From a story Optina Pustyn and Shamordino. Russian Places of Light (Sunflower Places)»
... The entire Shamorda Monastery was built at the expense of the richest tea merchant, merchant Sergei Vasilyevich Perlov and his wife Anna Yakovlevna. The Kazan Cathedral, the refectory, the nursing building, the hospital and other buildings - everything is designed in the same style and made of red brick. Before that, I had no idea and did not know that such patterns could be created from ordinary bricks.
... The architect of the Kazan Cathedral is Sergei Sherwood, the son of Vladimir Sherwood, who built the building of the Historical Museum in Moscow on Red Square. The Kazan Cathedral in Shamordino is its brother, and is also grandiose in size.
... We are standing on a steep yard. Down from under the feet goes the steepest slope, densely densely overgrown with flowering forest strawberries and different-sized grass. Below is the plain. Panorama - to the horizon. Moreover, visibility is 20 kilometers ahead. Before my eyes - boundless wavy green grassy velvet. Curls of the narrow river Sirena. This is an incredible natural landscape.
Shamordino is located before Kozelsky and Optina Hermitage (if you are coming from Kaluga). For ~ 14 km to Kozelsk (~ 20 km to Optina Pustyn) there will be a right turn and a sign. Don't skip past!
When you turn like this in the middle of some roadside village, rush along a narrow asphalt road, women in flannel robes, scarves and boots, cows, and geese accompany your car with a surprised look, then at this moment you are least of all ready to meet a beautiful woman. nature. When THIS appeared on the left, let's call this picture “natural landscape”, and the domes of the monastery have already flashed ahead, you don’t know where to look and, most likely, your priority attention will be captured by the purpose of your trip - the monastery. But on the way back ... already envy, imagining what you will see ... incredible beauty will open to your eyes!
I'll start with beauty. Beauty is the edge of the cliff on the way to the monastery (on the left).
Already returning from Shamordino, we decided to have a bite to eat, and therefore we saw on the very edge of the slope a slightly visible entrance in the grass and stopped. And so, probably, they would have rushed by again, deciding that a glance from the car window would be quite enough. And here you need it! Necessarily! Stay.
A cliff is a symbol of what is in front of us. Ahead, if expressed in construction terms, there will be a grandiose natural pit. That is, you are standing at the top, and under you it will spread deep down ... I won’t pick up a designation in any way. Pit, of course, is a stupid term, I used it to indicate the depth. I like the word cool. It definitely fits better.
So again, attempt number two - you are standing on a steep. Down from under the feet goes the steepest slope, densely densely overgrown with flowering forest strawberries and different-sized grass. Below is the plain. Panorama - to the horizon. Moreover, visibility is 20 kilometers ahead. Before my eyes - boundless wavy green grassy velvet. Curls of the narrow river Sirena. The uniformity of the bright green velvet surface of the earth is broken by dark green curly balls of trees that frame only the banks of the river. Behind them to the horizon - again meadow expanse with islands of forest. This is an incredible natural landscape, clearly not typical of the Russian plains. 
Wow, it's raining somewhere! 
Here is such a variety 
Herbs in the sun smell so good! 
If you decide to go down the steep slope down, then a luxurious gift awaits you. 
Field strawberries! What a fragrant one! 
We parked at the wall of the monastery. We enter. And the first thing I see is an incredibly beautiful red-brick cathedral and a sign with a warning that photography is not allowed. Well, why not?? It may be better than to prohibit - to allow, but for a fee? Because - not to photograph such a unique beauty of the cathedral - is unrealistic. Everyone is taking pictures. Who is from under the floor, who is open. On the contrary - you can't let anyone out of Shamordino without photos! 
I'm talking about now Kazan Cathedral.
But perhaps we should tell the story of this monastery first. And it is difficult, and sad, and joyful.
Even when a small farm near the village of Shamordino belonged to a poor peasant, the Optina elder Ambrose already saw the monastery here with his inner vision and knew how it would appear ....
This peasant went to Optina Hermitage, and asked Elder Ambrose to sell his estate to someone. At the monastery at that time lived the nun Ambrose, in the world a wealthy landowner Alexandra Klyuchareva. She had a son, whose wife died after childbirth, and two twin granddaughters, whom she took in to raise. The girls - Lyuba and Vera - were like two drops of water and very pious. And for them, the elder advised mother to buy land in Shamordino, which she happily did. Only now, the elder Ambrose drew the plan of the new house with his own hand and is a little incomprehensible - ask to make the hall in the eastern part, and arrange the rooms in a special way. Mother listened, was surprised, but the house was built, the girls began to live there. They were very fond of playing, but not with dolls, but with arranging various services in their homes. The elder said a strange phrase about their games: “ Nothing, let them pray, because they know that they are preparing there. ”. The girls chatted among themselves, and in conversations the thought flashed that “after 12 years they should live and don’t want to.” And, indeed, at this age, the twins fall ill with diphtheria ....
