Annunciation Monastery, Murom

The Annunciation Monastery of Murom (: Благовещенский монастырь) is an Orthodox monastery for men of the city of ]]Murom in Russia. It is dedicated to the feast of the Annunciation of his divine maternity made to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel.

History
The monastery is built on the site of a wooden church dedicated to the Annunciation, the feast of the announcement of his divine maternity made to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel. Tradition attributes the decision of its construction to Prince Konstantin of Murom (in) († 1205, celebrated on May 21 of the Julian calendar ), younger son of Prince Svyatoslav II , grand-son of the Grand Prince of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise. In the church was an icon of the Virgin of Greek origin and brought back from Byzantium. Basil of Ryazan († 1295In 1547, following the development of local worship, the canonization of Prince Konstantin of Murom and his children Mikhail († 1192) and Fyodor took place.

The monastery was founded in 1553 by Ivan the Terrible who had visited Murom during a trip to Kazan the year before in 1552.

In 1616, the monastery was devastated and looted by the Poles. In the xvii th century life is slowly returning to the ruins restored.

The merchant Taras Borisovich Tsvetnov rebuilds the cathedral at his expense in 1664 and installs a clock in the bell tower. In 1791, on the grounds of the monastery is built a small Orthodox seminary. In 1792, a fire occurred, but the stone buildings remained in spite of it. The small seminary, however, is installed further away and in 1800 it is closed.

At the time of the Russian campaign of 1812, two icons were sheltered in the monastery: that of Our Lady Door of Heaven and that of Our Lady of Vladimir.

The monastery was closed in 1919, but the monks settled in the city of Murom, while continuing the services in the cathedral. On May 22, 1923, during the Soviet period, the relics of Saints Konstantin, Mikhail and Fyodor were studied and then transferred to the museum where they remained until 1989.

In 1940, the cathedral was closed but was reopened two years later as a parish church.

In 1946 the hieromonk Pimene of Moscow, future patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, officiates in this cathedral.

== Current life of the monk In September 1991 the Holy Synod decided to revive the monastic life at the monastery. In the crypt of the cathedral lie the relics of St. Basil of Murom - "propagator of enlightenment for the people of Murom" and the prépodobny Julien (Koloukov) - ascetic xvii th century.

Organization of buildings
The main church of the monastery is the Annunciation Cathedral (its construction began in the xvi th century it was rebuilt in 1660). The exterior finish of the cathedral is a fine example cited of by Uzoroche Style. It is also the only building that resisted the destruction in the monastery during the times of unrest A steeply pointed bell tower is attached to the cathedral. In 1811 the monastery is surrounded by a fence with towers.



Necropolis
Many prominent citizens of the city of Murom are buried in the necropolis of the monastery. The poet Andrey Voznesensky wrote a poem entitled Andre Polisadov about his ancestor who was abbot of the monastery under the name of Alexis Polissadov and who is buried behind the altar in the cathedral.