Near the cave town of Kachi-Kalyon there is a small skete belonging to the Holy Dormition Monastery and named in honor of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker. This material will tell you about the history of its appearance, as well as the features of this religious landmark.
Where is the monastery located in Crimea?
The monastery of Anastasia the Pattern Maker is located in the Bakhchisaray district, not far from the villages of Predushchelnoye and Bashtanovka. On the way to the monastery, the Egiz-Oba reservoir will be on your right.
Find on the map
The history of the monastery
Thanks to numerous archaeological studies, scientists were able to accurately establish that the cave monastery was founded in the distant 8th century. This is confirmed by the found correspondence of St. Stephen's from St. Bishop of Gothia John. 
During that period, Orthodox monks, suffering persecution, migrated from Byzantium to Taurica and brought with them the history of the veneration of the great martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker. Since then, the monastery began to preserve the teachings of Christ and the history of the life of the martyr in order to enlighten the pagan peoples.
The monastery spring, named after the great saint, attracted all the surrounding peoples with its miraculous power and ability to heal people from various ailments. 
The monastery of St. Anastasia was especially revered by such great kings as Boris Godunov, as well as Mikhail Fedorovich. To support the monastery, they often provided it with financial support.
In 1778, the monastery, suffering severe oppression from Muslims, became empty. All monks and Christians were forced to leave the peninsula. The miraculous icon of the holy heavenly patroness of the monastery also disappeared with them.
The monastery was revived in the 19th century. It is closely connected with Archbishop Innocent, who blessed the revival of cave monasteries in Crimea. In 1859, the abandoned church was restored, after which lines of people again flocked to the holy spring.
The monastery can rightfully be called long-suffering, because its entire ancient history is saturated with facts of persecution and persecution of its inhabitants.
So, with the advent of Soviet power, they decided to liquidate the church, revered by the Crimean population. This decision was initiated by a commission under the Presidium of the Central Election Commission. As a result, the monks' property was confiscated, and their further fate is unknown. In those terrible years, the monastery church and all the buildings of the monks were blown up and demolished to the ground.
During the Soviet era, quarrying was carried out over the forgotten monastery and rocks were mined, as a result of which the cave temple was increasingly filled with stones. In 2005, this area was declared an official protected area, where any quarrying was strictly prohibited. Then the brethren of the monastery began to clear away the resulting rubble in order to restore the old temple. But officials did not allow this, arguing their ban by the fact that this territory belongs to the reserve. The way out of the situation was the construction of a new temple in the same adit, only several tens of meters away from the old location. Today it is a functioning temple, where services are regularly held.
The revival of the skete took place in May 2005. Then, with the blessing of Archimandrite Silouan, prayer began here for the first time and a community began to form almost immediately. Through the prayers of Saint Anastasia the Pattern Maker, a healing spring of water began to flow right within the monastery.
Today, 10 monks, led by Abbot Dorotheos, live in the monastery, which involves desert living. Every summer at least 20 workers settle here.
Features of the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker
Currently, the skete of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker is a functioning monastery. It is located on Mount Kachi-Kalyon, which means “Cross Ship,” in the Kachin Valley in the Inner Range of the Crimean Mountains not far from the former khan’s capital, the administrative center of the Bakhchisaray district of the city of Bakhchisaray.
The monastery legally belongs to the internationally recognized canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate - UOC(MP). It is under the jurisdiction of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese.
Interior of the Church of St. Anastasia Pattern Maker consists almost entirely of beads
Getting to the monastery is easy. From the Bakhchisarai bus station there are regular buses to Sinapnoe. It is on the Bakhchisaray-Sinapnoye highway between the villages of Bashtanovka and Predushchelnoye that Mount Kachi-Kalyon is located. It is enough to take a ticket to one of these villages and ask the driver to stop the bus at the mountain or, having disembarked in Predushchelny, head towards the route of the minibus yourself. The distance will be approximately two kilometers. But you will pass by the archaeological find of the “site of an ancient man” and the old Tash-chair spring, where you can relax and drink mountain living water. After all, we are heading to the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker.
