Novodevichy is the name of the monastery, founded in 1524 in Moscow by Vasily III in honor of the revered icon of the Mother of God "Odigitria". Today believers from Russia and other countries actively visit this monastery on the Devichye Pole near the Moskva River, geographically located not far from the capital's Luzhniki Stadium.
Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God
Translated from the Greek language "odigitria" is translated as "guide" or "mentor". The first such image, according to legend and legend, was written by the Evangelist Luke. Later it was kept in the temple of Odigon or Panagiria Odigitria.
The Smolensk icon was brought to Russia in the 11th century, when the Byzantine emperor Konstantin Monomakh handed it over as a blessing to his daughter, who set off to become the wife of Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavovich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise. Since then, the icon has become a symbol of the princely family, as well as a thread of its connection with Constantinople.
Actually the temple of the icon in Smolensk was laid by Vladimir Monomakh, after which it was named "Smolensk". It is believed that it was this shrine that saved the city in 1239 from the attack of Khan Batu. Later, in 1404, the icon was transferred from Smolensk to the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. It is also interesting that after the shrine left the city, it was quickly captured by Lithuanian aggressors. More than 50 years later - already in 1456 - the inhabitants of Smolensk begged to return the icon back, after which it was returned as part of the procession.
History of the Novodevichy Convent
Vasily III in 1524 granted a huge sum for the time - 3000 rubles in silver for the construction of the monastery, gave him a lot of villages, land, as well as an "unjudged letter", according to which the activities of the monastery were exempted from the payment of state taxes.
The first abbess of the Novodevichy Convent was the "reverent and reigning schema-nun" Elena, who came to the capital from the Intercession Monastery and was chosen because of the well-known sanctity of life and great zeal for the well-being of the princely family. Helen ruled it to a ripe old age and even gave the monastery a very valuable charter, which was observed for many years.
Later, this holy place experienced difficult years during the Time of Troubles, when False Dmitry I confiscated its treasury, Lithuanians and Bolotnikov's troops attacked the monastery. The real heyday of the Novodevichy Convent dates back to the time of the coming to the throne of the Romanov dynasty, when its buildings were reconstructed, fortified, and many useful innovations were introduced.
Now, every year, streams of Orthodox believers "flock" to the monastery, some of them come for repentance, others - to live and purify their souls, others - just to inspect very picturesque and ancient buildings, as well as the most interesting Novodevichy cemetery.
