Antoniev Monastery on the right bank of the Volkhov River in Veliky Novgorod was founded in the 12th century by St. Anthony of Rome (Antony Rimlyanin). It is known that Antony had preached in Rome and its environs. But one day a miracle happened on the rock during his prayer: the rock broke away and sailed up to the banks of the Volkhov. In 1119 Antony built a stone temple, the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, in the place where the rock drifted ashore.
The amazing Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the Antoniev Monastery complex can still be seen today. Fragments of unique frescoes of the 12th century have been preserved inside, due to which the church is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Antoniev Monastery was liquidated as a religious house, but its buildings are currently part of the Novgorod United Museum-Preserve. The territory of the monastery houses the faculties of the Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University.