Description of the attraction
The Holy Trinity Anthony Siysky Monastery is located in the Kholmogorsk District of the Arkhangelsk Region, 150 kilometers from Arkhangelsk. It was formed by the Monk Anthony in 1520 on the small island of Mikhailovskoye Lake. The first and main temple was the Holy Trinity, after which the monastery bears its name.
In 1525 the monastery was awarded the diploma of Prince Vasily. In 1543, the surrounding lands were given to the monks. After 2 years, the monastery received financial and judicial benefits. Even during Anthony's lifetime, the monastery was an influential ecclesiastical and administrative center of Podvinya, well known in Moscow. During almost 40 years of Anthony's activity, 3 churches (made of wood) were formed: Trinity, Annunciation and St. Sergius of Radonezh.
By the end of the 17th century, an ensemble of stone buildings gradually appeared here. By the end of the 16th century, the Trinity Cathedral was built with a side-chapel in honor of St. Anthony of Siysk (his holy relics are under the bus). The Annunciation Church with a refectory and chambers appeared in the first half of the 17th century. The Church of the Three Saints of Moscow with a bell tower was built in 1652. And, finally, in the 70s of the 17th century, a gateway stone church with 3 thrones of St. Andrew the First-Called, Sergius of Radonezh, Florus and Lavra was erected.
In the XVI-XVIII centuries, the Anthony-Siysk monastery was the largest spiritual and cultural center of the Podvinya. There was a tradition of rewriting books here. An archive was collected in the monastery, in which there were more than 20,000 books (supplementary, hundredth, census, and so on). In the local sacristy were kept wonderful works of Russian jewelry art: a bowl of water of 1583, a precious chandelier of 1628 and others. The written documents contain information about the icon painters. The Monk Anthony was the founder of the monastery and an icon painter; also Abbot Theodosius and Archimandrite Nikodim, who lived in the 17th century, were icon painters.
In the Anthony-Siysky Monastery, the Siya icon-painting original was formed with 500 lines from the icons of European engravings, which is
an outstanding monument of ancient Russian culture. In the 17th century, the monastery owned villages, arable land and mows. Artisans lived here, salt, sea and fishing industries developed. At the end of the 17th-18th centuries, a two-storey building of cells was built.
In the 18th century, the Anthony-Siysk monastery fell into decay. In the 19th century, the abbots of the monastery performed the work of the rector of the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary. Archimandrite Veniamin educated the Samoyeds of the tundra of the Arkhangelsk Territory. In 1920, a labor commune was organized by the monks, and the Soviet government created a children's colony in the Annunciation Church.
In June 1923, the Antonievo-Siysk monastery was closed. Recently, the buildings of the monastery have been used by various organizations.
Now there are 13 monks in the monastery. About 60 workers live here permanently. Spiritual and educational, liturgical, missionary, social and charitable activities are being revived in the monastery. The monks took part in a church-archaeological expedition in the vicinity of Kozhezersky and Krasnogorsky monasteries.
An icon-painting workshop, a monastery library, and candle production were re-established in the Anthony-Siysky Monastery. Economic activities are organized here: arable land, hayfields, a stable, a livestock farm, greenhouses, a garage, a bakery, a carpentry, mechanical, chabot, furrier workshops have been built. About 5,000 Russian and foreign pilgrims visit the Anthony-Siya Monastery annually.
