Since ancient times, approximately from the 10th century, Karaites have lived in the territory of Crimea - a small ethnic group professing Judaism. Currently, the Iosafatova Valley is located in this place, and next to it is a large burial place of Karaites. This sacred place had a different name - Balta Tiimez, which is translated from the Karaite language means "will not touch the ax." According to legend, there was once a dense forest at the site of the cemetery. Trees growing here were considered sacred. The name (Iosafatov Valley) appeared only in the 18th century.
History of occurrence
It is known that in the second half of the 18th century these lands were captured by the Turks. To escape from captivity and enslavement of foreigners, peasants went to the local monastery and looked for shelter there. According to legend, once the monks had a vision of the Mother of God, she ordered them to leave here and move east. People did just that. For three days they walked towards the morning dawn, until they saw a well and stopped for the night. On the same night, the monks again had a vision and the Mother of God, who appeared to them, blessed the area. The fugitives decided not to go anywhere else and settled next to the holy spring. The neighborhood at the holy well was called Golinchintsy. This name was associated with the extreme poverty of monks and laity who fled from the Janissaries. Gradually, people began to build houses, and over time, four villages appeared around the blessed well. Near the well, local residents began to gather and perform a prayer service. They called this place Jehoshaphat Valley. The Karaites themselves, who have long inhabited the area, called the valley of Imek Jehoshaphat, which literally translates as "the valley in which God will judge." Karaites were sure that this place was mentioned in the Old Testament. The name echoes the same in Jerusalem, where, according to legend, the Last Judgment will take place. An analogy is often drawn between these two large burials.
“Praise Christ, Place Crosses!”
For many years since then people lived here until one day a vision came down on one of the inhabitants of the village. On a hot summer day, he grazed cattle and went to the well to drink spring water and plunge into the holy spring. Leaning down, he saw the reflection of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms. Later, the shepherd recalled that he was not at all afraid. On the contrary, an amazing calm descended on him in those minutes. In response to the shepherd’s question, what should they do next, the Mother of God said: “Praise Christ, place crosses”. The shepherd immediately ran to the people to tell what he saw. And then the first oak cross appeared near the sacred well. The news of this wonderful vision quickly spread throughout the villages, and now, hundreds of lay people everywhere went to the valley and carried crosses. Soon, the entire valley of Josaphatov was dotted with crosses.
Brutal violence
In those Soviet anti-religious times, such events could not pass without a trace. And now, already in November 1923, the regional executive committee received a report that not only many crosses appeared in the valley, but now the place itself is considered sacred, and people come here from all over the place, supposedly, to cure serious diseases. The commission created upon the fact of this report decided to completely remove the crosses from the face of the earth and punish all participants in the events. Mounted policemen dispersed the crowds of pilgrims, and the crosses dug up and sawed into firewood. As a result of the reprisal, 50 pilgrims who did not want to renounce their faith were brutally beaten and arrested. One of those arrested suffered a martyrdom - rats bit him alive in the cell. After interrogation, all those arrested were driven out into the street, and they, bloodied and barefoot, traveled on foot to their homes.
Trial
What was the surprise of the martyrs when they came to the Jehoshaphat Valley! In the empty place after the reprisal, new crosses stood. There were more than 15 thousand. It turned out that these crosses were delivered from the most remote corners. From there, where they had not yet had time to learn about the cruel punishment of local residents and pilgrims. Almost immediately, horse-drawn policemen reappeared in the sacred valley, digging up crosses and sawing them. Those who tried to stop them were brutally beaten. A new investigation was launched, and a criminal case was opened on this fact. In the dock were 9 priests and about 20 laity. The investigation into this high-profile case took a very long time. Although the investigators did not find any evidence of guilt under those articles charged with the defendants, they were still sentenced to different terms of forced labor. The Josaphat Valley of the Crosses was barbarously destroyed.
Who told the world about the events in the Jehoshaphat valley
Information about all the events that took place at that time in the Jehoshaphat Valley might not have reached our time. Ivan Artemovich Zalecki is a person thanks to whom we know all the details of that terrible massacre of pilgrims and villagers. When Ivan Artemovich was still a child, his mother sheltered the terminally ill widow of a priest from the Jehoshaphat Valley. A dying woman in paints spoke of the torment they had to endure in the name of faith. This story made an indelible impression on the child’s child consciousness. As an adult, Zaletsky tried to tell the whole world about those terrible events: he wrote books, articles in newspapers, spoke on radio and television. Thanks to Ivan Zaletsky Iosafatova Valley (Vinnytsia region), the photo of which you see, is known around the world.
Shrine revival
The Soviet anti-religious government has done everything in its time to permanently wipe this sacred place from the face of the earth. However, popular memory, unbending Christian faith and respect for the monuments of religious culture did their good deed. Today this place in Ukraine is being revived, and every year it gathers more and more pilgrims. On the way to the Jehoshaphat Valley is the church of St. Dmitry, and next to it is a cross decorated with rushnyks. This cross is a kind of pointer to the holy place, where there are a lot of such crosses. Where is the Iosafatova Valley, now, probably, every believer in Ukraine and neighboring countries knows. The thousands of crosses erected here are a living reminder that true faith cannot be killed.
