Among the many Armenian and Greek temples of Crimea, the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity-Paraskeva Toplovsky Convent, founded in 1864, has survived. It was built near a spring named after Saint Paraskeva of Rome, which is unusual for Russia. Even before the monastery was established, there was an ancient Armenian church of Saint Paraskeva, so this place is considered sacred. During the time of Catherine the Great, the old church ceased to exist, and the land was gifted to Zakhar Zotov, the empress's favorite. Only in the mid-19th century was the estate transferred for the construction of the monastery, starting with a small church of Saint Paraskeva. Later, the monastery acquired its own hospital and outbuildings, after which the construction of a large cathedral began.
In its fifty years of existence, the monastery formed a close-knit community and continued to develop, but the construction of the cathedral in honor of the Holy Trinity was never completed. With the advent of Soviet power, the monastery was closed, and the nuns were registered in a gardening commune, under which the monastery existed for some time. After the abbess's death, the sisters were dispersed, and soon priests and many nuns were arrested and sent to the Gulag, from which most did not return.
For many years, the monastery was destroyed: first, the unfinished cathedral was blown up, then the remaining buildings were demolished. Only in the early 1990s was the monastery returned to the Orthodox Church and restored. Today, the complex includes two restored churches and several outbuildings.
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