Description of the attraction
The complex of iconographic and archival sources on the history of the formation of the famous Resurrection Cathedral is quite diverse and extensive. Materials on the history of this cathedral, monastery business papers are kept in a special section of written sources of the Historical Museum in Moscow, as well as in the funds of the state archives of the Novgorod and Vologda regions.
The history of the emergence of the Resurrection Cathedral, like many other Russian monasteries, has its own legend. On a bright Sunday afternoon, a Moscow merchant sailed along Sheksna to Beloozero with his goods. Suddenly, in the middle of the day, it quickly darkened, and the boat with merchant goods ran aground. The merchant was very impressed by this phenomenon and began to pray. Soon, an amazing picture appeared in front of his eyes: a nearby mountain, completely covered with forest, became as if on fire, and rays of bright light began to emanate from behind the mountain along the valley, which seemed to indicate the necessary path. The boat went off the shallows and swam to that fiery mountain, soon the phenomenon disappeared. The merchant was greatly shocked and climbed the mountain. He saw a magnificent view: in a lowland overgrown with a dense forest, a river twisted in unusual zigzags, and a silver ribbon of the Sheksna River stretched towards the east. The merchant decided to mark this place with a cross and a year later sailed here to build a small chapel on this place, which he decorated with the holy icon of the Resurrection of Christ. After a while, two monks, Athanasius and Theodosius, came to the chapel, who set up the Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery. For the first time, the Cherepovets monastery was mentioned in 1449 in the diploma of Mikhail Andreyevich - Belozersky prince.
It is believed that the foundation of the monastery was laid with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh. The first abbot of the Resurrection Monastery was the Monk Theodosius. The name of the second abbot was the Monk Athanasius, who was a disciple of the Monk Sergius. Athanasius was called the "Iron Staff", because he always carried an iron club with him to exhaust the flesh.
Unfortunately, the exact date of the foundation of the Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery is not known. The documents that could help in solving this issue have not survived to this day. Although, when comparing the known facts, it can be assumed that this event took place at a time when the bishop of Belozersk and Rostov Ignatius, who held his post from 1355 to 1365, ruled the department.
The overwhelming number of researchers of the history of the Resurrection Church believe that the date of the foundation of the temple can be taken as 1362. In the winter of 1752, the construction of a stone church began. Already in February 1756, the erected new Church of the Resurrection of Christ was consecrated. The temple has two side-altars: the northern one, named in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist, and the southern one in the name of John the Theologian.
Initially, the appearance of the temple was significantly different from its modern appearance. The general reconstruction of the monastery was dated to the century of 1855. This is how the roof was completely replaced, which almost all became unusable. As a result of the work, the temple became slightly lower. At the same time, all window openings, originally square with rounded openings in the upper part, have been significantly enlarged.
In 1851, the Resurrection Church was completely painted by local artists. The main decoration of the temple was the frescoes: the Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, the Rise of Christ from the Tomb, Carrying the Cross, the Gethsemane Struggle, Peter and John at the tomb, David with the harp and many others. From the outside, the walls were painted light blue. A variety of outdoor decorations, including trims, remain in the traditional white color. The iconostasis with a canopy is located in front of the Royal Gate. In addition, in the temple you can see icons of Sergius of Radonezh, Savvaty and Zosima Belozersky and Kirill Belozersky.
After 1988, the small towers were rebuilt again, and the bulbs were covered with gold. The fence of the temple was restored. The iconostasis was moved from the closed Church of the Resurrection of Christ, located near Cherepovets.
