Holy Trinity Monastery Sukhum. Temples of Sukhumi. Populated areas of Abkhazia

Kamansky Monastery of St. John Chrysostom was built relatively recently - in 1986, but its foundation is much older and dates back to the 11th century. The monastery received its name in memory of one of the three Ecumenical Hierarchs - John Chrysostom, who died on its territory in 407.

The local monastery today can be considered one of the most significant centers of Christian pilgrimage in Georgia and a place of particular interest to tourists. The reason for its popularity is that finding the village of Kamany, in which it is located, is quite simple - it is located 15 km from the city of Sukhum, in the north. Today here you can see, in addition to the monastery itself, two chapels, as well as the most interesting building for all visitors to this place - a three-story bell tower. In the monastery itself, the most valuable item is the sarcophagus of John Chrysostom, weighing about a ton, which was found during the construction of the bell tower.

It is very popular to visit the monastery in January, when on the feast of Epiphany you can plunge into the source of St. Basilisk, receiving the blessing of the Higher Powers.

By 2003, Abbess Seraphim and Cherubim had been successfully leading the women’s monasteries of Mordovia for more than 10 years. In 2001, by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on awarding state awards of the Russian Federation, Abbess Seraphima was awarded the Order of Honor for her great contribution to strengthening civil peace and the revival of spiritual and moral traditions.

In 2003, both abbess were installed by the ruling bishop, Archbishop. Saransk and Mordovian Varsonofiy (Sudakov) was faced with a choice: in the form of an ultimatum, he suggested either agreeing with his position on the issue of adopting the TIN, or leaving the monasteries.
The sisters, of course, could not disobey their confessor, schema-abbot of the Sanaksar monastery Jerome (Verendyakina, +2001), who categorically did not bless them before his death to accept registration numbers either personally or for the monastery.

After his death, the abbess turned to the archimandrite. Kirill (Pavlov), who fully confirmed the blessing of their former confessor. Both elders are known for their righteousness and holiness, so their mothers did not dare to violate their blessing.

Moreover, Archimandrite Kirill pointed out to the mothers their responsibility before God for the salvation of the souls entrusted to them if these monastics eventually go into the world. It was he who gave them the blessing not to leave their sisters.

The abbess and sisters went nowhere. They were received by kind people in one of the villages of the Moscow region (the head of Promsvyazbank settled them on the private territory of a former pioneer camp). But even here they were not left alone, as they say, they were given over to development in the style of the 30s. last century. Representatives of the district OVIR, FSB officers, a district police officer, the head of the district criminal investigation department, and the head of juvenile affairs began to constantly visit them at their place of residence with “checks.” Since there was nothing to accuse the nuns of, they were charged with illegal residence and fraud. Representatives of the district OVIR also considered their stay in the district illegal, refusing to grant them temporary registration using their old passports. The deans of the Moscow region districts also actively joined in the persecution.

Archim. Kirill (Pavlov), in order to preserve church peace, asked the ruling bishop of the Tulchin and Bratslav diocese, Bishop Ippolit (Khilko), to take the sisters and mothers under his hierarchal omophorion, which he did, explaining his position in a letter: “Refusal to accept the identification number personally or to the monastery, as well as forced departure from the monastery, is not a challenge to the hierarchy of our Church, or a break with the Church, but only a canonically fair disagreement with the decision of the diocesan Bishop to impose civil events in the life of the Church and to apply penalties for their non-compliance.”
Bishop Barsanuphius, instead of ruling by the word of the Holy Truth of Christ and making decisions regarding clergy, guided by the canons of Church law, by his internal decree, without convening a diocesan court, removed the abbess of the monasteries from office, further calling the mothers and sisters “an arbitrary gathering, degrading in side of the split."
Meanwhile, it was necessary to carry out legal proceedings sequentially in two church authorities: the first of them is the Diocesan Court, the decisions of which should be passed on only after trial and approval by members of the judicial commission. The second instance is the Judicial Commission of the Holy Synod, the Resolutions of which must be submitted to the Patriarch for approval (Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, Chapter 7, Art. 23). Bypassing all this, the bishop transferred Abbess Cherubim to another position, Abbess Seraphim to retire, and ordered the sisters to be disbanded because they did not want to go to the newly appointed abbess. Which led to the departure of two monastic communities from Mordovia. Some of the brethren of the monasteries also left.

