Nativity Monastery in Rostov
Description
Nativity (Maiden) convent was founded in the XIV century (some sources indicate the exact date − 1391 year) and was located within a defensive city wall.
The founder of the monastery was Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, nephew of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The original monastery was wooden, therefore the oldest preserved building of the monastery is the Cathedral of the Nativity, built in the late XVII century, during Jonah Sysoevich. It was built by the same masters who had worked on the construction of the Archbishop's court. The construction of the temple lasted until 1702, and in the summer of 1715 it was painted. At the end of the XVIII century in the monastery there were built stone cells and the prior's chambers. In 1810-ies the monastery was surrounded by a stone wall with a small decorative turrets. The last brick building of the cloister was the refectory Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (1842-1846). This building survived, but was badly damaged.
Now there is no bell tower or the Holy gates, neither of the domes above the refectory Church. Above the monastery rises only one Chapter of the Cathedral.
