The Kerzhenets (russian: Керженец) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
in the
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...
in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. It is a left
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
, joining the Volga near
Lyskovo Lyskovo (russian: link=no, Лысково) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
Urban localities
*Lyskovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a town in Lyskovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Rural localities
* Lyskovo, Chelyabinsk Obl ...
, about 70 km east of
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
[«Река КЕРЖЕНЕЦ»]
Russian State Water Registry
History
After the schism (''
Raskol
The Schism of the Russian Church, also known as Raskol (russian: раскол, , meaning "split" or "schism"), was the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the mid-17th century. It ...
'') of the 1660s within the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, the densely forested shores of the Kerzhenets became the refuge for many
Old Believers. Their settlements, called Kerzhenets
skete
A skete ( ) is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, a ...
s (russian:
Керженские скиты), remained numerous into the 19th century, and the people themselves were known as the ''Kerzhaks'' (Кержаки).
According to an Old Believer legend, the oldest of the sketes, the Olenevsky Skete (russian:
Оленевский скит, i.e. "The Skete of the Deer"), had supposedly been founded in the 15th century by some of
Venerable Macarius's monks to commemorate their leader's
Miracle of the Moose Venerable Macarius' Miracle of the Moose (russian: Чу́до преподо́бного Мака́рия У́нженского о лосе́) is a miracle associated with the name of
Venerable Macarius of the Yellow Water Lake and the Unzha (1349 ...
that took place at that site, and later joined the ''Raskol''.
The former skete is now the village of Bolshoye Olenevo, located some 24 km south-east from the district capital
Semyonov.
[Оленевский скит]
(Olenevsky Skete)
References
Rivers of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Old Believer communities in Russia
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