Nearly 90 years after its closure by the Bolsheviks, the ancient Zaikonospassky monastery on Nikolskaya Street in Moscow will reopen. On Friday evening, the Holy Synod resolved to do this at their meeting in St Petersburg. Igumen Pyotr Afanasyev is the new superior of monastery. This ends a long period of tense conflict between the local Orthodox community and tenants and developers in this historic part of the capital, a few dozen metres from Red Square.
Two years ago, considerable attention was drawn to the news that a new shopping mall would be built next to the walls of the monastery. An investigation verified that the mall would damage the buildings of the monastery, it was declared against the code, and the project was abandoned. Another problem was the reluctance of RITU to vacate the premises and move to a new location in accordance with the decision of the arbitration court. However, Mayor Yuri Luzhkov sided with the monastery in its conflict with the university, reminding the RITU authorities that the city gave them a large complex at the site of the former Higher Party School. “The fact that they fought with the Church, that’s not God’s work, it’s wrong”, the mayor said. Later, in June 2009, it was announced that it was planned to restore the monastery within two years.
Zaikonospassky Monastery, founded in 1600 by Boris Godunov, was the first centre of Russian theological education. The school founded there by Ioanniky and Sofrony Likhudy {Greek monks from Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands, educated at Padua, who were brothers in the flesh: editor} developed into a Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which was the ancestor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Moscow State University. After the October Revolution, the monastery was closed, services in its church resumed in 1992.
6 March 2010
Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=34529
Editor’s Note:
Note well that this decision was released at 00.50 MSK… that’s nearly one in the morning, kiddies. KMG is making ‘em work. Is there more to come yet? I’m going to keep an eye out on this, there may be more to come, as I say, time will tell.
BMD