Вестник Екатеринбургской духовной семинарии (Nov 2023)
The Processions of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent in Ekaterinburg of the First Third of the 19th Century
Abstract
The article is devoted to the history of religious processions held by the Ekaterinburg Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg and Perm diocese in 1811–1833. After the official establishment of the women’s monastery, the Orthodox festive life of Ekaterinburg was enriched by the traditions of new processions associated with the patronal feast of the convent’s Assumption Church, the venerated icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God and the two events in the history of this monastery — its establishment in 1809 and introduction of shrines brought from Tikhvin and Novgorod in 1811. The clergy of the convent church also actively participated in citywide processions. The convent’s religious processions were coordinated with the parishes of the city and the diocese, and the conditions represented a reasonable compromise between the intention to find additional funds for the arrangement of the newly established convent and the desire of the parishes to preserve resources for the maintenance and expansion of church buildings. The monastic shrines were probably carried through all the counties of the Perm province. Reports on religious processions testify to the deeply respectful attitude of population of the Urals towards the monastic shrines. The termination of monastic processions in the parishes of Perm diocese was due to the policy of that time aimed at preserving and increasing the income of parish churches for the sake of timely work on their repair and beautification, as well as protecting nuns from excessive communication with the laity, contrary to the norms of the solitary prayer life of monasticism. The religious processions in the Ekaterinburg convent itself continued to exist after 1833, although the practice of holding them corrected the original plan and led to a reduction in their number. The tradition of holding processions around the convent with the participation of the city clergy and diocesan (Ekaterinburg) bishops for the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos has been preserved. Processions around the convent and the city on the day of the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin were replaced by solemn services in the convent with the participation of city clergy, and over time, the tradition of holding Tikhvin fairs was formed. Religious processions connected with the convent’s history were not continued.
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