On July 18 1854, the British fleet attacked the Solovetsky Monastery. Exactly 170 years old, the monastery withstood a 9-hour bombardment carried out by the British during the Crimean War; the garrison, consisting of monks, soldiers and pilgrims, repelled the attack of two frigates, damaging one of the enemy's ships.
«Today we remember the feat, which became one of the episodes of the Crimean War, — in 1854 year the brethren of the Solovetsky monastery showed courage and heroism, not allowing enemy British ships to approach... The monastery did not have sufficient armament, but cohesion and resourcefulness, as well as the power of prayer of the monks and inhabitants of the monastery saved the holy land from destruction. All this — is a symbol of how Orthodox canons and traditions form such values as honor, courage and valor. It is worth noting the role of the Solovetsky Archipelago Foundation, which preserves the cultural and natural heritage, not allowing us to forget about the resolute act of the brethren and other glorious pages of the monastery's history," commented Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
According to him, the fund also creates and updates engineering, housing, utilities and social infrastructure of the Solovetsky Islands, which allows pilgrims to travel to holy places and learn more about their native country.
The Fund for the preservation and development of the Solovetsky Archipelago was established in 2018 by a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the initiative of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The Fund for the preservation and development of the Solovetsky Archipelago was established in 2018 by a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
«Restorers and researchers still find on Solovki evidence of the most important events that took place on the archipelago, —notes Tatiana Ozerova, deputy director general of the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago.The collected materials make it possible to reconstruct information about little-known facts of the monastery's chronicle. The trials that fell on this holy land, speak about incredible strength of spirit, feat, self-sacrifice, courage of people who lived here. The staff of the Foundation was greatly impressed by the story of experienced museum guides about the historical events of the defense of the monastery in 1854. The walls of the fortress have preserved the traces of the English attack up to our times. At the most important historical moment for our country, the monks and the islanders preferred to fall down. In unequal battle, without having modern weapons, than to voluntarily allow the enemy on the Russian land»
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Alexander Tsybulsky, the Governor of the Arkhangelsk region, emphasized that preserving not only the cultural, but also the historical heritage of the Solovetsky archipelago is extremely important for the people of the region.
«Every episode of the difficult, sometimes heroic history of the Solovetsky monastery has left its trace in the history of Russia. The feat of the monastery's brethren during the Crimean War is no exception. People living on the coast and islands of the White Sea have always been characterized by a strong spirit, because they often had to resist the harsh elements. And without unnecessary words, without thinking about their own well-being, with weapons in hands and without them they always stood up for defense of the Motherland, defended freedom and independence of their land. Today it is especially important to remember about this, to tell young people about the feats that their fellow countrymen have done in different times. Unfortunately, today many people are trying to rewrite history, minimizing and even hiding the role that Russian people have played in preserving peace. And our task — to preserve the historical truth for future generations. That is why it is important to write books and make movies, to open the exhibitions dedicated to the heroic pages of the history of Russia and each of its regions. Only together we will be able to preserve the unique historical and cultural heritage of our country," the head of the region said.
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July 6 (18), 1854 two English military steamers «Brisk» and «Miranda» armed with 60 cannons, entered the Bay of Well-Being in front of the Solovetsky monastery. When the enemy ships appeared, the bell ringing gathered everyone for a prayer service. After the procession, monks, pilgrims and residents of the monastery stood up for the defense of the monastery.
One of the enemy ships raised signal flags, but there was no response. To attract attention, two blank shots were fired from the British ships. Sitting in the shore battery, the monastery's inhabitants returned fire. One of the nukes pierced the side of the«Miranda», and the ship sailed behind the cape for repairs.
The next day a British gunboat moored in harbor with a parliamentarian and an ultimatum from Captain Erasmus Ommaneye. In it the British demanded the surrender of the garrison and arms. The ultimatum from the monastery was refused. On July 19 July 19 at 7:47 am, Ommaney gave the command to begin bombarding the monastery. The bombardment continued for over 9 hours.
The enemy did not dare to land the landing, because there were hunters with guns on the shore, who at times opened fire on the ships. There were no losses among the brethren and worshipers. During the shelling the brethren led by Archimandrite Alexander went around the fortress walls in a procession, inspiring the defenders and blessing them for their exploits.
At 5 pm, the last cannonball was fired at the monastery, after which Erasmus Ommaneus ordered a cease-fire. The destruction after the shelling was very insignificant — in several places the fortress wall was damaged, the cannonballs penetrated the wall of the porch of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, the dome of Nikolskaya Church. The wooden Arkhangelsk hotel and the Onufriyevskaya church in the cemetery — both buildings to the south of the monastery were also damaged.
The monastery held out. In the morning of July 8 (20) the English ships left the harbor of Blagopoluspolucheniya, burning on the way the church on Zayachiy Island, the customs house on Kiy Island, destroying the village of Lyamitskaya in the Gulf of Onega and robbing the Monastery of the Cross.
Russian Government website/Patriarchy.ru
