Kostroma, Kostroma Province, Moscow, September 30, 2026
Photo: богоявленско-анастасиин-м.рф
The Theophany-Anastasia Monastery in Kostroma, founded in 1426 with the blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh, marks its 600th anniversary this year. Celebrations were held on September 28, the feast day of the founder, St. Nikita of Kostroma.
St. Nikita of Kostroma (1365-1450), a relative and disciple of St. Sergius, founded the monastery with the latter’s blessing. He became the spiritual father of monasticism in the Kostroma region and brought the rule of St. Sergius’s Holy Trinity Monastery to the Theophany Monastery. St. Nikita taught the monks labor and prayer, set an example of service to God and neighbor, and honored the rules and traditions of the Holy Trinity Monastery, which became part of the life of the monastery’s residents.
Photo: kostromamitropolia.ru
His Eminence Metropolitan Therapont of Kostroma and Nerekhta led the Divine Liturgy in the monastery cathedral. He was joined by His Grace Bishop Hilarion of Kineshma and Palekh, His Grace Bishop Alexei of Galich and Makaryev, and His Grace Bishop Tarasy of Severomorsk and Umba, along with numerous clergy of the Kostroma Metropolia and other dioceses, the Kostroma Metropolia reports.
Archimandrite Melchisedek (Artiukhin), abbot of the Moscow representation church of Optina Monastery, also concelebrated.
In addition to Abbess Innokentia and the local sisterhood, the abbesses of three other monasteries visited for the celebration.
During the Liturgy, petitions and prayers were offered for Russian soldiers and for the victory of Holy Rus’.
At the end of the Liturgy, a moleben of praise was served for the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, followed by a moleben to St. Nikita at the shrine holding his relics.
Relics of St. Nikita. Photo: kostromamitropolia.ru
After the “Many Years,” Metropolitan Therapont addressed the congregation and congratulated the sisters and parishioners on the memory of St. Nikita and the monastery’s 600th anniversary. He then presented Abbess Innokentia with a Patriarchal Certificate of Gratitude in recognition of her labors for the benefit of the holy Church and in connection with the anniversary.
On Monday, OrthoChristian reported that the Vysotsky Monastery in Serpukhov, founded by St. Sergius himself and where St. Nikita had earlier served as abbot, recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of its revival after the godless Soviet rule.
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Photo: kostromamitropolia.ru
The monastery was founded by St. Nikita, a disciple and relative of St. Sergius who had earlier served as abbot of the Vysotsky Monastery in Serpukhov and then of the Vysoko-Pokrovsky Monastery in Borovsk. Its buildings were originally wooden, and in the 16th century its walls helped defend Kostroma. Construction of the stone Theophany Cathedral, the oldest surviving stone structure in the city, began in 1559. During the Time of Troubles, Polish forces stormed the monastery on December 30, 1608, plundering it and killing eleven monks and 38 monastery peasants. Stone walls with six towers were built in the 1640s.
The monastery was a men’s community until 1847, when a fire nearly destroyed it. It was later joined to the Anastasia Convent, founded by a daughter of St. Dmitry Donskoy, and became known as the Theophany-Anastasia Monastery.
The Soviets closed it in 1918, destroyed most of its walls and towers, and used the cathedral to house a regional archive. A 1982 fire there destroyed the remains of the cathedral’s 17th-century frescoes.
The Holy Synod revived it as a convent on July 20, 1990, and the first nuns arrived from the Pyukhtitsa Convent in Estonia in March 1991. From 1991 to 2023, the cathedral served as the cathedral of the Kostroma Diocese and housed the Feodorov Icon of the Mother of God. Today, the convent also runs an orphanage for girls and a home for the elderly.
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