Samara Iversky Convent

An Orthodox convent located in the city of Samara, which is part of the Samara and Togliatti diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The history of the monastery dates back to 1850, when a women's religious community was founded in Samara. In 1855 it received imperial approval, and by 1860 it was converted into a monastery. By the beginning of the 20th century, about 400 nuns and novices lived in the monastery. There was a hospital, a school and various workshops here. The monastery ensemble included three churches in which revered shrines were kept, as well as a monastery cemetery where many famous townspeople were buried.

During the period of Soviet power, the monastery was closed and for some time was used under the guise of a sewing artel. However, many of its valuables were confiscated, and some buildings were destroyed or transferred for other needs. In 1992, the restoration of the monastery began, and the surviving churches and part of the buildings were transferred to the monastery parish of the Orthodox Church.

Currently, the monastery has a library for parishioners, gold-embroidery and icon-painting workshops. In 2001, the relics of St. Alexander of Chagrin were transferred to the monastery.

Location of the Iversky Convent

The monastery was located on a steep slope of the left bank of the Volga and occupied almost 7 acres of land. Its territory was enclosed by a high whitewashed stone wall with four chapel-shaped towers at the corners. The road passing through the territory divided it into two unequal parts.

By 1905, there were 22 buildings of various sizes and types of buildings on the territory of the monastery. Most of the buildings were built of wood on a stone foundation and clad outside with planks painted yellow and brown. On the territory of the monastery there were two monastic cemeteries located on a steep slope, as well as a school, a hospital, and a hospice house. A water supply system was installed, and there were also various outbuildings.

The monastery owned a vast area of land, including arable fields, meadows, orchards and forest lands. On these lands several farms with residential and utility premises, as well as a mill and a beehive were established.

The monastery had significant untouchable capital, which consisted of securities and interest. He also received income from rent for the use of his lands. All these financial resources allowed the monastery to maintain its activities and develop.

Monastery cemeteries

There were two monastic cemeteries on the territory of the monastery, known as the “upper” and “lower” cemeteries. The upper cemetery, located near the Sretensky Church, was intended mainly for the burial of clergy, while in the lower cemetery, located between the refectory church and the fence on the southern side, ordinary believers were buried.

Various monuments and chapels were erected over the graves and crypts in the cemetery. At the upper cemetery a majestic mausoleum was erected over the grave of the merchant D.V. Kirillov. Both eminent townspeople and representatives of other social strata, including burghers and peasants, were buried in the monastery. About a sixth of those buried were children under 10 years of age.

In the early 1930s, after the closure of the monastery, the cemetery was closed. Many monastery buildings were dismantled, and part of the cemetery was damaged. Some of the crypts of the clergy in the upper cemetery were opened and the cemetery was filled with earth. Some of the crypts were used for cellars, and during the Great Patriotic War, some of them were used for the production of blanks for mines.

After the restoration of the monastery at the end of the 20th century, the restoration of data on burials began. By 2001, 593 names of those buried were known, and it was believed that there were about 700 burials in the cemetery. However, in 1996, during construction work, a burial mass was discovered, including about a thousand burials. Archaeologists were engaged in security and rescue work and discovered various metal objects and remains, which were removed and reburied in a crypt next to the chapel.