Description of the attraction
The Holy Trinity Ioninsky Monastery, located in Kiev, is not the oldest, nevertheless, it cannot fail to attract the attention of numerous tourists. Its creation is associated with the prediction of the famous Saint Seraphim of Sarov, whose novice is the founder of the monastery of Iona. Eight years later, they parted, but this did not prevent the fulfillment of the predicted. According to legend, three times Jonah saw the image of the Mother of God, which reminded that a monastery should be established in Kiev, therefore, finally, in 1847, he arrived in the city, where he met with Metropolitan Philaret. Jonah approached the creation of the monastery in detail: for a start, he visited the most famous monasteries in Kiev, got acquainted with the life of local monks and, in the 60s of the 19th century, began work. At first, a two-story wooden house and the Trinity Church were erected, but only in 1866 the emperor agreed to the establishment of the monastery. Later, an orphanage school, a hospital and the Holy Trinity Cathedral made of stone were added to the monastery.
At the end of the 90s, the monastery was supplemented with various annexes - an icon painting workshop, bookbinding, tailor's, locksmith's, etc. A kind of visiting card of the monastery is the bell tower, according to the project it is higher than the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The uniqueness lies in the fact that the bell tower was never completed, thus obtaining a rather unusual appearance.
Unfortunately, for most of the twentieth century, the monastery did not fulfill its original functions and, in fact, was in desolation. Only in the early 90s of the twentieth century, the Ioninsky monastery began to revive: services were resumed, the remains of the founder of the monastery returned to their place, a large-scale restoration was carried out. Now the monastery is not only an architectural monument, but also the center of the spiritual and educational life of Kiev.
