The village of Belogorye in the Voronezh region got its name from the steep banks of the Don, which consist of pure chalk. This ancient sedimentary rock – a favorable material for creating underground caves. Man-made caves led to the creation of Belogorye monasteries. This is how a male monastery appeared near the village of Belogorye in the 19th century, on the site of a cave hermitage dug by the Cossack woman Maria Sherstyukova.
Its picturesque surroundings sink into the soul for a long time. Orthodox believers speak of the presence of the grace of the Holy Spirit here; bearers of other values call this region a place of power with special energy. Anyone who has been here feels a surge of vigor and spiritual upliftment.
1. Where Belogorye Monastery is located
The monastery is located in a bend of the Don River, on its right bank, 170 km south of Voronezh. The monastery is 40 km away from the district center (Podgorensky village), and 60 km from Rossosh. The distance to Pavlovsk on the map is only 4 km, but the city lies on the left bank of the Don, and you have to get to it either by water transport or across the bridge – 21 km. A hilly road 4.7 km long leads from the village of Belogorye to the Resurrection Monastery.
The monastery is nestled on a steep, forest-covered hill-monolith, with outcrops of snow-white chalk rocks. From the height of the Don’s right bank, a panorama of the immense Russian expanses opens up: meadows, groves, steppe mixed grasses, and the unhurried current of the river playing in the sun.
How to get to the monastery
As we can see from the map, getting to the Resurrection Monastery by your own transport is quite simple. Option 1. Leave Voronezh onto the M-4 highway, follow it for 145 km, (paying for the toll section). Before reaching Pavlovsk by 15 km, turn right at the sign for Rossosh, drive about 7 km to the village of Belogorye, and from there the monastery is a stone’s throw away. See the map above.
In reality, the road turns out to be a little more difficult. The journey, which can be covered in 2-2.5 hours, may stretch to 4-5 hours due to traffic jams on the “Don” highway. The second difficulty is the road from Belogorye to the monastery.
Tip. To avoid wandering through the hills and bumps of country roads, find the Trinity Church in the village of Belogorye, where they will tell you which route to the monastery will be optimal depending on the weather and time of year.
Option 2. If there are large traffic jams on the M-4 highway, you can make a detour of 50 km by choosing the route: Voronezh – Ostrogozhsk – Kamenka – Podgorensky – Belogorye.
Option 3. You can get to Belogorye by “Voronezh-Rossosh” buses. Up to 12 trips are made daily from the Central Bus Station of Voronezh. Travel time is 2.5 hours, the ticket price is from 400 rubles. From the village to the monastery, you will have to walk (about 5 km).
Option 4. In summer (in good weather), you can take a boat excursion from Pavlovsk to the Resurrection Monastery.
2. History
The Belogorye monasteries originate from cave churches, which were created by both monks and lay people. The beginning of the Resurrection Monastery is associated with the name of Maria Sherstyukova – a resident of the village of Belogorye.
Maria the Cave Digger
At the age of 20, Maria was married to the military Cossack Samuil Sherstyukov, she became a widow at 45, and for 10 years after that she indulged in drunkenness, depravity, and witchcraft until she squandered all her husband’s wealth. Her real life began for this woman at 55. Maria went to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra with a group of pilgrims, where her spiritual rebirth began. In 1796, having returned home, she began to dig a cave for prayer and repentance in the chalk mountain on the bank of the Don. The example inspired some of her fellow villagers, and they began to help Maria the cave-digger. Others could not believe that the former libertine could suddenly become a faster and a prayer-woman. Secular and church authorities tried to stop Maria’s work, seeing how many people gathered around her and suspecting sectarianism and schism. The persecution ceased after the commission sent by Tsar Alexander I established: “No heresy was found. The purity of Orthodoxy is observed.” Sherstyukova received 2.5 thousand gold rubles by royal decree. In gratitude, she asked to consecrate the cave church she had dug in honor of Alexander Nevsky – the patron saint of Emperor Alexander I. Maria the cave-digger died in 1822 at the age of 82, leaving behind 212 meters of self-dug caves, as well as a group of ascetics who continued her work.
