On the picturesque bank of the Volkhov River lies one of the oldest Novgorod monasteries, Antoniev. Its foundation is linked to St. Anthony of Rome in the early 12th century, and this story is quite interesting. Anthony was born in Rome in 1067 into an Orthodox family. At 17, he became an orphan and took monastic vows in one of the sketes, where he lived for about twenty years. Before this, he distributed part of his inheritance to the poor, while placing the remaining part in a barrel and sending it out to sea. When the Latins began to persecute the monks, Anthony chose a secluded spot on the seashore, where he spent time in fasting and prayer. One day, a storm broke off a piece of the cliff he was on, and a few days later, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this stone with the unharmed Anthony was washed ashore near Novgorod. Here he founded a monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin. A year later, Novgorod fishermen pulled a barrel with his inheritance from the Volkhov, allowing him to establish the monastery. Anthony passed away on August 3, 1147, and was canonized in 1597.

In 1119, the construction of the Nativity Cathedral, begun two years earlier by Anthony, was completed. The author may have been Master Peter, known for the construction of the St. George Cathedral of the Yuriev Monastery. The cathedral is unusual: in addition to the central dome, it has two more, one crowning the tower with a staircase to the choir, and the other located above the southwest corner. The original appearance of the temple has changed due to later reconstructions. The facades of the cathedral now have large windows, which are not characteristic of ancient Novgorod architecture, and the church is surrounded by a porch that was not originally there. In 1898, ancient frescoes from 1125 were discovered under the plaster. Their restoration took place in 1923, 1927, and 1944, and now all surviving fragments are on display. Besides the cathedral, the Church of the Meeting of the Lord, built in the 1530s, has been preserved, combining Novgorod and Moscow architectural features. There are also other buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries on the monastery grounds, including the seminary building, which operated from 1740. In 1918, the seminary was closed by the Bolsheviks, and in 1920, the monastery itself was closed. Today, its territory is part of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve, and the Nativity Cathedral is open for visits.