“Pochaiv Lavra withstood Bolsheviks and will endure current trials as well”
Metropolitan Volodymyr, abbot of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra, reflects on his years of church ministry.
In an exclusive interview with the UOJ, Metropolitan Volodymyr of Pochaiv speaks about his life in the secular world and the monastery, the miracles and canonization of St Amphilochius of Pochaiv, and how believers can endure the hatred and reproach from authorities and society today.
– Your Eminence, today's authorities and media are turning society against the canonical Church. It is becoming increasingly difficult for believers to endure this. How should we bear it?
– Unfortunately, this is the reality of our times. But, as the wise Solomon said, "Everything passes, and this, too, shall pass away..." You know about Khrushchev's persecution of the Church in the 1960s. Our Lavra survived those hard times; the Mother of God and St Job of Pochaiv protected the brethren of the monastery, even though there were many arrests and imprisonments. Similarly, today we are enduring many trials. But this, too, shall pass...
– Forty-four years ago, as a 21-year-old, you joined the Pochaiv brotherhood. Two years later, you were tonsured a monk with the name Volodymyr. Sixteen years after that, the brotherhood elected you as abbot. Recently, in December, you marked the 24th anniversary of your episcopal ordination. It seems the Lord called you to monastic service from a very young age, almost from childhood. Secular people often wonder: how is it possible to become a monk, dedicate one’s entire life to God, renounce all worldly pleasures, the comfort of family life, fatherhood and social interactions? Is it a calling?
– Often, a monk cannot give a detailed explanation as to why he became a monk. In the secular world, people often think it’s because he couldn’t find his place in society, experienced some disappointment or something else. But a monk answers plainly: “The Lord called me.” In my view, the seeds of faith are sown in childhood. At least, that’s how it was for me.
Childhood
I was born on 15 August 1959 in the village of Molodiia of the Hlyboka District, Chernivtsi Region, into an ordinary , devout peasant family. From early childhood, we worked on the farm, prayed at home, and read the Word of God. I loved singing and attending church services. Our parents sang, and we, the children, also sang from a very young age. We sang only spiritual songs and sacred hymns. During Christmas, we, children, would organize ourselves, go carolling and sing kolyadky (carol songs) in the village. We always had a musical instrument, a bayan or a harmonica, with us. This was the atmosphere that characterized our entire community and village. There was faith, which meant the Lord was with us.
– But those were Soviet times, and the atheistic machine was working at full force...
– You know, Volyn, Galicia and Bukovyna – these western regions of Ukraine – didn’t suffer as severely under total atheism as other parts of the country. Until 1939, we were under Romanian rule, while Volyn and Galicia were under Polish rule, and Zakarpattia was under Hungary. We went to church from childhood and were unafraid. We understood that our schoolteachers knew who were church-goers and who were not, but there was no direct persecution. I’d note that our Bukovyna, thank God did not suffer so much from the atheist invasion. After World War II, that atheistic control was exhausted altogether. It is true that there were some isolated cases on the part of pro-governmental structures. Those who were influenced by the atheist spirit tried to impose their harmful ideology. But our people, the faithful, didn’t succumb to these isolated attacks.
We went to church from early childhood, confessed and received Holy Communion. We heard there were some believers among the teachers; we observed which of them went to church and which partook in the sacraments. But I never saw them and was not interested in it. Our family was always in church, just like our ancestors centuries ago. And no one interfered with us or offended us. Thank God for that. In general, in every neighboring village, there were large brick churches. Each church had a male choir of 20-30 people. What does that say? Faith was natural and unrestrained; it permeated the entire region! All the feasts and traditions were preserved by the whole community. People fasted, prayed, repented, held memorial services, and most importantly, partook in the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In essence, people lived in Christ, and Christ was with them.
– What are your most vivid childhood memories, Vladyka?
– Besides Pascha and Pentecost, it would be the Christmas celebrations. The entire village rejoiced and sang. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone glorified the coming of Christ the Savior into the world. Even today, those traditions are preserved. As they say, as it was, so it is… Perhaps, some things have changed. Now we have the Internet, the promotion of permissiveness and moral decay, so there are more temptations for the younger generation, making it harder to resist them.
