Moscow, September 9, 2022
monastery.ru
Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery celebrated its patronal feast and the 625th anniversary of its founding yesterday on the feast of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
The feast began on Wednesday evening with the All-Night Vigil in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
L to R: Met. Tikhon, Met. Theognost, Bp. Siluan. Photo: monastery.ru
In the morning, the early Liturgy was served in the ancient Church of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon, and the late Liturgy was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Resurrection and New Martyrs and Confessors by His Eminence Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov, who rebuilt the monastery beginning in the 1990s, His Eminence Metropolitan Theognost of Kashira, and His Grace Bishop Siluan of Peterhof, a brother of Sretensky Monastery before he was elevated to the episcopacy.
In his festive greetings to Abbot John (Ludischev) and the brethren and parishioners, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill recounts the founding of the monastery:
I cordially congratulate all of you on the 625th anniversary of the monastery.
Sretensky Monastery was founded during a difficult time for our fatherland. Hordes of cruel conquerors approached Moscow and were ready not only to destroy the city, but also to devastate the entire Russian land, drained of blood by internecine strife and languishing under a heavy yoke. With the last hope of salvation, the people turned their eyes to the One Who alone could avert the terrible troubles that lay ahead. Through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven, through ger intercession, the Lord sent down His mercy, and the enemy suddenly turned and left Russia forever, as if terrified by some invisible force.
In memory of the meeting of the Vladimir Image of the Mother of God, before which our ancestors knelt in prayer for the deliverance of Moscow, Sretensky Monastery was founded, and has since become an important spiritual center of the Patriarchal See and a place of pilgrimage for many believers.
The monastery developed and beautified over the centuries, and important historical events are inextricably linked with it. However, unfortunately, in the previous twentieth century, it shared the sad fate of most sacred Orthodox sites in Russia, and was subjected to destruction and fell into desolation. But by the grace of God and the efforts of many caring people, today the monastery has been revived and pleases the eye not only with the restored Sretensky Church, but also with the majestic cathedral built in memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Now, the Sretensky Theological Academy, one of the leading educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, is also successfully operating on the territory of the monastery, which carries out active educational and social work.
I wish you all good health, steady growth in virtues, and help from the Lord and His Most Pure Mother in your daily labors in the field of salvation.
The video below, “Moscow Miracle,” shows scenes from around the monastery:
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