Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is one of the most popular places in Kiev, which is visited by tourists, guests of the capital of Ukraine and believers. The nearby caves attract visitors with their mystery, ancient history and interesting legends about underground treasures and healing power.
History of the Lavra
The foundation of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra falls on 1051, the period of the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. This was the era of the Baptism of Russia, and the first pastors of the Orthodox Church and monks began to come here. Some monks fled from Byzantium, which was of great importance for gaining a special place here and introducing people to the monastic way of life. Ordinary Old Russian people reverence for holy icons and monks.
Many monks who came to the city sought solitude, which they could find in caves and dungeons. The word "laurel" in Greek means "church settlement" or "built-up quarter."
The very first settler of the Near Caves was Hilarion, who later became the Metropolitan of Kiev. There also lived a monk Anthony, who became the founder of the monastery, and his disciple Theodosius, to whom historians attribute merit to instilling monasticism in Ancient Russia in accordance with the surrounding environment.
In 1073, under the Anthony of the Caves, the Assumption Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built, which was subsequently destroyed more than once as a result of Mongol raids, wars, fires and earthquakes. The last destruction occurred in 1941, when it was blown up by the German invaders. And only in 1995 the revival of the temple began, which they managed to finish by August 2000, at the beginning of the celebrations dedicated to the 950th anniversary of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
The main objects of the Lavra
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a large complex of structures, consisting of the Assumption Cathedral, Onufrievskaya tower, the refectory church of St. Anthony and Theodosius, Holy Cross Church, Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God, and many others. other
And of course, the Near and Far Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which preserve many ancient burials, are especially popular and famous. Their length is 300 and 500 m, respectively. Their names indicate remoteness from the Upper Lavra and the Great Church, which was the first stone church in the years when the first monks began to move from caves to the surface.
1000 years ago, the cave monastery, located on the banks of the Dnieper, most likely resembled modern Transnistrian monasteries: several narrow entrances starting on the slopes or terraces that led deep into the forest-covered hills. Paths led from them, some down to the water, others up.
Near Lavra Caves
According to their purpose, the dungeons were first used by monks for housing. The total length of the passages is 383 m, height - up to 2 m, and width - up to 1.5 m. Catacombs are laid in the underground layer 5-15 m deep from the surface. All of them were dug in ancient times by settlers in the porous sandstone of which the hills in Kiev consist. The search for some of the nearest salt caves in this area is pointless. Such treatment rooms in the city exist only in an artificial form.
Dungeons, also called Anthony Caves, consist of:
- three streets, the main of which is Pecherskaya, starts from the Vvedensky church, the largest in the underground part of the Lavra;
- the refectory of the room where the monks used to gather;
- three underground cave churches: Introduction, Anthony and Varlaam.
On the walls of the caves, scientists found inscriptions in different languages, dated 12-17 centuries. Due to the fact that the walls were covered with whitewash for a long time, they remained unexplored. However, when archaeologists washed away the upper layers and removed the plaster, they discovered beautiful frescoes created by the hands of ancient masters.
The modern entrance to the Near Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra was made in the form of a two-story building next to the Holy Cross Exaltation Church, which was built according to the design of A. Melensky in the early 19th century.
The life of the monks in the caves
There were not so many monks who lived in caves permanently - only real ascetics who walled themselves up in their cells, leaving a small window for transferring water and food. They slept on wooden beds. The central entrance was first strengthened by wooden poles, and then by brick, and a stove was placed nearby for heating cave dungeons.
Temples were also built underground, in which monks prayed, as well as pilgrims who came, the number of which increased every year. Due to the large influx of believers, the monks gradually expanded and lengthened the underground passages, since some pilgrims even got stuck in tight places.
The history of the Near and Far Caves is divided into four time periods:
- 11 tbsp. - monks live in underground cells;
- 11-16 centuries - caves converted to a necropolis;
- 17-20 centuries - they became a place of pilgrimage for believers;
- 20 tbsp. - became the subject of scientific research.
After most of the underground inhabitants decided to move to the surface, in the above-ground cells, more convenient, bright and warm, the caves became a burial place, the Lavra necropolis. The most righteous and famous people were buried here, among whom were not only monks. There are even relics and the head of the Roman bishop of St. Clement, transported from the Church of the Tithes, destroyed during the Mongol invasion.
