Diveevskaya groove. A prayer that is read on the holy groove in Diveyevo. So what is the Groove of the Virgin in Diveevo
October 29th, 2013
Original taken from pamsik in Diveevo. Groove of the Holy Mother of God
From a story "Diveevo - Russian Promised Land".
It is difficult to write about Diveevo. Before coming here, I read various reviews about him and was always surprised by their ascetic style of narration. I love, and myself have a penchant for flowery presentation, for details and details, and such avarice of words and feelings puzzled me. But now, having returned from this truly wonderful place, I don’t know where to start, or how to write about what we saw and felt there - it’s very difficult to find the right words. I'll try.
Diveevo is a special land. This is a special piece of our planet, where a person has the opportunity to cleanse his soul.
Diveevo is not just beautiful nature and a beautiful monastery. Diveevo is a very strong energetic and ripping off everything extra soul place.
About the monastery: Our impressions. Groove of the Virgin.
The Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery itself occupies a fairly large area, but even it seems to be small - there are a lot of pilgrims and people who come here. There are several entrances to the monastery in the monastery fence from Oktyabrskaya street. We accidentally went the right way - through the Belfry. Correct - because this makes it more solemn, not just jump out somewhere on the side of the territory, namely go through the arch of the bell tower, see Holy Trinity Cathedral through the openwork cast-iron gates, a large paved square, bright flower beds, behind them a majestic Cathedral of the Transfiguration white color , almost a copy of the first, only with more rounded shapes. The domes on this cathedral and the bell tower do not just burn with gold, but shine dazzlingly, like full-fledged additional suns to the main luminary. Lots of gold in the sky. That's very beautiful .
On the territory of the monastery, for some reason, it was clearly felt that Trinity Cathedral (there are the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov) - masculine, and Preobrazhensky - feminine. Although, in fact, of course, there is no such division. Maybe this is how it seems, based on their appearance: Trinity - tall, slightly angular, green, gray-steel domes, and Preobrazhensky - slender, soft, whiter than snow and golden domes.
Diveevo. Trinity and Transfiguration Cathedrals
Diveevo. Trinity Cathedral
We went to Trinity Cathedral. There was a service and there were extremely many people inside, so we stood a little, went out and began to walk around it. On the left I saw a big line. She stood by the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the entrance to which is separate. We didn't stand. I don’t know how to honestly explain why, let’s put it this way - we felt we had no right to turn to him in the state in which we were then. Of course, it is very disappointing that it turned out so ridiculously for us. But on the other hand, his invisible presence in Diveevo is almost materially perceptible. They say that the nuns often meet the gray-bearded old man near the Holy Kanavka, and the builders saw him in the temple, and the children, whom he especially loved, often tell their parents about the kind grandfather who talked to them. In the Trinity Cathedral you can also see some things that belonged to Father Seraphim: a mantle, a pectoral cross, an epitrachelion, leather mittens, shoes and a cast iron. This cathedral also houses the beloved icon of Father Seraphim "The Mother of God Tenderness".
We walk around the territory, look closely, orient ourselves, listen to the numerous guides leading groups. It is very interesting to listen, especially since we are not in a hurry, unlike tour groups, so we listen to how several guides talk about the same thing, but in different ways. Behind the Trinity Cathedral is a small necropolis. Here the abbess, several blessed old women from the monastery, monks found their last refuge. We have never seen this. I will talk about them a little lower. Graves - velvet green mounds all in flowers are revered as holy places. People come here specifically to mentally communicate with the blessed, to ask for their help.
Then we go to the Transfiguration Cathedral. There is also a queue inside to venerate the relics of the three blessed Diveyevo(I will also talk about them separately). Here in the cathedral I learn about holy oil, about crackers from the saint's cast-iron, and about a piece of earth from Kanavka (details will be below, I don't want to digress now). But we are not up to it now. We leave the Cathedral and ask where the Kanavka is. It starts right behind the Transfiguration Cathedral, slightly to the right, and also ends approximately behind him, but already to the left.
I prepared for it beforehand.. Of course, you can walk along the Kanavka just like that, but somehow I doubt that it will succeed. This is a very prayerful and powerful place, and when you go behind the forged gate, where its Beginning is, and you enter this high path on the crest of the rampart, and below you there is a high slope and a narrow groove, it's like passing from the earth's gravity into the absence of gravity. There is a completely different air here, even a completely different direction of thought - the old one is left behind the gate.
Start Grooves Holy Mother of God
The Holy Kanavka must be passed by reading the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos or the Archangel greeting(with these words the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation): “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as if the Savior gave birth to our souls. Father Seraphim said this: “This groove is the piles of the Mother of God. Whoever passes the Kanavka with a prayer, and reads one and a half hundred “Theotokos”, everything is here: Athos, and Jerusalem, and Kyiv.
