monastery at that time there were 3 stone churches: the cold two-story Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya, the warm Uspenskaya with a refectory chamber with a bell tower built over it and John the Baptist above the holy gates. was great interior view Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior. There were ten bells on the bell tower, of which the blessed one weighed 107 pounds. The Assumption Church suffered the most during the second fire. After the next strong fire in 1774, the Spaso Stone Monastery was abolished, saved by the brethren of the relics of Prince. Joasapha and the monastery property were transferred to the Vologda Spirits Monastery in 1775, and the Spaso-Stone Monastery stood in ruins. By decree of Paul 1 in 1891, the brethren and property of the Belavinsky Hermitage, founded by a native of the Spaso Kamenny Monastery, Reverend Mark Belavinsky, was transferred to it. The monastery began to be called the Belavinsky Epiphany Transfiguration Hermitage. In 1892, the former name was again returned to the monastery.
In 1925, the monastery was closed, and a juvenile colony was located on its territory. It was closed shortly after the fire. Later, a rescue station was established on the island, and a lighthouse was installed on the bell tower of the Assumption Church. In 1937 the Transfiguration Cathedral was blown up. Having suffered during the fire, the roof of the hotel collapsed. Part of the stones that strengthened the shores of the island was transported for the construction of a pier on the opposite shore of Lake Kubenskoye.
Until the 90s of the 20th century, the island was in disrepair. After years of oblivion, the oldest Orthodox monastery in the Russian North rises from the ruins. At present, Spas Kamenny is the most visited tourist attraction in the Ust-Kuba region. Excursion and pilgrimage trips to the island are organized annually during the navigation period.
Currently, the monument is being restored: an ordinary chapel in the name of all the Vologda saints has been built, a hotel has been renovated, the Assumption Church and the bell tower have been restored, a house for clergy has been built, a small museum of the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery has been created, a rescue station has been built, water supply has been installed to the hotel building, and a wind generator has been installed. In 2013, a power line was put into operation, and an electrical substation was installed on the island. Currently, the island is provided with a constant power supply. At the expense of funds allocated under the Federal Target Program "Culture of Russia" and the funds of the regional budget, in 2013 work continued to restore the fraternal corps. During 2013, the walls of the second tier of the building were erected to the vault, windows and doors were installed.
The official website of the Bishop's Metochion "Spaso-Stone Monastery" https://kubena35.ru/dostoprimechatelnosti/spaso-kamennyij-monastyir.html
At the meeting, in connection with the petition of His Grace Metropolitan Ignatius of Vologda and Kirillov, the members of the Holy Synod decided to open the Spaso-Kamenny Transfiguration Monastery on Kamenny Island in the Kubensky Lake of the Ust-Kubinsky District of the Vologda Region and appoint Abbot Dionisy (Vozdvizhensky) to the post of abbot of this monastery.
Metropolitan Ignatius of Vologda and Kirillov made the decision to open the Spaso-Stone Transfiguration Monastery on the Kubenskoye Lake.
The July issue of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy published an editorial about the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery. 
The Spaso-Stone Transfiguration Monastery is preparing to receive the inhabitants
Mal Kamenny Island on Lake Kubensky: on the football field standard size it will easily fit in its entirety. Wherever you look, the ripples of the cold northern lake are everywhere, and the refectory temporarily equipped with the hotel kitchen seems like an elongated wardroom, and the modest quadrangle of the Assumption Church in the second tier of the bell tower looks like a captain's bridge sparing with extraneous decoration.
Desert Storm
Small spool but precious. It was from here that a whole branch of Russian monasticism grew, hung with a full-fledged bunch with the names of several Vologda saints, and two primates of the Russian Church - Metropolitans of Moscow Zosima (1490-94) and Varlaam (1511-21) - ended their earthly days in disgrace ... However, about everything in order.
