The monasteries of Kazan cannot be imagined without one of the oldest monastic communities in Tatarstan, which is located on the legendary Zilantova Hill. This monastery was founded immediately after the capture of the Kazan Khanate by the will of the Russian Tsar John IV the Terrible in memory of the fallen soldiers. Until 1918, it housed a men's monastery, and now it is a women's monastery.
Snake Mountain Legend
A remarkable place, from which the spirit of antiquity breathes, is associated with an ancient legend. In Tatar mythology, Zilant is a large winged serpent that lived near human settlements and did a lot of evil.
Zilantov Assumption Monastery from a bird's eye view
Once the powerful Khan Sain wanted to build a city, but faced a problem. The land was rich and ideal for habitation, but it was home to many snakes. A wise woman from a neighboring village advised the khan to bring more straw to the wasteland and set it on fire so that the snakes would die.
However, the fire did not help ... The large winged serpent Zilant survived and fought with the ruler. The fierce struggle went on for a long time. According to one version, the battle ended with the death of the serpent and the khan. According to the other, the ruthless dragon survived and moved to Jilantau or Serpent Mountain. The monster took revenge on the people living in Kazan for a long time, until the wizard Hakim pacified him.
On the territory of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery. From left to right: the small bell tower, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity, the Church of Adrian and Natalia at the sister building
Echoes of an old legend are found in ancient monastic manuscripts. Kazan monks describe several cases when they saw a terrible snake. In one of the testimonies, the monk tells how a dragon flew over the Volga and carried a man in its mouth.
View of the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (All Saints) of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery and the small bell tower
In the 18th century, a black serpent with a golden crown and red wings became a symbol of Kazan and got on the city's coat of arms. Nowadays, tourists are gladly told about the hero of Tatar myths, and souvenirs with the image of a winged dragon are sold like hot cakes.
How the monastery was founded
The Kazan Khanate remained impregnable for a long time and did not want to obey the will of Moscow. In 1552, the Russian sovereign John IV the Terrible set off on his last campaign against the Volga city. On October 15, the troops entered Kazan, and on the same day the tsar ordered the construction of an Orthodox monastery.
View of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (All Saints)
According to legend, a new monastery arose near the mass grave of soldiers who fell in the struggle for the city. Nearby there was a camp church and the tsar's tent. The memorial monastery next to the New Russian cemetery was dedicated to the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos and All Saints. The first monks gave a vow to serve forever the requiem for the slain.
Wooden cells and a temple were placed in a low-lying place, so they constantly suffered from the Kazanka floods. Every year, during the flood, the river water rose and flooded the monastery. In 1559, the Volga overflowed especially strongly, eroded the monastery walls, and it was decided that the brethren would move to a hill. The choice fell on the Serpent Mountain. Since then the name “Zilantov” has been assigned to the monastery.
View of the small bell tower of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
According to the Christian version, Zilantov Mountain was not chosen by chance. A new monastery was erected where the first Christian martyr of Kazan, Saint John, perished. It is known from his biography that the righteous man was born in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1505, the Kazan Tatars attacked this city and took many inhabitants prisoner. Among them was a young man named John.
After the unfortunates were taken to Kazan, John became a servant of the khan's uncle, Alei-Shpur. When the master wanted to convert his new servant to Islam, John refused and said that he would firmly adhere to the Christian faith.
View of the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
Neither persuasion nor torture could break his will. In 1529, an angry Alei-Shpur ordered the execution of John. The martyr was taken to the mountain, inflicted many mortal wounds and left a lifeless body in the cold. Late in the evening, John woke up, reached the boyars of the Moscow prince, who lived in Kazan, and told them about his misadventures. During the night he managed to receive communion and died. John's body was secretly buried on Mount Zilant.
The history of the monastery in the 17th-20th centuries
The monastic ensemble of stone was built in the 17th century. A magnificent Assumption Cathedral, a church in honor of Metropolitan Alexy, fraternal buildings and outbuildings appeared on the territory of the monastery.
Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
It is known that in the 40s of the 17th century, Archbishop Joseph of Suzdal and Tarusa lived in the Kazan monastery. The priest was accused of heresy and removed from the rank of hierarch. He spent the rest of his days in Kazan and found his last refuge within the walls of the Zilantov Monastery.
From 1732 to 1740, the monastery housed a higher educational institution of the local diocese - the Kazan Theological Seminary, and then the Novokreschensk school. In the years 1829-1950, the abbot of the monastery was a professor at the Kazan University in the department of church law - Archimandrite Gabriel (Vasily Nikolaevich Voskresensky). At this time, the monastery was visited by the Russian emperor Nicholas I.
View of the Church of Adrian and Natalia at the sister building of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
In the middle of the 19th century, an excellent cobbled road was built to the monastery. Kazan monastery flourished! By the beginning of the last century, three guides to the Zilantov Monastery were published. A fourth fraternal building appeared, and the walls of the All Saints Church were covered with murals in the Old Russian style.
After the revolution and the coming of the new government, everything changed. In 1918, a detachment of Red Army men without trial or investigation shot the abbot - Archimandrite Sergius (Zaitsev) and 10 monks. For some time the monastery stood ownerless, and then an Orthodox community was created here. True, it did not last long. In 1928, all believers were expelled from the territory of the ancient monastery.
View of the Church of Adrian and Natalia from the Igumensky Corps of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
When an active campaign against religion took place throughout the country, the ancient monastery cemetery was completely destroyed. There is not a trace left of the graves of monks, abbots and eminent townspeople. In the 1930s-1950s, the former monastery housed an NKVD prison, a children's colony, the Ministry of Internal Affairs' warehouses, and then communal apartments. For several decades, the magnificent architectural ensemble was practically destroyed.
In August 1998, when it was decided to revive the monastery as a women's one, only the imperative corps and the All Saints Church remained on its territory. All other buildings have appeared in the monastery in recent years.
View of the gate bell tower with the Church of Michael the Archangel (center) and the Church of Vladimir Equal to the Apostles (right)
Architectural monuments and shrines
Since the monastery stands on a mountain, golden domes are visible from everywhere. The main place in the architectural ensemble is occupied by the magnificent one-domed Trinity Cathedral - an exact copy of the temple of the same name, which adorns the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Nearby is the oldest surviving building - All Saints Church, which is also called the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was erected in the 1680s and significantly renovated in the 1890s. The second old building, the stone Bishop's building, dates back to 1808.
View of the gate bell tower with the Church of the Archangel Michael from st. Zilantova mountain
At the entrance to the territory, a gate bell tower with the temple of the Archangel Michael rises.In the very center of the monastery there is a small tent-roofed church of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. The Worship Cross is installed next to it. The buildings for the Sunday school, the refectory and the library, the Igumensky building and the Pilgrim's House were built in the 21st century.
In the Church of All Saints, there is an ark with the relics of saints from Jerusalem and the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, icons of the healer Panteleimon and the saints of Kazan revered by believers. In the Trinity Cathedral there are icons of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Mother of God "Quick to Hearken", St. Luke of Simferopol and Margaret of Menzelinskaya.
Old bells on the territory of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
Useful information for pilgrims and tourists
The convent is open to everyone from morning to evening. Church services are held twice a day - at 7:30 and 16:00. In addition to obedience in monastic churches, the sisters clean up the territory, prepare food in the refectory, restore icons, do handicrafts and conduct excursions around the monastery for pilgrims and tourists.
The monastery has a Sunday school, a library and a church shop. Guests can stay overnight at the Pilgrim's House.
How to get there
Worship cross on the territory of the Zilantov Dormition Monastery
The monastery is located far from the noisy center, in the Kirovsky district of the city. The territory is located in Arkhangelsky lane, 1, 2 km below the Kazan Kremlin along the old Kazanka valley. From the center of Kazan to the monastery can be reached through the Kirov dam. The nearest public transport stops are "May 1" and "Flax plant".
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