Groove. We start our journey
I have a rosary in my hands, however, I confess, they are Buddhist, souvenir and there are 108 pea beads in them, and the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos must be read 150 times, so at home I marked the necessary bead with a red ribbon. The rosary is very convenient to use, they are needed in order not to lose count. The people who walk along the Kanavka are, of course, all very different, and there are very, very peculiar ones. When someone reads a prayer loudly in a singsong voice, this is, of course, uncomfortable, but tolerable, but there is also a bulletproof contingent that ahead of you casually and selflessly discusses “Nadya’s behavior with Lenka” - this is beyond my understanding.
Groove
The groove is very long, it has a broken path, it is curved in different ways, surrounded by flowers. In the spring here on the slopes (I see) lilies of the valley bloom, in the summer - different flowers, there are even very well-kept vegetable gardens along it.
Nearly finished
Going around the Kanavka, we saw a huge tree not far behind the monastery fence which was decorated with something and caught our attention. Then we went there. It turned out - This huge larch of Tsarevich Alexei. This tree was planted in honor of the first anniversary of the birth of the Tsarevich - that is, in 1905. The bark of this larch on the cut has the color of gore, and the resin too. No other similar trees have been found in nature. It is surrounded by a small fence, there is a stand next to it, and his photograph hangs. Icons of the royal family are hung on the larch and the fence, prayers are served. 
Larch of Tsarevich Alexei
Favorite icon of Seraphim of Sarov.
This is the Mother of God "Tenderness". 
Father Seraphim always prayed before this image and died on his knees. 
The Mother of God is depicted without the baby Jesus, with her arms crossed on her chest and a tender, barely noticeable smile. This icon depicts the moment of the Annunciation, when the Blessed Virgin answers the Archangel Gabriel to the news of the future birth of her son: “Behold the servant of the Lord, wake me according to your word.” Seraphim of Sarov loved this image very much and called it "Joy of all joys." Nicholas II presented for this icon a very rich gold riza, decorated with jewels - a halo, in the form of shining rays, consists of precious stones and pearls. When they fall on the icon Sun rays, it shines in an unusual way: the face of the Virgin became alive, the colors became tender, and the decorations painted in oil were difficult to distinguish from real gems. Many lists were made from the icon, some of them also became miraculous. The list is now hanging in the Trinity Cathedral in Diveevo, and the original is in Moscow, in the Patriarchate.
Father Seraphim left a commandment to the sisters of the monastery - on Sundays to perform a special prayer singing to the Most Holy Theotokos according to the charter Mount Athos- Paraklis. “And if you fulfill this commandment of mine, then everything will be fine with you, and the Queen of Heaven will not leave you. If you do not fulfill it, then without trouble you will make trouble. This commandment is sacredly fulfilled in the monastery.
What to bring from Diveevo.
Icons, of course.
And oil and crackers of St. Seraphim, and earth from the Holy Kanavka.
Bags for them - small transparent ones - I highly recommend taking them with you. Otherwise, you will stand behind them in a long line at the church shop at the entrance (porch) to the Transfiguration Cathedral, and they may not be there yet. Oil bottles are sold here. Opposite this shop there is a window where they will pour oil into them, consecrated on the relics of St. Seraphim, as well as on the relics of the blessed saints - Diveyevo mothers.
Sukharikov (a handful) will be poured into a bag for you in a log chapel named after Father Seraphim(where the Holy Groove ends) - in the summer, or in the porch of the Preobrazhensky Cathedral ra (where oil is poured) - in winter. It is believed that you need to drop literally a drop of such oil into a bottle of ordinary oil, and all the oil will acquire beneficial properties.
Crackers - small pieces of rye bread. As I stood behind them in line at the chapel, I read wooden board that “in the Diveevo Monastery, after the death of the great elder, a tradition appeared to distribute crackers in memory of the monk and as his blessing. Father Seraphim gave rusks as a blessing to many who came to him - some a handful, and some a large burden. Nowadays, these crackers are consecrated in the cast iron of Father Seraphim, in which the elder prepared meager food for himself, and then gave it to the Diveyevo sisters for church needs (coal was stored in it in the altar). Many pilgrims take these crackers to different countries and then they write about miraculous healings and unusual cases associated with them. Crackers are distributed by the nun for free, but you can leave your reward of any size in a nearby box with donations.
A chapel where crackers are handed out. And the crackers themselves from Diveevo
Land from the Holy Canal has the power to cleanse "of the demons of the premises and the territory." A very small part of this earth can be mixed with river sand or ordinary pure earth in any proportion, and this mixture will be fertile and will retain all the properties of the earth from the Holy Canal. A whole mound of this earth is located behind the chapel, where crackers are distributed. This is the place where the very first monastery mill used to stand. In the monastery, they ask you to take it in a handful, no more, so that everyone gets it.
There is also a unique book for sale in the monastery “ Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery". Its author is Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov). We saw it, but didn't buy it because we didn't know anything about it. Only later did they read about Diveevo in books.
About Diveevo Mothers.
When we entered the Nativity and Transfiguration Cathedrals, there were always queues inside them for the relics of the Diveyevo blessed women, and behind the first cathedral in the necropolis, the guides lead groups to the green velvet mounds and also talk about them. Who is this? It turns out that several blessed old women chose Diveevo as their place. Father Seraphim welcomed them with all his heart.
