Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kyiv Pechersk Lavra" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Києво-Печерська лавра
View of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
50°26′3″N 30°33′33″E / 50.43417°N 30.55917°E / 50.43417; 30.55917
Location	Pechersk Raion, Kyiv
Country	Ukraine
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox
Website	Official website
History
Dedication	Monastery of the Caves
Architecture
Architect(s)	Theodosius of Kiev, Anthony of Kiev
Style	Ukrainian Baroque
Years built	1051
Administration
Diocese	Disputed
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
Location	Europe
Part of	Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv
Reference	527
Inscription	1990 (14th Session)
Endangered	2023

Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kyiv.

Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051, the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe.

Etymology and other names

In Ukrainian, the word pechera (in Ukrainian Cyrillic печера) means cave which itself came from Proto-Slavic *реktera that means cave as well. The word lavra is used to describe high-ranking male monasteries for monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore, the name of the monastery is also translated as Kyiv Cave Monastery, Kyiv Caves Monastery or the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves (на печерах).

History

Foundation and early history

The Primary Chronicle contains contradictory information as to when the monastery was founded: in 1051, or in 1074. Anthony, a Christian monk from Esphigmenon monastery on Mount Athos, originally from Liubech of the Principality of Chernigov, returned to Rus' and settled in Kyiv as a missionary of monastic tradition to Kyivan Rus'. He chose a cave at the Berestov Mount that overlooked the Dnieper River and a community of disciples soon grew. Prince Iziaslav I of Kyiv ceded the whole mount to the Anthonite monks who founded a monastery built by architects from Constantinople.

Modern history

Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. The monastery complex is considered a separate national historic-cultural preserve (sanctuary), the national status to which was granted on 13 March 1996. The Lavra is not only located in another part of the city, but is part of a different national sanctuary than Saint Sophia Cathedral. While being a cultural attraction, the monastery is once again active, with over 100 monks in residence. It was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine on 21 August 2007.

Until the end of 2022, jurisdiction over the site had been divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP) as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Onufrius, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. In January 2023, the Ukrainian government terminated the UOC-MP's lease of the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church (also known as the Trapezna Church), returning those properties to direct state control. It also announced that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) had been granted permission to celebrate a Christmas service in the Dormition Cathedral, on 7 January 2023, Orthodox Christmas by the Old Calendar, a service which was celebrated by Metropolitan Epiphanius at 9am that day.

On 10 March 2023, the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve announced that the 2013 agreement on the free use of churches by the UOC-MP would be terminated on the grounds that the church had violated their lease by making alterations to the historic site, and other technical infractions. The UOC-MP was ordered to leave the territory by 29 March. The UOC-MP answered back that there were no legal grounds for the eviction and called it "a whim of officials from the Ministry of Culture." On 17 March 2023 Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that the decision of the Ukrainian authorities not to extend this lease to representatives of the UOC-MP "confirms the correctness" of the (24 February 2022) Russian invasion of Ukraine. The UOC-MP did not fully leave Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following 29 March 2023.

• The Near Caves of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Sketch by the Dutch artist Abraham van Westerveld made in 1651
• A panorama of the monastery, southward view
• The restored Cathedral of the Dormition, in 2005
• Up-close view of the Great Lavra Belltower with its four tiers in 2005

Hegumens

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The hegumens of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are listed below.

Buildings and structures

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra contains numerous architectural monuments, ranging from bell towers to cathedrals to cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls. The main attractions of the Lavra include the Great Lavra Belltower, and the Dormition Cathedral, destroyed in fighting the Germans World War II, and fully reconstructed in the 1990s after the fall of Soviet Union by Ukraine.

Other churches and cathedrals of the Lavra include: the Refectory Church, the Church of All Saints, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove, the Church of the Exaltation of Cross, the Church of the Trinity, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Church of the Conception of St. Anne, and the Church of the Life-Giving Spring. The Lavra also contains many other constructions, including: the St. Nicholas Monastery, the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, and the Debosquette Wall.