Upon arrival in Abkhazia in 2003, the sisters turned to the Administrator of the Sukhumi-Abkhazian Diocese, Priest Vissarion Apliaa, with a request for permission to be in the administrative-canonical territory of the city of Sukhum. They provided Fr. Vissarion receives a letter from Bishop Hippolytus of Tulchin and Bratslav, which certifies that the sisters are under his hierarchal omophorion and that they are not sectarians or schismatics. Moreover, in a conversation with Fr. Vissarion, the sisters explained that they left Russia with the blessing of the famous confessor Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov). Father Kirill is a very respected person in Russia, and not only in Russia, but throughout the world; he is the confessor of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. Father Vissarion himself visited Father Kirill several times, he respects him very much, and Father Kirill always expressed his love for him. Therefore, Father Vissarion acted very wisely and gave his blessing for the stay.
Thus, in the vicinity of Sukhum, two Russian convents appeared: Holy Trinity (Igne Cherubim) and Paraskeva-Voznesensky (Igne Seraphim).
In addition, Abbess Seraphim founded a monastery monastery near Pskhu, the most inaccessible mountain village in Abkhazia.
Pskhu is a historical village, Russian name-glorifying people labored here, the feat of new martyrdom shone here during the days of the atheistic persecution in the 1930s, when some of the monks were shot, and 250 monks were arrested, deported from Pskhu, and many suffered martyrdom from drowning in the Black Sea. Subsequently, all the churches were destroyed. Liturgical life in these places ceased: the nearest church was located in the city of Sukhumi, a two-day horse ride from Pskhu along mountain paths. But this place is still attractive to those seeking desert monastic life. Now Pskhu is a Russian village, about 170 people live there, there is a grass airfield. The village is located at an altitude of 760 meters above sea level. The roads connecting the village with the outside world lead through the Anchkha and Gudauta mountain passes at a height of 2030 meters, which not every car can overcome, and for 8 months of the year you can only fly here with the help of small aircraft.

Sisters from Mordovia were allowed to settle in the ancient mountain village of Birtskhi (in the Gulripsh region), in which there had never been a church, there were several rural houses, but after the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict the owners abandoned their homes and did not dare to return back...
Here is how Samara priest Sergiy Zhikharev talks about his visit to the sisters in 2011:
“Ten years ago, sisters from the monasteries of Mordovia came to the dilapidated houses, they came to build an Orthodox monastery in this remote place... they arrived in a destroyed mountain village, where there was no electricity, gas and other benefits of civilization. At first they slept almost in the open air, there was no the most necessary things, but still they built the Holy Trinity Monastery.

But how can sisters who are far from construction work build a monastery? You have to be able to do a lot: mix cement, lay bricks, paint frescoes... Abbess Cherubim acted wisely: she sent her envoys to study as a mason, painter, carpenter, electrician, cook, icon painter... The sisters traveled in turns and received two or three specialties at once, The monastery even had its own designer. And the work began to boil.

And soon, from the ruins and devastation, the golden-domed temple rose to the sky, a refectory and a bakery were rebuilt, two houses were restored for the guests of the monastery, and an electricity line was extended from Sukhumi. The monastery is heated by a stove, and the sisters prepare firewood for it themselves. There are endless gardens on the mountain slopes, the earth gives birth so generously that the nuns simply do not have time to collect everything. The sisters ask that Orthodox people come to them to help during the tangerine and persimmon picking season...

We were greeted at the monastery with caution at first, at the checkpoint. What would it be like without him: there are many dashing people walking in the mountains, and the sisters have learned to defend themselves from them. When the nuns learned that the priest had arrived from Samara, and that we knew and had gone to see their spiritual mentor, Elder Schema-Abbot Jerome, we immediately became like family. We were taken to the church for a service, just on that day there was the feast of the Royal Martyrs, then to very cozy cells and then to the refectory. Everything was done with such love in the monastery, and what a rich and beautiful table it was, all from our own garden, orchards and apiary.

What struck me most about the sisters was true Christian love, which is very rare now... They simply showered us with love. While we were eating, the sisters sang cants to us, and the whole monastery came out to see us off and sang spiritual chants, cried, and gave us a sea of gifts for the journey. We had already driven far, but we heard how the sisters were all standing and singing prayers for us on the way..."

