Savva Storozhevsky - the founder and first abbot of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod; Zvenigorod miracle worker. Saint Savva spent most of his life in the Trinity Monastery with Sergius of Radonezh. After the death of Sergius of Radonezh (1392), he became the abbot of the Trinity Monastery in his place, and was the spiritual father of the widow of Prince Dmitry Donskoy - Evdokia and their third son, Yuri Zvenigorodsky. Saint Savva spent his life in strict abstinence and constant vigil, loved silence and avoided conversations with others. At the request of the Zvenigorod Prince Yuri Dmitrievich, who wished to build a monastery in his patrimony - on Mount Storozhevskaya, one and a half miles from Zvenigorod, he founded the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery and became its abbot. Monks flocked to the Storozhevsky monastery from all sides, seeking spiritual life. Laymen came, asking for instructions and guidance. Fearing earthly glory, the Monk Savva went a mile away from the monastery and there, in a deep ravine, under the canopy of a dense forest, he built himself a narrow cave, where he prayed to God in solitude and silence. With his own hands he dug a well, which to this day supplies excellent water for the monastery.
In the 19th century, the monastery's abbot, Father Galaktion, founded a skete here, built the Church of the Monk Savva, from brick and white stone "under the bells", in the traditions of ancient Russian architecture. The sketes were mainly inhabited by schema-monks who had taken upon themselves the highest monastic vows. People seeking spiritual advice came to the elders in the skete. The skete had its own economy, the monks made various products - wove rugs, carved wooden spoons.
The modern architectural ensemble of the skete was finally formed by the beginning of the 20th century, it consisted of dozens of buildings - stone and wooden. In Soviet times, many buildings were destroyed. In our time, the surviving buildings have been restored, skete life has been revived, the spring of St. Savva has been renewed, and a bathhouse has been built.
Translated by Google •
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