Great Lavra Belltower

The Great Lavra Belltower is one of the most notable features of the Kyiv skyline and among the main attractions of the Lavra. 96.5 meters in height, it was the tallest free-standing belltower at the time of its construction in 1731–1745, and was designed by the architect Johann Gottfried Schädel. It is a Classical style construction and consists of tiers, surmounted by a gilded dome.

Dormition Cathedral

Built in the 11th century, the main church of the monastery was destroyed during the World War II, a couple of months after the Nazi Germany troops occupied the city of Kyiv, during which the Soviet Union conducted the controversial 1941 Khreshchatyk explosions. Withdrawing Soviet troops practiced the tactics of scorched earth and blew up all the Kyiv bridges over Dnieper as well as the main Khreshchatyk street and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The destruction of the cathedral followed a pattern of Soviet disregard for cultural heritage, as they previously blew up the ancient St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery nearby in the 1930s.

In 1928, the monastery was converted into an anti-religious museum park by the Soviet authorities and after their return no efforts were provided to restore the church. The temple was finally restored in 1995 after Ukraine obtained its independence and the construction was accomplished in two years. The new Dormition Church was consecrated in 2000.

Gate Church of the Trinity

The Gate Church of the Trinity is located atop the Holy Gates, which houses the entrance to the monastery. According to a legend, this church was founded by the Chernihiv Prince Sviatoslav II. It was built atop an ancient stone church which used to stand in its place. After the fire of 1718, the church was rebuilt, its revered facades and interior walls enriched with ornate stucco work made by craftsman V. Stefaovych. In the 18th century, a new gilded pear-shaped dome was built, the facade and exterior walls were decorated with stucco-moulded plant ornaments and a vestibule built of stone attached to the north end. In the early 20th century, the fronts and the walls flanking the entrance were painted by icon painters under the guidance of V. Sonin. The interior of the Gate Trinity Church contains murals by the early 18th century painter Alimpy Galik.

Refectory chambers with Church of the Saints Anthony and Theodosius

The refectory chambers with the Church of the Saints Anthony and Theodosius is the third in a series of temples. The original temple was built in the 12th century and no drawings or visual depictions of it remain. The second temple was built at the time of the Cossack Hetmanate and was disassembled by the Russian authorities in the 19th century. It was replaced with the current temple, often referred to as the Refectory Church of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

The All Saints Church

The All Saints Church, erected in 1696–1698, is a fine specimen of Ukrainian baroque architecture. Characteristic of the church facades are rich architectural embellishments. In 1905, students of the Lavra art school painted the interior walls of the church. The carved wooden iconostasis is multi-tiered and was made for the All Saints church in the early 18th century.

Church of the Saviour at Berestove

The Church of the Saviour at Berestove is located to the North of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It was constructed in the village of Berestove around the start of the 11th century during the reign of Prince Vladimir Monomakh. It later served as the mausoleum of the Monomakh dynasty, also including Yuri Dolgoruki, the founder of Moscow. Despite being outside the Lavra fortifications, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove is part of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex.

Caves

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra caverns are a system of narrow underground corridors (about 1-1½ metres wide and 2-2½ metres high), along with numerous living quarters and underground chapels. In 1051, the monk Anthony settled in an old cave in a hill near the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. This cave received additions including corridors and a church, and is now the Far Caves. In 1057, Anthony moved to a cave near the Upper Lavra, now called the Near Caves.