There are 60 sisters in the monastery of Abbess Cherubima.

Higher on the slope of the mountain, which has not yet been completely cleared of mines (due to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict), live hermits who occasionally go down to them and go into the temple to pray. One is about 75 years old, the second is over eighty (one has been a hermit for 35 years, the other forty). There are also hermit monks - “the extreme point that can be reached by transport (car or horse) is very far from their cells. Then they have to walk for ten hours. And so they ply along this route, sometimes carrying loads up to forty kilograms. The pasta carries the cereal."

In 2014, a temple was built in Pskhu in honor of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.

Let's say a little about the monastery monastery in Pskhu. The architect of the temple in Pskhu describes a visit to the monastery of Abbess Seraphima: “We enter the monastery of Mother Seraphima. This farm consists of several modest houses in which nuns and novices live. The elder sister meets us and leads us into the courtyard, shaded by a vineyard weaving along a lattice frame . Several young sisters, picking grapes at a height of 3-4 meters, seeing the priest, perked up like birds and joyfully greeted him, descending from the stairs, taking a blessing. The sister, having seated us at the table, treats us to tea with honey and fruit. She says, that most of the sisters are now with Mother Seraphima in the monastery, and the rest here are busy harvesting grapes. The sister, showing us glass bottles with recently preserved vegetables, fruits and juices, reports: “For most of the year we are completely cut off from the world and what we have prepared ", then he will feed us. We have already prepared mushrooms and berries, we have also collected potatoes and other vegetables. " The sister inquired about the latest events that took place in the Sukhumi-Abkhaz diocese. Father, in a humble, quiet voice, told about the decision of the governor, Fr. Vissarion to enter the diocese into the Moscow Patriarchate. “It’s like we’re in space here, there’s no information,” said the sister. “Our elder, Father Rafail Berestov, blessed us not to use modern passports that have the signs of Satan, so we are even here illegally, secretly from the authorities. But, thank God, this is precisely what strengthens our spirit and faith. Our father Raphael is now on Mount Athos in Greece praying for us."
This is how true ascetics live and work, yearning for a monastic life. Severe rules, fasting according to the Typikon, confession of thoughts... The Jesus Prayer for the world and for Russia flows from their hearts in these deserted blessed places.

You can see a rare photograph of Abbess Cherubima and read another review about the meeting with the desert dwellers of the Abkhaz Mountains here.

Pilgrims from the city of Chaplygin this time went on a long and long journey. The purpose of the trip was Abkhazia. We went there by train, which took our group to the capital of the Abkhaz state - Sukhum. The city itself, and the whole country, which we observed from the windows of the carriage, were talking about the war that ended almost two decades ago. Shelled, destroyed and empty residential buildings, high-rise buildings and outbuildings were silently visible against the backdrop of majestic mountains. In the opposite windows we saw the alluring sea. The two houses in which we stayed were located near the coast, which in these places is unusually clean and beautiful.

The next morning we went to the monastery, which is called New Athos. The monastery was founded in 1875 by the monks of the Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon from Holy Mount Athos. The main temple of the monastery complex, located at 75 meters above sea level, is Panteleimon Cathedral, built in the New Byzantine style in 1888-1900. Today it is the largest cathedral in Abkhazia.

New Athos was built near the ancient temple (which is currently closed for reconstruction) of one of the 12 apostles - Simon the Canaanite, where his holy relics rest in secret. He was the first to begin the baptism of local residents - the ancestors of modern Abkhazians. Not far from the temple there is a cave in which, according to legend, Simon the Canaanite retired and prayed. Climbing into the cave, we saw a stone on which St. Simon preached Christ, and a little further there is a place of execution where the apostle suffered martyrdom. In the cave cell we read the canon of St. Simon Kananit.

After lunch, we were expected to climb the high Iveron Mountain, whose height is 344 meters above sea level. At the top of the mountain there are the ruins of the Anakopia fortress, the remains of the well-fortified ancient settlement of Anakopia in the 6th century AD. The fortress stood at the very top of the mountain. There is a hall-type temple, probably built in the 6th-7th centuries.