You won't miss Mount Kachi-Kalyon. Firstly, there is an impromptu stop near it and a “pocket” for vehicles to enter. Secondly, this “pocket” almost always contains a couple of cars. Thirdly, a miraculous cross is clearly visible on the rock, resulting from crevices and a dark stripe on top. And fourthly, the mountain has huge niches (grottoes), as a result of partial collapses. And any local resident will tell you, incl. and a driver of a regular transport vehicle.
From this place there is a path (it is very noticeable) leading up. Soon the trail will be lined with tires from large vehicles, dug into the ground by the hardworking monks of the monastery. Follow the “wheels”, don’t turn anywhere, and they will lead you straight to the monastery.
In addition, you will pass by the tiny source of Hagia Sophia - the Wisdom of God, named in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ (Sophia - from Greek means Wisdom). Water there is very limited, it slowly accumulates in a furnished niche to which a tap is attached, and quickly runs out. You will practically not be able to pour water into bottles, but you will be able to drink plenty from the mug available there (if no one pumps out this little water before you). Arriving at the source, you will already see the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker under construction.
The Anastasia Monastery dates back to the 8th century and was founded by icon-worshipping monks, when the heresy of iconoclasm was raging in the Byzantine Empire. The monks, fleeing persecution, went to the outskirts of the then glorious empire, including Crimea, where persecution was much less.
Where was the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker located?
The monastery itself was located in a slightly different place, on the back (front) part of the rock on the territory of the current cave settlement, which is clearly visible from the road. The monastery there began to be restored in 1995. But the space there is very limited and therefore, for convenience (and, perhaps, because of endless debates with museum workers), the monks slightly moved the monastery to another part of the rock. So spiritual continuity has been preserved.
Now the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker is actively being built and developed. Hotels have been built for pilgrims (you can stay for free for a few days, and then on a voluntary donation). You can also work a little in the monastery, for the benefit of the soul. Cells, a cowshed, workshops, and a church shop were built. Construction of other buildings continues. They are slowly beginning to build another, in the future, main temple in honor of the Mother of God, the heavenly intercessor of the human race. The future church will be in the late medieval basilica Italian style.
Monastery premises The monks make several types of cheese that you can buy. According to some reports, a brewery is being built there. This is not surprising, since many monasteries in Rus' have been making this drink for a long time. Even in the Church Charter, on holidays, it is prescribed to use it in modest quantities, if there is no wine. And whiskey was invented by Scottish monks for medicinal purposes.
There is a white staircase up to a plateau with a platform. The view of the Kachin Valley from here is simply magnificent! The monastery itself is located, as it were, in a rocky niche, surrounded by rocks and forests.
The main shrine of this monastic hostel, the cave church of St. Anastasia, has already been beautifully furnished in the Athonite style. It is entirely decorated from the inside with beads and lamps. The spectacle is simply indescribable. All these lamps are lit for the festive service. And when a divine service is held at night, there are simply no words to describe it. It’s night, there is almost no artificial light, burning lamps, a cave, unhurried, quiet monastic singing and the temple of the holy ancient martyr...
We visited the very heart of the Kachin Valley, its main attraction. But now I invite you to new exploits, to conquer the peaks of the ancient Christian capital of the Tauride Peninsula of the Feodorov Principality - Mt. Mangup-Kale.
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Elena Myalitsina
Saint Anastasia the Pattern Maker.
Anastasia, the sound of your steps
The angels sang and the sky shone.
Descended into the dungeons of musty centuries,
And she healed purulent wounds with prayer.
So tearing the covers into bandages,
For those in despair - light and consolation.
You removed the shackles of fear,
Instilling peace and forgiveness into souls.
Keeping the Lord's name on your lips,
Not being seduced by gifts, choosing torture,
I haven’t lost a single day in the darkness,
Inheritance bullions are poured into coins
And distributed them to those who are in trouble
She came and knocked loudly on the door.
You didn't think about yourself then,
She only preserved purity and virginity...
The priest will be flattered by this purity -
But it didn’t come true to violate my virginity.
Was struck down from heaven with blindness,
He had to reckon with death.
