The Samar St Nicholas Desert Monastery: The Principal Shrine Of The Zaporozhian Cossacks Since 1576

The Samar St. Nicholas Desert Monastery is the oldest monastic community of the Dnipro region and the former principal shrine of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. It stands near Novomoskovsk, on an island formed by the Old and New Samar rivers, and its underground church of the holy martyrs Cyricus and Julitta lies ten metres below ground. The monastery’s history reaches back to 1576. [2][3]

Quick facts

Full name: Samar St. Nicholas Desert Men’s Monastery (UOC, Dnipro diocese). [1]
Address: Orlivshchyna village, Novomoskovsk district, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (one kilometre from Novomoskovsk). [2][1]
Foundation: Cossack church — 1576; monastery with an infirmary for elderly Cossacks — 1602. [2]
Status: military monastery of the Zaporozhian Sich; from 1791 — a summer residence of the archbishops of Katerynoslav. [4]
Shrines: the “Samarska” (Okhtyrka) icon of the Mother of God, an icon of St Nicholas, the underground church of Cyricus and Julitta. [2][4]
Revival: parish restored 1993, monastery from 1995; by the UOC Synod of 12.03.1998 — a men’s monastery. [4]

History of the monastery

Founded by Cossacks (1576–1602)

According to historical sources, the monastery began shortly after 1576, when the Polish-Lithuanian king Stephen Báthory granted the Cossacks the old stronghold of Samar “with a monastery and a ferry”. [3] In 1602 the fortress, which included a church of St Nicholas, an infirmary and lodgings for sick and elderly Cossacks, was converted into a monastery. [2][3]

At first it was only a handful of wooden cells around a chapel, yet even then the community carried great weight: it was called the Zaporozhian Palestine, because here they kept strict monastic rules that even the Sich warriors revered. [5]

A military outpost of the Sich (17th–18th centuries)

The monastery belonged to the Zaporozhian Sich and was subordinate to the Sich host; it was considered a military monastery and served as a Cossack outpost in the Russo-Turkish wars of 1735–1739 and 1768–1774. [4] The shrine sheltered Tatar and Turkish prisoners of war — they were treated so well that many accepted baptism in the monastery, and some stayed to receive the monastic tonsure after the wars. [4]

Its revival in the 1720s is linked with the Myrhorod colonel Danylo Apostol, whose estates included the Samar palanka. When the Cossacks returned to their lands in 1734, they set the monastery in order: they built the village of Cherneche for its dependants and made an inventory of all its property. In 1760 abbot Volodymyr Sokolskyi was appointed “chief of the Sich churches”, and in 1774, at the request of Grigory Potemkin, he received the rank of archimandrite. [3]

The stone church and the archbishops’ residence (1782–1917)

In 1782–1787 the main stone church of the monastery was erected. [4] From 1791 the monastery, as the closest to Katerynoslav, was designated a residence for the archbishops — a summer episcopal house. The principal shrines then were the Okhtyrka icon of the Mother of God, known as the “Samarska”, and an icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker. The churches: the St Nicholas church with a side-altar of saints Cyricus and Julitta, and the Exaltation of the Cross church in the archiepiscopal quarters. A school for boys operated at the monastery. [4]

Soviet conversions (1920s–1990s)

After the Soviet victory the monastery was closed; in the 1930s a retirement home was opened there, and later a boarding institution. [4] The German occupation temporarily restored services, but by the middle of the century the buildings changed their profile again. [4]

Revival in the 1990s

In 1993 a parish was revived in the monastery buildings, and two years later the community was restored as a women’s monastery. By the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of 12 March 1998, the monastery and the St Nicholas parish were transformed into a men’s monastery. [4]

The ensemble and its shrines

The monastic complex consists of four churches; the most famous among them is the underground church of the holy martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, lying ten metres deep. According to an old legend, if you make a wish in the underground church, it will surely come true. [2] The modern territory is divided into four parts, and the beauty of the architecture and the banks of the Samar river impresses parishioners and casual travellers alike. [5]

Spiritual significance

The Samar monastery teaches that prayer can be both a fortress and a hospital at once: the Cossacks came here not only for protection but for peace, and even captive enemies found a paternal church here. When you enter the underground church of Cyricus and Julitta and speak a prayer, you feel it: on this island between the New and the Old Samar, faith has smouldered continuously for almost five centuries. [2][4]

Practical information

Address: Orlivshchyna village, Novomoskovsk district, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. [2]
How to get there: from Dnipro — by shuttle bus to Novomoskovsk, then by local transport or on foot along the banks of the Samar. [2][5]
What to see: the complex of four churches, the underground church, the riverbanks of the Old and New Samar. [2]
Services: an active men’s monastery; services follow the monastic schedule, principal feasts — 22 May and 19 December (St Nicholas). [1]
For pilgrims: the monastery welcomes guests; the legend of the underground church attracts those pondering prayer. [2]

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the monastery?

The Zaporozhian Cossacks — after King Stephen Báthory granted them the stronghold of Samar in 1576; in 1602 the fortress became a monastery. [2][3]

What is the “Zaporozhian Palestine”?

A nickname the monastery received for its strict monastic rule, honoured even by the free Sich warriors. [5]

What is the monastery’s main shrine?

The “Samarska” (Okhtyrka) icon of the Mother of God, the icon of St Nicholas, and the underground church of saints Cyricus and Julitta. [2][4]

Does the underground church really grant wishes?

So says the old legend — faith in the miracle of underground prayer lives on in popular tradition to this day. [2]

Why is the monastery called military?

Because it was under the authority of the Zaporozhian Sich and played an outpost role in the wars of the 18th century. [4]

Conclusion

The Samar monastery is the core of the Cossack Wild Fields: from Báthory’s grant of 1576, through the fire of the Turkish wars and the care of the 19th-century archbishops, to the revival of the 1990s. Over the Samar rivers the scent of antiquity still drifts, and in the underground church, where a Cossack’s candle once burned, the same words of prayer resound. [2][4]