Foreign travellers in the 16th–17th centuries wrote that the catacombs of the Lavra stretched for hundreds of kilometres, reaching as far as Moscow and Novgorod, spreading awareness of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

Burials

There are over a hundred burials in the Lavra. Below are the most notable ones

• Ilya Muromets – in the caves (c. 11th–12th century)
• Nestor the Chronicler – in the Near Caves (c. 1114)
• Saint Kuksha – in the Near Caves (c. 1114)
• Alipy of the Caves – in the Near Caves (c. 1114)
• Agapetus of Pechersk – in the Near Caves (c. 11th century)
• Oleg son of Vladimir II Monomakh – in the Church of the Saviour at Berestove (c. 12th century)
• Eufemia of Kyiv daughter of Vladimir II Monomakh – in the Church of the Saviour at Berestove (1139)
• Yuri Dolgoruki – in the Church of the Saviour at Berestove (1157)
• Skirgaila – regent Grand Duke of Lithuania (1397)
• Konstanty Ostrogski – near the Cathedral of the Dormition (1530)
• Vasily Kochubey – near the Refectory Church (1708)
• Ivan Iskra – near the Refectory Church (1708)
• Pyotr Stolypin – near the Refectory Church (1911)
• St. Spyridon – in the caves (c. 19th–20th century)
• Pope Clement I – his head in the Far Caves (his remaining relics brought to San Clemente in Rome by Sts. Cyril and Methodius)

During the Soviet era, the bodies of the saints that lay in the caves were left uncovered due to the regime's disregard for religion. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the bodies were covered with a cloth and to this day remain in the same state.

• Imperishable relic of saint Ilya Muromets in Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
• Monument to Konstanty Ostrogski

Museum

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is one of the largest museums in Kyiv. The exposition is the actual ensemble of the Upper (Near Caves) and Lower (Far Caves) Lavra territories, which house many architectural relics of the past. The collection within the churches and caves includes articles of precious metal, prints, higher clergy portraits and rare church hierarchy photographs. The main exposition contains articles from 16th to early 20th centuries, which include chalices, crucifixes, and textiles from 16th–19th centuries, with needlework and embroidery of Ukrainian masters. The remainder of the collection consists of pieces from the Lavra's Printing House and the Lavra's Icon Painting Workshop.

The museum provides tours of the catacombs, which contain remains of Eastern Orthodox saints or their relics. The Caves are of geological interest because they are excavated into loess ground. They form one of the most extensive occurrences of loess caves in the world.

The Lavra museums include:

• Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine
  • Martynivka Treasure
• Book and print history museum
• Museum of Ukrainian Folk Art
• Theater and film arts museum
• State historical library

Images

See also

• Šimon
• Yakun
• List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ukraine
• Crimea – Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea

Notes

1. Late 2010 a monitoring mission of UNESCO was visiting the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra to check on situation of the site. At the time the Minister of Culture Mykhailo Kulynyak stated the historic site along with the Saint Sophia Cathedral was not threatened by the "black list" of the organisation. The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO decided in June 2013 that Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, and St. Sofia Cathedral and related monastery buildings would remain on the World Heritage List.