In her spiritual testament, mother Ambrose asks that if something suddenly happens to her granddaughters, a women's monastery should be set up in Shamordino ....
So a temple was built on the site of the manor house - and its plan met all the requirements necessary for arranging the church ....
Whole Shamorda Monastery built at the expense of the richest tea merchant merchant Sergei Vasilyevich Perlova and his wife Anna Yakovlevna. The Kazan Cathedral, the refectory, the nursing building, the hospital and other buildings - everything is designed in the same style and made of red brick. Before that, I had no idea and did not know that such patterns could be created from ordinary bricks. For some reason, this style is called by some "artsy and ornate." ??? Unclear. It's such a virtuoso work. It seems that the builders did not use heavy bricks, but embroidered patterns with beads - on the walls, on the kokoshniks, on the architraves, on the porches. Cathedral architect - Sergei Sherwood, son of Vladimir Sherwood, who built the building of the Historical Museum in Moscow on Red Square. The Kazan Cathedral in Shamordino is its brother, and is also grandiose in size.
To take pictures, I asked permission from the sisters in the Kazan Monastery. It turns out that you can shoot everywhere, except for the inner space of the temple.
Inside, it is also huge and spacious, with a high vaulted ceiling, without paintings, elongated in a rectangular manner, with columns and arches on the sides - and is somewhat similar to a ballroom. Here in the Kazan Cathedral there are two shrines of the monastery: the icon of the Kazan Mother of God and the icon of the Mother of God the Conqueror of Bread.
Story one. Once a woman approached Mother Ambrose and brought her an icon of the Kazan Mother of God (this happened in the Belevsky Monastery). She needed money for food - and she mortgaged it. Mother Ambrose gave her the amount - 10 rubles, accepted the icon, but later no one came for her. The icon turned out to be miraculous, the oil from the lamp, lit in front of it, brought healing. Since then, Mother Ambrose has always bought oils for exactly ten rubles, in memory of the fact that it was for this amount that the Mother of God was pleased to settle in her cell. Then this image ended up in Shamordino, and there were eyewitnesses who saw bright rays of light emanating from it. They said that "no one, having something on his conscience, can bear the gaze of the Queen of Heaven from this icon." This precious icon disappeared, or rather was stolen, when it was moved to a nearby village church in the 1960s. Now in the Kazan Cathedral there is an image of the Kazan Mother of God, written on Athos by the rector of the skete, monk Arseny (Svyatogorsk brotherhood).
Story two. In Shamordino, there used to be another amazing, unparalleled icon. It was called "The Conqueror of Bread" and on it the Mother of God sits on a cloud with her arms outstretched, and below is a golden rye field with beveled sheaves. Elder Ambrose had a subtle vision in a dream, according to which, having explained the meaning, he asked to paint an icon. The original is now in Lithuania, where it ended up after 1917. In the Kazan Cathedral - a list from it.
Behind the outer wall of the altar of the Kazan Cathedral (i.e. on the street), there are four burials. Mother Sophia, two other abbesses and S. Perlov are buried here.
Nun Sofia (Sofya Astafieva / Bolotova, 1845-1888, 33 years old)- the first abbess of the Shamorda monastery. Her path to this monastery is intricate and complex. She lived in Kozelsk, a widow, raised her daughter Nadezhda. Beautiful, smart, strong-willed, energetic. Of course, I visited Optina Hermitage. She was accepted by Elder Ambrose, to whom her path had already been opened. The elder gives her strange advice - to marry again a certain Kozelsk landowner. In fact, it was a kind of obedience, a test of character. It was not for nothing that Ambrose said: “To be a nun, you must be either iron or golden ... Iron means having great patience, and golden means great humility.”
Sophia was the elder's most active assistant. Her photograph is attached to the cross - and from it one can judge the truly outstanding external data of this woman. She was a beauty with delicate features, and very sad and stern eyes. Miracles of help and healing take place at her grave. There is even a sign attached here with a request to report such cases to the monastery, because now Mother Sophia still belongs to the rank of locally revered saints.
