Kiev Pechersk Lavra
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Image:Kievo-Pecherska Lavra (General).jpg
Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра, Kyievo-Pechers’ka lavra; Russian: Киево-Печерская лавра, Kievo-Pecherskaya lavra), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Kiev, Ukraine. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051 the Lavra has been a preeminent center of the Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe.
Currently, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a national heritage site and one of the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites within Ukraine. The complex serves as the official residence of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Viktor Sabodan), the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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[edit] 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).
[edit] Foundation and Early History
According to the 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.
Image:Kievo-Pecherska Lavra Belltower.jpg
Image:Church of the Saviour at Berestove (Side view).jpg
Image:Near Caves (Kiev Pechersk Lavra).jpg
[edit] Buildings and structures
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra contains numerous amounts of architectural monuments, ranging from belltowers to cathedrals to underground cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls. Of the main attractions of the Lavra include the Great Lavra Belltower, the most notable building of the Kiev skyline and the Dormition Cathedral being destroyed in World War II, and being fully reconstructed in recent years. Numerous other churches and cathedrals of the Lavra include: the Refrectory Church, the Church of All Saints, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove, the Church of the Exalation 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 Monastary, the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary, and the Debosquette Wall.
[edit] Great Lavra Belltower
The Great Lavra Belltower is the most notable building of the Kiev skyline and is one of the main attractions of the Lavra. It was the highest 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. Its total height is a total of 96.5 meters.
[edit] Church of the Saviour at Berestove
The Church of the Saviour at Berestove is located to the North of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. It was constructed in the village of Berestove at the turn 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. However being outside the Lavra fortifications, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove is part of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra complex.
[edit] Caverns
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra caverns are a very complex 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 Reverend Anthony had settled in an old cave in one of the hills surrounding the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This cave apparently grew, with numerous additions including corridors and a church, and is now what we know as the Far Caves. In 1057, Anthony moved to a cave near the Upper Lavra, now called the Near Caves.
Foreign travellers in the 16-17th centuries had written that the catacombs of the Lavra streched for hundreds of kilometres, reaching as far as Moscow and Novgorod,<ref name="Touring Kyiv">Malikenaite, Ruta (2003). Guildebook: Touring Kyiv. Kyiv: Baltia Druk. ISBN 966-96041-3-3.</ref> which had apparently brought about to the knowledge of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra around the world.
[edit] Trivia
From 1994 to 1999 in the territory of the Lavra, within the portion then belonging to the Ukrainian State, the Embassy of Italy was located, after the renewal of the building hosting the ancient baths.
[edit] References
- Inline
<references/>
- Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- Kiev Pechersk Lavra, in the Directory of Orthodox Architecture (Russian)
- Kyivan Cave Monastery in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine.
- Kateryna Schotkina, "Kiev Pechersk Lavra: Take away and Divide", Zerkalo Nedeli (the Mirror Weekly), 11-17 November, 2006, (Russian), (Ukrainian)
[edit] External links
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| Church of the Saviour at Berestove • Church of the Tithes • St. Andrew's Church • St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral • Saint Sophia Cathedral • St. Volodymyr's Cathedral • St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery • Kiev Pechersk Lavra • Vydubychi Monastery |
Kiev: Pechersk Lavra • Saint Sophia Cathedral • Lviv: Ensemble of the Historic Centre • Struve Geodetic Arc (w/ nine other countries)
fr:Monastère des Grottes de Kiev ka:კიევ-პეჩერსკის ლავრა hu:Pecserszka Lavra it:Pechersk Lavra nl:Holenklooster van Kiev pl:Ławra Pieczerska ru:Киево-Печерская лавра uk:Києво-Печерська лавра
