The Kursk root monastery

Kursk root monastery
Cathedral Church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, built in the 1850s, destroyed by the Bolsheviks and restored today.

The Kursk root monastery in the Kursk region: the history of the miracle Many monasteries and temples are located on the Russian land. Each of them carries the richness of Russian spirituality for the Orthodox faith. One of the beautiful monasteries of the Holy Spirit is located in the Kursk region. Here, at the end of the 16th century, a monastery was founded, which soon began to be called the Kursk Root Nativity-the Virgin Male desert.
The history of the monastery from the beginning of the foundation According to legend in 1295, this place was dense impenetrable forests. Two hunters, following the trail of the beast, came across a strange board, and turning it over, found the icon.

Kursk root monastery
On September 24, 2009, the ancient shrine was welcomed in the Root Desert.

And then a spring of spring water came out of the ground. The hunters, thinking that this was a real sign of the wonderful properties of this place, left a sign there. Later, they spread the news of the diva to all the people.
The construction of the monastery itself had a difficult time. In that historical period, Moscow Rus was attacked by the Crimean Tatars. Construction was very slow, because due to difficult conditions and lack of funding, it was difficult to promote the construction. However, the building was rebuilt, the date of foundation of the monastery is considered to be 1597. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, there was no heir left. The time of troubles has come. Many pretenders to the throne appeared, one of whom, the False Dmitry, seized power in the country and personally elevated himself to the throne. By his order, the main miraculous icon of the Mother of God was given to Moscow.

Along with the revival of the Indigenous Desert, the procession has also been revived

A new era in construction opened in 1860, when the construction of the magnificent cathedral, which was called the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, was begun. However, very soon the white streak in the life of the Kursk Abbey and its inhabitants ended. The difficult years of the Soviet period were coming.
Fate during the Revolution and during the Soviet period
Most of them were destroyed and destroyed or converted into civilian objects. Nor did the Indigenous Desert escape this fate, for which it was the most difficult time in its entire existence. Already in 1918, it was renamed “Shtetl Svoboda”, while the holy monastery lost the right to officially represent the Orthodox Church, losing its legal force. In 1922, all valuables and shrines were removed from the monastery under a special program developed by the VTsIK.
The current state of the monastery Thanks to the restoration work carried out, many buildings were re-created. They were restored from the ruins.
The consecration of the Root Desert was performed in 1991 by Patriarch Alexy II in honor of the opening of the newly rebuilt Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Only in 2004, a meeting of the patriarchs was organized, at which a decision was made to resume the operation of the monastery. To bring this great work to life, a huge amount of money and effort was put into it. The Bishop’s hotel, where the monks ‘ guests were located, was revived. The most beautiful painting of the holy gate was created from scratch. The abbot’s building was rebuilt, and the main Cathedral underwent a complete reconstruction.

Over the past two decades, the Indigenous Desert has regained the appearance it had in its best years

In addition, significant work was carried out on the arrangement of the entire territory of the monastery, including the Temple of the Life-giving Spring. Only in 2012, the restoration work was fully completed. In honor of this memorable event, a Liturgy was served and the rite of consecration was performed.
Description and architectural features All the existing churches of the Indigenous Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Desert are built in the classical Russian style. The white stone walls are decorated with golden domes on the towers and chapels.
Some of the buildings were built quite recently. In place of them, wooden churches used to be located, and later simple stone buildings destroyed in the Soviet period. Thus, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Life-giving Spring” was consecrated only in 2012 by Patriarch Alexy II. The blue roofs of the building perfectly set off the golden domes. The interior itself is made in the Byzantine style. Here you can see the beautiful decoration of frescoes and icons, many holy objects that were returned to their homeland after the revolution. The beautiful architectural ensemble of the monastery, painted in a heavenly color, looks great from anywhere in the city, especially from the bank of the Tuskar River.
One of the main shrines of this wonderful place is the icon “The Sign”. It was found long ago on this place by hunters, after which a temple was created here, and then a desert. The icon has repeatedly shown the world miracles and myrrh-streaming, so almost immediately was ranked among the miraculous.

Near the Holy Gates of the monastery there is a fountain dedicated to the acquisition of the Kursk Root Icon.