Our upbringing was a bit different. Our parents cared first and foremost about the salvation of our souls. The environment wasn’t as spiritually harmful as it is today. People were busy. After school, there was always work to be done at home. On Saturday mornings, we worked. On Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings, the whole family would always attend church services. No one would just roam about aimlessly. As we grew older, some of my peers went to work in factories or pursued studies, leaving little time for idleness. And as the holy fathers say, idleness is the mother of all vices.
Today, young people have more free time, fewer responsibilities and more temptations. Who tends to livestock or works in the fields, harvesting crops? Perhaps, only a few. Everyone strives for comfort. Unfortunately, the values of the West have become a “golden calf” in today’s world.
Yet, families that prioritise spiritual upbringing do not go unnoticed by God’s special care.
Khreshchatyk Monastery
– How did Divine Providence connect your life with the Khreshchatyk Monastery?
– Saint Amphilochius of Pochaiv often reminded us: “Living a life is not the same as crossing a field.” In the early 1990s, I was sent from Pochaiv to Khreshchatyk by the ruling bishop at the time, who is now our current Beatitude, Metropolitan Onuphry. Once, he came to our feast day in Pochaiv, where I had already been for 10 years. He said, “There is no abbot in Khreshchatyk today. Could you take on this obedience?” I replied, “If the Holy Synod blesses and appoints me, I will take it on, Vladyka.” And so it happened on 26 June 1991. But before this conversation, when I visited Khreshchatyk, I saw there was only a small chapel that could barely accommodate 20 people. I thought then, “If I stay here, a church must be built.”
Vladyka Onuphry blessed me, saying, “Build a church.” I carried out my obedience there for over a year. During this time, with God’s help, the monastery was restored, and a church was built in memory of the Nativity of John the Baptist, with an altar dedicated to the Annunciation of the Theotokos in its lower part. We built it, as they say, in an open field. The old monastery is located on the slopes of the Dniester River, but we built on the monastery’s outskirts. Now, it can be seen from Ternopil, Zalishchyky, and beyond, and it holds many worshippers.
At that time, a prophecy was fulfilled, which I did not know about but which was said, as I found out later, by the Monk Kuksha of Odesa many years before... By his prayers, may the Lord have mercy on us. During the Khrushchev persecutions, St Kuksha was transferred to the Pochaiv Lavra by the godless authorities. And here, as an elder and confessor, he enjoyed great authority, and many people went to him.
Of course, the authorities were displeased, and after some time, he was sent to the Khreshchatyk Monastery. When the monastery was later closed, he moved to Odesa, where he passed away on 24 December 1964. 24 December 2024 marked 60 years since his repose…
While in Khreshchatyk, St Kuksha told his spiritual children: “Climb the hill and see where a church will stand in the future.” The people went up but saw nothing – just an open field. There were no signs of a future temple. There was a rock overhanging the monastic small buildings. In the 1990s when I was sent there to be the hegumen, I saw that in that small temple there was simply not enough space for pilgrims.
Long before this, in the early 1980s, when Vladyka Varlaam (Iliushchenko) was the bishop of Chernivtsi, I served as his subdeacon after the army. We visited Khreshchatyk, which at the time was a tourist site. We took water from the holy spring, and Vladyka said to me: “You will be the abbot here.” Later, I forgot about this prophecy, but I indeed became a hegumen and was appointed abbot there.
A short time later, with Vladyka Onuphry, the brethren, and pilgrims, we ascended the hill in a cross procession. Vladyka Onuphry consecrated the site for the church.
– That is already a new chapter in the history of Khreshchatyk, one not widely known...
– As I mentioned, we began preparing the site for the church in an open field, without funds or assistance. Eventually, with God’s help, we built it within a year. Resources appeared, and God’s servants came to help, and we built it. We brought in electricity, purchased construction materials and equipment. I would call it a miracle because John the Baptist himself aided us, while we were merely the instruments. This is always the case with God’s work.
