Early History
Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery was founded in 1479 by Joseph Volotsky. Originally under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Novgorod, following a dispute with the local prince, Fedor Borisovich of Volokolamsk, Joseph appealed to grand Prince Vasilii III and the metropolitan to take the monastery under direct control. This led to a dispute between Joseph, the grand prince, and the metropolitan on the one hand, and Archbishop Serapion I of Novgorod (r. 1506-1509) on the other, since according to canon law a monastery could not be removed from a bishop's authority without his permission and Serapion had clearly not granted permission. The grand prince and metropolitan convened a church council, headed by Joseph's brother, the bishop of Rostov, which deposed Serapion and confined him to the Troitse-Sergeev Lavra, where he died in 1516.
Over the next several decades, the monastery became the center of his disciples, or Josephinians, and played a key role in the political and ecclesiastic life of the 16th-century Russia. It was also a stronghold of struggle against the opponents of church landownership and heretics. Its vaults were used as a prison for dissenters. The famous inmates included Maximus the Greek (who spent 14 years there), Vassian Patrikeyev, Feodor Kuritsyn, Feodosii, Archbishop of Novgorod (1542-1551) who helped in compiling the Velikaia Mineia Chetii of Makarii and helped draw up documents for the Stoglav Council, Metropolitan Daniel, and Tsar Basil IV. Joseph Volotsky, Metropolitan Daniel, Archbishop Feodosii, and Malyuta Skuratov are among many notables buried within monastery walls.
In the 1560s, Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery was the second largest landowner in Russia, with more than 30,000 desyatinas of arable lands in its possession. Several smaller priories, dependent on the monastery, were founded on these lands. Within the principal cloister, three ponds were kept full of fresh water. After the Assumption Cathedral was constructed in brick in 1486, the great icon-painter Dionisius was summoned to embellish its walls with frescoes. An enormous octagonal bell-tower was constructed in 9 tiers in the 1490s. At that time, it was the tallest structure in Russia. Its design heralded that of Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Moscow Kremlin.
During the Time of Troubles, Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery was actively engaged in helping the government of Basil IV in his struggle against Ivan Bolotnikov's rebels. The Polish hetman Prince Rozynski lost his life besieging the monastery in 1611. After the siege, the monks captured a lot of Polish cannons, which were later used for festive fire works.
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