Photos

I return to monastery life on Valaam.
"The Resurrection skete is located where the disciple St. Andrew, according to the legend, erected a stone cross. Later there stood a chapel of St. Andrew, renovated in 1846. In early XIX century, in a cave with snakes there lived hieromonk Nikon (1745(6)-1822), in whose name two bays were called: the Large and the Small Nikonovsky bays. The two-storey church was designed by the architect V. I. Barankeev (1850-1902). In 1901 the foundation was laid in a pit cut in the diabase rock by means of explosions and sledge-hammers. The church was erected in a year, and in 1905 the interior finishing was completed. On July 30, 1906, the main Resurrection altar was consecrated by the archbishop of Finland and Vyborg, later Patriarch, Sergy (Stragorodsky).
The church standing upon the foundation of grey granite is made of Valaam bricks. Its architecture combines the features of classicism, barocco, and Russian style (the 50-step staircase with granite columns)."