The Church honors Venerable Fathers who shone in Near Caves of Kyiv Lavra

Icon of the Venerable Saints of the Kyiv Caves Who Shone in the Near Caves. Photo: Facebook of Archbishop Serhiy of Ladyzhyn

On October 11, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church commemorates and honors the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, who rest in the Near Caves (of Venerable Anthony).

In the Near Caves of the Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra rest the relics of seventy-three venerable fathers. The most well-known among them are: Venerable Anthony, the founder of monasticism in Rus' (his relics are hidden); Venerable Prokhor the Loaf-Giver, who fed Kyiv during a famine with sweet bread made from wild herbs; Holy Righteous Juliana, Princess of Olshanka; Venerable Barlaam, the first abbot of the Pechersk Monastery; Saint Mark the Gravedigger, who prepared burial places for the deceased brothers of the monastery; Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, the mentor of all students and author of the Primary Chronicle; Venerable Martyr Moses the Hungarian, to whom people turn when struggling with temptations of a carnal nature; Saint Alypius, the patron of icon painters; and twelve holy Greek builders who worked on the creation of the Great Lavra Church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

In addition to the mentioned saints, there are thirty known God-pleasing saints among the Pechersk fathers, whose myrrh-streaming heads have been preserved. Undoubtedly, not all the names of the venerable fathers of the Kyiv Caves are known.

In the collective memory of the Synaxis, all the fathers who shone with ascetic feats in the caves are glorified.

It is precisely in these caves that the main treasure of the Dormition Lavra – the relics of the Pechersk saints – is still preserved.

Throughout its nearly thousand-year history, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has revealed to the world hundreds of great ascetics. More than 160 of them have been glorified as saints.

In terms of its spiritual significance, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is comparable only to the holy sites of Jerusalem and Mount Athos. It has long been considered the third domain of the Mother of God and the "Slavic Athos".

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a true jewel of global Orthodoxy and the main sanctuary of our land. Apart from Athos and Kyiv, there is no other place in Europe where so many saints dwell simultaneously.

Every day, hundreds and thousands of pilgrims from all corners of Ukraine and other countries come to the incorruptible relics of the Pechersk saints. Through prayers to the Venerable Fathers, many receive miracles of healing and heavenly assistance daily.

And for ten centuries now, the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves have been the heavenly protectors of our land, the main guides of our people, and the stewards of their destiny.

Now, we once again turn to them in prayer, relying on their intercession.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the case concerning the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra will now be considered by the Supreme Court.

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