When the church (a large one with multiple chapels) was completed, elderly nuns, spiritual children of St Kuksha, came to visit. That's when they told me that the monk had prophesied a church would stand on this hill. Before that, I had heard nothing of these prophecies. Now, the church stands, adorning and sanctifying our land with its prayers.
– Vladyka, you soon returned to Pochaiv after that. How did that happen?
– At that time, the abbot of the Lavra was Vladyka Feodor (Gayun), now Metropolitan of Kamianets-Podilskyi and Horodok. He invited me to revive the male choir. Every Friday, a car would come for me from Pochaiv, and for five months, until late autumn, I travelled back and forth to direct the choir while returning to Khreshchatyk.
When the cold weather set in, the roads became impassable, and I realised I could no longer manage such obedience. Vladyka Feodor and Vladyka Sergiy then approached Vladyka Onuphry of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna to request that he release me from Khreshchatyk so I could return to the Lavra. This happened on 5 November 1992, on the eve of the feast of the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow”. So, I returned to the Lavra, where I directed the choir and was also appointed the steward of the Lavra. In 1996, when Vladyka Feodor was transferred to the Kamianets-Podilskyi See, the brethren chose me, unworthy as I am, from among three candidates to become the abbot.
Abbotship
– What was your relationship like with the brethren, particularly the elder monks who endured torture and exile under Khrushchev?
– They all knew me well, as I first arrived here as a 21-year-old young man in a suit. Later, as a novice, I witnessed their holy lives, their ascetic labours, and often sought their spiritual guidance, following their advice and blessings. In other words, I grew as a future monk before their eyes.
When I became the abbot of the Lavra, I felt their support and their prayers for me, a sinner. I carried out the common monastic obediences: in the choir, the refectory, as an assistant dean and as a sacristan. Additionally, I organised a male choir at the Pochaiv Lavra.
The brethren saw my approach to obedience and, evidently, appreciated it. When I returned from Khreshchatyk (just before Great Lent in 1993), I was appointed steward of the Lavra and began managing the monastery’s affairs. I fulfilled this obedience until my election as abbot, while simultaneously serving as the choir director of the large episcopal choir. The brethren saw what was accomplished over those four years with God’s help. By God’s mercy, I believe, I was chosen as abbot.
– Vladyka, it is known that there was a secret ballot among the brethren to elect an abbot from three candidates. How were the votes distributed?
– As far as I recall, one candidate received two votes, the second nine votes, and I, unworthy as I am, received 39 votes. The elder brethren supported and sympathized with me, for which I am deeply grateful. May their memory be eternal. I sincerely hope to meet them again in the world to come.
St Amphilochius’s canonisation
– Vladyka, let us turn the page of your memories and speak about the canonisation of St Amphilochius of Pochaiv. How did it take place?
– Back in the 1970s, I visited the cemetery and saw people taking soil from the grave of St Amphilochius.
Back in the 1980s, I was amazed at how people were literally taking all the soil from the grave, digging out holes. Once again, I heard stories of miraculous healings and how Saint Amphilochius helped everyone who prayed at his grave. When I became abbot, I started to develop an idea that he should be canonised.
There were many miracles. One of them involved Oleh Telemaniuk. Doctors told his parents to prepare a coffin because he wouldn’t survive and would die soon. As a last hope, his parents brought him to St Amphilochius, who promised to heal him. Oleh went on to live to the age of 90 and, after recovering, worked for many years as a driver for us. The elder fathers would recount the miracles performed by St Amphilochius. When the late, blessed Metropolitan Volodymyr visited, he often went to the cemetery. At St Amphilochius’s grave, I told him about our plans to prepare documents and petition for the canonisation. On the second and third visits, His Beatitude approached the grave and spoke with people. So it was for several years. Then, when we had prepared all the documents, I officially approached the Holy Synod and the Commission for the Canonization of Saints. His Beatitude granted permission to begin the process of uncovering the incorrupt relics.
