The Church Celebrates the Feast of St. Anthony of the Caves

The Orthodox Church commemorates St. Anthony of the Caves. The founder of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the father of monasticism in Rus' is venerated as the saint who brought the blessing of the Holy Mount Athos to Kyiv.

St. Anthony was born in the early 11th century in the city of Lyubech near Chernihiv and was given the name Antipa at baptism. Feeling a calling to the spiritual life, he journeyed to Athos, where he received monastic tonsure in one of the monasteries. Having received from the abbot a blessing and an obedience to return to his homeland to plant monasticism there, the saint arrived in Kyiv in 1051.

The ascetic settled in a narrow cave that had previously been dug for prayer by the presbyter Hilarion. The life of St. Anthony was marked by extreme asceticism: his only food was black bread every other day and a moderate amount of water. The fame of the strict hermit spread quickly throughout Rus', and soon people began coming to him for spiritual counsel and blessing.

The saint's first disciples were Nikon and Theodosius of the Caves. When the number of the brethren grew to twelve, St. Anthony, seeking solitude, withdrew to a neighboring hill. There he dug a new cave and spent his remaining years in reclusion, while St. Theodosius was chosen as abbot of the community.

The Kyiv-Pechersk monastery they founded became a spiritual center that served as a model for other monasteries. Outstanding enlighteners, writers, and archpastors came forth from the walls of the Lavra. St. Anthony reposed in 1073 at the age of about 90, leaving behind a great legacy that remains an unshakeable pillar of Orthodoxy to this day.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, celebrations in honor of St. Anthony of the Caves have begun at the Lavra.

Read also