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The '''Raifa Monastery of the Mother of God''' (''Raifsky Bogoroditsky Monastery'') is a [[monastery]] for men located in the Russian [[Diocese of Kazan]]. The monastery was established in 1613. in what is now the Republic of Tatarstan. Closed during the Soviet years, the property, in 1991, was the first monastery in the [[Diocese of Kazan|Diocese of Kazan and Mari]] to be returned to the [[Church of Russia]]. Restoration work began immediately. The monastery is the largest in the Diocese of Kazan and Tatarstan.
==History==
Raifa Monastery was established as a [[cenobitic]] hermitage in memory of the holy fathers who had been tortured in Sinai and Raithu, from which the monastery’s name is derived. The monastery was founded in 1613 by the [[monk]] Filaret Philaret during the Time of Troubles and the beginning of the reign of Tsar Michael Feodorovich Romanov. The Filaret Philaret came from the [[Chudov Monastery]] in Moscow where he had witnessed the martyrdom of Patriarch [[Hermogenes of Moscow|Hermogenes]], who died of starvation while a prisoner of the Polish forces who then controlled Moscow. That the [[saint]]ed Hermogenes had been the Metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk may have influenced Filaret in coming to Kazan to establish a monastery where Hermogenes’ memory was still alive.
Upon arrival in Kazan, Filaret Philaret entered the community of the Savior’s Transfiguration Monastery in Kazan. To avoid the worldly environment of the city, Filaret Philaret later sought the solitude of the forested lands near the city. In his search he found a place on the shore of a picturesque lake where he built a humble hut. In time his presence became known to the people of the Kazan area and many came to visit and honor him. Among these people were some who settled into heritages nearby, wishing also to dedicate themselves to God and a [[monasticism|monastic]] life and thus led to the establishment of the community of the Raifa monastic skete. It was after the death of the FilaretPhilaret, that the skete became the monastery.
After his repose in about 1659, his remains were buried at the Monastery of the Savior’s Transfiguration. The monk Faddey, on behalf of the brethren of the hermitage, approached Metr. Laventy of Kazan and Sviyazhsk for his blessing to formally establish a monastery. Metr. Laventy gave his blessing, and the Hiermonk Savvaty, who was experienced in construction, was assigned to build the new church.
In 1689, tragedy struck the monastery. All the buildings and equipment burned, reducing the monastery to poverty. Restoration began in 1692, under the leadership of Father-Superior Herman. Recovery progressed slowly and prosperity came mainly through the efforts of the ruling bishop of the diocese, Archbishop Adrian, who later was also to become the Patriarch of Moscow, as well as the hierarchs Markell and Tikhon III. ,As recorded in the Kazan Eparchial Register, by the year of 1739, fifteen churches, including side [[chapel]]s, had been built, financed largely by Metr. Tikhon and wealthy Kazan citizens.
In 1842, a program under Abp. Filaret Philaret (Amfiteatrov) began that found the older churches replaced. The architect M. P. Korinfsky designed the main church. Further construction included, in 1889, the bell-tower Church of Archangel Michael over-the-gate, and Trinity Cathedral. The benefactor of the bell-tower, Mikhail Timofeevich Atlashkin, who after he died in 1901, was buried in the monastery cemetery.
After the Bolsheviks assumed power in Russia the monastery entered into hard times. It ceased functioning in 1918 and was closed by the government in 1828. A parish community existed under Hiermonk Joseph outside the monastery but which visited it in secrecy to pray, until [[January 27]], 1930. Then, when the community, including the monks, nuns, and laymen, gathered in the church in order to commemorate the Reverend fathers tortured in Sinai and Raithu, all were arrested. The members of the monastery, Hiermonks Joseph, Sergei, Antony, Varlaam, and Job and the novice Peter were [[martyr]]ed along with two peasant laymen. The others were exiled to forced labor camps.
The monastery even has its own well equipped and experienced fire department that also fights fires in the neighboring villages.
==SourceSources==
*[http://www.kazan.eparhia.ru/english/monastyri/raifa/ Raifa Monastery of the Mother of God]
*[http://www.raifa.ru/english/foreword/ Raifa Bogoroditsky monastery]
==External linkslink==
*[http://raifa.ru/english/ The Virgin Monastery of Raifa]
[[Category: Monasteries]]
[[Category: Russian Monasteries]]