The purest of souls - you were led,
Torture between pillars with fire... Crucified...
And it was heard somewhere out there, in the distance,
How the birds sang in grief and sadness.
But the heart, not without reason, rejoiced,
It was not filled with pain, but with joy.
And giving every last bit of myself,
You have received an eternal reward.
Here your face looks tenderly from the icons,
Gives hope, light and consolation.
Now I stand to bow to you,
From the bonds to ask for holy permission.
There are several rock monasteries in Crimea, some are famous and popular, such as the Holy Dormition Monastery in Bakhchisarai. Also not far from Bakhchisarai there is a small rock monastery in the narrow Tash-Air gorge on the slope of Mount Fytski, named after Anastasia Pattern, a Christian great martyr of the 4th century, who alleviated ("resolved") the suffering of Christians, she is also considered the patroness of pregnant women, and also helps innocent Christians to be freed from captivity or imprisonment.
Anastasia was born in Rome, in the family of a wealthy senator named Pretextatus. He was a pagan, and her mother Favsta secretly worshiped Christ. Fausta gave Anastasia to be raised by Saint Chrysogonus, who was famous for his learning. He taught the virgin the law of God and the Holy Scriptures. Anastasia studied diligently and established herself as wise and intelligent. After Anastasia's mother died, her father, against his daughter's will, married her to Pomplius. Under the pretext of a fictitious illness, Anastasia managed to preserve her virginity in marriage. Faith in Christ never left Anastasia; from an early age she performed godly deeds. Accompanied by a maid, dressed in beggar clothes, she visited dungeons, bribed guards, treated and fed prisoners who suffered for the Christian faith, and sometimes bought their freedom. One day, a maid told Pomplius about Anastasia’s adventures, and he cruelly punished his wife and locked her up. During her imprisonment, the maiden found a way to contact her teacher Chrysogonus. In secret correspondence, he urged her to have patience, spirit, pray and be ready for anything for her faith in the Lord. Chrysogonus predicted that Pomplius would soon die. Indeed, while going to Persia on an embassy, Anastasia’s husband drowned. Having received complete freedom, Saint Anastasia began to preach the faith of Christ and distribute her property to all the suffering and the poor.
Thanks to her exploits, as well as the help provided to suffering prisoners, the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia received the name Pattern Maker. With her work, she relieved many of Christ’s confessors from severe torment, bonds, and long-term suffering.
Christians at that time were subjected to especially severe persecution. Diocletian ordered the execution of all Christian prisoners. Arriving in the dungeon in the morning and seeing it empty, Anastasia began to lament loudly and sob. It became clear to the jailers that she was a Christian. They captured her and sent her to the ruler of the region. Having learned that Anastasia belonged to a noble Roman family, they sent her for questioning to the emperor himself. Diocletian once knew her father, Senator Praetextatus. Through persuasion, the emperor persuaded the maiden to renounce the Christian faith, and was interested in the inheritance left from her father. Anastasia admitted that she spent her entire fortune on supporting Christian prisoners. Unable to break the will of the young woman, the emperor again sent her to Iliria. The ruler of the region handed over Anastasia to the high priest Ulpian. The cunning Ulpian confronted Anastasia with a choice. Luxury - gold, beautiful clothes, precious stones - on the one hand, and on the other - severe suffering and torture. His vile deceit was put to shame, the maiden rejected riches and preferred torment for the sake of her faith. The Lord supported Anastasia and extended her life path. The crafty priest was wounded by the beauty and purity of Saint Anastasia and decided to desecrate her honor. But as soon as he touched her, he immediately became blind. Mad with pain, Ulpian rushed headlong to the pagan temple; all the way he cried out to his idols for help, but fell along the way and gave up the ghost.
After the death of the priest, Saint Anastasia received freedom, but not for long.
