Hadrian's Holy Land
The route offers to get acquainted with the spiritual heritage of the region. About the spiritual exploits of the Poshekhonians, Poshekhon saints and shrines, and the influence of Orthodoxy on the development of education and culture in the county. The route runs from the city center – Trinity Cathedral – along Preobrazhensky St., through the former Theological College to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and further to the Adrian Monastery, the Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Women and the Holy Spring of Adrian Poshekhonsky.
waypoints
1. Holy Trinity Cathedral with Bell Tower
Every city has holy places with its own history. The city of Poshekhonye and the district are no exception. The journey begins with a visit to the historical center of the city, the former monastery village of Pertoma. You will see a beautiful architectural monument of the middle of the XVIII century – the Trinity Cathedral, which is older than the city of Poshekhonye itself. Residents of the city and historians do not know the exact date of the Cathedral's construction. According to one version, it was built in 1717, according to another - in 1757. Climbing the towering 74-meter bell tower, the tallest building in the city, you will see the ancient merchant streets, which have hardly changed their appearance for several centuries.
2. The Bell tower
In the second half of the 19th century, a four-tiered bell tower was erected next to the Trinity Cathedral, the builders of this urban dominant were inspired by the bell tower of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. The lower tier is decorated with kokoshniks and half–columns, while the second and third are massive, decorated with carved arches and pilasters.
3. Holy Dormition Monastery of Adrian Poshekhonsky
The Holy Dormition Poshekhonsky Adrian Monastery is the only preserved monastery complex in the territory of Poshekhonsky district. It was founded in 1543 by the aspirations of Adrian Poshekhonsky. He was born at the beginning of the 16th century. He was a monk and asceticized in one of the Vologda monasteries. By the command of God, accompanied by a certain elder, Adrian and his disciple went to the dense forests of Poshekhonye. After some time, a church was built on this site in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Adrian was canonized for his righteous ascetic life and martyrdom.
4. Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
After visiting the monastery, you can go to the village of Dmitrievskoye, where the Myrrh-Bearing Women's Church is located, built in 1783 at the expense of parishioners. The architect of the bell tower of the temple was Dostoevsky Andrey Mikhailovich, the brother of the famous writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. The temple has preserved the original murals, it was not closed during the Soviet era. At the cemetery at the church, you can worship the grave of Archimandrite Seraphim (Shustov).
5. The Holy Spring of Adrian Poshekhonsky
The spring was consecrated in June 2006 by Father Gregory (Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Women in the village of Dmitrievskoye). 2 hectares of land around it belong to the Adrian Monastery. After leaving the car at the edge of the forest, you need to walk along the forest path. You will find yourself in a clearing steeped in grace.When a person goes to a spring, he follows the path to health, both old and young come here. Here you can drink holy water, plunge into the font, there are two of them on the territory of the Spring. Only a married man and a woman are allowed to enter the same font.
6. Assumption Church in Poshekhonye
In Poshekhonye there is a church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the style of late classicism. It was built in 1822 next to the local cemetery. There used to be a wooden church here. The money for the construction of a new stone temple was donated by Poshekhon residents.
Not far from the Assumption Church, the locally venerated Saint Manechka Sokhotskaya, a former novice of the Sokhotsky Monastery, is buried. During the Soviet years, she settled in Poshekhonye, helped local residents. The church also honors the memory of the Holy Martyr Peter Bogorodsky. He served in the church in the 1930s, and was repressed. Soon after, the temple was closed. Worship services began here again in the 1990s.