References

1. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
2. "Правильное написание столицы Украины на английском языке закреплено в документе ЮНЕСКО - МИД Украины" [The correct spelling of the capital of Ukraine in English is enshrined in a UNESCO document - MFA of Ukraine]. gordonua.com (in Russian). 9 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
3. Magocsi P.R. A History of Ukraine. University of Toronto Press: Toronto, 1996. p 98.
4. Department of Image Collections
5. Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 7.
6. ^ Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, St. Sophia Cathedral remain on UNESCO's World Heritage List Archived 24 June 2013 at archive.today, Interfax-Ukraine (20 June 2013)
7. ""Софії Київській та Києво-Печерській лаврі "чорний список" ЮНЕСКО не загрожує" – Міністр культури Михайло Кулиняк" ["Sophia of Kyiv and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra are not threatened by the UNESCO "black list" - Minister of Culture Mykhailo Kulinyak]. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
8. "Про надання статусу національного Києво-Печерському держав... - від 13.03.1996 № 181/96" [On granting the status of national Kyiv-Pechersk State... - dated 03.13.1996 No. 181/96]. zakon1.rada.gov.ua. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
9. "Сайт Національного Києво-Печерського історико-культурного заповідника" [Site of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve]. www.kplavra.kyiv.ua. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
10. "General information — Kyiv Holy Dormition Caves Lavra". 14 November 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
11. "Head of UOC led solemnities on Synaxis of Near Caves' Venerable Fathers". Kyiv Holy Dormition Caves Lavra. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
12. "Historical churches of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra returned to Ukrainian state from Russia-affiliated church". Euromaidan Press. 5 January 2023.
13. ^ "Ukraine reclaims Kyiv cathedral amid church dispute". ABC News. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
14. "Epiphanius for the first time conducts Christmas service in Holy Dormition Cathedral". www.ukrinform.net. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
15. "Orthodox leader in Kyiv ordered under house arrest by Ukrainian court". PBS NewsHour. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
16. ^ "Kremlin says Ukrainian authorities' decision on Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate justifies "special operation"". Ukrainska Pravda. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
17. "Metropolitan Epiphany urges calm after arrest of abbot". Church Times. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
18. "Lavra. What's next?". Lb.ua [uk] (in Ukrainian). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
19. ^ "1941: уничтожение Успенского собора в Лавре". BBC News Україна (in Russian). 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
20. Гогун, Александр (20 September 2021). "Вандалы-орденоносцы. Как Красная армия взрывала Киев". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 2 June 2023.
21. Malikenaite, Ruta (2003). Guidebook: Touring Kyiv. Kyiv: Baltia Druk. ISBN 966-96041-3-3.
22. ^ Kyiv Sightseeing Guide. Kyiv/Lviv: Centre d'Europe. 2001. ISBN 966-7022-29-3.

Sources

Primary sources

• Cross, Samuel Hazzard; Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Olgerd P. (1953) . The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text. Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor (PDF). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mediaeval Academy of America. p. 325. (The first 50 pages are a scholarly introduction).

Secondary sources

• Kyiv Pechersk Lavra article in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1907).
• Kyivan Cave Monastery Archived 23 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine Archived 15 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
• Schotkina, Kateryna. "Kyiv Pechersk Lavra: Take away and Divide" in Zerkalo Nedeli, 11–17 November 2006.

External links

• Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – Official site (in English, Russian, and Ukrainian)
• National Kyiv-Pechersk Historico-Cultural Preserve
• Drawings and Sketches by Students of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Monastery Workshop
• M. Z. Petrenko. Cave labyrinths on the territory of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. Photo essay. Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1974.
• National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. A set of postcards. Kyiv, Mystetstvo, 1977.
• Video "Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (4k UltraHD)"