Saint Anastasia the Pattern Maker again found herself in prison in the city of Sirmium. For sixty days she passed the test of hunger. And every night Saint Theodosia appeared to the virgin, strengthened her spirit, and encouraged Anastasia. The judge of Iliria, seeing that hunger was not a threat to the young woman, ordered her to be drowned with the rest of the prisoners, among whom was Eutychian, who was persecuted for his faith in those years. The prisoners were put on a ship and taken out to the open sea. To make the ship leak, the guard soldiers punched many holes in it, and they themselves boarded a boat and sailed away, leaving the sufferers to certain death. Then Saint Theodosius appeared to the prisoners, she prevented the ship from sinking, and led it along the waves to the shore on the island of Palmaria. Miraculously saved, all one hundred and twenty prisoners believed in Christ, and they were baptized by Eutychian and Anastasia. They did not rejoice in freedom for long; they were soon captured and suffered martyrdom for their faith. Saint Anastasia the Martyr died over a fire. She was crucified crosswise between pillars and then beheaded.
The Christian Apollinaria buried Anastasia's body, undamaged by the fire, in her garden. According to the writings of Dmitry of Rostov, the date of Anastasia’s death falls on December 25, 304. This happened during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. After the persecution of Christians stopped, a chapel was built over the tomb of the holy virgin. In 325, Christianity finally became the state religion, at that time power was in the hands of Emperor Constantine. In memory of the exploits of the Pattern Maker, the Church of St. Anastasia was erected in the city of Sirmium.
A long and steep path leads from the road to the monastery. To prevent the soil from eroding and to be able to climb to a height of 150 meters to the monastery at any time of the year, the monks did a great job: about 650 car tires were laid out in steps and filled with cement.
The rock monastery existed here for many centuries with long interruptions; in 1921 it was closed by the new government, although, according to local testimony, monks lived here until 1932. Subsequently, this area was declared a protected area.
The monastery of St. Anastasia belongs to the Holy Dormition Monastery in the city of Bakhchisarai.
In the courtyard, which is under construction, young plantings of fruit trees are gaining strength. The original buildings of utility rooms and cells, and a wooden icon shop fit into the rocky landscape. Opposite it is a rock with iconography and a gate to the temple of St. Anastasia. Behind a wooden gate a courtyard opens up. Along the stone staircase leading to the temple there is a wall of magnificent picturesque panels.
In 2005, Hieromonk Dorofey from among the brethren of the Bakhchisarai Holy Dormition Monastery came to this place, having received the blessing of the abbot, Archimandrite Silouan. The monks cleared away the rubble and wanted to restore the old cave temple of the Great Martyr. Anastasia, however, was forbidden by the authorities to restore it, because... The territory belongs to a geological reserve. Then a new church was built in an old adit, going several tens of meters deep, in which services are now held.
The beginning was not easy: it was 1.5 km. walking for water in mountainous areas with a canister on your back, living in dugouts, lifting building materials along a mountain path on your shoulders and in your hands. But prayer began in this holy place and the monastery began to be improved. The noise of construction equipment in the Tash-Air gorge ceases only during services - in the morning and in the evening. The monastery grows upward and in breadth, literally biting into the rocks. Every year the monastery becomes more comfortable. The work and prayer of the brethren, as well as the protection of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker, are helping in the revival of this amazing place.
It’s damp in an abandoned limestone adit, which means the paint on the walls and vaults wouldn’t stick. Therefore, it was decided to decorate with what the believers brought - jewelry, earrings, beads, beads - everything that had already served its purpose once. The monks, through painstaking manual labor, decorated this cave temple with billions of beads, beads and colorful stones. The decoration of the temple began with lamps with pendants, similar to those on Holy Mount Athos. We took them as a basis, and then added a little of our own, and the decoration of the temple itself continued in the same beaded style. The ceiling of the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker was divided by a beaded Star of Bethlehem and a Byzantine cross separated by a series of hanging lamps. Each piece in the bead temple is beautiful and unique.
Each monk capable of creativity contributed to the decoration of the monastery. Handling every bead and every pebble with love, the monks created and are creating things that amaze with their skillful simplicity. In the cave church of St. Anastasia there are amazingly beautiful lamps with beaded pendants, and not a single one is the same. Some of them are just decorations, and some are lit during services, but only during the solemn service do they all light up. And although there are no windows inside, everything is flooded with unusual light - the flames of candles are reflected in each beaded product, filling the temple with thousands of multi-colored rays. This creates a special atmosphere favorable for prayer. There are stasidia in the temple - wooden chairs with folding seats, a high back and armrests - the monks lean on them during all-night vigils. On the backs of the stasidias are the ten Commandments of God, embroidered with beads. Temple icons are decorated with patterned icon cases made of beads, shimmering in the candlelight.