Blessed are special people . Bliss is very difficult to explain in words to a materialistic person, because it is not an innate quality, but an acquired one. In the books they write that this is “one of the most difficult feats of Christianity”, that the holy fools are “people who seemed to be deprived of reason”. For what? - In order to overcome pride, in order, speaking in allegorical language, to influence people more strongly, past whom ordinary words pass by.
But this is not a very clear explanation: it turns out that some kind of acting or any extravagance can also be called bliss. And this is a wrong understanding.
The blessed are half-asleep people. You and I also sleep, and we see dreams, and we know that a dream is always a different, different reality. Especially this border is clearly felt when we wake up - where are we - there or here? Blessed people are more There than Here. But their other reality is always bright. There, they see God very closely. There - they talk with God, not with dark entities. That's why they are clairvoyant, that's why they say the right things, although they behave differently- play with dolls, mimic, figure out figuratively, and snot, dirt, tatters may also be present here, i.e. the whole set that scares ordinary people and inspires (may inspire) fear, contempt, disgust. But the blessed have nothing to do with the artificial rules of our everyday life. They are bright people, they are adult children. And here we are, ordinary normal people, having both a sober mind and a sound memory, being in this reality and speaking beautiful words, we often do terrible nasty things.
Here is another interesting understanding of bliss: At some point in Rus', they began to believe that the holy fool is a smart person who pretends to be a fool. The humility of a proud mind may be a very great feat, but it is still only a pretense in the first place. True foolishness is by no means pretense, not an imitation of stupidity, but genuine stupidity. Which, however, does not at all cancel the true mind. You just fall into a state where the ordinary mind (the ability to navigate the world's conventions) suddenly flies away, and something else comes in its place: wisdom, which no longer cares about stupid conventions».
And a strange thought also came to mind (Diveevo, after all): the blessed are surprised people. Surprised by God.
In the necropolis (behind the Nativity Cathedral), in addition to other clergy, the blessed are buried - Pelagia(in the center), Paraskeva(on right), Natalia(left).
Blessed Pelagia(Pelagia Ivanovna Serebryannikova, lived in the monastery until 1884) - “crazy Palaga”, “fool” for some people and “great lamp of light”, “spiritual mother”, “second Seraphim” for the priest himself and others. She was married, gave birth to children, but her soul longed for something else. Father Seraphim loved her very much. When Pelageya and her husband arrived in Sarov (in 1828), Seraphim talked to her alone for six hours. Seeing her off, he publicly bowed to the very ground and told her to go to the Diveevo monastery as soon as possible.
Blessed Paraskeva - Pasha Sarovskaya(Paraskeva Ivanovna, lived in the monastery until 1915) - "the third Seraphim." She had a very difficult fate. She is a fortress. The landowner found fault with her, told a lie because of alleged "theft", gave her, an honest wife, to drunken soldiers. Paraskeva then went to the Kyiv Lavra and accepted the schema there, which is practically inaccessible for women. For 30 years she lived in the forest, where her beggar was also robbed by robbers, just like St. Seraphim, and in addition they cut off her ear. She came to Diveevo, to the monastery and stayed here. Blessed Pasha lived in a small house-cell, which she called "desert". She played with dolls, her changeable mood, allegorical conversations and actions hid the highest love, humility and compassion. People were streaming towards her. She welcomed everyone and singled out no one either by rank, or by regalia, or by rank. Only the blessed can do this. Nicholas II and his wife came to visit her. And Pasha predicted everything for him: a revolution, the death of a dynasty ... She even showed a boy’s doll and said: “This is yours.” But the Empress showed misunderstanding: I do not believe. Then the blessed one handed her a piece of kumach: “This is for your son for his pants. When he is born, you will believe.
Here, on the territory of the monastery, there is her blue house, the same “desert”, and now it houses her museum and pilgrimage center.
Blessed Natalia(Natalya Dmitrievna, lived in the monastery until 1900). She also had the gift of advice.
As strange as it sounds, V Soviet time on the site of their burial stood ... a beer stall. There, among the local drunks, these blessed old women often appeared and sat on a bench - Pelageya, Pasha and Maria, whose place was trampled on by the stall. The stallholder was especially embarrassed at the sight of these three blessed old women who had come from nowhere.
Entrance to the Transfiguration Cathedral
Where to eat in Diveevo.
…You can eat on the territory of the monastery. There, firstly, there is a large dining room. We even read somewhere that it is free for pilgrims. Then there there are several tents selling delicious monastery pies. And more there there are tiny pancake cafes "Monastic refectory". But there are much more people there, especially at lunchtime, than the pancakes themselves. Therefore, you need to either be patient and stand in line, or go somewhere for a more substantial snack.
Delicious pancakes here.
We got into the pancake shop successfully, there were no people, because the girls left for a new portion of pancakes. We waited only 5 minutes, the tail was already lined up behind us, and the pancakes somehow quickly arrived. Very tasty, with different fillings, but unusual. The dough, apparently, is short, so a little rubbery.
Continuation in the story Diveevo - Russian Promised Land»
Every person interested in the history of Russia read about the village of Diveevo, which is located near the Sarov Desert. There is one unique monastery with a groove in it. What made this monastery and its groove famous?
