Alexander-Svirsky Monastery on the Ladoga lake

The Alexander-Svirsky Monastery is located on the shore of the Roshchinsky Lake, near the town of Lodeynoye Pole. The south-eastern shore of Lake Ladoga is 30 kilometers from the monastery. Thousands of pilgrims come to the monastery every year to venerate the relics of St. Alexander of Svir. 

He was born in 1448 in the village of Mandera, near Veliky Novgorod. His birth name was Amos. From an early age, he became a novice of the Valaam monastery under the name of Alexander. Later, he settled in a hut on the lands of the pagan peoples of the Karelians, Veps and Chudis, east of Lake Ladoga. He had disciples who converted to Christianity and became monks. During his lifetime, Alexander Svirsky became famous as a miracle worker. He had a vision of the Trinity, after which he began the construction of the monastery. 

Even during the life of Alexander Svirsky, the monastery was divided into two courtyards: Trinity and Transfuguration. Both of them are located on the shore of the Roshchinsky lake at a distance of 200 meters from each other. A more ancient courtyards is Trinity. In the last year of Alexander Svirsky`s life, the construction of the stone Church of the Intercession of the Virgin was started in Trinity courtyard. The wall of the altar in the church is warm even in frosty weather, which is considered a manifestation of the vision of the Trinity to St. Alexander of Svir. 

Alexander Svirsky died in 1533. In 1547, he was canonized during the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Alexander Svirsky is one of the most revered saints in Russian Orthodoxy, so pilgrims come to the monastery almost every day. 

The Trinity courtyard is currently closed to the public. From 1953 to 2009, there was a psychiatric hospital there. The Transfiguration Courtyard is open to the public. In 1641, the stone Transfiguration Cathedral was built there, which now houses the relics of Alexander Svirsky. The gate Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 1791, and the belfry was built in 1903.