Roofs of the Holy Trinity Church

Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, 1890s

Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра; Russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is an ancient cave monastery in Kiev. It was founded in 1051 by monks Anthony and Theodosius, and has become an important center of Orthodox Christianity in Kievan Rus'. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4759x8197, 4716 KB)The Holy Trinity Church in Kiev. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4759x8197, 4716 KB)The Holy Trinity Church in Kiev. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (969x698, 188 KB)19th-century photo of the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (969x698, 188 KB)19th-century photo of the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. ... A cave monastery is basically a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. ... A monument to St. ... -1... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... St. ... ... Kievan Rus′ (Russian: , Kievskaya Rus; Ukrainian: , Kyivs’ka Rus’) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the city of Kiev (Russian: Ки́ев, Kiev; Ukrainian: Ки́їв, Kyiv), from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ...

Currently, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra also serves as the residence of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Viktor Sabodan), the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Volodymyr Metropolitan Volodymyr or Vladimir (Viktor Sabodan, officially His Beatitude Vladimir Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine) is the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchy (UOK-MP) currently the only Ukrainian church to have canonical standing (legal recognition) in Eastern Orthodoxy world-wide. ... The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Ukrainian: ; Russian: ) is an autonomous church of Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine, under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). ...

Etymology and other names

The word pechera means cave in Slavic languages. The word lavra is used to describe high ranking monasteries of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore the name of the monastery is also translated as Kiev Cave Monastery, Kiev Caves Monastery or the Kiev Monastery on the Caves (на печерах). The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... Alexander Nevsky Lavra In Orthodox Christianity Lavra or Laura (Greek: Λάυρα, Cyrillic: Лавра) originally meant a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. ...

Foundation and Early History

According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, in the early 11th century, Antony, a Greek Orthodox monk from Esphigmenon monastery on Mount Athos, originally from Liubech of the Grand Principality of Chernigov, returned to Rus' and settled in Kiev as a missionary of monastic tradition to Kievan Rus'. He chose a cave at the Berestov Mount that overlooked the Dnieper river and a community of disciples soon grew. Knyaz (prince) Iziaslav of Kiev ceded the whole mount to the Antonite monks who founded a monastery built by architects from Constantinople. The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from around 850 to 1110. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... One of the 20 monasteries on Mount Athos Mount Athos is a mountain and a peninsula in Macedonia, northern Greece, called Άγιο Όρος (Ayio Oros or Holy Mountain) in Modern Greek, or Ἅγιον Ὄρος (Hagion Oros) in Classical Greek. ... Liubech, Lyubech or Lubech (Russian and Ukrainian: ) is a small ancient town connected with many important events since the times of Kievan Rus. It is currently a small settlement located in Ripky Raion, Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. ... Chernihiv (Ukrainian: ), often called by the Russian name Chernigov (Чернигов) is an ancient city in northern Ukraine, the capital of Chernihiv Oblast (province). ... Kievan Rus′ (Russian: , Kievskaya Rus; Ukrainian: , Kyivs’ka Rus’) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the city of Kiev (Russian: Ки́ев, Kiev; Ukrainian: Ки́їв, Kyiv), from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ... A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... Alternate meanings: Cave (disambiguation) The outside world viewed from a cave A cave is a natural underground void large enough for an adult human to enter. ... Length 2,290 km Elevation of the source - m Average discharge 1670 m³/s Area watershed 516,300 km² Origin Russia Mouth Black Sea Basin countries Russia, Belarus, Ukraine The Dnieper River (Russian: Днепр/Dnepr; Belarusian: Дняпро/Dnyapro; Ukrainian: Дніпро/Dnipro) is a river (2,290 km length) which flows from Russia through... Kniaz’ or knyaz is a historic title of Slavic rulers. ... Iziaslav Yaroslavich (1024-1078), Kniaz (Prince) of Turaw, Velikii Kniaz (the Grand Prince) of Kiev (since 1054), the oldest son of Yaroslav I the Wise. ... Map of Constantinople. ...

References

• Kiev Pechersk Lavra, in the Directory of Orthodox Architecture, in Russian, a lot of pictures.
• Kyivan Cave Monastery in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

External link

• Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra - Official site