Holy places in Diveevo
In this small village with an interesting name Diveevo, there is an unusual nunnery, around which a groove was dug, where the feet of the Most Holy Theotokos herself passed. It is believed that it is a barrier from evil dark forces, and those who walk along it, reading a prayer to the Mother of God, will be cured of various mental and bodily ailments ...
Deviating a little from the topic, I’ll say to myself: I walked along it, putting aside my crutches - with a cane - it hurt, it started to rain, then snow, I prayed and walked, made a wish and it came true ...
Therefore, it is true Holy places... There are so many saints in Rus', about whom we know nothing at all or very little ...
background
Agafya's visions is a story dedicated to Agafya Semyonovna Belokopytova. After her husband died, she left the village with a small child, giving herself and her earthly life to God. Her path was directed to Kyiv, where already at that time there were many monasteries. In one, she decided to complete her journey, until one day she came to her Mother of God. She told Agafya that she was ordered to go to those lands that would be indicated to her and establish a convent there, which would be her earthly lot.
After talking with the elders, she still decides to set foot on a new path. Agafya walked around holy Rus' for a long time, until 1760, until the Mother of God again appeared to her. In a dream, she said that she had found the future holy lands, and it was here that there would be a monastery, before which there were no equals on earth. There was an event in Diveevo. After sleeping, she went to the village that was nearby, where she and her daughter found shelter. But, unfortunately, the daughter died soon after. The woman was no longer held back, and after the sale of property in 1767, the construction of the great cathedral began.
When Agafya was 55 years old, suddenly her strength left her. Realizing that her death is near, she asks three monks to accept her confession. Seraphim was one of them that day. It was to him that she handed over this divine mission over Diveevo.
Seraphim of Sarov. Groove of the Virgin
The construction of the monastery was continued only in 1825, Seraphim of Sarov stopped his retreat. Having accepted a responsible spiritual mission, the Mother of God also began to appear to him. She “walked around” the monastery in a circle and ordered to dig a groove along the outer circle, enclosing the monastery. From now on Virgin's groove protect the monastery and its novices. After all, it was she who was supposed to become a protective boundary not only for the village, but for the whole of Russia.
The names of three servants were also named, who were obliged to dig a groove and plant gooseberries on the slopes. The Mother of God also indicated the exact dimensions of the groove. They dug it for about three years, despite the weather and season, and, at the insistence of the Virgin, ONLY WOMEN nuns.
But no matter how hard the sisters tried on the miracle building, she could not become a ring around the monastery. Not enough 125 m., in their place and had to erect a temple.
After the death of Sarovsky, dark days came for the village. Ivan Tolstosheev called himself his follower, in fact it was not so, and in 1861 he was exposed. Despite the fact that the truth about the liar was revealed, he managed to do a lot of trouble. Change the charter of the monastery, demolish a couple of buildings and even build bridges and roads across the Holy Canal. Thank God, he did not have time to fall asleep as he wished. In 1862 a new abbess came and everything went on the path of revival.
Holy destiny of the Mother of God on earth
This Holy place experienced many difficulties, atheism, and once the time came when all the inhabitants of the monastery were ordered to leave the temple within 7 days. They did not leave the village and remained to live next to the holy temple. In the 70s, a transformer substation and a boarding school were installed on the canal. Soon it continued here and…
The gooseberry blossomed again, the groove was put in order, leveling all the recesses, since the sisters who laid it were not everywhere able to adhere to the proportions that the Mother of God spoke about. As for the icon from which the monastery originates, today it is located in the Fatima Monastery. In Diveevo they are sure that the times will come when the miraculous healing icons will again see their native lands.
How to get to Diveevsky Monastery
The village of Diveevo is easily accessible by any means of transport. The most convenient way to get to Nizhny Novgorod. And from there, from the bus station, to the village itself.
Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery is a special place located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Curious tourists who study the history of Russian lands, and numerous pilgrims from Christian countries, who humbly ask for the intercession of the Mother of God, aspire here.
Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Convent
History of the monastery
The Diveevo Convent was founded in the second half of the 18th century by Mother Alexandra (Melgunova). At the behest of the Mother of God, she went from Kyiv to the north of the Russian lands. In the village of Diveevo, the Virgin Mary again appeared to the nun and ordered her to stay in this area.
In 1780, the first stone church (Kazan Church) was consecrated, built at the expense of Mother Alexandra. Eight years later, on the lands adjacent to the Kazan Church, a house was built in which Alexandra and four novices settled.
In 1789, monk Seraphim from Sarovsky took custody of the community. monastery. In 1796, Xenia Mikhailovna Kocheulova was chosen as the head of the monastic community, about whom Seraphim of Sarov spoke with great respect.
With the blessing of the trustee Seraphim in 1827, not far from Kazanskaya, they founded the Mill community, which was headed by a representative of the noble family of the Manturovs, nun Elena. With the money of Prince Mikhail Manturov, the Church of the Nativity of Christ was built.
