In the mid -seventeenth century, an uncommon name appeared in a province Moscow It is the monastery of “New Jerusalem”, when the Russian Caesar decided at that time Alexei Mikhailovich and the head of the Russian Church Patriarch Nikon, the creation of a topographical and architectural version of the Holy Palestinian territories close to the capital, to serve as the “Russian Palestine” center.
The aim of this ecclesiastical project was to show the increasing importance of Russia as a stronghold of global Orthodoxy, and a successor to Byzantium, as well as to allow the opportunity to see the Holy Land without leaving RussiaBecause the travel of Russian pilgrims to the holy places in Palestine In that time, it was an arduous and expensive issue for many.
“New Jerusalem” was founded by Patriarch Nikon in 1656 as a complex for the holy places in Palestine on Russian soil, so that the Russian believers can see them with their own eyes without the hassle of a long and arduous journey.
Flour
At that time, there were no photographs or reliable information about the Christian places in Palestine, so Patriarch Nikon sought the maximum accuracy in the reproduction of the holy places, using the inscriptions of the Italian artist Bernardino Amiko, which is widely known in EuropeWhich depicts Church of the Resurrection AndBethlehem Church The olive church and other Palestinian churches.
The Patriarch also benefited from the book “The Holy Places of the Holy Places” by the Russian monk Arsini Sukhnov, in which he described the Palestinian shrines in detail, and other available sources, especially the graphics and oral descriptions written by pilgrims.
To implement his plan, Patriarch Nikon, whose influence was almost exceeding the influence of the Tsar, chose a site northwest of Moscow, on the banks of the Estra River surrounded by the hills, which allowed it to approach as much as possible to the Palestinian model.
The topographic landmarks were called new names, so the Astra River in the middle became known as the Jordan River, and the table currently near it is known as plain StillAnd hill when its turn is known as the name ZionEast hill is known as Elieon, and a cross of worship was erected on the hill For the location of the rise of Christ.
Some villages were also named by Palestinian historical names, the Chirinfo village, located on the road leading to New Jerusalem of Moscow, was called. NazarethAnd in the village of Svatovo-Foscsinskoya, the Deir of Bayhaa was builtAl -Ezariya) For women with the Church of “Entering Christ to Jerusalem” and the Zenovieva silk was restored to Kafrnaum.
Al -Batarik spent more than 8 years overseeing the construction on the site, and all the main buildings in “New Jerusalem” were initially made of wood.
But the work stopped for approximately 13 years with the denial of the Patriarch at the end of 1666, following the lack of his relationship with the Caesar Alexei Mikhailic before it resumed construction work in 1679.
The heirs of Al -Qazra continued to treat “New Jerusalem” with special interest and were keen to restore it after several cases of the collapse of the bishop and fires.
Russian Palestine
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the number of geographical names and Palestinian sites in the area directly emancipated to the monastery increased significantly, and the names of the valleys of tears appeared andSilwan Sprinkle The Dawood House Tower, Jatshamani Park, Jabal Tuabour, and Balt al -Marra (Blonda Ibrahim).
In terms of topography, not all of this was compatible with the true Palestinian model, but it raised in the hearts of Russian pilgrims and lives and memories of the corresponding texts mentioned in the Bible.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the monastery was one of the most popular pilgrimage centers, and the number of its visitors increased in particular after the construction of a railway to reach it.
As for the beginning of scientific studies of the history of New Jerusalem, it dates back to the nineteenth century at the hands of Archimandrite Leonid, the most important historian of the monastery, a researcher in the effects of the Christian East and the manuscripts of “New Jerusalem”, as his works focused on historical articles and memorizing valuable documents from the seventeenth century that have now been lost.
Destroy the monastery and then rebuild it
In 1919, two years after the outbreak of the Bolshevik revolution, the monastery was closed and its property was nationalized until the outbreak World War II The German forces occupied the area and destroyed the main buildings of the monastery (the cathedral tent, its captain, all the towers, the gate church, and the food halls) and planted mines in its lands.
The facts of the “New Jerusalem” bombing and the destruction of the museum were mentioned in Nuremberg trials, a series of trials that followed World War II.
The restoration and reconstruction work began in the monastery during the post -war period, as the state allocated huge sums for that and the museum returned to work in the monastery.
In 1994, “New Jerusalem” was returned to the administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the transition began to restore the external appearance of the monastery to the restoration of its interior decor.
In 2008, at the initiative of the Russian President at the time Dmitry Medvedev The second Patriarch Alexei was established, a charity for the restoration of the monastery was established that began to work on a large scale and included – among several matters – the construction of the “Entry Gate to Jerusalem” church and stone walls with eight towers, most of which carried names linked to Palestine.
At the present time, all churches and monasteries in “New Jerusalem” are open to pilgrims and tourists, and are among the most important places of religious tourism in Russia, where photography is allowed inside them freely except for prayer times.