Navigational templates

v t e Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Churches Dormition Cathedral Refectory Church All Saints Saviour at Berestove Exaltation of Cross Life-Giving Spring Nativity of the Virgin Conception of St. Anne Gate Church of the Trinity Other constructions Great Lavra Bell Tower Near Caves Far Caves St. Nicholas Monastery Debosquette Wall Lavra fortification (Ivan Kushchnyk Tower) Miscellaneous Typography Theological Academy and Seminary v t e Churches and monasteries of Kyiv Cathedrals Saint Sophia Cathedral St. Volodymyr's Cathedral Resurrection Cathedral St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral St. Nicholas Military Cathedral St. Panteleimon's Cathedral Churches St. Andrew's Church St. Cyril's Church Church of the Saviour at Berestove Church of the Tithes Church of the Theotokos Troieshchyna Church Askold Grave Church Monasteries Lavra of the Caves (Great Church Gate Church Refectory Church) St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery Vydubychi Monastery Brotherhood Monastery Trinity Monastery Theophania Convent Intercession Convent Florivsky Convent Kytayiv Poustinia Demolished structures are in italics v t e National Historic Reserves in Kyiv Ancient Kyiv Babi Yar Bykivnia Graves Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Lukianivka Cemetery Sophia of Kyiv v t e Museums in Kyiv, Ukraine Art museums and galleries Ivan Honchar Museum Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema Arts of Ukraine National Folk Decorative Art Museum Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art National Art Museum of Ukraine Kyiv Art Gallery [uk] PinchukArtCentre Mystetskyi Arsenal History Kyiv City Teacher's House Kyiv History Museum National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War Museum of Soviet Occupation National Museum of the History of Ukraine National Museum-Preserve of Ukrainian military achievements Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum Victoria Museum Religion Kyiv Pechersk Lavra St Andrew's Church Saint Sophia Cathedral St Cyril's Church St Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral Transportation The Museum of the History of Kyiv Transportation [uk] Exhibition of rolling stock of historical locomotives and wagons [uk] Ukraine State Aviation Museum Kyiv Subway Museum [uk] Culture Golden Gate Kyiv Fortress Museum of the History of Life in Kyiv [uk] Mamayeva Sloboda [uk] Maria Zankovetska Museum [uk] Maksym Rylsky Museum Mikhail Bulgakov Museum Museum of Outstanding Figures of Ukrainian Culture Museum of Ukrainian Diaspora Mykhailo Hrushevsky Memorial Museum National Museum Taras Shevchenko One Street Museum Pavlo Tychyna Museum National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine Savka House State Museum of Toys Infrastructure Kyiv Pharmacy Museum [uk] Museum of Recycled Materials [uk] Kyiv Sewer Museum [uk] Kyiv Water Museum National Museum of Medicine of Ukraine [uk] Toilet History Museum v t e World Heritage Sites in Ukraine Cultural Kyiv (Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra) Lviv - Ensemble of the Historic Centre Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans Struve Geodetic Arc Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region Historic Centre of Odesa Natural Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe with Estonia, Belarus, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Moldova, Russia, and Sweden with Poland with Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland v t e Seven Wonders of Ukraine Historical Sofiyivka Park Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kamianets-Podilskyi Complex Khortytsia Chersonesus Saint Sophia Cathedral Khotyn Fortress Natural Askania-Nova Granite-steppe lands of Buh Dniester Canyon Marble Caves Podilski Tovtry Shatsk National Natural Park Lake Synevyr Architectural Lutsk Upper Castle Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle Akkerman Fortress Metropolitan Palace Khotyn Fortress Kachanivka Palace Vorontsov Palace Kyiv St Andrew's Church and descent House with Chimaeras Vydubychi Monastery St Volodymyr's Cathedral Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Old Podil) Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Saint Sophia Cathedral v t e Symbols of Ukraine Symbols of Ukrainian people Official Flag list regions Coat of arms list regions Presidential symbols Flag Collar Bulava Seal Peresopnytsia Gospel National colours Unofficial Slava Ukraini Vyshyvanka Pysanka Bandura Chervona kalyna Cossack with musket Cossack Mamay Hopak Horilka Songs Shche ne vmerla Ukraina Prayer for Ukraine Oi u luzi chervona kalyna Za Ukrainu Zaporizhian March Zrodylys my velykoyi hodyny People Taras Shevchenko Volodymyr the Great Yaroslav the Wise Lesya Ukrainka Ivan Franko Bohdan Khmelnytsky Ivan Mazepa Daniel of Galicia Landmarks Sofiyivka Park Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle Khortytsia Chersonesus Saint Sophia Cathedral Khotyn Fortress Seven Wonders of Ukraine Greatest Ukrainians

• Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
• Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine
• Monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
• World Heritage Sites in Ukraine
• Buildings and structures in Kyiv
• Tourist attractions in Kyiv
• Christian monasteries established in the 1050s
• 1051 establishments in Europe
• Eastern Orthodox church buildings
• Historic sites in Ukraine
• Landmarks in Kyiv
• Protected areas of Ukraine
• Protected areas established in 1926
• Monuments and memorials in Kyiv
• Religious museums in Ukraine
• Cave monasteries
• Cemeteries in Kyiv
• Pecherskyi District
• Symbols of Kyiv
• Lavras
• Historic reserves in Ukraine
• Ukrainian Baroque church buildings