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"Blessed is thee, the Ploschansky Hermitage! I can't help telling about thee. Hidden amidst woods of pines and birches, thee has a stone church and enough cell houses for the brothers… Faces of saints painted on thy gate have likeness to those who dwell in thee, those who dedicate their lives to solitude and labour for salvation acquiring peace of mind and fleeing the world's vanities. Thee has pure water in the river and springs. Trees give thee shade protecting thee from heat as well as from stormy winds. Thee accommodate up to 60 brothers. The abbot called "builder" differs from other brothers only by being the first to come to the church where prayers glorifying the Lord are read morning, day and night and being the first at work where the brothers plough, sow and harvest. Thy monks make nets, carve wood and do other sorts of work… The chimes in the bell tower call for prayers and labour. The Christians that come to thee on pilgrimage find here nothing that can undermine their hearts' purity…"

(Memories of the Ploschansky Hermitage by G. Dobrynin. 1772)

The Ploschansky Hermitage was founded by monks of the Kiev Caves Monastery in ancient times. It is situated in a very picturesque locality atop a hill near Ploschansky Lake which has rendered its name to the monastery.

Many spiritual elders lived in the monastery, among them schemamonk Athanasius Zakharov, disciple of St Paisius Velichkovsky, pious hieromonk Basil (Vasily) Kishkin and future famous elders of Optina Leonid Nagolkin and Macarius Ivanov. The famous ascetic writer bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov spent here a few months, when a novice, and wrote one of his essays - "Garden in the Wintertime".
Destroyed after the 1917 revolution the hermitage was given back to monks in 1994. Only one church out of four survived here. There were also extant ruins of the Kazan Cathedral, part of the monastery wall and cell houses.

The brotherhood will be grateful for aid in any form from those who cherish the Christian faith, history and culture.