She lived in the Shamorda monastery for 21 years sister of Leo Tolstoy - Maria Nikolaevna. After an unsuccessful marriage, she went to a monastery. She had the most tender friendship with her brother. If only I visited Optina Tolstoy six times, then here in Shamordino - much more. In Shamordin, in a calm environment (in contrast to the hysterical family Yasnaya Polyana), "Hadji Murad" was written. Here he fled in the end from Yasnaya Polyana from his wife to his sister. A “pathetic and old man” arrived and said: “It’s terrible at home, and he cried.” (From the memoirs of the daughter of Maria Nikolaevna - Elizabeth Obolenskaya). 
The territory of the Shamorda monastery is quite large and beautiful. As always - if the monastery is for women, then it must have a lot of flowers. We saw another cute ad: “Monastic kittens are heard from a tricolor cat rat trap”. There is a diagram on the territory where all the buildings are indicated - you can take a walk, search if you wish, but we are already tired. Actually, in a good way - Optina Pustyn and Shamordino - these are two very serious places and it would be desirable to visit them on different days, and not all together in one. It would be nice to get into service. 
Kaluga is a wonderful city for a weekend trip from Moscow . To go not far, and impressions - the sea. At the same time, the Kaluga region is too large and diverse for a trip for 2-3 days. Therefore, if these blessed places are spiritually hooked, you will certainly return here. So it happened with us. When we left in April 2014 , then the confidence that we will definitely return here was undeniable. Yes, we looked at Kaluga, the Linen Factory, Borovsk too. But these are far from all the sights of Kaluga and the Kaluga region that are worth seeing. I will say more - we were drawn to Kaluga to return without reference to the sights. Well, it's nice to be here, it's nice to spend time, to be distracted from everyday life and the prose of life. Intelligent, modern, comfortable city.
And in August 2015 we went on a trip to Kaluga by car again. Much was not included in the program, the simplest route of the trip "Kaluga - Optina Pustyn - Shamordino" was kept in mind.
By days trip to Kaluga formed like this:
- 1 day - the road to Kaluga along the M3 highway. Kaluga. Accommodation at the hotel "Best Western". Dinner at the Dreams of a Beloved Cat Cafe
- Day 2 - Breakfast in the hotel cafe. Desert Optina. Shamordino. Kaluga. Dinner at the Dreams of a Beloved Cat Cafe
- Day 3 - Breakfast in the cafe "8 cups". Kaluga. Road home along the M3 and M2 highways
I booked the hotel back in February. The chic hotel of the world network Best Western went at a ridiculous price - 2,400 rubles. Grandiose thoughts immediately arose: a great hotel inexpensively ... a lot of delicious establishments ... why not organize departure of the Travelers' Club? Meet, see something together, go to a cafe (restaurant).A cry was thrown, but"meeting on the Elbe" did not work. Apparently, the time was chosen not well ... But even now I am sure that Kaluga is ideal for some kind of joint trip-meeting. Anyway. The main thing is that our trip to Kaluga took place. And it came out, as always, family, sincere and warm.
I present to you a brief account of this trip.
Day 1. Road to Kaluga. Best Western hotel. Cafe "Dreams of a Beloved Cat"
The Navigator paved the way to Kaluga through Moscow. So we drove - the sun, happiness, freedom boiled inside and out.
Rejoiced thatGorky highway to the sideMoscow was free (in the opposite direction).
They rejoiced at someone else's happiness - a wedding. Luxurious car, beautiful newlyweds, youth wedding cortege.
They rejoiced at the way people around rejoiced at someone else's happiness, honked, smiled.
Rejoiced in Moscow. Well, how can you calmly look at beautiful Moscow?
An interesting start to a trip to Kaluga...
Driving past Red Square, the husband said: "We must come here for a walk, finally." This is always the case - what is nearby is somehow less visited.
We overcame Moscow for a long time. Not in the center, so I had to "bump" on the exit. Only 2 hours after the start from home, we got to the finish line, that is, we drove to the M3 highway, and the cherished word "Kaluga" loomed before us.
Just like last time, planes flying to and from Vnukovo landed and took off overhead.
The sun was also unbearably blinding in my eyes. Only now it was spitting with all its urine. We got from Moscow to the beginning of the Kaluga region in an hour. All the difficulties began further.
The M3 highway in the Kaluga region is now being actively built. The work is going on, it's noticeable. But that doesn't make it any easier. At a certain part of the road, the road becomes two-lane, and traffic slows down a lot.
In general, surprising - the road to Kaluga was short, but long. We covered the distance of 220 kilometers in 6 hours.
We arrived at the hotel already tired and "roasted".
I will talk about the Best Western Hotel in detail in. Moreover, I will show you the video that I shot in our room. Now only a couple of photos and some text.
The hotel was lovely absolutely in everything. I do not like to repeat myself, but I repeat - international chain hotels are always of a high level. A European hotel chain"Best Western" especially. Personally, I only regret that out of 4,000 hotels of this chain in Russia there are only... 6.
