Tver, Russia, February 22, 2019
Photo: foma.ru The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated tomorrow at the Dormition-Zheltikov Monastery in Tver for the first time in nearly 100 years. The service will be celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Savva of Tver and Kashin, reports the site of the Tver Province administration.
The Liturgy will be celebrated in the lower level of the bell tower.
According to Governor Igor Rudenya, the restoration and revival of Orthodox holy sites has the double function of preserving the rich spiritual heritage of the Tver region and also increasing the tourist flow to the Upper Volga.
“The Tver Province is a region with a rich historical-cultural heritage. There are many monuments of architecture and art, known far beyond the borders of the Upper Volga. All this can become one of the resources for the dynamic development of the region,” Rudenya said.
The Dormition-Zheltikov Monastery, one of the oldest in Tver, was founded in 1394. For many centuries it played an important role in protecting the southwestern borders of the city from enemy attacks. The heyday of the monastery, which enjoyed the special patronage of the Peter I, came in the first quarter of the 18th century.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery had three churches, residences for the brothers and abbot, a bell tower, entrance gates, and a monastery garden. Some of the buildings were blown up in 1930 and others suffered during the retreat of Soviet soldiers from Kalinin in October 1941. After the war, the territory was used as a military petroleum storehouse.
The land with the remains of the buildings was returned to the Russian Church in 2015, and restoration work began a year later. Archaeological excavations are currently underway, and preparations are being made to repair the residency buildings.
Several other churches and monasteries in the Tver region are also being restored, including the unique four-tiered wooden Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the Penovsky District. The church was built in 1694 and is the tallest of such wooden structures in the world. It has long been closed to visitors, in a dilapidated state.
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