Travel to Crimea!

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The Dormition Monastery, one of the best known and most frequented by tourists, appeared near Bakhchisarai at the turn of the 9^th century. It was an unprotected settlement where cave dwellings and husbandry premises were supplemented with above-ground structures, chapels, burial vaults and other monastery buildings.

Of the monastery buildings, the prior’s house near the road has survived, as well as the ruins of a small chapel, caves used for husbandry and cults purposes cave cells, and a hospice. A wide stair leads from the road to the monastery cemetery and into a cave church with pillars and remains of mural paintings.

In the late 15^th century the Dormition Monastery became the centre of Orthodoxy in the Crimea. It was the residence of the Metropolian. Sometimes captive Christians and Russian envoys attended the services held in the monastery.

To win over local Christians and to strengthen their political influence over them, the Russian czars gave material support to the monastery. This is testified by the charters of czars Feodor Ioannovich (1595) and Boris Godunov (1599).

In the years of Russia’s diplomatic struggle for the Crimea, the Russian government secured the resettlement of Chrisitans into the northern maritime regions og the Sea of Azov to weaken the economy of the Crimean Khanate. The clergy of the Dormition Monastery played a major role in the ideological preparation of the peninsula’s Christian population to resettlement. The organization of the resettlement was charged to A.V.Suvorov. Thanks to his efficient actions, 31,000 Orhtodox Christians, the bulk of them farmers, cattle-breeders and artisans, resettled oonto the coast of the Sea of Azov in 1778. The residents of the Greek village of Mariampol, which was located opposite the monastery, founded the city of Mariupol.

Monks left the monastery along with parishioners. The monastery became deserted and partially ruined. In the mid-19^th century it was rebuilt and received the name Dormition Skete. During the first heroic defence of Sevastopol in 1854 – 1855 a hospital was established in the cells and hospice. The deceased were buried in the monastery cemetery and opposite the skete, where tombstones have survived to the present time.

The Dormition Skete was closed in 1921. Now it has been active since 1993.

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