__NOTOC__ The Saint Nicholas Monastery ( is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

located on Chernecha Hora (''monk's hill'') in

Mukachevo Mukachevo (, ; , ; see name section) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated in the valley of the Latorica River and serves as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion. The city is a rail terminus and highway junct ...

, Ukraine. It belongs to the jurisdiction of Eparchy of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod of the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

. It is a female monastery, headed by

hegumenia Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns ...

Epistimiya Sherban.

History

The exact date of its founding is unknown, though some believe it was founded in the late 11th century.Magocsi, Paul Robert and Ivan Pop. ''Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture''.

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

, 2002. pg 333-34 In the 14th century the monastery was under the patronage of Fedir Koriiatovych.''Mukachiv Saint Nicholas's Monastery''.

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' (), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was created under the auspices of the Shevchenko Scientific Society in Europe (Sarcelles, near Paris). As the ...

, vol. 3 (1993). In 1491 it was made the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo that had jurisdiction was the whole of

Transcarpathia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...

. In 1537, the monastery was burned during war though it was rebuilt soon after with permission of

Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabora Kraljevine Hrv ...

. After the

Union of Uzhhorod The Union of Uzhhorod (), was a decision by 63 Ruthenian priests of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo (then divided between the Principality of Transylvania and Royal Hungary of the Habsburg monarchy) to join the Catholic Church made on Apri ...

in 1646, the monastery joined the Greek Catholic Basilian monastic order. From then on the

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

was also the

superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the order in Transcarpathia. The bishop's residence was transferred to Mukachiv in 1751, but the monastery remained the administrative center for the Basilians. During the years 1798–1804 the Saint Nicholas Church was constructed in a

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style. In 1862 much of it was again destroyed by fire, but rebuilt within three years. The monastery ran a school and library which became important to the cultural and religious life of the region. It also maintained contacts with the

of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

Anatol Kralytsky was a prominent Transcarpathian writer in the 19th century. In the 1920s, the monastery was restructured and reforms were introduced by Basilian monks from Galicia. In 1946 the

Soviet regime The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the C ...

liquidated the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a Major archiepiscopal church, major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Cathol ...

, and the monastery was forced to become Eastern Orthodox. All of the monks refused to convert and were

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

d. The collection of over 6,000 rare books and manuscripts and its archives were transferred to local museums and archives. The monastery was transformed into a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

for Orthodox

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...

from other monasteries that were closed by the Soviets.Nathaniel Davis. ''A long walk to church: a contemporary history of Russian Orthodoxy''. Westview Press, 2003. Pg 170 At present there are about seventy Orthodox nuns housed in the monastery.

History

See also

References

Further reading