In addition to beaded crafts, the monks also brew natural soap and make sbiten. Here you can also buy handmade natural soap made by the monks, self-baked yeast-free bread and other products of the brethren. Every year the monastery becomes more comfortable. The work and prayer of the brethren, as well as the protection of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker, are helping in the revival of this amazing place.
Monastery address:
Russia, Crimea, Bakhchisarai district, village. Pre-Ultimate.
How to get there:
The medieval cave monastery Kachi-Kalyon is located 8 km south of Bakhchisaray. You can get here by regular bus to the village of Preduschelnoye, getting off at the “Preduschelnoye-2” stop. There is another road from Bakhchisarai. From the camp site “Prival”, past the Beshik-tau mountain, through the Mikhailovskoye forestry, you can go to the top of the Kachi-Kalyon plateau, from where you can see a rare beauty of the Kachin Valley. For tens of kilometers below you can see the ribbon of highway, villages, regular rows of orchards, fields, wooded slopes of the left bank of the Kacha - everything is in full view.
Crimea is famous for its unique cave monasteries and hermitages, lost in the mountains. A special place in the list of interesting places is occupied by the Beaded Temple in Bakhchisarai. It is known, first of all, for the unusual decoration and decorations made from beads by monks and parishioners.
Photo of the temple from a visitor:
Monastery in the mountains
The small monastery of St. Anastasia is located near another famous attraction - the cave city of Kacha Kalyon. The monastery is located at an altitude of approximately 150 meters on the slope of Mount Fytski. The climb up is quite steep. To make the path easier, the monks laid old car tires on the path and cemented them. As you climb, you can look at the small church of St. Sophia and the outbuildings of the monastery. The enormous work done by the monks and novices is impressive - practically on a bare rock they managed to grow a real garden, numerous flower beds, and plant a vegetable garden.
The Beaded Temple of Anastasia the Pattern Maker itself is located above. It was made in a cave carved out of limestone. On such walls, ordinary paintings do not stick due to constant dampness. Therefore, an unusual solution was found for decoration - the monks began to use beadwork. The walls are covered with beaded panels and compositions. The vault is decorated with a Byzantine cross, also made using this technique. The interior decoration is complemented by numerous lamps, also decorated with beads. There are no windows or stained glass windows here; the temple is illuminated only by candles and lamps.
Video review of the temple:
History of the Beaded Temple
It is believed that the first settlements were founded by monks who fled Constantinople due to church persecution in the 8th century. With interruptions, the settlement existed until the end of the 18th century. In 1778, most of the Christians were resettled from Crimea and the monastery was abandoned for many years. In the 19th century, through the efforts of the famous Saint Innocent, a true ascetic who made a huge contribution to the revival of Orthodox monasteries in Crimea. He believed that Crimea was very similar to another famous Christian shrine - Athos. Through his efforts, the monastery was restored, and its territory was carefully landscaped. A road was laid and the Church of St. Anastasia was erected.
After the October Revolution, the new authorities closed the monastery again in 1932. It was revived in 2005. Monk Dorotheos and his like-minded people played a big role in this. In an abandoned cave, a new temple of Anastasia the Pattern Maker was founded, which soon began to be called Beaded.
Visit to the Temple of Anastasia the Pattern Maker
In addition to the temple, everyone can get acquainted with the monastic way of life. Nowadays, several monks live on the territory of the monastery, who are often helped by parishioners. Many come here specifically to help the monastery with their own labor in household work.
Tourists can purchase various handmade products in a small church shop - soap, herbal infusions, aromatic oils and beadwork. A small hotel has recently been opened for pilgrims. Those who want to contribute to the development of the territory and help the monastery with their work can also stay there.
How to get to the Beaded Temple
Entrance to the monastery is free and open to everyone.
