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Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

The Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 90 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The monastery was founded in 1345 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples. In 1355, Sergius introduced a charter which required the construction of auxiliary buildings, such as refectory, kitchen, and bakery. This charter was a model for Sergius' numerous followers who founded more than 400 cloisters all over Russia, including the celebrated Solovetsky, Kirilov, and Simonov monasteries.

St. Sergius supported Dmitry Donskoi in his struggle against the Tatars and sent two of his monks, Peresvet and Oslyabya, to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). The monastery was devastated by fire, when a Tatar unit raided the area in 1408. In 1550s, a wooden palisade surrounding the cloister was replaced with 1.5 km-long stone walls, featuring twelve towers, which helped the monastery to withstand a celebrated 16-month Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608–1610. A shell-hole in the cathedral gates is preserved as a reminder of Wladyslaw IV's abortive siege in 1618.

Cathedral of the Life-giving Trinity

Собор Троицы Живоначальной; Троицкий собор

Church of the Holy Ghost

Церковь Сошествия Святого Духа; Духовская церковь

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin

Собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы; Успенский Собор

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Solovetsky Monastery

Solovetsky Monastery was the greatest citadel of Orthodox Christianity in the Russian North.