Special transitions were made so that the pilgrims walked in a circle without arranging congestion. Underground residents laid corridors perpendicular to the main ones, and coffins with relics of Lavra saints were installed in them. In underground cemeteries there is a dry microclimate and a constant temperature, which contributes to the partial mummification of the bodies of the dead and their long-term preservation.
In 1830, in some underground passages of the Near Caves, the floors were laid out with cast-iron plates brought from Tula.
Burials and relics
In the underground labyrinths there are many niches in which there are burial places - arkosolii, crypt-crypts, as well as locules, narrow tombs in the walls. Noble and eminent dead were traditionally buried in arkosolia and crypts, and ordinary people were buried in locales.
The most famous historical burials, and not only saints, in the Near Caves (total 79):
- Ilya of Muromets, which testifies to its real existence;
- Nestor the Chronicler, who wrote the famous "Tale of Bygone Years";
- the first doctor of Kievan Rus Agapit;
- icon painters Allipius and Gregory;
- Prince of Chernihiv dynasty Nikolai Svyatosh;
- Gregory the Miracle Worker;
- The infant martyr John, whom Prince Vladimir sacrificed during pagan beliefs, etc.
Cave Maps
The long work of searching the archives of ancient maps resulted in nearly 30 copies bearing graphic images and plans for the past 400 years. The oldest of them dates back to the 17th century.
Early graphic drawings of the caves were discovered on the margins of the manuscript of the merchant from Lviv Gruneweg, who visited the Lavra in 1584. One of them, for example, shows the entrance to the dungeons, fortified with oak piles, and gives a story about the length of the catacombs for 50 miles.
The first map of the Lavra underground passages is in the book “Teraturgim” written by the monk A. Kalofoysky in 1638. The plans for the Far and Near Caves were compiled by the monks of the Lavra, they contain a system of symbols, numbers and objects and almost completely correspond to the modern definition of such maps.
The following valuable objects of the annals are maps from the collection “Kiev Pechersk Patericon” (1661), made by the engraver Ilya.
After compiling detailed maps and exploring the underground passages, as early as the 21st century, walled passages were discovered that archaeologists uncovered. They go in different directions - to the Assumption Cathedral, some to the Dnieper, but large landslides hinder further progress.
The modern layout of the nearby caves is given below, it contains indications of all the main burials of famous monks and saints, it also shows the location of underground churches, cells and other rooms.
Legends and treasures
There are many legends about the countless treasures stored in the dungeons of the Lavra. One of them says about the values hidden in the Varyazhskaya (Robbery) cave, which were obtained by the Normans who robbed merchant ships. Treasures were discovered by the monks Fedor and Vasily in the 11th century, and then buried again. Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich and his son Mstislav tried to get to them, who tortured the monks to death by torture, but did not achieve anything. The remains of the martyrs are still stored in the dungeon.
Another interesting fact is associated with the wonderful myrrh-streaming heads stored in the niches of the underground passages. These are the remains of human skulls, from which the world periodically flows - a special oil that has healing qualities. In 1970, with the support of the Metropolitan of Kiev , chemical analyzes of the liquid were carried out, as a result of which a protein of complex composition was discovered, which is not yet possible to synthesize artificially.
Interesting facts from history
After the fascists occupied Kiev, the new commandant of the city decided to visit the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. He was found to conduct a tour of a local monk who previously lived here. For his safety, the German armed himself with a Nagan, which he carried in his hand, his companions were behind him.
Having reached the crayfish prp. Spiridon Prospornik, who died 800 years ago, the commandant asked what the relics of the saints are made of. The guide explained that these are bodies of people who, after a holy life and death, were honored to become incorrupt remains in caves.
Then the German took a pistol and with his hilt hit the relics on his hands, and blood flowed from the wound on the bursting skin. In horror, the fascist fled from underground passages. And the next day, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra was declared open to all comers.
Unexplored caves
Many legends and stories that came from ancient centuries, as well as modern ones, tell about the incredible length of underground passages and catacombs near Kiev, which are a continuation of the Far and Near Caves. They allegedly lead from the Lavra to neighboring churches and even to nearby regions of Ukraine. However, almost all of the exits from them were walled up in the 1930s in order to limit access for curious treasure seekers for their own safety. Many secret underground passages are littered with sagging earth or stones, and therefore lost for researchers. But perhaps they are still waiting for their discoverers.