Transfiguration Monastery
The ancient Russian town of Murom, founded in 862,
can undoubtedly be ranked among the pearls of the Vladimir
region. It is the home-town of the brave knight Ilya
Muromets, the hero of Russian medieval folk poems, and of
saints Peter and Fevronia, the holy noble couple who are
revered as patron saints of marriage and family.
Traditional Russian wooden house
Walking through the historical
streets of Murom, you can feel the breath of the
centuries. Wooden houses with traditional Russian
ornaments, ancient churches and monasteries—the
eternal abode of the Murom saints. Steep streets take
us from the river Oka to the heart of Murom, the Holy
Trinity Convent, which houses a great treasure, the
holy relics of saints Peter and Fevronia. The holy
couple, revered throughout the Orthodox world as
patron saints of marriage and family, piously
governed the town of Murom in the early thirteenth
century. After taking monastic vows towards the end
of their lives, they entered different monasteries,
but died at the same day and hour. Joined in this
earthly life, they entered the eternal life together.
The holy couple had expressed a wish to be buried in
the same tomb, which they had prepared for themselves
in the town’s main cathedral. But, since people
thought it improper for a monk and a nun to be buried
together, they paid no attention to the last wish of
the holy ones and buried them separately.
Nevertheless, the next day they were miraculously
found in the tomb together in the cathedral.
The wonderful story of their lives is among the
jewels of Russian medieval literature.
Annunciation Monastery
Next-door to the Holy Trinity Convent is the Annunciation
Monastery, founded by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1553. The
Annunciation Monastery holds the relics of Sts. Prince
Constantine of Murom, his wife Irina and their sons
Michael and Theodore. Among the ancient icons of the
cathedral, where prayers have risen up almost unceasingly
for five centuries, it seems as if time has stopped. The
grace from the time of Saint Basil of Ryazan (+1295) who
used to pray on this spot, being a bishop of Murom, seems
to linger still in the air. Silence with a fragrance of
eternity …
She Who is Quick to Hear
After a walk of some hundred meters
through quiet streets, you find yourself in front of
the Transfiguration Monastery. Founded by Holy Prince
Gleb at the dawn of the eleventh century, it is
considered to be the oldest monastery in Russia. The
monastery was closed by the Communists shortly after
the revolution, and the first monks who returned to
this holy place in 1995 found the buildings in a very
poor state. But with the miraculous return of the
monastery’s wonder-working icon of the Mother
of God “Skoroposlushnitsa” (“She
Who is Quick to Hear”), which had been lost
during the Communist years, the monastery began to
flourish once again. Today, restored to its former
beauty, the monastery is as a piece of Paradise on
earth. The ancient churches are surrounded by
wonderful rose gardens, which blossom until late
autumn.
Paradise garden at Transfiguration Monastery
20 сентября 2015 г.
