five (the main dome representing Christ, the four smaller ones representing the evangelists). Some remnants of the medieval frescoes remain, but most of the church was refrescoed in 1902. Among the frescoes is a large Christ Pantokrator in the main dome, a full-length portrait of Novgorodian Archbishop Feoktist, and another full-length (although smaller) portrait of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich on the southwestern pier. The monastery also has the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in the northeastern corner of the monastery, with five blue domes and gold stars on it, built in the 18th century. The gateway into the monastery is crowned by a tall gold-domed tower which is visible from the city centre, including the Novgorod Kremlin two miles to the north. The monastery owes its resurgence to the efforts of its powerful and energetic hegumen Archimandrite Photius (1792-1838) who persuaded Countess Anna Orlova, a wealthy spinster, to donate her immense funds to the eparchy. Both are buried in the penticupolar Church of the Transfiguration which they had built. After the 1917 revolution, the monastery was ravaged. Five of its six churches were either destroyed or badly damaged by 1928; the monastery was closed in 1929. During the World War II, the buildings were occupied by the German and Spanish armed forces, and were seriously damaged. In 1991 the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and parts of it have been renovated since then. However the western part, including a church there, are still in ruins. References External links 12th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Novgorod Oblast