White [anti-Bolshevik/anti-Soviet] Movement Gains Home

[Barbara]

Brief video of the opening day is below. It was interesting for me to see the far more advanced restoration of the historic Monastery !

Besides decorative embellishments which were not there before, there is a statue to the first and last Romanov Tsars, Mikhail I and Nicholas II holding an icon between them. I figured it was the Feodorovskaya Icon but looking it up, I found out it the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. And that the monument was unveiled September 2013 for the 400th anniversary of the accession of Mikhail Romanov to the throne, thus starting an entirely new dynasty.

Video is in Russian only but interesting anyway for the visuals :

[Barbara]

Followup notes about the Exhibit, and the renovations to the great monastery itself :

"On Thursday, February 2, 2017, Protopriest Andrei Sommer, Senior Priest of the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York and Vice President of the Synodal Youth Department, consecrated a painted copy of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" in the altar of St Sergius of Radonezh Chapel. Upon the conclusion of the consecration ritual, the copy was placed upon the original Kursk-Root Icon.

synod.com

The newly-consecrated icon will be delivered to Zamensky Church (dedicated to the Znamensky type of icon of the Mother of God, referred to as “of the Sign”) at Novospassky Monastery in Moscow.

Znamenskaya Church is the smaller one to the left of the main Transfiguration of the Savior Cathedral, pictures from internet

Last year, the monastery hosted an exhibition dedicated to the White Movement of Russia, jointly organized with the Union of the Descendants of the Russians of Gallipoli. The exhibition revealed the heroism of the participants of the White Movement, how they continued to struggle against all odds for the Fatherland, even after they found themselves far from Russia, staunchly preserving their ideals and traditions. A special section of the exhibit was devoted to the “Hodigitria of the Russian Diaspora,” the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign,” its history, miracles associated with it and its importance to Russian emigres.

In the northwest corner of the Transfiguration of the Savior Church is a chapel devoted to this holy icon. The “Znamensky” image of the Mother of God was also an heirloom icon of the Romanov Dynasty-Tsar Michael Romanov built the church above the burial site of Romanov boyars, his uncles, brothers of Patriarch Philaret, his father: Alexander, Vasily, Mikhail and Ioann Nikitich.

In 1791, the original church was demolished due to its age. Later that year, Prince Sheremetiev built a new church near the site dedicated to the Znamensky Icon of the Mother of God. The new church was designed by the architect Nazarov, a colleague of the renowned master Bazhanov. It was under construction for four years, and on January 15, 1795, was consecrated by Bishop Mefody of Voronezh, the former abbot of Novospassky Monastery.

[ After the war of 1812 ], in 1813, the two-story church was re-consecrated. The lower church contains crypts. Under the altar is the crypt of the Sheremetiev family, and the Lobanov-Rostovsky, Cherkassky, Sitsky and Urusov princely families are likewise buried there.

Old view of Novospassky Monastery, picture from internet

During the first years of the Soviet regime, the monastery was transformed into a woman’s prison, later a “correctional labor camp,” for political and other prisoners. Znamensky Church was turned into a crowded building of prison cells. In the 1930’s, during a new wave of oppression, death-row prisoners were taken to Znamensky Church allegedly for medical treatment but executed there instead. After World War II, the building was turned into an alcohol-rehabilitation center. In 1967, thanks to renowned artist Pavel Korin, the clinic was closed. Interior restoration work is now under way."

http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2017/2017 ... assky.html

---

When looking for suitable illustrations, I came across a site which listed the address of the grand Monastery as :

" Peasant Sq. № 10, Moscow "

Surely, however, given all the Romanov boyars and other nobility buried here, the name should swiftly be changed to
"Aristocrat Square, No 10 ". Otherwise, who will be able to find this repository of royalty and nobility of earlier centuries ?!

Don't forget that Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovitch has a special tomb there, not written up in the tourist literature.
The last year I was over there, a special room with its own narrow entrance had been prepared but was only open I think two days out of the year. One was the martyrdom of his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth - July 18 - which date I happened to be at the Monastery and was able to peek inside.

Photos were firmly forbidden, however. My camera was barely raised when an arm of one of the handful of people visiting the vault darted out like a bolt of lightning to block the view of the lens !

Now, judging from a recent picture, a new area must have been prepared, for this space is MUCH larger. The previous vault was barely wider than the narrow tomb :

---

The monastery around 1912, only 5 years before "the deluge" which would destroy this pearl amongst the great monasteries of Moscow. It is highly appropriate that the Znamensky Church in this particular cloister is to house the new center for studies of the White Movement which valiantly strove to free Russia from the Red Yoke.

