Ivanovsky Convent (Ивановский монастырь) is a large

stauropegic A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from el, σταυροπήγιον from σταυρός ''stauros'' "cross" and πήγνυμι ''pegnumi'' "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the primate or on the Holy Syn ...

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in central

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, inside the

Boulevard Ring The Boulevard Ring (russian: Бульва́рное кольцо́; transliteration: ''Bulvarnoye Koltso'') is Moscow's second innermost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod ...

, to the west of

Kitai-gorod Kitay-gorod ( rus, Китай-город, p=kʲɪˈtaj ˈɡorət), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants ...

, in the district formerly known as Kulishki. It is the main shrine of St.

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in the Russian capital. The monastery was first documented in 1604 and long served as a prison for ladies of royal and noble blood. Among the famous nuns were Dosiphea, alleged to be the same person as

Princess Tarakanova Princess Tarakanova (c. 1745 – ) was a pretender to the Russian throne. She styled herself, among other names, ''Knyazhna Yelizaveta Vladimirskaya'' (Princess of Vladimir), ''Fräulein Frank'', and ''Madame Trémouille''. Tarakanova (''t ...

, and the serial killer Darya Saltykova. In the 1730s, there were rumors that many nuns took part in ''

khlysty The Khlysts or Khlysty ( rus, Хлысты, p=xlɨˈstɨ, "whips") were an underground Spiritual Christian sect, which split from the Russian Orthodox Church and existed from the 1600s until the late 20th century. The New Israel sect that des ...

'' rituals; the mother superior was found guilty and sentenced to die. The

1812 Fire of Moscow Year 181 ( CLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Burrus (or, less frequently, year 934 ''Ab urbe condit ...

reduced the monastery to ashes. The nunnery was closed down and the grounds stood empty until the 1860s, when Mikhail Bykovsky designed a new monastery compound. The domed

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...

, loosely based on

Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...

's works, is connected by covered passageways to other buildings. The grounds are thus divided into four lots.The Encyclopaedia of Moscow
/ref> After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

the nunnery was disbanded and was not revived until 2002. The buildings have served a variety of purposes; some are still occupied by the Moscow Oblast archives and a police high school.

References

External links

* {{Cloisters of Moscow Monasteries in Moscow Convents in Russia Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow