On May 16, the sisters from the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery took a pilgrimage trip to the Zheltovodsky’s Holy Trinity Makaryev monastery. The monastery is located on the left bank of the River Volga and may be reached by a 45-minute ferry boat ride leaving from the town of Lyskovo. While there, the sisters prayerfuly attended the Divine Liturgy and the Akathist to the Venerable Makary Zheltovodskiy, while Diveyevo’s choir members joined in the local choir. The nuns from Makaryev monastery lovingly greeted their visitors while nun Olga told them about the history of the Makaryev monastery and the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The pilgrims from Diveyevo took a ferry back to Lyskovo and toured the Ascension Cathedral and St. George’s church there. Presbyter Igor (Shutov), the Dean of the Lyskovo district and the sacristan of the Ascension Cathedral, told the sisters about the area.

The pilgrims’ next destination was the town of Knyaginin. This is where Venerable Elena (Manturova) had a vision of a dreadful serpent, an event that has completely changed her outlook on life and brought her to Diveyevo. The sisters visited the location, formerly an inn, where Elena Vasilyevna stopped off.

Later on, the pilgrims visited the area of two villages, Grigorovo and Veldemanovo, where Protopresbyter Avvakum and Patriarch Nikon, the antagonists of the Old Believers’ schism, spent their childhood and teenage years.

Arzamas was the last stop on this pilgrimage trip. The sisters visited St. Nicholas monastery and greeted its abbess, Hegumenia Philareta, on the anniversary day of her becoming an abbess. Despite it being late in the day, the visitors from Diveyevo were allowed to get inside the Resurrection Cathedral, the church of “The Life-Giving Spring,” and the Museum of the Russian Patriarchate.  The sisters were able to pray before the ancient holy sites in Arzamas.

Late in the evening, the pilgrims returned to Diveyevo monastery rejoiced and full of gratitude to the Lord for such a wonderful pilgrimage.