The history of the city is complex and confusing. Being in the zone of border operations, he constantly fell under the influence of various political intrigues, became a participant in important events. Framed by green forests, the old woman “Seim” gleams, which runs through the whole city. And on the neighboring hill, the building of the Molchansky Monastery flaunts with enchanting splendor, which in ancient times was part of the city’s defensive structures.
Previously, it was a male monastery, the creation of which is preceded by legends. Allegedly, in November 1405, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the Molchansky swamp. There is another belief that even before the Tatar-Mongol invasion in the 12-13 centuries, ascetic monks from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra lived and died in the swamp, and the Virgin appeared to remind them of their existence.
According to legend, the icon was found by a beekeeper, who was stunned by what he saw and could hardly stand on his feet. The parishioner heard a voice that broadcast the following words: “Let the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos sit in this place.” With such news, the dumbfounded beekeeper ran to the city to announce the desire of unearthly forces to build a church.
All the inhabitants of Putivl immediately moved to the indicated place and witnessed what they saw – the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Prayer singing took place there, during which people began to heal.
Now, where the icon used to be, there is a building complex of the Sofronov Monastery. A chapel was erected on the site of the discovery, then a church, which laid the foundations of the Molchanskaya Hermitage.
Either the beekeeper invented everything, or the voice announced without thinking, but the place where the miracle was found was constantly attacked, devastated and burned.
The end of the 16th century was marked by a new construction – a stone citadel on the site of an old Russian wooden strict. The towers of the newly erected temple were round, and the plan of the building implied voluminous hexagonal walls. The citadel has survived to this day, which is a landmark of the monastery.
The fact that the building was subjected to frequent ruins forced the monks in 1605 to move to a newly built monastery, which is located in the Putivl fortress, which was later called “Big Molchansky”.
Together with them, the monks carried the holy Molchanskaya icon. At the end of the 16th century, where the monastery is now located, there was already a building in the form of a temple and fortifications, using which as a shelter, the monks hid from Tatar raids and invasions.
Some time later, Akmen Pakhmutiyan bought a siege yard. In the same place, under his leadership, the construction of a wooden temple begins. As it turned out later, the buildings of the 16th century laid the foundation, where the Molchansky Monastery was later erected.