Important! This is the territory of an active monastery, so you should behave and dress appropriately.
We'll tell you how to get there by car and public transport.
By bus you first need to get to Bakhchisarai. To do this, from Simferopol you should take a bus that departs from the Zapadnaya station to Bakhchisarai. The journey takes about two hours. Already in Bakhchisarai you need to take a minibus that goes in the direction of the village of Sinapnoye. You need to get off before reaching the end, but at the “Kachi Kalyon” stop. It is located between the settlements of Bashtanovka and Predushchelny.
If you go by car, you first need to get to Bakhchisaray, pass the settlement along the road towards Sevastopol. Then you should turn at the sign to the village of Preduschelnoye. Mountains with caves Kachi Kalyon is located about 1.5 km from Preduschelny. Further to the monastery you will have to climb on foot.
A visit to the Beaded Temple will be of interest to a wide range of people, both ordinary tourists and believers. This is truly a unique place. The temple is one of a kind. It provides an opportunity to better learn the history of the peninsula, its traditions and customs.
GPS Coordinates: 44.695169 33.885226 Latitude/Longitude
STORY
About the time of formation of the cave monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker in Kachi-Kalion no exact information has been preserved. Most scientists believe that this happened around the 8th century.
This is evidenced by both the carved Greek crosses found in the caves of the monastery, characteristic of this time, and the preserved correspondence of St. Bishop John of Goth with St. Stefan.
Enduring severe persecution for the purity of the Orthodox faith, emigrating during this period from Byzantium to Taurica, the monks founded a cave monastery here.
The spread of veneration of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker in the period of the 6th-8th centuries. from Constantinople it comes to the southwest, and to the south, and to the northeast.
On the Greek islands and southern Italy, in Sicily and Cyprus, in Sardinia and the Middle East, as well as in Crimea, monasteries appear in the name of this saint.
It was providential to ask for protection for this monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker is the patroness of Christians persecuted for their faith, who, as the history of the monastery has shown, more than once helped them in trials and hardships.
History has not preserved a chronicle about the life of the monastery during this period, but we see that the rules of the monastic way of life and the monastic charter were transmitted through St. Bishop Gotthia John St. Theodore of Studite (+826), a famous champion of icon veneration.
Since ancient times, this monastery brought the light of the Teachings of Christ to the pagan peoples who inhabited Taurida, and even Mohammedans (Tatars) families came to venerate the shrines of the monastery.
The holy spring named after Anastasia the Pattern Maker was revered by everyone, receiving numerous healings from their ailments and illnesses.
Often, thanks to such healings, the Tatars received holy baptism.
The monastery has long been revered by the Russian royal court. According to the charter of Tsar Boris Godunov in 1598, the church of St. Anastasia was given alms. It is known that Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich also showed financial favor to the monastery.
By the 18th century, the monastery buildings had fallen into disrepair, and the only desert-dweller remained in the monastery. Only the Lord knows the name of this ascetic, but history has revealed to us one of his exploits.
In 1774, Crimea was declared a country free from the Porte and received the right to elect its own khans. It was this event that served as the first and main reason for Christians entering Russia.
The spiritual and civil head of Orthodox Christianity during this period was Metropolitan Ignatius, who headed the general Crimean Gothic-Kafian diocese.
Metropolitan Ignatius came from the ancient Italian family of Gozadino. As a child he was taken to
Mount Athos and left there with a relative, a monk, for education, where, imbued with the holiness of the Christian religion, he entered monasticism at a young age.
On Mount Athos, the future metropolitan passed through all the degrees of the spiritual hierarchy to the rank of bishop. Then he was summoned to Constantinople, where he became a member of the Ecumenical Patriarchal Synclite and was awarded the rank of archbishop with subsequent appointment to the Crimean See.
Spending his life first on Mount Athos and then in Constantinople, in a secluded monastic cell, before his appointment to Crimea, the saint knew only from rumors about the oppression suffered by Christians everywhere from Muslims.
When, having moved to the Crimea, he saw with his own eyes what the situation of his unfortunate fellow tribesmen was, then he cried out to God for the liberation of his flock from the barbaric yoke.