How the monastery arose
The cave diggers continued their work and formed a hermitage, which in 1882 received the status of a male monastery in the name of the Resurrection of Christ. The ground churches of the monastery – the Resurrection and Ascension Churches – towered on the steep bank of the Don and were visible from afar.
Thousands of pilgrims flocked here to receive help and spiritual guidance. By 1917, the brotherhood of the Belogorye Monastery maintained: a candle, fish, and brick factories, a huge garden and apiary, and a herd of cows; about 40 surface buildings were located on the monastery hill. Work on expanding the caves continued: the length of the corridors reached 2.2 km. The Belogorye cave complex became the most grandiose not only in Russia but also in all of Eastern Europe.
To break – not to build
The revolution slashed the life of all Belogorye monasteries with a sharp blade. The Bolsheviks confiscated the lands of the Resurrection Monastery, desecrated the remains of Maria the cave-digger and her associates, blew up the churches, and wiped all the monastery buildings off the face of the earth. During the Patriotic War, an enemy anti-aircraft battery was located on the site of the monastery. Fearing partisans, the occupiers sought to blow up and bury all the entrances and exits of the cave complex. The destruction was completed by tourists of the late Soviet era: they made bonfires, walked with torches, and left traces of “advanced” intellect on the walls. 
Revival
The restoration of the monastery began in 2003.
First of all, the cave church of Alexander Nevsky was cleaned and equipped, and a year later the first Liturgy was served there. Next to the church, the cell of Maria Sherstyukova, where she spent the last days of her life, was put in order.
In 2014, the brotherhood of the monastery received a ground wooden church of Spyridon of Trimythous as a gift. The church was logged in the Vologda region, delivered to Belogorye by water, and assembled on the monastery grounds. A particle of the relics of Saint Spyridon – the unchanging helper in the arrangement of any dwelling – is kept here. For now, the church stands alone on the monastery hill – there are not enough funds and working hands for the rest of the buildings.
In 2015, a church in the name of the Holy Spirit was consecrated in the caves at a depth of 45 m. Services are held there once a year – on the day of the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius. The cleaning of the desecrated walls and the clearing of the rubble are aided by a variety of people: children and teachers, historians and local history experts, and groups of Orthodox youth from other eparchies. To date, more than 900 m of caves have been restored – almost half of what the former ascetics left us. 
3. Sights
The main attraction of the monastery in Belogorye was and remains the grandiose cave complex. It consists of 5 tiers, with staircases leading to each level. The Church of Alexander Nevsky is located at the top, at the entrance to the caves. The lower tiers are permeated by a network of corridors with branches that end in T-shaped dead ends. The cave diggers equipped secluded cells in them and created tiny chapels by order of wealthy people. There are no cells on the 4th tier; this place is called the “refrigerator”: silence and grave cold reign here. Each tier of the cave complex has exits onto the bank slope – there were a total of eight; the lowest of them once led to the pier.
In olden times, pilgrims used to come to the monastery by steamboat. Right from the monastery pier, they entered the cool twilight of the caves, setting a prayerful mood, climbing the chalk steps upwards. Although the cave complex is only half restored, even in this form it is impressive, because the corridors and descents lead underground to a depth of up to 70 meters! Another sight of the revived monastery is the icon “Maria Found Grace with God.” This image is especially revered in the monastery and is the rarest among the faces of the Mother of God. It is known that the icon appeared in the cave church of Belogorye in the 30s of the XIX century and became famous not only for healings. It was the only one that retained the freshness of colors in the damp microclimate of the caves – where other wooden icons faded and spoiled. In 1918, the original and copies of the miraculous image were lost, and the old residents even forgot what it looked like. Only in 2014, after persistent searching, an old copy of the icon “Maria Found Grace with God” was found and brought to the monastery – it was placed in the church of Spyridon of Trimythous. The finding of the image itself is revered as a miracle in the monastery.
