On the day of the transfer of the Uncreated Image (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ from Edessa to Constantinople, on August 29, 2026, the main temple of the Simbirsk Spassky Convent celebrates its patronal feast. Metropolitan Longinus of Simbirsk and Novospassky celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of the Savior Not Made with Hands.
His Eminence cordially congratulated everyone on the patronal feast of the monastery and reminded them that the Uncreated image of Christ the Savior was a blessing to the new Russian lands. He is deeply revered to this day in many cities of the Volga region, including Simbirsk. The monastery houses the venerated image of the Savior Not Made with Hands, a list from an ancient miraculous icon that was seized and destroyed during the years of persecution in the twentieth century. At the end of the Liturgy, a procession was held with this image.
Vladyka Longinus presented diocesan awards to the creators of the museum of the Simbirsk Diocese and diplomas to graduates of the School of temple Floristry at the Spassky Monastery, thanking them for their efforts. Then Metropolitan Longinus performed the rite of consecration of the restored administrative building of the monastery, which houses the museum of the Simbirsk Diocese. The exhibition tells about the history of the Saviour's Monastery, which was founded simultaneously with the city of Sinbirsk (Simbirsk) in the middle of the 17th century, and the life of the Orthodox Church in the Simbirsk land.
"The long-standing wish of many people that Simbirsk should have its own church history museum has been fulfilled. I think we are only at the beginning of our journey, and the exhibition will be expanded. But it is already clear that the museum has taken place. God grant that as many people as possible will be able to visit here and get acquainted with the history of the Church and church art," said Metropolitan Longin.
The central place is occupied by the model of the Spassky Monastery. It was a large, well-maintained monastery in the center of the city. In the twentieth century, most of the monastery's temples and buildings were demolished, and the territory was partially built up. The layout and video visualization based on old photographs will help contemporaries see what the monastery complex was like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Important documents on the history of Orthodoxy in the Siberian land were provided by the State Archive of the Ulyanovsk region. For the first time, books, icons, and personal belongings of the nuns of the Spassky Monastery, collected in the monastery, are on display. The two halls of the museum also feature examples of ancient and modern church art — icons, gold embroidery, and items of episcopal vestments provided by the Simbirsk Diocese and personally by Metropolitan Longin.