Upon check-in, the administrator immediately informed us that they were providing us with a room of a higher category than was booked. Instead of Standard - Comfort for the same money.
The room is thought out to all the nuances and trifles. Nothing to cling to at all.
We settled in, rested for an hour from the road and went to dinner.
Preparing for a trip to Kaluga, I gave myself a small list of cafes and restaurants in the city. In principle, Kaluga in terms of where to eat a little, but successfully we have been studied. But I wanted to try something new. This newcomer was for us a very popular coffee house "Dreams of a Beloved Cat", located in the shopping center "Moskovsky".
It should be noted that in Kaluga such centers are actively used by public catering establishments, and even very decent ones, not eateries.
The cafe turned out to be cozy, the design was interesting, with humor,
moderate prices,
the food is delicious and varied. Soups, hot...
By the time we left the cafe, it was already dark. We made an attempt to take a walk in the Tsiolkovsky park. But the attempt failed. The park was partially illuminated. Where the lanterns were not lit, there was complete darkness. Walking was absolutely uncomfortable.
Therefore, the program was completed for that day, and we returned to the hotel.
Day 2. Optina Pustyn. Shamordino
Quick after breakfast We got up and left the hotel. That day we went to Optina Pustyn, the place where I myself was three times, but the husband and daughter never.
We got lucky again with the weather. The sun was shining, it was very warm.
Kaluga is a stunningly green city!
It so coincidentally coincided that this Saturday was the Day of the city of Kaluga. We noticed that Kaluga loves us and always welcomes us with holidays. Amazing and nice. It was last time. Celebrating Cosmonautics Day in its "cradle" is no less honorable, and maybe even more than in our space Star City.
I found out that we are in Kaluga on City Day on the eve of the trip. Incredibly inspired! It turned out that the holiday program was prepared large and interesting. I really wanted to participate, but my husband said: "Optina Pustyn!". Swapping Kaluga and Optina was not right. The next day, returning home from Optina would have been too far and tiring.
There was an idea to stay in Kaluga for another day. But in this case, we needed a late check-out from the hotel, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. My husband would work, and my daughter and I would walk around Kaluga. But the service "late check-out" was in the "Best Western" expensive. For staying at the hotel until 18.00 additional payment for half a day. Pay 1,200 rubles. for 4 hours we need, and all together 3,200 rubles. Seemed like a waste of money.
So we went to Optina Pustyn on Saturday, as planned. In fact, this holy place was the main thing we wanted to see on this trip. Everything else is just a pleasant walk in the arms of a soulful city.
From Kaluga to Optina Pustyn only 79 kilometers. They did not notice how the promised land already appeared on the horizon, and the crosses on the domes of churches sparkled.
We put the car in a huge parking lot and went to the monastery.
Even I take visiting places like Optina Pustyn seriously. Skirt and headscarf are required.
Over the past years that I have not been here (and this is about eight years), almost nothing has changed in Optina. And I see it as a plus. I was afraid that the atmosphere had changed, that I would not experience the feeling of grace that I had previously experienced here. Glad the fears were unfounded.
We found a lot of people here, many excursion groups. But I remember times when there were much more people. Therefore, in this regard, nothing bothered me.
There are still a lot of flowers in the monastery and a very well-groomed territory as a whole.
We managed to go to four temples and even take pictures in three of them. At all photography in the temples of Optina Pustyn is prohibited, But I needed, so I took a few shots to show them to those who cannot personally come here.
Temple in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. New temple. Built in 2007. I saw and visited this church for the first time.
The temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is the largest temple of the monastery. Built in 1811
Behind the Vvedensky Cathedral there is a church in honor of St. Mary of Egypt, built in 1858. Very harmonious. We did not go inside, I read that it was being restored. From the outside, it looks like it has been completely renovated.
Temple in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Restored in 1998
Chapel of the Resurrection of Christ. It was built on the burial site of the murdered Optina brothers - Hieromonk Vasily, monks Trofim and Ferapont. Built in 2008. This is the place I really wanted to go.
Previously, there was no chapel here, there were just the graves of three Optina monks who died at the hands of either a Satanist or a mentally ill person in Optina Hermitage on Easter night April 18, 1993 . It was to this place that people went (and still go) with requests and prayers for the most secret, because these graves are miraculous.
Here, to three crosses, three graves, people carried and still carry their notes, and the wishes from these notes are fulfilled. Healing, finding love, family, children- that's what people most often ask for and what they get. Once upon a time, I did exactly the same ... And Optina Hermitage did not disappoint, answered ... Therefore, I so wanted to come to this special place, a fertile place, to say "Thank you ...".
