The monastery is named after a 14th century monk and patron saint of Russia, St. Sergei. History says as a child he was devoted to the Holy Trinity and monastic life. He was a great mystic who possessed severe self discipline and refrained from all forms of indulgence. After his parents death when he was 20 years old, Sergei went deep into the forest looking for solitude. He lived a extremely strict life with extreme poverty, hard physical labor, humility and simplicity. After a few years of solitude, people started to gather around him becoming disciples. It is because of his disciples the forest became home to many monasteries. St. Sergei rejected all honors given to him except priest and abbot of his own monastery. Effective prayer, clairvoyance, spiritual direction and numerous visions are some of the spiritual gifts granted to St. Sergei. Pilgrims come every day to be touched by St. Sergei's presence, in His Holy Trinity Church, where his remains have been entombed.
Entrance into the Monastery is free. If you would like to take photos there is a fee of 100 rubles. you will get a slip of paper in return proving you paid should you ever be asked to show it. The Mr walked into a building just opposite the entrance pictured above to pay the fee. He was told we could pay 280 rubles for a guided tour in any language. We chose to pass on this. The Mr was given a cd, free, of The Holy Trinity choir.
Walking up to the Monastery are many little churches and chapels. It also appears vendors are out selling their goods despite the weather.
Upon entering the Monastery you are overwhelmed with an amazing smell tantalizing your taste buds. Walk in to smell the scent of fresh baked bread and other concoctions. For 40 rubles we bought a loaf of sweet bread the size of a bundt pan. Wait until your departure to make your purchase, simply so you do not have to carry it around. Baked good are wrapped, but take your own bag to put them in.
Chapel Over The Well in front of The Bell Tower
The Royal Chambers
Cathedral of the Assumption
Pilgrims wait in line to get their Holy water from the building on the left, Chapel Over The Well.
The beautiful pink building is Church of Our Lady of Smolensk
Gateway Church of St. John the Baptist
It is thru the archway in this church you enter the Monastery.
The Refectory with the St. Serguis Church
Cathedral of the Assumption
The Trinity Monastery of St. Sergei from afar.
There is so much to see in this Monastery. With Munchkins in tow, we were limited in what to see and do.We most definitely could have spent more time than we did (possibly 2 hours). We did not see everything. This Monastery is a beautiful place and worth the day trip. We thought it would be a nice place to come when the weather is nice and warm with blue skies! Yet if we came with nice weather we would say "I bet this place is beautiful in the snow!" In spite of the weather, a good place to come either way.
We made our way thru a tunnel, across the street and to this restaurant. It seems to be the only one in sight. Given its location we were very surprised by the lack of patrons and pricing. It wasn't crowded at all when we arrived. Turns out we were part of the "early bird" crowd as we call it in America. Upon leaving, tables were filling up nicely. The prices were reasonable, considering this is Russia. If this restaurant were anywhere in the States near a tourist area, the prices would have been double. The menu seems like a book with page after page of items to choose from. The food was good and hot, just don't expect it to come all at once or in the order in which you want it. Our hot appetizer arrived after our main meal.
LOOK at those icicles!
How To Get There From Moscow....
From Metro Komsomlskaya take the suburban train from Yaroslavl Station.
You buy your tickets to the right side of this statue. If I recall correctly, the overhead sign is in green.
You can buy your ticket on the day of. Simply walk up and buy a one ticket. They will not sell you a round trip. Tickets are 132 rubles. Trains go about every 20-30 minutes. From where I am standing, just behind me is a board that will display your location and platform. Next to where you buy your tickets are doors. Walk thru those doors, scan your ticket and walk to your platform.
Here is our train on the platform. You can see on the display sign the name of the location the train is going. At about 90 minutes into the ride you wil hear "Sergei Posad" over the loud speaker. This is your stop!
This is what the train station looks like at Sergei Posad. This is us standing in the direction waiting to go back to Moscow. When you get off the train in Sergei Posad to go to the Monastery, follow the people getting off the train...go to the right and over the train tracks. Walk to the main street. Look to the right and you will see the Monastery off in the distance. Simply walk straight and to the right. You cant miss it and it is very simple.
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2 comments:
Gorgeous!!! Especially the Church of Our Lady of Smolensk! Very cool trip :)
It's beautiful! I guess I had assumed that Russia was predominately Orthodox. Live and learn. :)
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