Not far from the Resurrection Monastery there are two holy springs: one in honor of the “Seven Arrows” icon, the other is dedicated to Alexander Nevsky. The first spring is located near the monastery road 400-500 m from the village of Belogorye. It was known from the first days of the existence of the Resurrection Monastery. During the Patriotic War, the Nazis shot the worship cross with the “Seven Arrows” icon standing there. Now this place has the Chapel “Softening of Evil Hearts,” an ice font (water t° is about 6°), a cool stream flowing into the Don. Near the Kirpichi khutor (farmstead), not far from the monastery, there is a spring named after Alexander Nevsky. There is no font there yet, but the water is famous for its healing power.
The Worship Cross on the top of the monastery hill is a must-see attraction. A sign to it hangs at the monastery gates – the cross itself is located at a distance of 1 km from the monastery. From here, stunningly beautiful views of the surrounding area open up.
4. Excursions
Various paths lead to the cave churches of Belogorye. From Voronezh, you can go on a one-day excursion “Pavlovsk– Belogorye”, which includes:
- visiting the Belogorye monastery and caves.
- getting acquainted with Pavlovsk – the center of shipbuilding during Peter the Great’s time;
- a boat trip on the Don (depending on the season and weather).
From Moscow, you can get to the Belogorye caves by ordering a three-day tour “Quiet Don”. The program includes a journey through the underground labyrinths of the Resurrection Monastery and a visit to the holy springs. Those who travel independently can only enter the caves accompanied by a monk-guide, after a group of 7-10 people has gathered. Excursions are held from 10:00 to 18:00.
Take note. Traditional cross processions are held in the Resurrection Monastery. In honor of Seraphim of Sarov, a 40-kilometer journey from Belogorye to Kostomarovo is made from July 29 to August 3. On the monastery’s patronal feast day, September 12, a cross procession goes from the cave church to the Alexander Nevsky spring.
5. Hotels
Within a 10 km radius of the monastery, comfortable overnight options are only available in Pavlovsk.
- Hostel “Chernozemye” – a budget option for accommodation. The hotel is located 1 km from the M-4 highway and 1.5 km from the city center – 15 Stroitelnaya St. The rooms are clean and warm in any weather. Special services include: parking, permission to stay with animals. A room for two is from 1500 rubles.
- Mini-hotel “Onix” is famous among car tourists for a good combination of price and quality, located 500 m from the highway, at: 2 Transportnaya St. There is parking, a shared kitchen with a kettle and refrigerator, comfortable beds, and a grocery store within walking distance.
- Hotel “Don” is removed from the highway, located at 4 Gotvalda St., near the center. The hotel strives to make guests’ stay as comfortable as possible. There is a 24-hour cafe, the quality of the food in which, according to reviews, is as good as homemade food. Breakfast is included in the price – it is provided as a packed meal if guests leave early in the morning. Not far away is the Central Beach, the pier from which boat excursions to the Belogorye Monastery depart.
6. Weather in Belogorye
The weather in Belogorye, Voronezh region, plays an important role when visiting the Resurrection Monastery. Summer downpours can make the country roads from the village to the monastery impassable. During the spring and autumn muddy season, this path can only be overcome by SUVs. Before the trip, it is worth checking the weather forecast for the region on Yandex, Gismeteo, or the RP5 website. Weather in Belogorye now:
7. Contacts
You can contact the monastery in various ways.
- The postal address of the Resurrection Male Monastery: 396576, Voronezh region, Podgorensky district, Belogorye village, Kirpichi khutor, A. Nevsky St. -1.
- Monastery phone: 8(920)469-47-47; metochion number (Trinity Church in Belogorye village): 8 (47394) 52-600.
- email address: vbm-post@yandex.ru
- official website: belmon.ru
The monastery is in dire need of material resources and working hands. The brotherhood is always happy to receive pilgrims and tourists, workers and volunteers – all who want to contribute to the restoration of the Don Belogorye.
The article used materials from the websites belmon.ru, evstratov-and.livejournal.com, booking.com.
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