Holy Trinity Monastery, Orthodox monastery in Lebedyan, Russia

Holy Trinity Monastery stands on the northern edge of Lebedyan, not on the Don. Its walled complex contains three mid-17th-century stone churches: the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity, the Dormition Church and the Gate Church of Elijah the Prophet. The last two await restoration; the gate church was still in disrepair in 2022.

The Yablonevaya Hermitage was first recorded in 1626, when its builder Savvaty and priest Iosif asked for land for the brethren, noting that a church of the Holy Trinity and the Prophet Elijah had been built in the forest in 1622. In 1642 hegumen Monasiya laid a stone cathedral; Tatars burned the monastery in 1659 and hegumen Dionisius completed the cathedral in 1665. Abolished in 1764, it was restored in 1768 and closed by the Soviets in 1919, with monastic life lasting until 1929.

The monastery is also called Yabloneva Pustyn (Apple Hermitage), after the apple orchard recorded behind its walls in 1678. Tradition holds that the Trinity icon donated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich survived the fire that destroyed the monastery and returned to an apple tree on the site. Since 2005 a community of nuns has lived here, the monastery having been male throughout its earlier history.

The monastery stands on the northern edge of Lebedyan. The gate Church of Elijah the Prophet was still in disrepair as of 2022, so access to it may be restricted; the Trinity Cathedral and Dormition Church are the main structures to see. The grounds are those of a working convent, so modest dress and quiet are expected.

The monastery's name Yabloneva Pustyn means "Apple Hermitage", and by the 1678 inventory it held an apple orchard behind its walls. The wonder-working Trinity icon donated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich survived the fire that destroyed the monastery; tradition says that after being moved to other churches it kept returning to the apple tree on the burnt site.