Tomb of St. Sergius

Near the iconostasis, at the southern wall, are found the relics of the monastery’s founder, St. Sergius. Until the end of the sixteenth century they were in a wooden reliquary; then they were moved into a silver tomb, created by order of Ivan the Terrible. The reliquary is decorated with ornate embossed stamps with texts from the Life of St. Sergius. A silver canopy weighing twenty-five pounds was added by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna, and the engraved cover of the reliquary dates from the nineteenth century.