The Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, located 75 km northwest of Moscow in Sergiev-Posad, is the traditional pilgrimage site of the Orthodox Church, for tzars and peasants alike.
(42K) 672 x 450 | Of course true pilgrimages from Moscow were normally on foot, taking 6 or 7 days. The monastery is centered around the body of St. Sergius (1321-91), a holy monk who was canonized by the Orthodox in 1422. |
(37K) 672 x 450 | Trinity Cathedral. The monastery was the center of Holy Russia from the 15th century until 1920 (reopened in 1946 as a reward for the Church's wartime support). |
(51K) 450 x 672 | The small chapel of St. Micah with the Refrectory behind it. |
(53K) 450 x 672 | Trinity Cathedral (built in 1423) was the inspiration for the Cathedral of the Assumption in Moscow's Kremlin. Inside, the faithful queue in line to kiss the shrine with the relics of St. Sergius. |
(52K) 450 x 672 | The Cathedral of the Assumption, completed in 1585. It is here that Peter the Great was almost killed as a boy by the Streltsy in 1685. |
(55K) 450 x 672 | A view of a nice icon on the outside of the Cathedral - no pictures inside, as the Good Friday services were taking place. |
(68K) 450 x 672 | The Chapel over the Well, built over a spring discovered in 1644, still contains the fountain where the faithful were filling up their bottles with holy water. Notice the carvings on the pillars. Behind it is the 88 meter tall belltower, which once boasted 50 bells. |
(62K) 450 x 672 | In front of the belltower, Fr. Mitchell visits the outdoor fountain with its nice pillared pavilion. |
(59K) 450 x 672 | A view of the courtyard with the Cathedral of the Assumption dwarfing the Chapel of the Well and the Pavilion. |
(44K) 450 x 672 | The Church of Our Lady of Smolensk, with the Church of Sts. Zosimus and Sabas in the background (dating from the 1630s). |
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