I didn't even want to leave this chapel. Bright place...
Before leaving the territory of the monastery, we went to the church shop, where we bought two scarves.
Along the southern wall of the monastery
we reached the fence, where there is a diagram of the passage to the St. John the Baptist skete. 200 meters to the skete, of course, not 200 meters, but go not far along the forest path.
Along the way such centuries-old pines grow. There is a path to one of them. Looks like a special tree...
Near the skete stands the Amvrosievsky well with healing water.
The gates to the skete are closed. We didn't even bother to come here. We saw how young people in civilian clothes were entering the territory through a black metal door. Before entering, each of them kissed the icon, which is located on the white turret of the fence.
Well, we already said goodbye to Optina. It was time to move on, to Shamordino.
We bought two bottles of kvass and pies with cabbage, lentils and potatoes for the journey.
Only those with cabbage were warm. The rest are like from the refrigerator, icy, hard.
In general, the pies are not tasty. We have come across such tasteless monastic food only once before - in Diveevo. Usually the opposite is true - you swallow your tongue. I can think of dozens of such places.
We could not stop by in Kozelsk, next to which Optina Pustyn is located. Ride through the streets. In general, nothing particularly remarkable. We looked and moved on.
On the road from Optina Hermitage to Kaluga, there is only one place from where a stunning view of the monastery opens. Yes, far away. Only with a telephoto lens and at a close approximation, you can take such a view from the road.
From Optina Pustyn to Shamordino is 30 kilometers away. A stone's throw from one special holy place to another.
Optina and Shamordino are usually visited on the same day and for some reason they are constantly compared. I have heard it many times. Compare the atmosphere, architecture, general impressions. Previously, "outweighed" more often Optina Pustyn. Now - Shamordino.
The first monastery is a male monastery, more severe, restrained, or something. The second is feminine, more elegant, small cozy home. In summer, both are buried in greenery and flowers. In my memory, these are the most "flowery" monasteries. I wouldn't compare them anyway.
Shamordino really makes an impression. Even on inherently restrained men. Beautiful architecture, calm atmosphere. It's nice to be here. If it weren't for the fatigue from the heat, I would have spent more time here.
After Shamordino we returned to Kaluga.
It was already half past seven. But hopes to participate in the celebrations for the City Day still remained.
A huge number of people gathered at the Monument in honor of the 600th anniversary of Kaluga.
But the first thing we did was go to the hotel. I had to rest, change clothes and go to dinner.
There we again went to the shopping center "Moskovsky". But this time the plans were not for "Dreams of a Beloved Cat", but for the "Overtime" pub, which is located in the same center and on the same floor. Unfortunately, the pub was closed for renovations, as we were informed by the announcement on the doors of the establishment. We were terribly disappointed. It was too late to go to another place - half past eight. Again we went to the "Cat". Everything was delicious again, but it would still be better to explore something new or "inspect" the "old" favorite places.
The day of the city of Kaluga ended for us on Theater Square, where there were already two concerts - in the square behind the Drama Theater
and on Theater Square in front of the Drama Theatre. One "party" was chamber, the other - large-scale.
We walked, listened to music, went to Theater Street - the local Arbat -
say hello to Tsiolkovsky. Just like Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, my Konstantin Eduardovich peered hopefully into the sky, waiting for the sounds of fireworks.
But everything was quiet. We decided that we missed the fireworks while having dinner in a cafe. We traveled around the absolutely dark Kaluga and went to the hotel to rest. We arrived, parked and suddenly heard familiar sounds. My husband grumbled all over, as if it was my fault that we missed the fireworks. And to be honest, I don’t know why to arrange a festive fireworks display at 23.00, if the sky is already black at 21 o’clock and a huge mass of people (including with small children) are waiting for the fireworks? In addition, in the program of the holiday, fireworks were scheduled for 22.00 and 22.30.
In general, although we touched the City Day, we did not fully feel it. Do not think that we are big fans of such events. We are not even little lovers. We never go either in Moscow or in Star City to mass events. But these are the cities we know. But in order to get to know a foreign city, all methods are good. Visiting festive events helps in getting to know the city and its inhabitants significantly.
Day 3. Kaluga. Way home
When I was going to Kaluga, I knew exactly what I wanted to do here. This is the rarest case for me.
Because we already knew the city, we saw the main sights of Kaluga, we would rather not watch them again, but look from a different angle, look at the subject of changes.
A year earlier, we witnessed the laying of a stone in honor of the opening of the second stage of the Museum of Cosmonautics in a solemn atmosphere. I wanted to go to the Museum of Cosmonautics and see how the construction is going.
