600th anniversary of St. Pherapontus’ Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos

600TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. PHERAPONTUS’ MONASTERY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS

In 1998 the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian public mark the 600th anniversary of St. Pherapontus’s Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos founded in 1398 by St. Pherapontus, a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The historical and architectural compound of the monastery is known around the world for the frescoes in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos, executed in 1502 by famous icon-painter Dionysius of Moscow and his sons. At present a museum of Dionysius’s frescoes is housed in the monastery. During his visit to the diocese of Vologda on 15 August 1992, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia came to St. Pherapontus’s Monastery. He invoked God’s blessing on the work of the museum staff who worked to preserve the monastery and stressed the need to restore monasteries not only as historical monuments but also centers of spiritual life.

On 29 April 1998, an event called “The Pearl of the Northern Thebaida” devoted to the anniversary of St. Pherapontus’s Monastery took place at the conference-hall of the Danilovsky hotel compound. The event was organized at the initiative of Vologda Governor Viacheslav Pozgalev and the Vologda diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.