Album of views of the Polotsk Spaso-Euphrosyne Convent. Photos of the photographer Nikolai Mironov.

Album of views of the Polotsk Spaso-Euphrosyne Convent. Photos of the photographer Nikolai Mironov.
[Riga.] Publication of the Spaso-Euphrosyne Convent, 1910. - 15 p. [28 photos]. Solid leather binding of the epoch; gold three-sided cut-off; landscape format (23 x 32 cm).

The binding is worn; the pages are agitated; it has been professionally restored; the inscription on the dedication is blurred; the flyleaf is dirty; the photos show moderate dirt, temporary spots, and traces of moisture.

[Spaso-evfrosinievsky monastery (also Spaso-Efrosiniev monastery) is a female Orthodox monastery in Polotsk, one of the oldest and largest centers of Orthodoxy in Belarus.

It was founded by the Holy Princess Euphrosyne of Polotsk in 1125, when she settled near the Transfiguration Church in Selets. Over time, the sisters of the monk Euphrosyne were tonsured here: their native Eudokia (in the world of Gordislav) and their cousin Eupraxia (in the world of Zvenislava) — the only daughter of Prince Boris Vseslavich of Polotsk.

In 1161, with the zeal of St. Euphrosyne, the stone Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was erected — the best preserved monument of ancient Polotsk architecture. Its Builder was the architect John.

In 1161, the venerable Euphrosyne donated to this Church a gilded altar cross (the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk) with fragments of the relics of many saints and the life-giving cross of Christ. The cross was carved by local master jeweler Lazar Bogsha.

In the 13th century, the cross was removed from Polotsk, but returned to the monastery by Ivan the Terrible in 1563 after a successful siege of the city.

In 1580, after the capture of Polotsk by Stefan Batory, the monastery was given to the Jesuits. In 1654, he was returned to Orthodoxy. In 1667, it again fell into the hands of the Jesuits, under whose jurisdiction it remained until 1820.

In 1820, the Jesuits were expelled from Polotsk, and the monastery was transferred to the Treasury. In 1832, the monastery was transferred to the ecclesiastical Department and restored in 1840. In 1841, the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk was returned to the Transfiguration Cathedral. 

In the 1840s, the ancient monastery was ranked as first-class. Within the walls of the monastery is located the Spaso-Euphrosyne women's theological school. In 1847, the Euphrosyne refectory Church was built under abbess Claudia (Shchepanovskaya). According to new information, the warm Church of St. Euphrosyne (Euphrosyne refectory Church) was laid on June 5 (may 23), 1858.

In 1897, under abbess Yevgenia (Govorovich), the monumental five-domed Holy cross Cathedral was erected, designed by architect V. F. korshikov in the neo-Byzantine style.

In 1921, the monastery was closed, the cross was requisitioned and in 1928 it was moved to Minsk, in 1929-to Mogilev. In 1941, during the great Patriotic war, the Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk disappeared without a trace and has not yet been found.]