The temple has long been famous for the fact that for many centuries, starting from the 7th century, it housed a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which, it is unknown how and when it got to the top of the mountain. Medieval manuscripts tell of many miracles and healings associated with this image. In 1913, New Athos monks built a now destroyed chapel in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The icon transferred from the St. Panteleimon Monastery - Old Athos, Greece was kept in this chapel. In honor of the icon, the mountain was named Iverskaya. The road up the mountain takes about an hour and, for easier ascent, is made of a serpentine road with 12 bends. According to pious tradition, a kontakion and an ikos from the akathist to the Mother of God are read on each knee. Our ascent ended on the tower of the Anakopia fortress with the general singing of “Victory to the Mounted Voivode.”

Kamany is a village located near Sukhum and wiped off the face of the earth during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Christian history connects it with the names of two great saints. Here in 407, on the way from Kukuz to the final point of exile - Pitiunt (now Pitsunda), the Ecumenical Teacher and Saint John Chrysostom ended his days. Exhausted by illness, the saint, accompanied by a convoy, made his last journey for three months, in rain and heat. In Kamany his strength left him. At the crypt of Saint Basilisk, consoled by the appearance of the martyr, having received the Holy Mysteries, the ecumenical saint departed to the Lord.

And in the 9th century, the third discovery of the head of his heavenly patron, John the Pretecha, took place. After the second discovery, the venerable head was transferred to Constantinople, and during the iconoclastic heresy it was brought to Camany and hidden there, in the bowels of the earth until the reign of St. Theodora (c. 867). After the restoration of Orthodoxy, Saint Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was revealed in a vision to the place where the shrine was hidden. The honorable head of the Forerunner was found for the third time in the indicated place around 850. Now a metal staircase, welded from reinforcement and numbering about 700 steps, leads to the place where the head of the great prophet and baptizer of the Lord John was found.

A monastery of the early twentieth century is located in Kamany. This monastery belonged to the Orthodox Church in Russia, it was called the Basilisk-Chrysostom Convent for Women. Once upon a time, more than a hundred nuns lived here; the monastery financed a hospital and a school for Abkhaz orphan girls. In 2001, after a long break, monastic life resumed; now it is the monastery of St. John Chrysostom with a few inhabitants. The main monastic shrine is the stone tomb of the great saint, in which his incorruptible relics rested for 30 years before being transferred to Constantinople.

A steep mountain path leads to the 4th century church of St. Basilisk of Kamansky. Only fragments of the walls of this ancient basilica have survived to this day. But recently a miniature church appeared near that place. The holy martyr Basiliscus was the nephew of the holy martyr Theodore Tyrone. He was sent to Kamany, where he was kept in prison and prepared for the upcoming martyrdom. He was taken to the temple, where fire instantly descended from Heaven on Saint Basilisk, which burned the temple and crushed the idols standing in it to dust. Saint Basilisk's head was cut off and his body was thrown into the river. The death of the martyr followed in 308. Christians soon bought the holy relics of the martyr and buried them secretly at night.

After resting for a day at sea, we went to Ilor, a village not far from the border with Georgia. During the Greek colonization there was a city here. Currently the village is half abandoned. The local church in the name of St. George the Victorious in that it was built in the 11th century on the site where, according to pious legend, the tent of St. George. The temple has a unique stone altar, about 12 icons that bleed abundantly with myrrh, and the image of the Most Holy Theotokos in the iconostasis bleeds. The blood comes from the hand of the Mother of God. We also bowed to St. Martyr Eustathius of Apsilia. He became the first Abkhazian whose holiness was recognized by the entire Christian Church. In the church we read an akathist to the Great Martyr St. George the Victorious. After drinking cool water from the holy well, the pilgrims rushed back.

On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, the Chaplyginites prayed at the all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy in the Annunciation Cathedral in Sukhum.

On one of the last days of our stay in Abkhazia, we visited Gagra and Pitsunda. In Gagra we prayed in the Church of Hypatius of Gagra. It seems almost impossible to determine the time of life of this Abkhaz saint, who labored in Gagra. Judging by the fact that the name of this saint is associated with the Gagrinsky temple, it can be assumed that this temple was built on the burial site of St. Hypatia, or, most likely, rebuilt in his honor. Apparently, the relics of St. Hypatia also rested in this temple.

