Exhibition 'Monasteries of the Russian North'

About exhibition

The exhibition tells the story of the monastic colonization of the North, the history of the largest monasteries — the Solovetsky and Antonievo-Siysky monasteries, Patriarch Nikon's 17th-century church reform, the activities of Archbishop Athanasius in the Russian North, and the role of monasteries as places of political exile. The central theme of the exhibition project is to present monasteries as centers of spiritual and cultural activity, since monastic communities were always not only places of prayerful service to God, but also centers of culture, education, and book printing. Among the notable exhibits is Filaret's chair. According to legend it belonged to Fyodor Nikitich Romanov (c. 1554–1633) — a political and church figure, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (1608–1610; from 1619), and the father of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich.