Zavolzhsky St. Elijah Convent (Podgory)

The Zavolzhsky St. Elijah Convent is an Orthodox convent of the Samara diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in the village of Podgory, Volzhsky district, Samara region. It stands on the right bank of the Volga, on the Samara Bend, across the river from Samara. The convent, dedicated to the Prophet Elijah, was founded in 2006 around the old village church.

History

A wooden church of the Prophet Elijah in Podgory is first mentioned in documents from 1640. The stone church that survives today was built between 1860 and 1890. It was closed in the 1930s.

An Orthodox parish was revived in the village in 1993, and restoration of the stone church began in 1998. In 2003, by decree of Archbishop Sergius, a skete was set up at the church for a monastic community that had formed at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Samara. On 11 April 2006 the Holy Synod turned the skete into a convent.

By July 2008 more than 20 nuns lived here. The first superior was the nun Anastasia (Irina Petrovna Shestun); she was later succeeded by Abbess Nina (Mekhanikova).

What to see

The heart of the convent is the restored 19th-century stone church of St. Elijah. Next to it stand a wooden church of the Hieromartyr Konstantin Sukhov, consecrated on 22 October 2007, and a house church of the Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds. The wooden churches follow the tradition of northern Russian timber architecture and were designed by the Samara architect Nikolai Zhogolev; the dome is covered with about 1,500 aspen shingles.

A stone wall encloses the grounds, which hold a chapel, a pilgrim centre, stone and wooden cells, a refectory, a bathhouse and workshops for sewing, gold embroidery, embroidery and icon painting. In Samara the convent has a town residence with a church of the Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign".

The full cycle of services is held here, with the brethren of the Zavolzhsky men's monastery taking part. The convent should not be confused with that men's monastery of the Holy Cross, which is also near Podgory.

Legends and accounts

Locals say the spring by the village has been known for a very long time and used to be called the Podgorsky spring. In 2003–2004 it was cleared, landscaped and consecrated as the spring of the Holy Prophet Elijah, and pilgrims visiting the convent come to it.

Getting there

Podgory lies on the opposite bank of the Volga from Samara. The easiest way is to cross by ferry or riverboat to the village of Rozhdestveno, then take a bus towards Gavrilova Polyana or walk to Podgory along the paved road. The convent is at 5 Lesnaya Street.