The All-merciful Lord heard the prayer of His saint. The exit of Christians from Crimea to Russia took place.
However, having learned about the impending plan for the exit of Christians, the Tatars began to pursue Metropolitan Ignatius with the aim of killing him. The Bishop found shelter for himself precisely in the Kachi-Kalyon tract, where our Greek hermit hid him for a month and a half, feeding and protecting the saint.
The exit of Christians took place through the Kachin Valley. Having bowed to the monastery of Saint Anastasia the Patternmaker, who sheltered their primate during the persecution, the Christians took with them the miraculous icon of this saint and left Crimea.
The holy monastery was empty, the church and other monastic buildings gradually fell into complete disrepair. An insignificant number of Christians remained in Crimea either for trade or to collect their debts from the Tatars.
Revival of the monastery of St. VMC. Anastasia the Pattern Maker became possible in the 19th century, thanks to the activities of St. Innocent (Borisov), which forever linked his great, bright name with Crimea and its history.
Having received an appointment to the Crimean (Tauride) See, having traveled around the entire area, Archbishop Innocent clearly saw its spiritual needs.
The predecessor of Archbishop Innocent at the See of Kherson-Tavria, Archbishop Gabriel (Rozanov), marked his activity with scientific research and descriptions of Christian monuments and Orthodox antiquities in the Crimea, which have survived to this day and represent important historical evidence. Another great and close to his soul task was revealed to Archbishop Innocent: the restoration of ancient church shrines in Tauris. In the fall of 1849, he compiled a “Note on the restoration of ancient holy places in the Crimean mountains,” where he points to the hermitage type of monasticism as the most appropriate for the Crimea, preserved in full force on Mount Athos and well known in Russia.
Emperor Nicholas I, having signed this “Note...” with his own hand for execution, revived monastic life in the skete of St. Anastasia.
In his “Note...” St. points to the hermitage type of monasticism as the most appropriate for the Crimea, preserved in all its strength on Mount Athos and well known in Russia.
Archbishop Innocent of Kherson and Tauride pointed out the similarity of the physical conditions of Crimea and Athos and the superiority of Crimea over Athos for our compatriots who seek silence in those monasteries. As for the “holy memories,” then, he says, “Tavria will not yield to any Athos.” “How good it was for God’s Providence to arrange our Russian Athos!..”
And “Russian Athos” began to revive...
On August 13, 1850, Saint Innocent visited Kachi-Kalyon, the source of St. Anastasia and consecrated in the church of St. Anastasia's second limit in the name of the Passionate Icon of the Mother of God.
The miraculous Passionate Icon of the Mother of God, which depicts Angels with the instruments of the Savior's Passion on the Cross on both sides of the Face of the Mother of God, has long been revered by sovereigns and people, since it symbolized the Holy Week before the Resurrection of Christ.
The icon was brought to Moscow in 1641 by the will of the first Russian sovereign from the House of Romanov, Michael, and was met at the Tverskaya Gate of the White City by the Emperor, his son Alexei Mikhailovich, the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Cathedral with a large crowd of people. But the icon, according to Tradition, stopped in front of the entrance gate, and Mikhail Fedorovich ordered the construction of the Passion Cathedral on “this place,” which was built in 1646 by his son Alexei Mikhailovich. And in 1654, Alexei Mikhailovich founded the nunnery of the Passion Monastery at the cathedral.
Moscow pilgrims from the community of the Passionate Convent periodically made pilgrimages to the Anastasievskaya monastery and in 1888, at their expense, with the participation of the nuns of the same monastery, the second ancient church was restored, carved in a separate stone that had fallen from the rock, in the name of the holy martyrs: Sophia and the Three her daughters - Vera, Nadezhda and Love, are very small in size: no more than 4m by 2.5m. It has survived to this day and is located on a mountain, 350 meters from the Anastasievskaya Church, now destroyed. The church is oriented to the southeast and has two entrances. Above one of them, grooves were carved to drain away rainwater, and in a niche, above the entrance itself, there was an equal-pointed cross.
