Valday Iversky Monastery
Panoramic view of the monastery
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Valday Iversky Svyatoozersky Virgin Monastery |
| Order | Russian Orthodox Church |
| Established | 1653, 1668, 1991 |
| Disestablished | 1666, 1927 |
| Diocese | Novgorod and Staraya Russa Eparchy |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Patriarch Nikon |
| Site | |
| Location | Lake Valdayskoye, Novgorod Oblast, Russia |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 57°59′19″N 33°18′15″E / 57.98861°N 33.30417°E |
| Public access | Yes |
Valday Iversky Monastery (Russian: Валдайский Иверский монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery founded by Patriarch Nikon in 1653. The monastery is located on an island in Lake Valdayskoye in Valdaysky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, close to the town of Valday. In the 17th century, the Valday Iversky Monastery was one of the most influential monasteries in Russia and a significant cultural center.
The monastery derives its name from the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos. In the Valday Iversky Monastery, a copy of the icon of Theotocos Iverskaya was kept until the 1920s, when it disappeared. The name of the Iveron Monastery, in its turn, originates from Iberia, an ancient Georgian kingdom.
Nikon was elected Patriarch in 1652, and in 1653, he asked Tsar Alexey II permission to found a monastery in Valday. By the autumn of 1653, two wooden churches were in use. Nikon also ordered to transfer the relic of Saint Iosif of Borovichi to the monastery, which was done in February, 1654. In the same year, all lands around Lake Valdayskoye, including the selos of Valday, Borovichi, and Vyshny Volochyok, were declared the property of the monastery. The monastery became one of the biggest landowners in Russia.
In 1655, all monks from the former Orsha Kutein Monastery, located in the area of the present-day Belarus, moved to the Valday Iversky Monastery. One monk, Dionisy, was appointed a hegumen. This move was related to a difficult situation of the Orthodox Church in Poland.
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