The stone island has long been nicknamed due to the incredibly hard and hard soil, and also because of the boulders scattered over its surface, left by a glacier that once pierced the lake bed. The day of the birth of monastic life on the island is lost in hoary antiquity. According to church tradition, the monastery was founded in 1260 on the way to Ustyug by Belozersky prince Gleb Vasilkovich, who was caught in a terrible storm on Lake Kubenskoye. On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the princely boats washed up on the saving island, where the ruler, with considerable surprise, found 23 hermit elders praying in the chapel. The prince, who considered his salvation miraculous, ordered the Church of the Transfiguration to be built on the island and founded a full-fledged monastery here, the name of the founder of which - the monk Theodore - has come down to us.
A number of researchers, however, doubt the historical authenticity of this legend. Be that as it may, the handwritten collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery names the Athonite Dionysius, who arrived on the island from Moscow 686 years ago, as the first hegumen of the Spaso-Stone Monastery. Dionysius himself, in his old age, will be on the Rostov cathedra and, after his blessed death, will enter the Cathedral of the Rostov Saints. And during his tenure as abbess, the golden age of the monastery begins on Kamenny Island. From here comes a galaxy of his tonsures - the future founders of new monasteries of the northern limits of the Russian Land: Rev. Dionysius Glushitsky, Alexander Kushtsky, Pachomius Svyatolu ck ii and Evfimy Syanzhemsky.
Modern pilgrims can see them on one of the shrines of the monastery - an ancient revered icon of the All-Merciful Savior with selected Vologda saints falling down - on the top floor of the restored Refectory, which has actually turned th into the gigantic vestibule of the Assumption Church.
- Icon signed thatgenerally occurs quite rare,- says the rector of the Bishop's Metochion "Savior-Stone Monastery" hegumen Dionysius (Vozdvizhensky), - and comes from the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious on Korbang, which is 60 kilometers from here. Her two local peasants ordered the icon painter. BUT here donated already today by one of the local entrepreneurs. Painted over with brown paint, under a thick layer of dark drying oil, with a sawn off part, the icon served as ... a door in one of the village houses. But after a painstaking restoration, for which the Vologda master Ivan Fed s Shin spent two and a half years,found a second life here.
The consecration of the Church of the Assumption (founded in 1549) on the eve of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord seven years ago was a truly epoch-making celebration for the monastery. From this joyful event on the island, the revived liturgical life begins. After all, all the previous years of the existence of the Bishop's Metochion, worship here could only be held in an ordinary wooden chapel in honor of all the Vologda saints. Two years ago, the small Assumption Church turned into a capacious warm monastery church: the refectory chamber was completed to the west of the bell tower, and the second tiers of neighboring buildings were connected by a spacious transitional arch.
- Before, back in the 19th century, during one of the reconstructions of the monastery buildings, the iconostasis was installed along the wall of the Refectory, and then the entire room of the second tier of the bell tower became an altar,- says Abbot Dionysius. - But now we have decided to restore the original appearance of the monument, since the brickwork of the bell tower has preserved the original nests of both tables of the original iconostasis, and the descriptions of its local and deesis ranks have survived in the archives..
Fire, water and non-profit partnership
Ironically, the monastery, surrounded by water, was devastated by devastating fires three times: in 1472, in 1657 and in 1774. After the first of them, when the relics of the local monk, the Monk Joasaph Kamensky (+ 1453) - in the world of Prince Andrei Dmitrievich Zaozersky - were seriously damaged in cancer - by order younger brother John III Vologda specific prince Andrey Vasilyevich the Lesser on the island begins an intensive stone building. In 1478-81. in the center of the monastery, the majestic four-pillar, three-apse cross-domed Transfiguration Cathedral reigns - the first stone building not only on Vologda land, but in general within the entire Russian Thebaid. According to legend, white stone was brought for him from Staritsa, and brick from Tver. Moreover, it was not familiar from the numerous buildings that have come down to us. XVI centuries, a large figured brick, and its predecessor - a flat plinth, the century of mass use of which in construction in Russia was then just coming to an end.
