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Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius receives the status of Lavra
8 (19) June, 1744, upon the decree of Empress Elizabeth, the Trinity-Sergius Monastery received an honorary status of Lavra.
Trinity-Sergius Monastery dates back to 1337, when brothers Bartholomew (after entering into religion he took the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh) and Stefan built a small wooden church of the Holy Trinity on the Konchura river bank, on the hill Makovets. Gradually the monastery grew, laity and peasant farmers started settling around it. The settlement of the area was rapid, and after several decades the dense forest was replaced with villages and hamlets, and the road from Moscow to the north passed right in front of the monastery.
In 1355, the conduct charter was introduced at the Holy Trinity Monastery, which regulated all aspects of monastic life. The new order, as well as the increasing number of monks resulted in reconstruction of the entire monastery. The territory of the monastery was divided into three parts - residential, public and defensive. This layout has survived to the present day. Founder the monastery became its abbot.
The cloister was twice attacked by the Tatars. First, in 1382, when all the monks were forced to flee to Tver, and in 1408, when the monastery was looted and burned by the Tatar khan Edigei. Restoration of the monastery fell to the lot of Nikon, successor of St. Sergius. During Nikon’s rule of the cloister, in 1422, on the site of the burnt wooden church dating back to Sergius of Radonezh, the Trinity Cathedral was built of white stone. Reverend painters Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny were invited to paint the interior walls of the cathedral. In 1550-ies, the Trinity Monastery was surrounded by a wall of white stone, and in 1585, Ivan the Terrible ordered to build the Assumption Cathedral.
In the Time of Troubles, the monastery had been under siege of the army of thirty thousand men of the Polish-Lithuanian invaders for sixteen months (from September 1608 to January 1610). After its release from the siege, a permanent garrison of gunners and musketeers was established at the fortress of the monastery. All these measures were not in vain. In November 1618, the monastery was again besieged. Polish prince Vladislav, seeking Russian throne, marched to Moscow and went up to the walls of Trinity-Sergius Monastery. However, he failed to take the fortress. And soon, in the village of Deulino near the monastery, an armistice was signed between Russia and Poland, which ceased hostilities for a long time.
Thanks to the donations and contributions of parishioners to the monastery, the buildings of the monastery damaged during the hostilities were quickly restored and then new facilities were constructed. First of all, fortifications were improved – pinion walls were significantly increased in width and height. At the same time, new temples were constructed and those already existing were decorated. Construction of fortifications was basically completed in the mid 17th century.
At the end of the 17th century, the Trinity Monastery twice acted as a fortress. In 1682, princes John and Peter, and Princess Sophia were hiding there during the Moscow Uprising. And seven years later, the future Emperor Peter I took refuge behind in the monastery walls from the persecution of Sophia and her supporters.
After accession to the throne of Elizabeth of Russia, a new period of prosperity of the monastery began. In October 1742, by decree of the Empress, a seminary opened, which in 1814 housed the Moscow Theological Academy, one of the largest religious educational institutions of Russia.
June 8 (19), 1744 under Elizabeth’s decree the Trinity Sergius monastery was awarded the honorary title of Lavra.
Trinity-Sergius Lavra was one of the richest monasteries in Russia. Revenues from trade of bread, salt, fish, monastic artisans’ crafts enabled the monastery to build monumental buildings, attracting the best architects and craftsmen of the country. Over time, a picturesque ensemble of over fifty buildings constructed at different times grew in the territory of the monastery.
In addition to Trinity and Assumption Cathedrals, there were erected: the temple of descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (1476), temple gate of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (1693-1699), Tent church of St. Zosima and Savvaty Solovetsky at hospital wards (1635-1637), the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh and refectory (1687-1692), temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (1746 - 1753), a temple in honor of the appearance of Our Lady to St. Sergius (Mikheyevsky church) (1734), a temple in honor of the Protection of the Mother of God (in the Theological Academy), a temple in honor of St. John of the Ladder (at the Theological Seminary), five-tiered bell tower (1740-1770).
Among people who lived and worked there were: writers and hagiographers Epiphanius the Wise and Pachomius Logofet, writer and translator Maximus the Greek, writer and historian Abraham Palitsyn etc.; painters Andrei Rublev, Daniel Cherniy, Ambrose cutter. The monastery possessed one of the largest libraries in Russia, a large book printing workshop, kept chronicles. In 18th – 19th centuries, near Lavra there were built the Bethany monastery, Bogolyubovo monastery, Chernigovsky and Gethsemane sketes and Paraclete skete.
In 1920, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was closed and according to the Decree of the RSFSR SNK from April 20, 1920 "On the transformation of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra into the museum of historical and artistic treasures" historical and architectural museum was organized on its territory.
Revival of the monastery began in 1946, when, according to the decision of I. V. Stalin the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Now the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is Russia's largest stauropegic monastery, the spiritual center of the entire Orthodox Russia.
In 1993, the architectural ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra joined the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
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Спутник экскурсанта/ под общ. ред. А.А. Тихомирова. М., 1914. № 6: Св. Троице-Сергиева лавра;
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