I read in the media that Gostiny Dvor in Kaluga was reconstructed and should open on August 22, 2015 on City Day. We had to evaluate the changes.
Again, on the last trip, we really liked the park of culture and recreation. But we couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. Early spring, idle fountains, lack of greenery. What is this park like in summer? It was interesting to see, so a walk in the park was in the plans.
I heard a lot about old Kaluga, wooden Kaluga. Of course I wanted to see the old streets and streets personally. For example, Voskresenskaya, Smolenskaya, Lenin.
Almost all of the above we managed to do. But not all. We did not go to the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts, we did not see the interior and murals of the Trinity Cathedral, we did not reach the Gostiny Dvor ensemble. Well, it's okay, there will be a reason to return to Kaluga again.
Well, now the photos of the third day of our trip to Kaluga.
In the morning we pack our things and leave the luxurious Best Western with regret.
For breakfast we chose cafe "8 cups"(Plekhanova street, 48/8, Kaluga), which we fell in love with last year. This is a disgrace, but I never wrote a separate post about this institution, my hands did not reach. I only mentioned him in review posts, and. And now I can even use the old photos only as a comparison. The "8 cups" underwent a grandiose renovation, the institution is simply unrecognizable. But the food and service are still amazing.
A children's playroom was made on the site of the former stage. They barely pulled Sophie out of here.
After breakfast, the first thing we do
To . The second time we did not go here (too little time has passed since our visit), but take a walk in the Tsiolkovsky park and see the sights and life around - with pleasure.
Monument to Yuri Gagarin. Young Gagarin. A wonderful monument, kind, inspirational. You will not get tired of looking and imbued.
I chose the title, perhaps not the most successful, because Shamordino, and especially Optina Pustyn, are known far beyond the borders of both the Kaluga land and Russia in general. But it just so happened that both of these famous monasteries are located in the Kaluga region, already rich in historical and architectural monuments. Thanks to the next (already the sixth for me) excursion from the travel store Optina Pustyn - Shamordino, I closed a few more white spots in these parts.
I saw quite a lot of monasteries and really did not expect to see something that could amaze me. The same Optina Pustyn from photographs did not impress with any special architectural solutions, and Shamordino was seen as one of the many monasteries already seen earlier. However, as it often happens (both for the better and for the worse), in life everything turned out to be completely different ...
I'm already so used to well-organized excursions that I even forgot when I went somewhere "savage". You get on the bus early in the morning and immediately immerse yourself in wonderful stories. Remarkably, they begin immediately from the departure from the gathering place and while we are driving around Moscow, we are already hearing about it, and around the region ... And I thought that I knew my hometown and the surrounding regions well, yeah ... I won’t be surprised if they have already come up with something for navigators that not only displays interesting places along the way, but also voices it, but it is hard to compare it with a professional, loving guide. Even my morning nap is gone. And how much I learned along the way about Lev Nikolaevich ... In general, there are more than one such direction from Moscow, where word for word the figure of a great writer appears. And on the way to Optina Pustyna, I remembered another great writer - Dostoevsky, who brought the monastery in his last novel, The Brothers Karamazov. He mentions him in the chapter on the elders, and the monastery itself in the described Skotoprigonievsk, of which Alyosha Karamazov was a novice, is just some collective image from Optina Pustyn and the Nikolsky Kosinsky Monastery near Staraya Russa. Perhaps one of the famous Optina elders was also the prototype for the elder Zosima from the novel. Optina Pustyn has been famous throughout Russia for quite a long time. Since the end of the 18th century, the monastery has been a representative of the spiritual revival.
Founded in the 15th century. In 1821, the repentant robber Opta, who took the name of Macarius during his tonsure, in 1821 built the St. John the Baptist skete for hermit monks behind the monastery grove. Since then, it has served as a kind of religious, philosophical and cultural center. She was famous and is famous for her elders. This phenomenon itself is very well described again in The Brothers Karamazov.
After familiarizing myself with a number of sources in Optina Pustyna, I expected to see pandemonium and fuss. I saw all this on the scale of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but in fact, despite even the Sabbath day, there were relatively few people here, there was not any particular fuss. There are a lot of beggars, yes, but this is typical for so many similar places and not only in our country. The monastery itself turned out to be quite small (although the size of the subsidiary farm, for example, is impressive), but surprisingly picturesquely located. He suddenly appears at the entrance to Kozelsk, among the fields and the river. From an architectural point of view, it also does not impress with anything, but no matter how hackneyed it may sound to characterize such places, there is a strong energy here, and people come here not for architecture and most likely not for history.
