Novodevichy Convent, also called Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery, is one of the most famous monasteries in Moscow. Its name, sometimes translated as the New Maidens' Monastery, was created to be different from the Old Maidens' Monastery inside the Moscow Kremlin. The convent was founded by Grand Duke Vasily III on May 13, 1524, in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God "Hodegetria," which is the main religious symbol of Smolensk. This was done to show gratitude for the capture of Smolensk in 1514. Unlike other monasteries in Moscow, it has remained almost unchanged since the 17th century. In 2004, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Structure and monuments
The Convent is located in the south-western area of the historic town of Moscow. The Convent’s land is surrounded by walls and enclosed by a park, which acts as a protective area. The park is bordered by city buildings on the north and east sides. On the west side, the park is next to the Moscow River, and on the south side, it is near a city highway. The buildings are enclosed by a tall stone wall with 12 towers. The entrances are on the north (toward the city) and the south. The Convent’s layout is an irregular rectangle that stretches from west to east.
The oldest building in the Convent is the Smolensky Cathedral, which has six pillars and five domes. It is dedicated to the icon Our Lady of Smolensk. The cathedral is located in the center between the two entrance gates. Old records say it was built between 1524 and 1525. However, its tall ground floor, grand size, and central gable that extends outward are similar to monastery cathedrals built by Ivan the Terrible. Most experts believe the cathedral was rebuilt in the 1550s or 1560s. It was once surrounded by four smaller chapels, arranged like the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kremlin. Its frescoes are among the best in Moscow.
Although the cathedral is a central feature, the Convent includes many other churches. Most of these were built in the 1680s, when the Convent was completely renovated by the regent Sofia Alexeyevna, who later lived there as a prisoner. The buildings include blood-red walls, crown-shaped towers, two tall churches above the gates, a dining hall, and living areas. These were designed in the Muscovite Baroque style, possibly by a man named Peter Potapov. In the old cathedral, a new holy water basin and a gilded carved iconostasis were added in 1685. The four levels of the iconostasis hold 16th-century icons given by Boris Godunov, and the fifth level displays icons created by famous 17th-century painters, Simeon Ushakov and Fyodor Zubov.
A striking, narrow bell tower, also built by Sofia Alexeyevna, was constructed with six levels and reached a height of 72 meters (236 feet). This made it the tallest building in 18th-century Moscow, after the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin. The light, eight-sided tower seems to connect all parts of the Convent into a balanced and unified design.
History of the convent
Vasili III, the Grand Prince of Moscow, founded the Novodevichy Convent in 1524 to remember his victory over Smolensk in 1514. The convent began as a fortress located at a bend in the Moskva River, three versts to the southwest of the Moscow Kremlin. It became an important part of Moscow’s southern defense system, which already included several other monasteries. When it was founded, the convent was given 3,000 rubles and two villages, Akhabinevo and Troparevo. Later, Vasili’s son, Tsar Ivan the Terrible (ruled 1533–1584), added more villages to the convent.
The convent housed many women from Russian royal families and boyar clans who were forced to become nuns. These included Ivan the Terrible’s daughter-in-law, Yelena Sheremeteva (1581–1587), Feodor I’s wife, Irina Godunova (1598–1603), Sofia Alekseyevna (Peter the Great’s half-sister, 1689–1704), Eudoxia Lopukhina (Peter the Great’s first wife, 1727–1731), and others. In 1610–1611, a Polish unit led by Aleksander Gosiewski captured the convent. After Russian forces reclaimed it, Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich provided permanent guards (100 Streltsy in 1616, 350 soldiers in 1618). By the late 17th century, the convent owned 36 villages (164,215 desyatinas of land) in 27 uyezds of Russia. In 1744, it had 14,489 peasants.
In the mid-17th century, nuns from monasteries in Ukraine and Belarus were moved to the convent, starting with Yelena Dyevochkina. In 1721, some older nuns who left the Old Believers movement were given shelter. In 1724, the convent also had a military hospital for soldiers and an orphanage for female foundlings. By 1763, the convent had 84 nuns, 35 lay sisters, and 78 sick patients and servants. Each year, the state gave the convent 1,500 rubles, 1,300 quarters of bread, and 680 rubles and 480 quarters of bread for over 250 abandoned children.
In 1812, Napoleon’s army tried to destroy the convent, but the nuns saved it. In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, a character named Pierre was to be executed near the convent. In Anna Karenina, another character, Konstantin Lyovin, met his future wife, Kitty, ice-skating near the convent. The area in front of the convent, called the Maiden’s Field, was a popular ice-skating rink in 19th-century Moscow. Tolstoy himself skated there when he lived nearby.
In 1871, the Filatyev brothers donated money to build a shelter-school for orphans of "ignoble origins." The convent also had two almshouses for nuns and lay sisters. In the early 1900s, the cathedral was restored by architect Ivan Mashkov. By 1917, there were 51 nuns and 53 lay sisters living there.
In 1922, the Bolsheviks closed the convent (the cathedral was the last to close in 1929) and turned it into a museum about women’s emancipation. By 1926, the convent became a history and art museum. In 1934, it was affiliated with the State Historical Museum. Most of its buildings were converted into apartments, which protected it from destruction.
Since 1934, the convent has been a branch of the State Historical Museum. In 1943, Stalin allowed the Moscow Theological Courses to open at the convent during World War II. The next year, the program became the Moscow Theological Institute. In 1944, the Transfiguration Gate Church was opened. In 1945, the Soviets returned the Assumption Cathedral to the Orthodox Church. Since 1980, the residence of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna has been in the convent.
In 1994, nuns returned to the convent, which is now under the authority of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna. Some churches and buildings remain part of the State Historical Museum. In 1995, religious services resumed on patron saint days.
In 2004, the Novodevichy Convent was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO said it is the best example of "Moscow Baroque" architecture and a well-preserved monastic complex. It is closely connected to Russian Orthodoxy and the history of 16th- and 17th-century Russia.
On March 15, 2015, a fire damaged the convent’s tallest bell tower, which is 72 meters high. The convent was undergoing repairs and had scaffolding. Firefighters took three hours to put out the fire, which affected 300 square meters of scaffolding but did not harm the building itself. The fire was likely caused by a short circuit from heat guns used during repairs. The Moscow cultural heritage department blamed the restoration firm, but a Russian official said heat guns were not used and the bell tower was disconnected from power.
Necropolis and cemetery
The Necropolis of the Novodevichy Convent began in the 16th century. Like other Moscow monasteries, such as the Danilov and the Donskoy, the convent was desired by Russian nobility as a burial site. Sergey Solovyov and Alexei Brusilov are two of many important people from Moscow buried there. Denis Davydov, a hero from the Napoleonic Wars, is also buried there.
Between 1898 and 1904, the Novodevichy Cemetery was created outside the convent's south wall. Anton Chekhov was one of the first famous people buried there, and Nikolai Gogol was later moved to the cemetery. During the Soviet era, it became the most famous cemetery in the Soviet Union, with many important people such as Peter Kropotkin, Nikita Khrushchev, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Konstantin Stanislavski, Boris Yeltsin, and Mstislav Rostropovich buried there.