Looking forward to seeing the finished renovations and new center to educate the Russian public as well as visitors from all over the world about this little-known, vastly under-appreciated chapter of history.

[Barbara]

Never mind, that picture did not transfer. It was a great full view of Novospassky.

One detail regarding Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich's former tomb at the monastery -- in case any fans of his are interested -- is that it stood much higher off the ground. Either it was elevated on a platform, unlike the elaborate marble one shown in the picture above, or more likely, it was a 'temporary' until this cenotaph was constructed. I don't remember seeing any of the engraving - or even white marble. So it must have been a different tomb entirely, unless covered with a cloth.

[Barbara]

The copy of the Kursk - Korennaya Icon has arrived in Novospassky :

"On March 25, 2017, His Grace Bishop Savva of Voskresensk and the brethren of Moscow’s Novospassky Monastery greeted a painted copy of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign,".

Paul Kuzubov, Head of the US Section of the Union of Descendants of the Russians of Gallipoli, brought the icon to the monastery.

The icon was painted in Russia, and through the efforts of the Memorial Foundation of the White Movement, it was brought to New York, where it was laid upon the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign” and blessed in the Church of St Sergius of Radonezh in the Synodal Residence of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. It was then brought back to Moscow.

After the ceremonial welcoming of the icon, it was brought into Pokrovsky Church, where a moleben was performed. Worshipers then kneeled as they sang “My Queen, Most Blessed.” Bishop Savva, the monastery’s Prior, then addressed those in attendance with a sermon devoted to the historic event of the day. Vladyka Savva then announced that on March 26, after Divine Liturgy, the icon will be taken to Znamensky Church, where it will remain for veneration.

Vladyka Savva was then interviewed for television, and noted that whenever a holy icon or relic comes to the monastery, it encourages Christians for special prayer. “Today we ceremoniously greet this icon, and will fervently lift our prayers with special veneration now and always,” he said, expressing the hope that this copy of the Kursk Icon of the Mother of God will likewise become miraculous, as is the existing “All-Sovereign” Icon of the Mother of God presently housed at the monastery."

http://www.synod.com/synod/eng2017/2017 ... assky.html

---

It seems other copies could be painted like this one and thus relieve the Rocor-MP of the obligation to take the original Kursk Icon over to Russia and neighboring areas every year.

[Barbara]

Latest news, quite interesting regarding the anti-Bolshevik Russian emigres in Belgium, successors to the White Army movement to rid the world of that Communist plague :

"On February 26, 2018, Novospassky Monastery in Moscow is hosting a regular meeting of the cycle “Russian Diaspora,” organized by the Union of the Descendants of the Russians of Gallipoli.

This year’s event focuses on the life of the White Army emigres in Belgium.

Alexander Alexandrovich Khudokormov is the son of Colonel Alexander Vasilievich Khudokormov, the first President of the UDRG in Belgium.

Belgium welcomed some 10,000 Russian refugees, and became one of the centers of the Russian military and political diaspora of the White Movement. General Anton Denikin found a home here in the 1920’s.

Baron von Wrangel, the Russian general, also lived and died in Brussels. It was in Belgium on September 1, 1924, that the Russkij Obshche-Voinskij Soyuz [ROVS—the Russian Military Union] was established; it was the oldest military anti-Bolshevik organization of the Russian diaspora, and continued the work of the White Movement. From 1920-1930, Orthodox churches were established all over Belgium, in private homes, garages and basements. They became centers for Russian refugees to gather, representing the sole bond to their lost Homeland.

Khudokormov took an active role in the Russian scout movement in Belgium. He studied at Catholic University in Lowen and graduated from the Free University in Belgium. He worked as a Belgian diplomat in the USSR, Nigeria, Israel and Austria. From 1995 to the mid-2000’s, he was a trade representative of Wallonia at the Belgian Embassy in Moscow. He then returned to Belgium, where he serves as Warden of St Nicholas Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia."

http://synod.com/synod/eng2018/20180226 ... spora.html

Note : should be the Catholic University of Leuven, a respected college.
Wallonia is the name of this region of Belgium where reside the Walloon people since 2011. Always there was intercommunal conflict between the Flemish and the Walloons, as an aside for anyone who is curious about the background.
A college friend wrote a major paper on this topic for a class in political science/government, so I remember it well.

Wallonia to me is the most interesting part of Belgium, with the historic cities of Namur, a famous pilgrimage destination


to the shrine of Notre Dame de Namur [ above, with nearly a Russian style dome ! ]. By the way, the 3rd oldest college in California is Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont (Bay Area) ;
Tournai [ the Messe de Tournai, the oldest known medieval composition dedicated to Our Lady ] ;
and Liege.