For four and a half centuries, the Transfiguration plinth of Kamenny Island thanks to unique properties binder solution and dense clay-based waterproofing effectively resisted constant dampness, fire from fires and the pressure of stone blocks during spring ice drifts. It turned out to be powerless only before the Soviet government. In 1937, the cathedral was barbarously blown up. The brick piles that remained from it still rise in the middle of the island.
- Fortunately, the exact measurements of the cathedral have been preserved, so it is quite possible to recreate it. True, this is not a quick matter: there is not even a project yet, Father Dionysius remarks.
Another church formed by the middle XVI centuries of the monastic ensemble, the reconstruction of which is not yet expected - the gate church of St. John the Baptist. At the eastern cape, he got up in 1558, but died in a fire in 1774 and was no longer renewed. For the restoration of the rest of the monuments of the complex, which since 1960 has been officially classified as a cultural heritage site of federal (all-Russian) significance, the Central Scientific-Repair and Design Workshops of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation have prepared drawings.
Comprehensive scientific restoration on the island has been going on for two decades. At first, the Spas-Kamen Non-Commercial Partnership Foundation, established by the Vologda enthusiast entrepreneur Alexander Pligin, was engaged in it at the expense of philanthropists. With the death of Alexander Nikolaevich in 2004, he took over the batonand wife Nadezhda Alexandrovna and theirson Ivan. And with the transfer in 2006 of the island buildings for the use of the Russian Orthodox Church on the initiative of the diocesan hierarchy, restoration work is being carried out within the framework of the federal target program "Culture of Russia" (the only exception when the Spaso-Stone Monastery failed to get there was the 2016 season).
Geographically, the general restoration vector is directed from the eastern tip of the island to the western one. First, the last of those who appeared here before the revolution rose from the ruins capital buildings- a one-story monastery hotel that burned down in 1971 due to the fault of would-be fishermen (after the war, a small fishing enterprise functioned here for some time, but with its closure, the watchman left the island, and the last surviving buildings were left to themselves). With the restoration of the hotel on the island, it became possible to place at least a small team of builders in order to use the precious time of the short restoration season as efficiently as possible. And in the western wing of the hotel they even launched a small but capacious museum exposition.
Then they put in order the bell tower (1543-49), which had suffered from the explosion of 1937, and placed in its third tier a complete set of ten bells (eight were cast anew, including a 230-kilogram evangelist). The tasks of the current season, for which the federal budget has reserved funds in the amount of 7 million rubles, is the release of builders to the ruined remains of the three-story Priest-Brotherly Building (end. XIX c.) - he, along with the Refectory, died in 1925, when he was set on fire by the juvenile contingent of the educational colony.And on its own, the monastery plans to make interior finishing the basement of the Refectory (a kitchen and a room for meals for monks and pilgrims will be equipped here).
According to Fr. Dionysius, the work on the restoration of the Rector's Fraternal Corps has already been outlined, and it is quite possible to complete them in two or three summer seasons. After that, it remains to drill artesian well and arrange a local sewage system - and the western core can be put into operation.
We hope that memorial crosses will then be erected on the island in memory of the two Moscow metropolitans who ended their earthly days here, as well as other clerics and laity exiled to the northern monastery “for the sake of correction”. And the relics of St. Joasaph of Kamensky will return to their native monastery, almost a century ago saved from the Bolsheviks by believers and since then have been in the Vologda Mother of God-Christmas Church ...
Oblique on the spit, monks-rescuers plus electrification of the territory
Directly to the island from the village of Ustye - four kilometers along the channels of the vast delta of the Kubena River and about the same in the water area of Lake Kubenskoye itself. Ten minutes on a motorboat - and an island old-timer retriever Justin condescendingly respectful barking welcomes the guests coming ashore.
However, this path is not as safe as it seems at first glance. Despite the symbolic, three-four-meter depth, the reservoir continues to collect a terrible tribute from the fishermen even today. Both in size and elongated shape, it is strikingly reminiscent of the Sea of Galilee. And at least once a pilgrim who has been on the shores of Tiberias immediately becomes clear: the waves raising from the bottom of a cloud of sand into a storm here can be truly crushing, and a life jacket thrown over your shoulders when departing from the coast, even in clear weather, is by no means an empty formality.
