The monastery was founded in 1398 when Ferapont the Reverend left St. Kirill Belozersky Monastery and settled on the shores of Lake Paskoye.
There were a lot of villages around this place and soon people started to come to him for advice. Then some people decided to stay with him.
That's how the Monastery was started.
Later Ferapont built the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the first church
was built out of wood.
In 1408 Ferapont left the Monastery and went to Mozhaisk to found a new
monastery at the request of the prince of Mozhaisk Andrew.
He was laways dreaming to come back, but he never did. He died in 1426.
In 1427 the Monastery was visited by Matinian the Reverend and he decided to stay there.
Later he became the Father-Superior of the monastery.
This period is considered to be the golden age of the Monastery. The Monastery was also
famous for its big library.
In the main cathedral of Ferapontov Men's Monastery one can observe
marvellous frescoes, created in 1502 by a famous artist
Dionisy. These frescoes remained safe without restoration till present days.
During the times of Catherine the Great the Monastery was almost closed but fortunately
was saved.
After the revolution in 1924 Ferapontov monastery was closed. And only in 1975 the museum of
Dionisy's frescoes was established in the Monastery.
In 2000 the Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery was enlisted into the UNESCO's
World Heritage List.
Transport:
By car/bus: Ferapontov Momastery is accessible by road, the distance
from Vologda is about 125 km.
By Cruise ship: Numerous cruise ships stop in Goritsy, located not far from Kirillov and Ferapontovo.
|
