Russian Monastery Of

Ascension on the Mount of

Olives

Content
1. Title Slide
2. Content
3. The History of the
monastery
4. Community Formation
5. Difficulties in the life of the
monastery
6. The Destruction Of The
monastery
7. Back To Life
8. The shrine In The
Monastery
9. Monastery Sisters

The History of
the monastery
The Mount of Olives
Convent of the Ascension
of Our Lord owes its
existence to Archimandrite
Antonin (Kapustin) and
Igumen Parthenius. Father
Antonin bought land on the
summit of the Mount of
Olives and in 1870 built
the church of Ascension
with a bell tower 64 meters
(approximately 200 feet) in
height. Simultaneously,
cisterns were dug, gardens
planted, quarters for
pilgrims erected and
excavations started.

ty
Formatio
n
But it was Father Parthenius's
wish to establish a monastic
community on the site. With
this in mind, he started
performing services twice a
week. Slowly, pious maidens
began gathering and in 1906
the Holy Synod formally
acknowledge the community.
A year later the sisterhood
numbered 100. New buildings
were built. For support, the
sisters opened an iconpainting
studio and did embroidery,
which is done to this day.
Tragically, in 1909, Father
Parthenius was found stabbed
to death in his cell. Neither the
criminal was ever found, nor
the reason for murder
established.

in the life of
the
monastery
During the First World War the
new monastic community
found itself in very difficult
conditions. Curfew was
introduced in Jerusalem and it
was not safe to venture
outside, prices for foodstuff
rose enormously, Turkish
soldiers were quartered in the
dormitories, and services
ceased, because the Mission
priests, together with ten
senior sisters, were expelled
to Egypt.
Patriarch Damianos tried to
comfort those who remained,
and helped by sending regular
portions of wheat. He
arranged for the sisters to
attend services at Little
Galilee. Support, also, came
from the Italian consul, and
later the American legation

Destruction
Of The
monastery
Unexpectedly, the Turkish
authorities demanded that
within three days the
dormitories be vacated and the
sisters leave. Their intent was
to set up a military hospital.
The sisters had no choice but
submit to this demand.
However, again, due to
Patriarch Damianos's
intervention, this exile lasted
only seventeen days. Having
come back, the sisters found
everything in terrible disorder:
crosses were removed, the
icons in the church were
smeared with lime, and the
iconostasis in the refectory
was damaged. Three hundred
Turkish soldiers remained
within the walls. Germans
officers occupied the
Archimandrite's House.

Back To
Life
On November 20th, 1918, the
British entered Jerusalem, and
some of their soldiers took
residence at the community.
They helped by suppling the
sisters with bread, tea and
sugar. The English, also,
helped financially, by giving
the sisters work building the
Jericho road.
In the beginning of 1919 the
senior members of the
community came back from
Egypt. In June of the same
year, the church was reopened and soon after the
clergy was allowed to return
from exile. Slowly, life started
coming back to normal.

The shrine In
The Monastery
In 1924, Metropolitan Anthony
interceded before the Jerusalem
Patriarchate and the Russian community
on the Mount of Olives was officially
recognized as a convent.
The Byzantine style main church is
dedicated to the feast of Ascension.
Frescos were painted by the nuns
themselves. There are many beautiful
icons and relics of saints. The icon of
the Mother of God "She Who is Quick to
Hear" is revered as miraculous.
The full daily cycle of services are
performed in the main church. The feast
day of Ascension is solemnly celebrated
and brings many faithful together.
The Chapel of St John the Baptist stands
where his precious Head was found. The
ancient mosaic floor has a cavity,
marking the actual place. The feastday
of the chapel is on February 24th
(March 9th), when the Church
celebrates the First (IV century) and
Second (452) findings. The Psalter is
read in the Chapel in commemoration of
the reposed benefactors.

Monaster
y Siters
The church in the refectory in
dedicated to the Righteous
Philaret the Merciful. Services
there are conducted once a
month. The feast day is on
December 1st (14th).
The convent's area is 54,000
square meters, surrounded
by a wall, a kilometer and
half in length. It has a large
olive grove which supplies
the sisters with olives and oil.

Today, 46 sisters live at

Mount of Olives. Among them
are Russians, Arabs,
Romanians, Estonians,
Australians and Germans.

The
End