In 1842, the Diveyevo communities united, and 20 years later they were given the status of a monastery. By the beginning of the 20th century, 1600 nuns permanently lived in the monastery.
The decline and restoration of the monastery in the XX century
After the Bolshevik revolution, the monastery continued to function until 1927. Some of the nuns settled in neighboring villages. Many were repressed. Religious buildings were placed at the disposal of administrative and educational institutions. But even in Soviet times, people came to closed churches, held religious processions and services.
The lower church of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Diveevsky Monastery
Late 80s monastic community started to function again. In the year of the celebration of the millennium of the baptism of Rus', the Diveyevo Orthodox community was registered. A year later, the Trinity Church was transferred to her disposal. In 1991, the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov were found. In 1995, the monastery acquired the status of an architectural monument of federal significance.
The modern monastery is a place where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world come every year. On its territory there are several holy springs, many relics of Orthodox saints. But the main shrine of the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Lavra is the Holy Canal of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Holy Groove
The main shrine of the monastery appeared after the appearance of the Mother of God to Seraphim of Sarov. The Virgin Mary ordered to found a new monastery (Mill) and enclose it with a moat and rampart. The nuns and novices of the monastery had to dig a ditch in the indicated place. The labor of the villagers was used in auxiliary work. The ditch was completed in 1832.
Among the many shrines of Diveevo, the Holy Kanavka occupies a special place.
The groove consists of six segments with a total length of 777 meters. Its depth and width, as well as the height of the adjacent rampart, are 2.13 meters (3 cubits).
Believers claim that the holy groove is the fence of the fourth spiritual abode of the Mother of God on earth, through which even the Antichrist cannot cross. The Mother of God is invisibly present in her inheritance every day.
Interesting! Pilgrims and nuns are advised to come to the shrine from 3 to 4 am. They believe that at this time the Virgin Mary walks there and is the chosen one.
Why go to Diveevo
Many argue that a tourist trip to the Diveevsky Monastery does not make sense. But the architecture of the monastery cannot leave anyone indifferent. It is the solemn and monumental appearance of the temples, the cleanliness and well-groomedness of the territory that set the mind on the thoughts necessary for humble prayer.
Diveevo is a unique place worth visiting for spiritual purification and strengthening of the Faith. Coming here, people ask for the fulfillment of their most secret desires and thank the Mother of God for their fulfillment. According to tradition, during the journey along the Kanavka, believers must offer up a prayer to the Mother of God 150 times.
The earth of the Groove, flowers and herbs growing in it have healing properties. Earth from the Kanavka of the Queen of Heaven can be collected with you in a specially equipped place.
It has many wonderful properties:
- The land from the Holy Kanavka in Diveevo is used to protect against evil spirits and evil thoughts. To do this, part of the miraculous earth is mixed with ordinary soil or sand and placed near front door or buried under the threshold of a private house.
- A handful of earth wrapped in a cloth is applied to diseased or injured parts of the body to speed up the healing process.
- The strengthening of physical health is facilitated by the daily use of holy water, in which a small amount of earth is bred.
The main shrine of the Diveevo monastery is a shrine with the holy relics of St. Seraphim
How to get to Diveevo
Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery is located in the village of Diveevo, Diveevsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region. The closest city to it, from which you can get to the Holy Monastery, is Arzamas. Nizhny Novgorod is located 180 kilometers away.
Travel by public transport
People traveling by public transport should choose the method of arrival in Arzamas or Nizhny Novgorod depending on the region of residence. Residents of Moscow should take the train departing from the Kursk or Yaroslavl stations.
Having reached the station Arzamas-2, you should transfer to the bus to Diveevo. Buses leave at intervals of one hour.
Tourists and pilgrims coming to Nizhny Novgorod should get to the bus station on the street. Gagarin and take the bus number 1645 to Diveevo. As an alternative route, you can consider a trip in the Nizhny Novgorod - Sarov fixed-route taxi, which makes a stop in Diveevo. This bus departs from the bus station on the street. Lyadov.
Travel by car
Based on the feedback from people who have repeatedly visited the monastery, a trip to the Diveevsky Monastery by private car is the most economical and convenient way travel to the holy place. It will take an average of 7-8 hours to get to the place from the regions of Central Russia.
Transfiguration Cathedral in Diveevsky Monastery
Motorists from Moscow need to move along the Gorky highway in the direction of Vladimir. At the junction in front of the city, you need to turn towards Murom. Then the path continues through Murom, Ardatov and Mayevka. After about 270 km, travelers will arrive in Diveevo.
Advice! To get to the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery, without thinking about the route and problems of accommodation, you can contact a travel agency. Many of them organize tourist and pilgrimage trips to the monastery.
Before the first trip to Diveevo, you should study the history of this place, its shrines and unique relics. Without this information, the activities taking place in the monastery may be incomprehensible to tourists.
For female tourists and pilgrims, regardless of age, it is obligatory to wear a long skirt and headdress on the territory of the monastery. Violators of this rule will be asked to leave.
When preparing for a trip, it will be useful to learn the prayer read on the Holy Canal. It contains only a few lines. A photography blessing can be purchased at the church shop, but many tourists take photos without one. The main thing is not to behave defiantly and respect the people around you.
