Pugachev, Saratov Oblast Russia
[Old Believer]
Russian Orthodox
Church Website
Founded in 1762, it became one of the most influential centers of the Old Believers in Russia, with 500 to 700 monks and novices by 1827. In 1837 it became Edinoverie, a branch of Old Believers that recognized the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was converted into a convent in 1843. Closed by the Soviets in 1918, it was transferred to the district department of public education. Able-bodied nuns worked in various jobs: in the health department and on the dairy farm. Those unable to work were cared for. The last 40 nuns moved to Nikolaevsk in 1929. A commune was organized at the monastery, later a collective farm settlement. The Churhc of the Intercession was dismantled and the Church of St. Nicholas converted into a club. In the later 1990s, the dilapidated church became a place of prayer for women from Pugachev. They began to clear and restore the church, with the support of city residents and businesses. It was largely restored by December 1998 and became a parish without a priest. The monastery was revived as a women's Orthodox convent in 2000 and the church consecrated in 2008. It has been known as the Sredne-Nikolsky Monastery.