The monastery looks quite modern. Inside there are modern buildings, and the old ones have all been restored, because for almost 80 years of Soviet power, nothing was located within these walls - from a rest home and a military hospital to the Kozelsk-1 concentration camp, there were about 5,000 Polish officers who were later sent to Katyn and the check-filtration camp of the NKVD of the USSR for Soviet officers who returned from captivity. These walls remember quite a few tragic fates - on Easter 1993, three monks of the monastery were killed here by a mentally ill Satanist - Hieromonk Vasily and monks Ferapont and Trofim. But there are also many bright stories associated with the Desert: miraculous healings, phenomena, discoveries. No wonder the glory of these places is strong to this day. Pilgrims from different cities and countries flock here.
1. In the parking lot whole line buses from different cities, a lot of Belarusians come.
4. Church of Hilarion the Great (1874).
5. Spring near the skete of John the Baptist
6. Skete Gates with a bell tower. The miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is kept in the skete. In the same skete there is a white stone house where Elder Ambrose lived for more than 50 years; everything is stored in it in the same form as it was during the life of the elder.
9. Church of Mary of Egypt and Anna the Righteous
10. Gate Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God - one of the modern (1988) buildings on the territory of the monastery.
13. If you go down from the monastery to the cheerful Zhizdra, then there is no one at all, only an empty spring monastery garden.
14. The bell tower and the oldest building of the monastery - the Cathedral of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos.
19. On the way to Shamordino, we were taken to a very unusual, both outside and inside, Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (1787) in the village of Nizhnie Pryski. In 1924 the temple was closed. And the local collective farm used the building as a grain warehouse. In 1942 the Germans occupied the village. They ordered the inhabitants to clear the temple of grain, and the priest who had brought them with them was allowed to conduct divine services. In 1943, Soviet troops liberated the village and closed the temple.
20. The temple was built in 1731 by the landowner N.V. Rtishchev.
25. There are very unusual icons in the temple. For example, this one is the Transfiguration of the Lord, created with the active use of various minerals.
Then we went to Shamordino and to be honest, it was the brightest part of the trip. Firstly, the views are fantastically beautiful (which, for the Kaluga region, is generally fair in many respects, remember the same Borovsk and Kaluga itself), secondly, the territory is very beautiful and well-groomed, and thirdly, the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God itself impresses with its size and decoration (all the icons inside the cathedral are embroidered with beads - I have not seen anything like this anywhere). Shamordino can be looked at in photographs, but they, honestly, will not convey much.
Kazanskaya Amvrosievskaya Shamorda Mountain Hermitage Founded at the end of the 19th century. Optina elder Ambrose. Here, visiting his sister, L.N. Tolstoy.
In the Soviet years, an agricultural school was located here, where B.Sh. Okudzhava. Ambrose's cell was dismantled and moved to a neighboring village, M.N. Tolstoy's house was moved to Kozelsk.
26. At the walls of the desert trade with various goodies, so familiar to the Russian people.
31. The Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was built with the blessing of St. Elder Ambrose. The design of the temple was made in the workshop of the architect S. V. Sherwood.
The Kazanskaya Amvrosievskaya female hermitage is located near the village of Shamordino, in one of the most beautiful corners of Holy Rus', between the ancient cities of Kaluga and Kozelsk. It was founded in 1884 by the Monk Ambrose of Optina according to the will of his spiritual daughter, the nun Ambrose (Klyuchareva, 1818-1881) and at her expense. Even during her lifetime, looking after aged widows and orphan girls who wished to devote themselves to serving God, she bequeathed to set up a women's community with an almshouse in the Shamordino estate that belonged to her.
The first abbess and helper of the Monk Ambrose in building the monastery was schema-nun Sophia (Bolotova, 1845-1888), who did everything strictly according to his instructions. The structure of the monastery, all its orders were established by the elder himself. Not a single construction, not a single business began without his blessing. Batiushka, arriving in Shamordino, examined everything himself, marked out the construction of churches, cells and other buildings, and gave instructions. St. Ambrose and Matushka Sophia paid much attention to the spiritual life of the sisters, to nurturing in them such virtues as love for God and neighbor, mercy.