The revival of the pilgrimage
Thanks to the activities of Ivan Artemovich Zalecki Iosafatov, the valley is still alive today. People not only know and revere the history of this place, but also make a pilgrimage to the sacred well with pleasure, participate in numerous processions of the cross, pray for the salvation of souls.
Iosafatov Valley in our time
Even today people go to the Jehoshaphat Valley to pray and ask God for health for themselves and their loved ones. Until recently, not everyone knew about the existence of this sacred place in Ukraine, until on August 15, 2006 a diocesan religious procession to the valley was organized. It was attended by more than 15 thousand people from all over Ukraine and neighboring countries. Pilgrims carried the crosses they left in the valley. All participants in the procession listened to the appeal of Vladyka Simeon to their flock, took part in the Divine Liturgy, and before leaving they got the opportunity to draw holy water from the well and plunge into the newly built bathhouse. In addition, the organizers organized a fair where they sold church books, icons, candles and crosses. In that year, the icon “The Miracle of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Jehoshaphat Valley” was painted. Since that day, the procession to the Jehoshaphat Valley has been a good annual tradition that gathers thousands of people who want to turn to God with their prayers. There are only a few places on earth where the Mother of God appeared in wonderful visions. Iosafatova Valley in the Crimea - one of them.
Miraculous healings
The Jehoshaphat Valley, whose history dates back centuries, is famous for the wonderful things that happen near a well with holy water. People who have made a pilgrimage to the Vinnitsa region talk about miraculous healings. Here are just some of them.
- In the Khmelnitsky region a child was born to whom doctors did not prophesy healing. After the operation, transferred in infancy, the boy, according to doctors, could never walk. Mother did not despair, and decided to turn to God for help. For three years she drove the child to the holy spring in the Jehoshaphat Valley, where she soaked her feet in holy water and prayed incessantly. God heard the mother's requests for the healing of her son, and the child went.
- A resident of Odessa came to Iosafatova Valley on crutches. For three days she spent the night in the valley, soaked her feet in holy water and prayed. On the third day, she got to her feet without the aid of crutches.
- People from the surrounding villages cook food on the water from the Jehoshaphat Valley. Many after this are cured of gastritis.
Thanks to these miraculous healings, it is Vinnitsa region that attracts thousands of pilgrims. The Jehoshaphat Valley, located here, is truly a wonderful place with a healing holy spring.
How to get to Jehoshaphat Valley
Iosafatova Valley is located just two kilometers from the city of Bakhchisarai. It is he who serves as the main guideline for pilgrims. Near Bakhchisaray is located the "cave city" of Chufut-Kale. If you move from it along the path of the ancient funeral processions, you will certainly find yourself at the arched vault of the Jehoshaphat Valley. Once upon a time, a caretaker's guard stood behind the entrance to the cemetery. Since people began to leave these places and move to cities and landscaped villages, there was no one to look after the graves in the ancient cemetery. Now only pilgrims and tourists appear here. The cemetery path runs through the city of the dead from west to east. On either side of it are ancient graves with tombstones. On all plates are inscriptions in Hebrew. Now the whole cemetery is overgrown with grass, gravestones are braided with vines. Despite this, Iosafatova Valley of the Cross gives pilgrims peace and tranquility, and every year brings together hundreds of believers.
Karaite cemetery
The ancient Karaite cemetery in the Jehoshaphat Valley is still not fully understood. Once upon a time there was a dense forest, and the trees in it were considered inviolable. The Karaites carefully guarded them from deforestation. Such admiration for centuries-old giants was explained simply. Tall trees have long been considered peculiar pointers. The deceased relatives were often buried under the trees. It was believed that the soul of the deceased within 40 days after death is in the branches of a tree. In other words, destroying a tree meant losing contact with their ancestors, with their roots. In addition, according to the Holy Scriptures, according to which karaites lived, the oak is a divine tree, a testimony of the divine presence. Today at the Karaite cemetery there are no traces of the fact that many centuries ago there was a dense forest.
Historian Studies
The peculiar chronicle of Karaites in the form of gravestones that have survived to this day on their graves to this day causes a lot of controversy among eminent historians. It is impossible to establish even the exact number of tombstones - the figure varies from 5 to 10 thousand. This is due to the fact that, in addition to the monuments on the Karaite graves, there are still many plates that were placed for travelers who died on the road. Many tombstones have long been hidden underground, so the question of the number of buried Karaites remains open. At one time, the Karaite writer and archaeologist Firkovich Avraam Samuilovich collected a significant part of tombstones and published them. These publications were followed by a lot of controversy among historians and archaeologists, the main essence of which was to date the first burials. According to the latest research by archaeologist Babalikashvili, the oldest tombstones date back to 956. It only says that Iosafatova Valley (Shargorodsky district), namely the Karaite cemetery, requires even more detailed study.