Yuriev Monastery

It stands in 5 kilometers south of Novgorod on the left bank of the Volkhov River near where it flows out of Lake Ilmen.

A later veche (more a mob than a governmental assembly in this case) held the Archimandrite Esif (Iosif - Joseph) overnight in the Church of St. Nicholas on the Marketplace in 1337.

The chronicle does not say how the crisis was resolved, but the next year Esif was elevated to the Archimandrite of St. George after the death of Lavrenti.

In 1198 two sons of Yaroslav the Wise, Izyaslav of Luki and Rostislav, are buried in the Church of Saint George.

Almost 200 years afterwards, when Swedish intervents had unearthed graves looking for lucre while invading the monastery during the Ingrian War (1610 - 1617), the remains of prince Theodor were found imperishable.

The gateway into the monastery is crowned by a tall gold-domed tower which is visible from the city centre, including the Novgorod Kremlin two miles to the north.

The monastery owes its resurgence to the efforts of its powerful and energetic hegumen Archimandrite Photius (1792-1838) who persuaded Countess Anna Orlova, a wealthy spinster, to donate her immense funds to the eparchy.

During the World War II, the buildings were occupied by the German and Spanish armed forces, and were seriously damaged.