In Pitsunda we met with the Orthodox writer Natalya Sukhinina, who has been spending the warm season in her house on the coast for many years in a row. Having hospitably received us all, Natalya Evgenievna talks about the traditions of Abkhazia, shows us the house temple and treats us to ripe watermelon with her own melons. Having heartily thanked Natalya for the warm welcome, we find ourselves on the sandy beach of Pitsunda, and of course we cannot miss the opportunity to relax in this wonderful place. We return to Sukhum already after dark.

On the last day, with some sadness, we pack our bags and leave the land of the soul. This beautiful land is called Apsny in Abkhazian, which in translation just means the country of the soul.

Nuns from Birtskhi

There was never a temple in the ancient mountain village of Birtskhi... - Mother Elena enters the conversation. - There were several rural houses, but after the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, the owners abandoned their homes and did not dare to return... Ten years ago, sisters from the monasteries of Mordovia came to the dilapidated houses, they came to build an Orthodox monastery in this remote place. The Mordovian nuns were blessed for such a feat by the confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), and the Sanaksar elder, schema-abbot Jerome (Verendyakin † 2001). Twenty-five sisters - both young and elderly - arrived in a destroyed mountain village, where there was no electricity, gas and other benefits of civilization. At first they slept almost in the open air, they did not have the most necessary things, but they still built the Holy Trinity Monastery.

We were greeted at the monastery with caution at first, at the checkpoint. What would it be like without him: there are many dashing people walking in the mountains, and the sisters have learned to defend themselves from them. When the nuns learned that the priest had arrived from Samara, and that we knew and had gone to see their spiritual mentor, Elder Schema-Abbot Jerome, we immediately became like family. We were taken to the church for a service, just on that day there was the feast of the Royal Martyrs, then to very cozy cells and then to the refectory. Everything was done with such love in the monastery, and what a plentiful and beautiful table there was, all from our own vegetable garden, orchards and apiaries.

/Samara priest Sergiy Zhikharev/

“The construction of this temple dates back to the distant 6th century; it is located on the territory of the Abkhaz village of Tsandripsh. The religious building consists of a basilica with three naves. The masterfulness strikes me to the core...”

“Not far from Sukhum in Abkhazia, in the village of Drana, there is the most ancient building in the Caucasus - a temple built in the Byzantine style back in the 6th century AD. The structure was erected from bricks and bul...”

“This is one of the oldest churches in Abkhazia, built for people professing Orthodoxy. The beginning of construction dates back to the 10th-11th centuries. Despite its venerable age, the building is superbly preserved...”

“The first mention of the temple of St. Hypatius of Gagra dates back to the 6th century AD. The church building existed before this time, but was called after the Intercession of the Mother of God. But the religious shrine is not..."

“This monastery was built not so long ago, by historical standards - at the very end of the 19th century. But the foundation that lies at its base is many centuries older. Experts date these slabs...”

“The Abkhazian city of New Athos is famous for its monasteries. But the largest number of pilgrims is, of course, attracted by the New Athos Monastery, built near the foot of the mountain. The men's monastery was located...”

“The village of Kamany is located 15 km from the capital of Abkhazia, Sukhum. It was originally called Guma. But in 1884, the Greek archaeologist Vrisi, who visited the village and explored the ruins of an ancient temple, p...”

“The Ilor Church, as you can easily guess, is located in the village of Ilor. This is a suburb of another settlement, Ochamchira. In 1638, the building was barbarically destroyed, but was quickly restored..."

“The Bedi temple was built specifically in honor of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God. This significant event took place in the 10th century AD. The temple is named after an Abkhaz village, but is located on the territory...”

“This temple is located in the Abkhazian village of Mokva, which belongs to the Ochamchira region of the country. It is unique in that it is the only medieval cross-domed structure that has come down to us, consisting...”

“This temple dates back to the 10-11th centuries AD and is rightfully included in the list of the most famous Abkhaz attractions. The Musser temple is not only a religious shrine, but also a ..."

“The village of Pskhu is located in a valley with the same name, lost between two mountain ranges, Bzybsky and Main Caucasian. These are quite remote areas of the country, located at an altitude of 760 m...”

“This religious building is located in the most beautiful corner of New Athos. Externally, the Temple of Simon the Canaanite looks like a small building made of white hewn stone. The support for the roof and dome serves...”

“These attractions are located near the tiny Abkhaz village of Guma. It is enough to go down to the Gumista River flowing below and reach the fork. If you turn right, you will end up in...”