Pechersky Ascension Monastery

Pechersky Ascension Monastery is a monastery in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is the principal monastery of the Nizhny Novgorod Eparchy and the seat of the Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas.

History

Pechersky Voznesensky Monastery is said to have
been founded ca. 1328-1330 by Dionysius, [Metropolitan of Kiev|St. Dionysius], who came to Nizhny Novgorod from Kiev Pechersk Lavra with other monks, and dug a cave on the step Volga shore some 3 km southeast of the city. Later on, he founded at that site a monastery with a church of Resurrection of the Lord.
The monastery was destroyed by a landslide on June 18, 1597. The same year the monastery was rebuilt about 1 km upstream of the old site. Although there are no caves in the modern monastery, the appellation Pechersky, linking it to the old Kiev cloister, has been preserved. The monastery was closed by the NKVD in 1924, and reopened in 1994.

Principal buildings

The principal buildings of the monastery include:

Ascension Cathedral
The Church of Dormition of Our Lady
The Church of Saint Venerable Euthimios of Suzdal
The Church of SS Peter and Paul

The belfry of the Ascension Cathedral is noticeably out of plumb. It has been leaning almost since the time it was originally constructed.

Holy relics

In 2006-2007, the monastery housed a relic known as the Honorable Head ''of the Venerable Macarius''. It was transferred to Makaryev Monastery in 2007.