Niches for icons are carved in the southern and northern walls of the church. The walls themselves were treated with oblique blows from a pickaxe and plastered. The temple also had benches carved for worshipers, and in the floor of the southern part of the temple there is a tomb covered with stone slabs.
Around the temple, ancient burials and ossuaries have been preserved.
Making a pilgrimage to the Patronal Feast on September 30, pilgrims are located right in the forest, around the cave church, feeling all the mystery of what is happening.
By the beginning of the 20th century. The Anastasievskaya kinovia had already fully blossomed and was very well known both to the Crimean population and to Moscow pilgrims.
However, a new wave of persecution of Christians after the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia could not but affect the Anastasievsky kin.
06/20/1932 by the minutes of the meeting No. 9 of the Standing Commission under the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. A.S.S.R. on religious issues, they decided: “The monastery courtyard and the church are to be liquidated, in view of the demands of the working people of the surrounding villages, and the farmstead and church are to be transferred to farm No. 2 of the Comintern state farm for cultural needs.”
The resolution was carried out. The Anastasievskoye monastic compound in the village of Pychki (now the village of Predushchelnoye) was liquidated. All church real estate was confiscated and transferred for the “cultural needs” of farmstead No. 2, and the fate of the evicted monks remained unknown.
A little later, the church building and the cells of the monastery were blown up and dismantled almost to the ground, allegedly for the construction of a road that never passed there.
Throughout the history of this amazing monastery, persecution of Christians who labored there did not stop. The monastery was destroyed, chronicles and holy icons were destroyed, the inhabitants were persecuted, but again and again, by the grace of God, the monastery of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker was reborn.
And in our time, in the 21st century, the revival of the monastery of St. VMC. Anastasia the Pattern Maker.
The monastery of St. Anastasia on the slope of Mount Fytski, not far from its previous location.
In 2005, Hieromonk Dorotheos from among the brethren of the Bakhchisarai Holy Dormition Monastery came here, having received the blessing of the rector, Archimandrite Silouan. After 2-3 months, the first inhabitants gradually began to appear.
May 28, 2005 We consider it the day of the founding of the revived monastery.
The beginning was not easy: it was 1.5 km. walking for water in mountainous areas with a canister on your back, living in dugouts, lifting building materials along a mountain path on your shoulders and in your hands. But prayer began in this holy place and the monastery began to be improved. During construction, they found a piece of the cross: you know, a place of prayer. In a rock cave, the monks built a temple in the name of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker. A community was formed and pilgrims began to flock.
The Holy Great Martyr Anastasia herself did not remain indifferent to her children. Through her prayers, the Lord granted a source of tasty and healing water right on the territory of the monastery. This source is consecrated in the Name of Sophia, the Wisdom of God.
Today the number of brethren is small, as the desert lifestyle suggests. Together with the monastery leader, Abbot Dorofey, ten people and up to 20 workers in the summer.
The temple in the Byzantine style is decorated by the hands of the abbot and the brethren. Among the numerous handmade lamps, we will not find two alike; each of them is created with prayer, unique and unrepeatable.
At numerous requests from parishioners and pilgrims of the monastery, Father Dorotheos blessed the monks to sell these products, and today they can be purchased in the monastery shop.
Here you can also buy natural handmade soap made by the monks, self-baked yeast-free bread and other products of the brethren.
Every year the monastery becomes more comfortable. The work and prayer of the brethren, as well as the protection of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker, are helping in the revival of this amazing place.
Today, one of the main tasks of the monastery brethren is the construction of a temple in the name of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Three-Handed”. Construction has already begun. It requires not only the physical strength of the monks, but also significant investment, given the seismic instability of the area.
We invite everyone who wants and has the opportunity to visit the holy monastery at any time, drink the purest healing water, pray in solitude, not remain indifferent to the restoration of centuries-old Orthodox traditions on the amazing Crimean land, take part in the construction of the monastery with the work of their own hands or by making a contribution.
The pages of the history of the monastery are rich in legends and retellings of local residents, researchers, scientists, historians, who illuminate the external life of the monastery, its heyday and decline from its foundation to the present day.
But the most valuable thing here is the grace of God, the Divine power that fills the heart of every person who enters this holy land.