It would be unforgivable not to use a piece of land long inhabited by monks to help shipbuilders in distress. The Vologda District Board of the Water Rescue Society opened the first rescue station here 140 years ago. Professional rescuers before the revolution often the monks helped, in the frequent fogs on the lake, a “protective ring” was heard from the bell tower. After the closure of the monastery in Soviet time rescue station buildinglike other wooden buildings quickly disappeared and the lighthouse om served only miraculously preserved Bell tower. From the very beginning of the revival of the monastery under A. Pliginthe island restored this function,sometimes I had to literally save distressed fishermen, and four years ago it was possible to recreate the rescue station at the eastern cape. But once it happened to save a sufferer, unusual even for these deserted places.
- Spring ice moveom on an ice floe brought a hare half-faded, trembling with fear, - Father Dionysius recalls. - For three months the scythe lived here, hiding in the corners, until the spit opened on Banny Island, and we tried to feed him ...
In the summer low water, you can reach the neighboring Banny Island by land: in shallow water, a footpath appears on a sandbank. According to some researchers, this toponym is not accidental: the island could have monastery baths, the presence of which within the monastery was prohibited by the charter. Now guests from among the representatives of the local fauna come from the direction of Bannoy. By winter ice from that side, the cunning fox frequented, and once on the bank of the canal, Father Dionysius noticed bear tracks. 
- The island monastery has its own specifics, - I turn to the rector of the metochion. - How are you going to take it into account when selecting future brethren?
It is obvious that life on the island is much more secluded and therefore more convenient for the monks. You have to pay for this with some domestic difficulties. But after an electric cable was laid here from the mainland in 2013, a “technical revolution” took place on the island. Diesel generators are a thing of the past, even partly we heat up electric boilers! It turns out, however, a little expensive - but this is a forced and temporary measure. A common monastic boiler room for firewood has already been designed in the Principal-fraternal building Oh . Undoubtedly, for a person who is attentive to his own inner life, island isolation from the world is a blessing. I have something to compare with: after all, I lived for 21 years in the Spaso-Prilutsky Dimitriev Monastery, which often became a platform for church and public events at the diocesan level.
- Not far off is the time when the Spaso-Kamenny Monastery will receive monks from among the monastic brethren. How do you prepare for this moment, do you invite workers to work?
As wrote Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, monasteries are founded by the Holy Spirit. Story majority one of them is the appearance of some ascetic hermit, around whom a small brethren gradually rallies, a subsequent petition to the bishop to bless the opening of the monastery and the consecration of the first temple. Such an "algorithm" we meet in almost any life of the holy founder of any monastery.
Our days are no exception.Although we do not equate ourselves with the ancient hermits.So far, the only novice from among the workers of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery lives permanently in the courtyard. We regularlystatutoryservices (and this is the main thing): Midnight Office - Matins - 1st hour, then after a break 3rd and 6th hours and Divine aya Liturgies i; in the evening, respectively - Vespers and Compline.
Of course, since I am the only clergyman here, we are not in a position to perform such a circle of services every day. We do this on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on the Twelfth Feasts, when the All-Night Vigil is still served at night. Brothers from Pryluky sometimes sail to the kliros and the belfry, which assists God.
In the monastery, everything is built on prayer, and since we pray and serve God to the best of our modest strength, we hope that the Lord will not leave us in the establishment of a full-fledged monastic community. Which of the monks the Lord will send here and whether he will send anyone at all - in His Divine will. I don't think big brotherhood is needed here.
Cells in the Rector's fraternal building are planned for seven residents. If someone grows up to be monks of the Spaso-Stone Monastery from among the workers, I will only be glad. You can come here, live and work for the glory of God. But since our territory is small and isolated, workers at the current stage are accepted eat only with the recommendation of the confessor. After all, if in the monastery on " big land You can get rid of a random person very fast , in our small team, before you send him home, he can bring serious discord. On a personal level, I prefer to be guided by the principle commanded to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Dmitry ANOKHIN 