What makes the Church of the Ascension of Christ on Sekirnaya Mountain truly unique is its role as a lighthouse church. The lighthouse is housed inside the bell tower, which forms the third tier of the church and contains four bells. For more than a century, this light has helped guide ships safely through the waters of the Solovetsky Archipelago.
Originally, the lighthouse was illuminated by kerosene lamps. In 1904, these were replaced with modern French optical equipment. Major repairs carried out in the 1960s brought electric power to the lighthouse, and powerful searchlights now send signals visible up to 10 miles away. The light stands 98 metres above sea level, making it the highest lighthouse on the White Sea. Today, it is maintained by the Solovetsky Monastery.
Visitors can climb the 300 steps of the historic staircase leading to the dome above the bell tower, where panoramic views of the islands and the White Sea reward the effort.
After a long interruption during the twentieth century, church services resumed in 1992. The Holy Ascension Skete is once again active and remains home to a small community of monks, preserving the spiritual atmosphere of this remarkable place.
The history of Sekirnaya Mountain and the Holy Ascension Skete is closely linked to the tragic period of the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp (SLON), which operated on the archipelago in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, the skete housed the camp’s fourth division and a male punishment cell known as the «sekirka» — a form of strict solitary confinement.
Prisoners who violated camp regulations or were considered incorrigible were sent here. The isolation ward became notorious for its extremely harsh conditions, physical abuse, and both individual and mass executions. Periods of confinement could last from two weeks to as long as a year, and many inmates did not survive their imprisonment.
Today, a side chapel of the Ascension Church contains a small museum dedicated to the history of the penal isolation ward, preserving the memory of this sombre chapter in the island’s past.
Beyond the skete itself, several other points of interest can be found on Sekirnaya Mountain and at its foot. On the slope of the hill, visitors can see a preserved boulder bath, located beside a spring and an old well.
In memory of the New Martyrs of Solovki, two memorial crosses have been erected on Sekirnaya Mountain. One stands at the foot of the mountain and was blessed by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II during his visit to Solovki in 1992.
At the summit, an observation deck offers panoramic views of the forests and lakes of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island, the Savvatievsky Skete, and the White Sea, providing a striking contrast between the natural beauty of the landscape and its complex historical legacy.