Diveevsky Monastery and its main shrine is a unique spiritual and architectural monument of Orthodox culture. On its territory, even non-believers feel peace, reverence for divine power and respect for the people who founded and revived the Holy Monastery.
Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery
What was the groove around the kinovia? It was created in last years the life of Rev. Seraphim. Batiushka was in a great hurry with the construction of this groove, that is, the path along which the Queen of Heaven passed. Here is what he wrote about. Vasily Sadovsky in his notes: “Father Seraphim said many wonderful things about this groove, that these are piles of the Mother of God. Then the Queen of Heaven bypassed it. This groove is high to heaven.
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Here I have, said the priest, and Athos, and Kyiv, and Jerusalem. And as the Antichrist comes, he will pass everywhere, but this groove will not jump. The sisters dug this groove until the very death of the father, towards the end of his life, by order of him, and in winter and summer without ceasing, fire spattered from the ground when they chopped it with an ax, but did not order to stop. "Elder Anna Alekseevna, one of the first sisters, says: “For six years I lived at the mill, where Father Seraphim chose us seven, where he placed us to live. Here I was a witness to the next miracle. Once one of us, the next one, came out of the cells and saw: Father Seraphim in a white overall began to dig a groove himself. In fear and joy, beside herself, she runs into the cell and tells all of us. All of us, in indescribable joy, whoever was in what, rushed to that place and, seeing Father Seraphim, threw themselves at his feet, but, having risen, they did not find him, only a spatula and a hoe lie in front of us on the dug up ground. " Evdokia Efremovna (nun Evpraksia) also confirms this story. Elena Vasilievna Manturova, despite the fact that she was considered the head of the mill monastery, worked on an equal footing with others and dug a ditch. In the fast of 1829, an order came to sacrifice three acres of land at the request of Father Seraphim. Father Vasily testifies that the father was in such admiration and joy that it is impossible to say, and there was a great celebration, everyone stocked up pebbles and began to put them between the pegs driven in. In the spring, Father Seraphim ordered that this land be plowed with a plow along one furrow three times, and Mikhail Vasilyevich [Manturov ], Fr. Vasily and the older sisters. The earth was plowed with pebbles located in advance. Father Seraphim ordered the dug-out earth to be thrown inside the monastery, so that a shaft also three arshins was formed. Batiushka sent flower seeds to plant on the ditch. Later inside the grooves on the territory of the cinovium were planted beautiful trees, and in 1922 they were already powerful and beautiful and bent over the groove. When the groove was already clearly visible, the great madam Diveyevo schema nun Martha died on August 21, 1829. Her memory falls on the day of Equal Ap. Mary Magdalene on July 22, on the 4th day of memory of Father Seraphim. Schimonakhina Martha and Elena Vasilievna lived in Diveevo at the same time. What a blessed feeling it was to walk along the groove with a rosary in your hands, reading 150 times the prayer "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice!". Especially in the evening, when all daytime concerns subside and there is complete silence. The sky is somehow getting closer to the earth, the prayers are slowly walking along the groove, as if this is not our hectic age, but ancient Holy Rus', God knows which way it came here from the depths of centuries.
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Rus' created a legend about Kitezh-grad, and it was her age-old dream - to get away from the sinful world, but here there was not a dream, but a true reality, here there was a true communion of gods with people. Here the true visions of Father Seraphim and other saints and righteous people took place, here everyone lived a spiritual life and spiritual joys. Here the sky converged with the earth. Here "there was a battle with the spirits of wickedness in high places," who in every possible way frightened the ascetics and those who wanted to follow their path. Even the pilgrims were frightened in the dark by demonic manifestations, but all were protected by the grace of God, through the prayers of Father Seraphim and Mother Alexandra. Our dear brother once met a figure two stories tall on a groove and was horrified, but immediately the horror was replaced by complete peace of mind - Father Seraphim did not offend anyone. Pilgrims walked along the groove, repeating the path of the Mother of God; nuns, priests and bishops walked; life path at that terrible time. Went with unforgettable impressions for life. Many took a handful of earth from the groove, and sometimes it protected them from enemy attacks. The groove was made in a quadrangle and at the corners we made, according to ancient custom, beautiful carved turrets on pillars with icons of the Mother of God inserted into them, walking along this groove - the turrets were removable and were removed at night by the sisters. Approaching them, the pilgrims were baptized - this was a visible reminder to them that the Queen of Heaven had passed along this path. How wonderful it all was!
On January 1, 1992, for the first time after a long break, the tradition of daily walking along the Holy Kanavka was resumed, when the sisters, together with the abbess, led by the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”, go around the entire monastery.
Only six years later, work began on the site closest to the territory transferred to the monastery, from the beginning to the first turn. After a solemn prayer service on August 25, 1997, the first work began.
