The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Russian: Троице-Сергиева Лавра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 90 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to over 300 monks.
The monastery was founded in 1345 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples.
In 1550s, a wooden palisade surrounding the cloister was replaced with 1.5 km-long stone walls, featuring twelve towers, which helped the monastery to withstand a celebrated 16-month Polish-Lithuanian siege in 1608–1610. A shell-hole in the cathedral gates is preserved as a reminder of Wladyslaw IV's abortive siege in 1618.
The Siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra (Троицкая осада, Троицкое сидение in Russian) was an abortive attempt of the Polish-Lithuanian irregular army supporting False Dmitri II to capture the Trinity Monastery. The siege lasted for 16 months, from September 23, 1608 until January 12, 1610.
In September 1608, the Polish-Lithuanian army of some 15,000 men (led by Jan Piotr Sapieha and Aleksander Lisowski) laid siege to the fortress of the Trinity monastery (Russian: Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra), which had been protecting the northern approaches to Moscow. The Russian garrison (estimated at between 2,200 and 2,400 men) consisted of dvoryane, streltsy, monastic servants, monks, and peasants, led by the voyevodas Prince Grigory Dolgorukov and Aleksey Golokhvastov.
In the early October 1608, the attackers began shelling and mining the monastery. Numerous assaults in October and November were repelled by the Russians and resulted in heavy losses for the Polish-Lithuanian army. The besieged were undertaking frequent sallies, one of which (November 9) would end with an explosion of a mine under a monastery tower and destruction of an enemy battery on the Red Mountain, with two peasants - Shipov and Sloba - losing their lives during this sally.
There had been no significant military activity from late November 1608 until May 1609, but the besieged garrison suffered many casualties due to an outbreak of scurvy.
In process of reduction of numbers of defenders, the despondency has started to seize the weakest and voices that is better to surrender to the enemy voluntary for it is impossible to send already to Moscow behind the help which would appear in time by the spring, to renewal of military operations began even to be distributed.
Under the legend, Saint Sergy to support courage and to encourage cowardly, was to sexton Irinarh and has told to it:
– Tell to brotherhood and all military people: what for to grieve what it is impossible to send a message to Moscow? Today, in the third o'clock in the morning, I have sent from myself to Moscow, in the house of the Virgin and to all Moscow miracle men, three my pupils: Michey, Varfolomey and Naum. Enemies saw sent, ask: why they have not seized them?
Irinarh has told about this vision. All began to ask guards — whether who saw sent of a monastery? It was found out that the enemy guards really saw three aged men and began to pursue them, hoping quickly to overtake them as horses under aged men were very bad. But pursuing were deceived: horses under aged men rushed, as though the winged. Enemies could not overtake for them.
In May through July 1609, the Russians repelled a number of enemy attacks. On October 19, 1609, and January 4, 1610, auxiliary detachments under the command of David Zherebtsov (900 men) and Grigory Voluyev (500 men) managed to make their way into the fortress. Under the threat of the approaching Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky's army, the Polish-Lithuanian forces raised the siege on January 12, 1610 and retreated to Dmitrov.
