Novodevichy Convent
The Novodevichy Convent in Moscow is one of the most renowned in Russia. It was founded in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow in gratitude to God for the capture of the city of Smolensk and the incorporation of the Smolensk lands into Muscovite Russia. The magnificent Smolensky Cathedral, dedicated to the Mother of God Hodegetria (Our Lady the Guide), was built to commemorate this event.
In the 16th–17th centuries, the convent gained the high status of a royal place of worship and a court monastery. Its treasury was enriched with generous donations of icons, liturgical books and manuscripts, and works of applied art. Women from the female lines of the ruling houses of Moscow and the boyar elite took the veil here. Among the most prominent were the widowed Tsarina Irina Feodorovna Godunova; relatives of Tsar Ivan the Terrible-Princess Elena Sheremeteva and Grand Princess Yuliana Paletskaya; the daughters of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from the Miloslavsky family-Sophia, Ekaterina, and Evdokia; and Tsarina Eudokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, the first wife of Emperor Peter I.
In 1812, during Napoleon’s invasion, the convent was occupied by the French and miraculously escaped destruction. In 1922, it was abolished by the Soviet authorities. The nuns’ living quarters were converted into housing and occupied by civilians, while the church buildings were taken under state protection as historical and cultural monuments. From 1934, the convent housed a branch of the State Historical Museum.
In 1945, the Dormition Church was returned to the Orthodox Church and became a Patriarchal metochion. In 1994, a women’s monastic community was reestablished. In 2004, the architectural ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 2010, it was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church for perpetual use.
On May 6, 2012, the Church received back the ancient Iveron icon of the Mother of God, brought from Mount Athos in 1654 by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The Novodevichy Convent is an active monastery, a center of Moscow’s spiritual and cultural life, a site of exceptional historical and cultural value for the peoples of the Russian Federation, and a monument of global significance. Religious services are held here, and architectural and artistic heritage is preserved. The convent attracts pilgrims and tourists from around the world. The Ecclesiastical Museum of the Novodevichy Convent regularly hosts exhibitions dedicated to the Convent’s spiritual, historical, and artistic heritage.
Address: Moscow, Novodevichy passage, 1
