Inkerman - the famous suburb of Sevastopol, Inkerman stone is mined - a dense white limestone, which is used for cladding buildings. Extracted the stone from time immemorial, so the rocks were formed many catacombs and caves. It was here, in the Monastery and Zagaytanskoy rocks in the Middle Ages arose cave monastery. It is visible from the highway Sevastopol-Simferopol.
Church tradition links the foundation of the monastery with the name of St. Clement - the bishop of Rome from 92 to 101 years. St. Clement was born into a wealthy family, his father Favsta was a Roman senator, and his mother Matfidiya is related to kings. But from a young age he knew that such grief and hardship. A long journey lost his brothers and mother. My father went looking for the family and also disappeared. Had hit who has lost to Clement in Rome, he decided to go on a journey in the hope of finding their loved ones. Alexandria met the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, who spoke about the Savior and His teachings. Clement wholeheartedly adopted the faith of Christ himself bore the Word of God, he taught: "To worship must be the Creator, not creation and not the creature".
disobedience nepochitanie Roman gods and the Emperor Trajan (98-I17) Clement in quarries in the vicinity of Chersonese. By the time the Chersonese had already been deported about 2000 Christians. They coalesced around Clement, which felt a great spiritual force, which could not break the doge hard work. Tradition says that in the quarries was not drinking water, but thanks to diligent prayer Bishop scored the spring among the rocks. Khersones
rulers did not like the work of St. Clement, so it decided to execute. At the neck of the saint tied a heavy anchor and thrown to the sea bottom in Cossack Bay. So in the year 101, Bishop Clement died, but a year later the sea receded and in the underwater cave people saw the remains of the righteous. Every year on the day of the saint's death, Christians came to the place of execution and the exposed bottom of worship were holy relics. One little boy hesitated and stayed in a cave and closed its sea waves. Long grieved parents, a year later they came to pick up the body of his son. But what was their surprise when they saw him alive and healthy. The boy said he saved his gray-haired old man, the description was very similar to St. Clement.
ebb allowed to come to the holy relics to the VI century, then on a small island in the middle of the bay was built church tradition argued that it was built hands of angels. In 861, the Chersonese profit holy brothers Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, part of the relics were transported to Rome, where they are stored and to this day in basil St. Clement.
relics of St. Clement remained in the Chersonese before the X century. After the baptism of Prince Vladimir himself had requested a blessing from the local bishop honest chap and part of the relics of St. Clement and carried them in Kiev.
Isle of Cossack Bay still exists (now the territory of military units). Many scientists and researchers Crimea saw the remains of a temple here. In 1793, P. Pallos withdrew the plan and made a description, in 1890 on the island visited archaeologist K. Kosciusko-Valyuzhinich. He discovered a few premises, surrounded by a small courtyard and a chapel.
And in the former quarries emerged monastery. But first, in the VI century on the right bank of the Black River on a high cliff appeared fortification erected by local tribes. Later, when this part of Crimea strengthened the influence of the feudal principality of Theodoro, at the end of North Bay, the mouth of the Black sea port was founded Avlita, and to protect it mangupskii Prince Alexei built anew the ancient fortifications, transforming it into a fortress Kalamita.
Here, protected by a formidable fortress around VIII-IX centuries and created a cave monastery. Caves were the first monks, and housing and utility rooms. Temples also arranged in caves cut out of stone altar, throne, bench. All premises connected carved into the rock stairs.
But relations between the Principality of Theodoro and the Genoese colonies were not peaceful. In an effort to strengthen its domination of the sea, Theodoret in 1433 captured Cembalo (Balaklava). A year later, the troops under the command of the Genoese Lomellina recaptured Cembalo and besieged Kalamita. Its inhabitants have decided to surrender on condition that they save lives. Genoese agreed, but the morning was empty fortress: under cover of darkness, its defenders and the inhabitants are gone. Kalamita was burned.
In 1475 the Turks seized the Crimea. They rebuilt the fortress and called it Inkerman, which means "cave fortress. Obviously, a Christian monastery could not coexist next to the Moslem fortress and gradually fell into decay. Perhaps in the next century Christian monastery was revived for a short time, because some of the documents referred to the church of St. George, and in 1773 the navigator Russian frigate I. Batarin marked on the map at the foot of the fortress Inkerman it "the cathedral of St. George the Victorious." On the other temples are not mentioned.
In 1634 in the Russian Embassy visited the convent priest James and his companions, they saw the incorrupt relics in the temple, took them out of the tomb and washed with warm water, and they are reddened, like a living person. Ambassadors learned that the Tatars several warnings to the church, but the next morning they again found themselves in the same place.
In 1778, after the exodus of Christians from the Crimea finally deserted monastery. Mention of it is left only in the name of the rock - the monastery.
revival of the ancient monastery began after the Crimea to Russia. Inkerman Kin was opened in 1850. V1852, the church was consecrated in the name of the martyr Clement (in the Middle Ages, this church is called St. George). Tradition says that Clement himself hewed her in the rock. Temple had the form of the basilica, once the two rows of columns divided the space into three naves of the church. Up to now remained only part of the columns.
Two years after the opening of the monastery started in the Crimean War. Here, at the Black River there were fierce battles. October 24, 1854 allied army shelled Kalamita Fortress, which houses the Russian forces. Seriously injured and the monastery. But only the war ended, in Kin settled two novice and monk, they cleanse the temple of the nuclei and resumed Worship.
in 1867 built a house of the abbot and chapel, which was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity, have restored the source of St. Clement. In 1895 in the monastery built a new temple in the Byzantine style. Architectural feature of this church, consecrated in the name of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, was that the sanctuary was cut down in the rock, the rest of the temple was ground, consecrated by His miraculous event: the rescue of the royal family at the station Borki October 17, 1888.
In 1905 the monastery has appeared several temples. One of them placed on the site of a medieval cave temple saint Evgrafov and sanctified in the name of the holy martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. On the upper plateau at the same time completed the construction of the church of St. Nicholas of Myra. By 1910 the architectural appearance of Inkerman Monastery finally emerged.
ancient monastery attracted the attention of the royal family. His first visited Catherine II during his trip to the Crimea in 1787. After the restoration of the monastery in 1868, it visited the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich in 1871 - the heir, Alexander Alexandrovich (future emperor Alexander III), and in 1872 Grand Duchess Maria.
During the Civil War, the monastery has supported the White army of Baron Wrangel. After the establishment of Soviet power in Crimea all the lands of the monastery were taken away. In 1926, George had been closed and Inkerman monasteries. Cathedral of St. Nicholas on the upper plateau destroyed in 1932. The chapel, built on the grave of soldiers killed in the battle of Inkerman, transferred to the kindergarten, but in 1927 it too was dismantled. In 1928, the temple was closed the icon "Joy of All Who Sorrow".
During the Great Patriotic War in the caves of the monastery housed the headquarters 25th Chapayev Division Maritime Army. During the defense of Sevastopol in June 1942, soldiers of this division on Inkerman Heights tried to curtail the enemy, rushing toward the city. After the war, a monument of the fallen.
cave temples of the monastery and fortress Kalamita attracted the attention of archaeologists, visited them and tourists. After inspection Kalamita stairs carved into the rock, they descended into the cave temples. Under the cliffs seen ground construction of the monastery, Abbot House, destroyed the church, a hotel.
Revival Inkerman St. Clement of the monastery began in 1991 and went quite well thanks to the vigilant care of Archimandrite Augustine (in the world of Alexander Polovtsian), this wonderful man to his life saw the restoration of Orthodox shrines of the Crimea and much effort is put on.
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