Mother Sophia's successors were Schema Euphrosyne (Rozova, 1830-1904), Ekaterina (Sambikina, 1842-1911) and Valentina (Rozantseva, 1864-1919), also the spiritual children of Elder Ambrose and his disciples, Rev. Joseph and Anatoly (Zertsalova). By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery was a major spiritual center, where about 800 sisters of various ranks and origins labored. In it, thanks to the generous patronage of the Moscow merchant Sergei Vasilyevich Perlov, all the buildings that have survived to this day were erected, starting from the majestic Kazan Cathedral, an almshouse with a house church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God “Satisfy my sorrows”, to various workshops and a water pump. During the years of persecution of Orthodoxy, the Shamorda monastery suffered the common fate of all Russian monasteries. In 1923 the monastery was closed and devastated. The sisters were forced to settle in Kozelsk and nearby villages. Spiritually strengthened by the Optina elders, they humbly and worthily passed all the trials that fell to their lot. Many of them were martyred in prisons, camps and exile.
Since March 1990, monastic life has resumed in the Shamorda Monastery. Through the prayers of the reverend organizers, Elder Ambrose and Matushka Sophia, the lamps were lit again, and the service began. Monastic life gradually began to improve. In the same year, on May 27, the temple at the almshouse was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Satisfy my sorrows." This date entered the annals of the monastery as the day of the revival of the monastery.
In 1996, on the site of the cell in which St. Ambrose reposed in the Lord in Shamordin, the first church in Russia was built in the name of the great elder; and on July 28, consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. From that day on, a daily cycle of worship takes place in it.
The Kazan Cathedral, the main temple of the monastery, was gradually restored and prepared for consecration. In 2005, on August 13, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the central altar and two lower aisles in it. This was a significant event in the history of the Shamorda monastery.
At present, a full cycle of worship is taking place in the monastery, the Indestructible Psalter is being read, akathists before the revered icons of the Mother of God and St. Ambrose of Optina. Now about 130 sisters labor in the monastery. The monastic almshouse and hospital were reopened. A Sunday school was organized for children from the surrounding villages. On the territory of the monastery there are three holy sources: in honor of the icons of the Mother of God "Kazan" and "Life-Giving Spring" and St. Ambrose of Optina.
On May 27, 2010, the monastery prayerfully celebrated the 20th anniversary of the revival of monastic life. The day before, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited her for the first time and performed a solemn service in the Kazan Cathedral. This event became an unforgettable holiday for the nuns of the monastery, its benefactors and guests.
Under the grace-filled protection of the Mother of God and its founders, the Reverend Elder Ambrose and Matushka Sophia, grateful prayers continue to be offered in the revived Shamorda monastery.
You set out to overcome the distance from the village of Shamordino to the village of Optina Pustyn. Which of the motorists does not dream of getting to their destination as quickly and at the lowest cost as possible. One way to achieve this goal is to have information about the distance between the point of origin and the end point of the route. Our map will help you find the shortest and most optimal route between the village of Shamordino and the village of Optina Pustyn. With a known average vehicle speed, it is possible to calculate the travel time with a small error. In this case, knowing the answer to the question of how many kilometers between the village of Shamordino and the village of Optina Pustyn - 228 km. , the time you will spend on the road will be approximately 3 hours 48 minutes. The map is very easy to work with. The system itself will find the shortest distance and suggest the OPTIMAL route. The route from the village of Shamordino to the village of Optina Pustyn is shown on the diagram with a thick line. On the map you will see all the settlements that will meet on your way while driving. Having information about cities, towns (check out the list of settlements along the highway settlement at the Veska highway - Optina Pustyn village at the bottom of the page) and traffic police posts located along the route, you can quickly navigate in unfamiliar areas. If you need to find another route, just indicate FROM and WHERE you need to get, and the system will definitely offer you a solution. Having a ready-made map from the village of Shamordino to the village of Optina Pustyn and knowing how to get through difficult interchanges, you can always easily answer the question of how to get from the village of Shamordino to the village of Optina Pustyn.
panoramas
Panorama of the village of Shamordino and the village of Optina Pustyn
Driving along a pre-planned route is a way to eliminate the problems that may arise in unfamiliar terrain and get over the desired section of the road as quickly as possible. Do not miss the details, check in advance on the map all the complex road forks.
Don't forget a few simple rules:
- Any driver who travels long distances needs rest. Your trip will be safer and more enjoyable if, having built a route in advance, you decide on places to rest. The map presented on the site has different modes. Use the result of the work of ordinary Internet users and refer to the "People's Map" mode. You may find useful information there.
- Do not exceed the speed limit. A preliminary calculation of the time and the built route of the trip will help to meet the schedule and not exceed the permitted speed limits. Thus, you will not endanger yourself and other road users.
- It is prohibited to use while driving substances that cause alcoholic or narcotic intoxication, as well as psychotropic or other substances that cause intoxication. Despite the abolition of zero ppm (now the possible total permissible error in measuring the level of alcohol in the blood is 0.16 mg per 1 liter of exhaled air), it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol while driving.
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