The Holy Assumption Nikolo-Vasilyevskiy Monastery, whose founder was Farther Zosima, is known far beyond the territory of Donetsk Region.
Before 1959, Nikolskoye village, where the Monastery is located, consisted of two hamlets: Nikolskoye and Vasilyevka. Each of them had its own temple: a double-dome temple in Nikolskoye in honour of Saint Nicholas (erected in 1911), and a temple with nine domes in Vasilyevka in honour of Saint Basil (built in 1912). The latter was decorated with unique faience iconostasis whose cost, at that time, reached four thousand gold roubles.
Saint Nicholas Church did not survive to our days: after the revolution of 1917 it was almost fully destroyed and was used as granary for a long time. In Saint Basil Temple, which endured tough times during the revolution and the Civil War, the service resumed in the 40-s. Both temples revived when Farther Superior Savvati, well-known among the people as archimandrite Zosima, was appointed in charge of the Vasilyevskiy perish.
Old residents say that the creation of the monastery in Nikolskoye was foretold by one of the nuns from the Crimean Paraskevinskiy Monastery. The prophecy predicted that a monastery would be erected in Nikolskoye after the monk arrived.
Work started in 1996 when at that time the diseased Farther Zosima decided to build two monasteries in the village: a monastery for men and a nunnery. Shortly afterwards, were built several residential houses, a refectory church in the honour of All Saints of Russian Land and an hospice for 100 persons.
In 2001, the sisterhood was given the status of Holy Assumption Nikolaevskiy Nunnery, and in 2002 Holy Assumption Vasilyevskiy Monastery (for men) was registered. The nunnery and the monastery became places of pilgrimage for thousands of Orthodox believers. People go here to bow in front of the miracle-working Icon of Saint Mary, named «Quick to Hearken», and pray near the burial-vault of Farther Zosima.
Construction in the cloister is, up to now, still continuing. In 2003 a gate church with a bell tower in the honour of Iverskaya Icon of Holy Virgin, Saint Nicholas and Saint Basil Chapel were built. The erection of the Assumption Church, a reduced copy of the Assumption Temple in Moscow, started at the same time.