Editing Ferapontov Monastery

{{Infobox monastery
| name           = Ferapontov Monastery
| image          = Ferapontovo drone cut.jpg
| caption        = 
| full           = 
| other_names    = 
| order          = [[Russian Orthodox Church]]
| established    = 1398
| disestablished = 1924
| mother         =
| diocese        = 
| churches       =
| founder        = [[Saint Ferapont]]
| dedication     = 
| people         = 
| location       = [[Ferapontovo]], [[Vologda Oblast]], [[Russia]]
| coord          = 
| oscoor         =
| embedded       = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child         = yes
| official_name = Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery<!-- leave empty unless the official WHS name is different from the title of the infobox -->
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(i), (iv)}}(i), (iv)
| ID            = 982
| coordinates   = {{coord|59|57|23|N|38|34|03|E|region:RU_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| year          = 2000
| area          = {{convert|2.1|ha|sqft|abbr=on}}
| buffer_zone   = {{convert|20|ha|sqft|abbr=on}}
| locmapin      = European Russia#Europe
| map_caption   = 
}}
| public_access  = 
}}
The '''Ferapontov Monastery''' is a monastery of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in [[Ferapontovo]], [[Kirillovsky District]], [[Vologda Oblast]], Russia. The monastery was founded by [[Saint Ferapont]] in 1398. The In 2000, the  monastery was added to the [[UNESCO]] list of [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/982/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
The monastery was founded by [[Therapont of Belozersk|Saint Ferapont]] in 1398 in the Russian North, to the east from the [[Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery]], named after his fellow monk, [[Cyril of Beloozero|Saint Cyril of Beloozero]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Преподобный Ферапонт Белозерский, Можайский. К 550-летию со дня рождения |url=https://kukovenko.ru/tserkovnaya-deyatelnost/prepodobnyj-ferapont-belozerskij-mozhajskij-k-550-letiyu-so-dnya-rozhdeniya |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=kukovenko.ru}}</ref> The fame of the monastery started to spread under Kirill's disciple, Saint Martinian, who was to become a father superior of the [[Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra]] in 1447.

Even after Martinian's death, his monastery was protected and favoured by members of [[Ivan III]]'s family. The most ancient structure, the Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin (1490), was built in brick by the masters of [[Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Rostov]]. This edifice is the best preserved of three sister cathedrals erected in the 1490s in the Russian North. All the interior walls are covered with invaluable [[fresco]]es by the great medieval painter [[Dionisius]]. This is the last surviving Russian medieval church with fully painted walls.

During the 1530s, they added a treasury, a refectory, and the unique Annunciation church surmounted by a belfry. At that time the monastery enjoyed special privileges conferred upon it by [[Ivan the Terrible]], and possessed some 60 villages in the vicinity. The tsar himself frequently visited the monastery as a pilgrim.

In the [[Time of Troubles]], the monastery was ravaged by the [[Polish people|Poles]]. During its recovery the last buildings — the tent-like church of Saint Martinian (1641), a two-tented barbican church (1650), and a bell-tower (1680) — were added to the complex. The belfry clocks (1638) are said to be the oldest in Russia.

As the monastery gradually lost its religious importance, it was being turned into a place of exile for distinguished clerics, such as the [[Patriarch Nikon]]. It was abolished by [[Paul of Russia|Emperor Paul]] in 1798, reinstituted as a convent in 1904, closed by the Bolsheviks 20 years later, and turned into a museum in 1975. The museum constitutes a part of the [[Russky Sever National Park|Russky Sever]] (''Russian North'') National Park since 1991.

As of January 2013, images of the monastery and grounds were available via [[Google Street View]].

<gallery>
ferapontovo.jpg|Difficulty of access helped preserve the monastery intact since the 17th century.
Ferapontov.jpg|St Nicholas, the patron saint of Russian merchants. Fresco by [[Dionisius]] from the Ferapontov Monastery.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*[http://www.dionisy.com/dionisy/38/ All the murals of the Ferapontov Monastery online]
*[http://www.dionisy.com/eng/monastery/ Official web page of the monastery]

{{Russian North}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Russia|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1490]]
[[Category:Churches completed in the 1490s]]
[[Category:15th-century Russian Orthodox church buildings]]
[[Category:Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Russia]]
[[Category:Fresco paintings]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Vologda Oblast]]
[[Category:1398 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:14th-century establishments in Russia]]
[[Category:Museums in Vologda Oblast]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Russia]]
[[Category:Religious museums in Russia]]
[[Category:Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Vologda Oblast]]
[[Category:Monasteries used as prisons]]