The Russian Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration

Built in a beautiful country setting, the Russian Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration transports us to the heart of rural Russia. To get there, take Route 243 to Highwater, Airport Road, then Monastery Road. We follow the winding course of the Missisquoi River which, at this point, flows through the heart of one of the few fertile meadows in Potton Township. At the end of the road, we find ourselves in the territory of Holy Russia Orthodox, on the border of Quebec and Vermont.

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The chapel borrows the Byzantine architectural style of northern Russia. Byzantine architects solve the problem of raising a dome on a square base, using wood. In Russia, more precisely in Novgorod, the bulbous dome appears, better adapted to snowy winters.

Born in St. Petersburg in 1917, Archpriest Sergei Petroff lived in Bulgaria, then in France before settling in Quebec in 1958. After a twenty-year career at the École Polytechnique de Montréal, he became a priest in 1979 and settled permanently in Potton. It should be noted that in the Orthodox tradition, priests can marry.

The cemetery, reserved for priests and the faithful, is one of the most impressive in Potton with the Russian Orthodox cross on each grave. It should be noted that the Orthodox cross is formed by an upright piece of framework, loaded with three crosspieces.

Since the death of Archpriest Sergei Petroff, the monastery is only occasionally inhabited. However, it is possible to visit the place while respecting its private and religious character.

Walk in the west of the Memphremagog

83 Chemin du Monastère, Mansonville, QC J0E 1X0

About the origins

For more information on the origin of this architecture: https://russiatrek.org/blog/culture/museum-of-wooden-architecture-vitoslavlitsy/