Donskoi Monastery

Boris Godunov erected the Donskoi Monastery in 1591, in honour and in gratitude of the Donskaya Icon of the Mother of God, who he believed delivered Moscow from the Crimean Khan Khazi-Girei. The Donskaya Icon of the Mother of God had accompanied Grand Prince Dimitry Ivanovich to Kulikovo to fight the Mongols and due to the icon’s presence, Godunov believed, the Grand Prince was able to win their battle in 1380. The Grand Prince was blessed by St Sergei Radonezhsky, and after the victory at Kulikovo, the Prince and the icon became known as Donskoi. Godunov had used the icon to encourage and to fill his troops with a victorious spirit on the eve of his battle. After parading the icon to his troops, he left the icon in the field chapel for the duration of the battle. Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich had prayed to the icon, and according to legend, a vision appeared to him, to foretell of the coming victory. The very next day, the Tartars fled the battlefield in terror, and this caused the Russian army to erect a church to house the icon, and built the Donskoi Monastery on the site of the field chapel. Since them, the Donskoi Monastery has been the site of a varied and dramatic history.

Russia Churches

 Andronikov Monastery || Novodevichy Convent || Trinity Cathedral || St. Sophiya Cathedral
Novopassky Monastery || Monastery of the Tans figuration ||Monastery of the Optina Pustyn
Donskoi Monastery ||Church of the Intercession || Znamensky

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