Since the Kanavka was almost covered with debris in many places and was poorly distinguished, its location was clarified by several transverse sections. The sections clearly showed the profile of the original Kanavka, the layers that filled it as a result of the slumping of the edges in the first hundred years of the Kanavka's existence, and the backfill layer in Soviet times. In one of the cuts, we managed to find the beginning of the holy Kanavka. It is remarkable that at a depth of three arshins (2.15 m) a layer of sand begins, into which water drained, thanks to which the Kanavka remained dry after the rains.
Three days before the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim, the Canal was dug almost completely and landscaped. The last section of the Kanavka was handed over to the monastery in 2006, and on July 31 its restoration was completed.
On April 27, 1995, the tradition was resumed after the late liturgy during the Paschal week, daily and on Sundays until Easter, to walk along the Holy Kanavka in procession. Religious processions along it are also performed on the feast of the memory of St. Seraphim on January 2/15; on the feast of the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" July 28/August 10; for the burial of the Mother of God on August 16/30; on the feast of the founding of the Mill Monastery on December 9/22; January 1/14 at midnight on the feasts of the Circumcision of the Lord and St. Basil the Great with the singing of a prayer service for the New Year.
For almost two centuries now, people have been walking and walking in a continuous stream along the holy Kanavka, following the behest of the Reverend, following the Queen of Heaven, in Her footsteps.
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Holy Trinity-Seraphim-Diveevsky
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Holy Groove
Among the many shrines of Diveevo, the Holy Kanavka occupies a special place. Rev. Seraphim said that the Queen of Heaven Herself measured with Her girdle and daily passes along the Kanavka, bypassing Her Destiny and blessing everyone. That is why it is necessary to stay in Diveevo for a day, to spend the night in order to be worthy of this blessing of the Mother of God, Who passes through the Kanavka at night. Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Dmitrovsky (Zvezdinsky), who lived at one time in the Diveevo monastery, was honored on February 2, 1927 with a vision of the Mother of God walking along the Kanavka. His cell attendant Anna testifies that Vladyka was in his cell after the evening service and suddenly rushed to the window with incessant exclamations of prayer, then to another window: “The Most Pure Theotokos is walking along the Kanavka! I can not see Her wonderful beauty! - said Vladyka Seraphim with tears.
This groove is high up to Heaven. The monk said: “Whoever passes the Kanavka with a prayer, reads up to one and a half hundred Mother of God, everything is here: Athos, and Jerusalem, and Kiev!”, “Visitors will come to us, they will take clay from it for healing and it will be us instead of gold!” Every day, all the sisters walk along the Kanavka in the evening, after the evening meal, carrying in front the icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness. The Monk Seraphim said that the Antichrist would not cross the Kanavka. Many understand this spiritually (in particular, Vladyka Seraphim (Zvezdinsky) thought so) - whoever reverently reads the Theotokos Rule, the Antichrist will not overcome his soul.
After the closing of the Diveevsky Monastery, the Holy Kanavka suffered great damage. In many places it was filled up, the shaft was leveled, in some places it was cut by various communications. Restoration began in 1997.
The Holy Kanavka was built by the order of the Queen of Heaven Herself, like everything else in Diveevo. A groove with a rampart was to surround the Mill Community and had to be dug by the hands of the sisters themselves. The groove had to be dug three arshins deep and three arshins wide, the earth had to be thrown inside the monastery to form a shaft also three arshins high. To strengthen the rampart, the Monk ordered that gooseberries be planted. First, the Reverend ordered that all the sisters go around the earth and then eat honey with soft bread. The sisters hesitated to start digging because of the excessively hard work. And then, one day, another sister came out of the cell at night and saw that Father Yerafim in a white robe himself began to dig the Kanavka. In fear and joy, she runs into the cell and tells all the sisters. Everyone ran to this place, and, seeing Batiushka, they bowed at his feet, but, having risen, they did not find him. Only the shovel and hoe lay on the ground. The Kanavka had already been dug from arshins. The other sister was the day before at Batiushka's in Sarov and spent the night in his hermitage. And in the morning he sends it: “Come, mother, tell the girls to start digging a trench today, I was there and started it myself.” She walked and wondered how Father went to Diveevo? She comes to the monastery, and there the sisters vying with each other tell her how they saw Batiushka. And she told them hers. The sisters, amazed by such a miracle, immediately began work. They dug for three years and finished by the feast of the Nativity of Christ, and soon, on January 2 (15), St. Seraphim fell asleep in the Lord.
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It is difficult to write about Diveevo. Before coming here, I read various reviews about him and was always surprised by their ascetic style of narration. I love, and myself have a penchant for flowery presentation, for details and details, and such avarice of words and feelings puzzled me. But now, having returned from this truly wonderful place, I don’t know where to start, or how to write about what we saw and felt there - it’s very difficult to find the right words. I'll try.
Diveevo is a special land. This is a special piece of our planet, where a person has the opportunity to cleanse his soul.
