Cultural Christian Heritage of the Russian FederationFederation is very large. Beautiful temples and cathedrals, towering above modern buildings of cities, testify to the established ancient canons of the Orthodox faith. After passing through difficult history trials, Christian relics survived and retained their value to this day, pleasing their unsurpassed beauty of many parishioners and tourists.
Most of the Orthodox churches were built by our ancestors in honor of certain miraculous spiritual images that influenced the course of the country's development history.
One of the most picturesque Christian sitescultural heritage in modern times is the Moscow Donskoy Monastery, the icon of the Mother of God for which became the basis of the majestic erection.
The great man's monastery is located on the Donskoy square of the capital of Russia, not far from the metro station "Shabalovskaya".
The territory occupied by the monastery parish,unites several Orthodox churches: Alexander Svirsky, George the Victorious, Archangel Michael, the hospital temple, the big and small cathedrals of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, John Climacus, John Chrysostom, Tikhon of Moscow and the gatehouse of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.
The Don Temple was erected in honor of the Virgin.It is the picturesque Don icon of the Mother of God that is a shrine that saved Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Tatar troops during the reign of Tsar Fedor Ioannovich. In 1591, before the enemy forces attacked, a service was held around the city with this icon, the next day the Russian army won.
Very many historians associate with the icon eventhe victory of the Don Cossacks in the Kulikovo battle in 1380. It was on the eve of the battle that the Don Icon of the Mother of God was brought to the soldiers from the city of Sirotin, handed over to the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich. It was by him that he blessed his army for victory.
Ancient original of the wonderworking icon in modern times is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
The Don icon of the Mother of God is double. The face is depicted the face of the Mother with Jesus in the style of Tenderness.
The Don icon of the Mother of God is not only a symbol of military victories, but also has the property to heal a lot of ailments, and therefore is classified among the miraculous shrines.
Several lists have been made from the original icon,the artistic decoration of which looks more attractive than the original itself. The Don icon of the Mother of God (pictured below) is depicted on a golden rich background, expressed by the great significance of this image for believers.
The construction of the temple is attributed to the years 1591-1593.It began with the construction of the so-called small cathedral. The Church of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God was not distinguished by its well-being, its appearance was similar to the simple churches of that time.
Only during the reign of Catherine wasorganized work on the construction of a new Temple and the reconstruction of old buildings, around the buildings a beautiful fence rose. The church parish developed, had in its possession a vast territory, where he was engaged in farming. It is the seventeenth century that is the most favorable for the formation of the Christian faith, for which the queen strictly observed, during the reign of which the temple was considered the richest and had significant significance in the historical and political life of the country.
In the 90's, the temple was handed over to the beginningMoscow Patriarchate and is now active in its Orthodox mission. To date, the Don icon of the Mother of God is mainly worship before God in this monastery, built in her honor.
The temple of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God has a beautifulBaroque fencing with exquisite tiles and twelve towers reflecting the rich essence of the monastery. The Great Don Cathedral is executed in the Ukrainian style, the accent in the building is made on non-canonical architectural decisions. But the small cathedral belongs to the Godunov era, which was typical of the elevation of the main dome of the building on rounded kokoshniks.
All the buildings within the monastery were built gradually and cover the historical period from 1591 to the end of the twentieth century.
The main sacred values of the temple are:The Don icon of the Mother of God and the relics of St Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia, who were discovered only in 1992, during the fire extinguishment after the provoked arson of the monastery.
Thanks to such a Christiansights orthodox believers do not forget the miraculous acts of the icon for many centuries, worshiping it. In the cathedral erected in her honor prayer always sounds, the Don icon of the Mother of God is a divine symbol of peace on Russian soil, which to this day has the property to protect, heal and give strength in matters related to resisting malicious intent.
At the present time in the territory of the malea spiritual and educational center is developing, embodying such Christian projects as the Sunday school, the volunteer youth movement, the "Donskoy" club for religious, Orthodox education for adults, as well as the Christian center that organizes familiarization tours through the monastery territory, including pilgrimage trips to Russia and Europe.
