The Chufarovsky Holy Trinity Monastery, originally a women's monastery and now a men's one, was founded in the mid-1840s by peasant elder Ignaty Paramonovich Vershin as a charitable community in the village of Bolshoye Chufarovo, Saransk district, Penza province. Elder Ignaty chose the merchant's daughter, Yevdokiya Trofimova, who became abbess Yevgeniya, to manage the community. She led the monastery for about 70 years. The monastery was built opposite the village on a slope, on land donated by the landowner V. K. Fedorchuk. Ekaterina Prokhorovna Vershina, the former wife of Elder Ignaty, was his closest assistant and one of the first nuns. By 1867, the community had more than 20 sisters, and the Penza consistory recognized it as a charitable institution. A domestic church was consecrated in one of the rooms in the name of the Holy Trinity. The complex of monastic buildings was constructed according to Elder Ignaty's plan. The first stone building with the domestic Trinity church was completed in 1870, and in 1872 another church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was consecrated. In 1877, the community became a sisterhood. Over ten years, the sisters, with the help of local residents, built three two-story buildings, and the number of sisters reached one hundred. In 1887, the construction of the Holy Spirit Cathedral began, completed in the early 20th century. The cathedral had an iconostasis with 80 icons in carved gilded frames. The main entrance to the monastery featured an octagonal tower. By 1895, the number of nuns had increased to 180, and by 1910, to 215. By the time of the revolution, there were 410 residents in the monastery, including 115 nuns. The community lived by a strict rule established by Elder Ignaty according to the teachings of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The monastery owned significant land holdings, and the sisters engaged in agriculture, crafts, and beekeeping. At the end of the 19th century, a hotel for pilgrims was built. The icon-painting workshop generated significant income, while the handicraft workshop produced priestly vestments. Ignaty Vershin died in 1889, and abbess Yevgeniya in 1914. She was succeeded by abbess Apollinariya and abbess Serafima, with the last abbess being Mavrikia. In 1918, requisitions began, and the community attempted to transform into an agricultural artel, but this was unsuccessful. In 1919, some nuns and novices left the monastery due to pressure from the authorities. In 1923, after refusing to accept the Renovationist Church, the residents were forcibly evicted. In 1924, the nuns were transferred to the Kurilovsky Monastery, but they were expelled from there in 1926. From the mid-1920s, the monastery was used as an investigative prison by the NKVD, known as 'Chufara.' Mass graves of victims of Stalinism were discovered near the monastery. After the prison, the monastery complex changed owners several times, and many buildings were lost. In 1994, the monastery was revived as a men's monastery, led by abbot Lazar Gurkin. Three buildings were restored, conservation work was carried out, and the territory was cleared. In 1997, a church in honor of the New Martyrs of Russia was consecrated. In 2000, the construction of a refectory with a hospital and a church in honor of the Nativity of Christ was completed. The abbot's residence has a domestic Lazarus church. The monastery also has dependencies in neighboring villages. Among the monastery's relics were the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and other locally venerated icons. Currently, the monastery's sanctities include crosses with the relics of saints and relics from the Serafimo-Diveyevo Monastery.