Winter in the Novo-Tikvinsky Convent, Ekaterinburg
Snow-covered paths, trees covered in hoarfrost, early evening twilight reflect the silent beauty of winter which surrounds the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, depicted in these beautiful photos.
The Novo-Tikhvin Monastery is a community of female monastics. It was founded in the late 18th century, growing out of an alms-house at the cemetery church in Ekaterinburg. It is the home of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God. Closed in 1920 by the Bolsheviks, monastic life at the monastery was restored in 1994.
In 1918, when Nicholas II and his family were being held under arrest in the Ipatiev House, the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent were praying for them, asking God to relieve their sufferings,and to give them the strength to bear everything with Christian humility.
The sisters’ help came not only through prayer but also through deeds: disregarding their own safety, they supported the Tsar and his family by bringing various foods to them through the guards.
On 18th June 1918, a month before their murder, Empress Alexandra Feodorvna made the following entry in her diary: «The kind nuns are now sending milk and eggs for Alexei and for us, as well as cream.»
During my visit to Ekaterinburg in 2016, my hotel was situated behind the convent, and I had a clear view of the cathedral from my window. I went every morning to the cathedral to pray.
