Nilov Monastery, Stolobny Island, Tver Oblast, Russia
The beginning of the XVII century for the monastery was unfavorable. First, Russia was affected by crop failures and famine, and then came the hard times of the reign of Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky and interregnum. In 1609 – 1610, the neighboring seliger lands and the monastery itself were subjected to Lithuanian invasion and ruin. At the death of the first abbot, which followed on February 22, 1614, the Nilova Desert from poor harvests and robberies had absolutely no means of subsistence.
At this time it had one wooden church, a chapel with the tomb of the Monk Nile, the bell-tower – “pillar of the oak” with five small bells, six wooden cells and a granary. There were very few images in the iconostasis, and those without salary, the liturgical books are mostly hand-written and at the same time only the most necessary, and the church vessels are tin.
Epic Russia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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