Moscow, July 5, 2023
Photo: monasterium.ru
Yesterday, on the feast of St. George of Danilov Monastery, the remains of the monks of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, which was located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin in the 14th-15th centuries, were solemnly transferred to Moscow’s Danilov Monastery.
The Transfiguration Monastery was a successor to Danilov Monastery, the first Moscow monastery founded by Prince St. Daniel. Around 1330, the son of St. Daniel, Grand Duke John Kalita, founded the first Kremlin monastery and gathered monks from various monasteries to inhabit it, including from Danilov.
Bone fragments were discovered during excavation work in 1997 on the site of a church that had survived from the ancient monastery but was demolished in 1933. The remains were removed in 2007 and an examination confirmed their authenticity. Since then, they have been kept at the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors in Novokosin, Moscow, reports the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism.
Photo: monasterium.ru
A memorial litiya was served for the deceased monks of the Transfiguration Monastery at the church in Novokosin yesterday, after which their remains were transferred to Danilov Monastery. After another litiya, the three shrines with their remains were taken to the memorial chapel where they will remain until August, when then they will be buried in the monastery cemetery as part of the 40th anniversary of the revival of Danilov Monastery.
His Grace Bishop Alexei of Solnechnogorsk said:
Everyone is alive with God. And today’s event—the return of the Danilov monks to the walls of their native monastery—is another confirmation of this. It seems that their names have already been forgotten and appear only in chronicles and monastic lists. But the Lord cares for us. He reminds us that our ancestors lived here, prayed, and left us an example of a Christian life, a monastic life... As Fr. Kirill (Pavlov) used to say, “Everyone should do their own work.” All of us want to be in the Kingdom of God in the future life, and here on Earth, to be in peace, silence, prosperity...
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