I'm in and 
ABOUT THE MONASTERY: OUR IMPRESSIONS. GROOT OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
The Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery itself occupies a fairly large area, but even it seems to be small - there are a lot of pilgrims and people who come here. There are several entrances to the monastery in the monastery fence from Oktyabrskaya Street. We accidentally went the right way - through the Belfry. Correct - because it turns out more solemnly, not just jump out somewhere on the side of the territory, namely, go through the arch of the bell tower, see Trinity Cathedral light green color through the openwork cast-iron gates, a large paved square, bright flower beds, behind them a majestic Transfiguration Cathedral boiled white, almost a copy of the first, only with more rounded shapes. The domes on this cathedral and the bell tower do not just burn with gold, but shine dazzlingly, like full-fledged additional suns to the main luminary. Lots of gold in the sky. That's very beautiful.
Entrance to the monastery
On the territory of the monastery, for some reason, it was clearly felt that the Trinity Cathedral (there are the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov) is masculine, and the Preobrazhensky is feminine. Although, in fact, of course, there is no such division. Maybe it seems so, based on their appearance: Troitsky is tall, slightly angular, green, gray-steel domes, and Preobrazhensky is slender, soft, whiter than snow and golden domes.
Trinity Cathedral 
Transfiguration Cathedral
We went to Trinity Cathedral. There was a service and there were extremely many people inside, so we stood a little, went out and began to walk around it. On the left I saw a big line. She stood at the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the entrance to which is separate. We didn't stand. I don’t know how to honestly explain why, let’s put it this way - we felt we had no right to turn to him in the state in which we were then. Of course, it is very disappointing that it turned out so ridiculously for us. But on the other hand, his invisible presence in Diveevo is almost materially perceptible.
They say that the nuns often meet the gray-bearded old man near the Holy Kanavka, and the builders saw him in the temple, and the children, whom he especially loved, often tell their parents about the kind grandfather who talked to them. In the Trinity Cathedral, you can also see some things that belonged to Father Seraphim: a mantle, a pectoral cross, an epitrachelion, leather gloves, shoes and a cast iron. This cathedral also houses Father Seraphim's favorite icon "Mother of God Tenderness". 
We walk around the territory, look closely, orient ourselves, listen to the numerous guides leading groups. It is very interesting to listen, especially since we are not in a hurry, unlike tour groups, so we listen to how several guides talk about the same thing, but in different ways.
Behind Troitsky cathedral there is a small necropolis. Here the abbess, several blessed old women from the monastery, monks found their last refuge. We have never seen this. I will talk about them a little lower. Graves - velvet green mounds all in flowers are revered as holy places. People come here specifically to mentally communicate with the blessed, to ask for their help. 
Next we go to Transfiguration Cathedral. There is also a queue inside to venerate the relics of the three blessed Diveyevo (I will also tell about them separately). Here in the cathedral I learn about holy oil, about crackers from the saint's cast-iron, and about a piece of earth from Kanavka (details will be below, I don't want to digress now). But we are not up to it now. 
We leave the Cathedral and ask where Groove. It starts right behind the Transfiguration Cathedral, a little to the right, and also ends approximately behind it, but to the left. I prepared for it even beforehand.
Of course, you can walk along the Kanavka just like that, but somehow I doubt that it will succeed. This is a very prayerful and powerful place, and when you go behind the forged gate, where its Beginning is, and you enter this high path on the crest of the rampart, and below you there is a high slope and a narrow groove, it's like passing from the earth's gravity into the absence of gravity. There is a completely different air here, even a completely different line of thought - the old one is left behind the gate. 
The Holy Kanavka must be passed, reading the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos or the Archangel greeting (with these words the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation): “O Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as if the Savior gave birth to our souls.
Father Seraphim said: “This groove is the piles of the Mother of God. Whoever passes the Kanavka with a prayer, and reads one and a half hundred “Virgins”, everything is here: Athos, and Jerusalem, and Kyiv.
I have a rosary in my hands, however, I confess, they are Buddhist, souvenir and there are 108 pea beads in them, and the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos must be read 150 times, so at home I marked the necessary bead with a red ribbon. The rosary is very convenient to use, they are needed in order not to lose count.
The people who walk along the Kanavka are, of course, all very different, and there are very, very peculiar ones. When someone reads a prayer loudly in a singsong voice, this is, of course, uncomfortable, but tolerable, but there is also a bulletproof contingent that ahead of you casually and selflessly discusses “Nadya’s behavior with Lenka” - this is beyond my understanding. 
The groove is very long, it has a broken trajectory, it is curved in different ways, surrounded by flowers. In the spring here on the slopes (I see) lilies of the valley bloom, in the summer - different flowers, there are even very well-groomed vegetable gardens along it.
You need to start reading a prayer as soon as you step on it, otherwise you will not have time to read it 150 times. Its length and the number of prayers were thought out by the holy elder Seraphim himself. 
Going around the Kanavka, we saw a huge tree not far behind the monastery fence, which was decorated with something and attracted our attention. Then we went there. It turned out that this huge larch of Tsarevich Alexei. This tree was planted in honor of the first anniversary of the birth of the Tsarevich - that is, in 1905. The bark of this larch on the cut has the color of gore, and the resin too. No other similar trees have been found in nature. It is fenced with a low picket fence, there is a stand next to it, and his photograph hangs. Icons of the royal family are hung on the larch and the fence, prayers are served. 
Stories about a trip to Murom and Diveevo