We carried out the task, uncovered the relics, and the act of canonisation took place. When we brought the relics of St Amphilochius out of the altar and sang the Troparion, the Kontakion, and Magnification (up until then, the church had been quiet and prayerful), a loud uproar erupted from the demon-possessed. They were shouting over the festive episcopal choir.
I remember the reaction of His Beatitude Volodymyr and the other bishops – they were astonished by what they witnessed. Perhaps some had harbored doubts about the canonization up until that moment. You know as it happens – to doubt because of weakness. But here was undeniable proof of sanctity!
And among those present was Vladyka Niphont, who had known Saint Amphilochius since childhood. He used to visit him and shared his desire to enrol in seminary. However, Niphont was deaf in one ear, and with such a condition, admission to seminary was not allowed. St Amphilochius helped him. Niphont passed the medical examination and was admitted to seminary, later graduating and continuing his studies at the academy. In time, he became the Metropolitan of Lutsk and Volyn.
There was another instance involving the current Metropolitan Pitirim of Mykolaiv and Ochakiv. When he was studying at the theological academy, he visited the saint with his mother. St Amphilochius told her, “Prepare a monastic mantle.”
He also foretold that the current Metropolitan Augustine of Bila Tserkva would become a bishop. At home, Augustine’s mother called him “Operator”, and no one outside the family knew this. When he first visited St Amphilochius, the monk greeted him by saying: “Operator, why don’t you listen to your mum?” This nickname was known only to his family, yet it was revealed to St Amphilochius. Before this, the saint had spoken to him privately, as young Augustine was very active and often mischievous. For example, he once jumped from a tall tree when Yuri Gagarin flew into space. Saint Amphilochius gave him advice and guidance. Augustine’s parents – his father was a priest – were amazed and wondered, “How could he know this? Only we and our son are aware!”
As for the demonic uproar, it ceased only when “Our Father” was sung. After the service, when everyone was leaving, three crosses formed in the sky from the clouds.
Transfiguration Cathedral
When I joined the Lavra I always saw that there were so many people that our Dormition Cathedral simply could not accommodate them all. I realised that we urgently needed another large temple. During major feasts – the Dormition of the Mother of God, the celebration of the Pochaiv Icon, the commemorations of Saint Job of Pochaiv and the Great Feasts – the cathedral was overcrowded. Everyone wanted to venerate the relics and participate in the services, but not all could; many stood outside in the courtyard.
From the very first year of my service as abbot, I began to reflect on where a large new church could be built. We considered various locations, searching for a spot where the new temple could naturally and artistically complement the ensemble of the Pochaiv Lavra, ensuring that, with God’s help, the Lavra would become even more beautiful.
Then the idea dawned on me, thank God, that it was necessary to dismantle the administrative building that was on the territory for such a glorious cause. On that site, we excavated a foundation pit and began construction. I should add that I was just a performer in the hands of St Job of Pochaiv, I understood and felt it deeply. It was not I who led the work but St Job who guided me.
With God’s help, the cathedral was built. As of 2013, it was the fourth-largest cathedral in Europe. And inside and outside, in terms of decoration and mosaic paintings, it probably ranks first in the world.
While the Dormition Cathedral can accommodate 2,000–3,000 worshippers, the Transfiguration Cathedral can hold up to 8,000–9,000 people. Another unique feature of this cathedral is its 33 domes.
– How long did it take to complete the construction?
– From the laying of the cornerstone in 2009, it took three years. By 2013, His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr performed the minor consecration of the cathedral, and we celebrated the first liturgy. This occurred on the Feast of the Life-Giving Spring of the Mother of God, immediately after Holy Pascha.
I’d like to tell you that a church cannot be replaced by anything else. Services held in the courtyard are often inconvenient due to weather conditions: wind, rain and the like. A church inspires prayer for everyone: through its artwork, altar, choir singing, acoustics and comfort for the community. It allows for focus in prayer, provides seating for the elderly and infirm, and overall enriches the spiritual experience.
Glory to God! Many years to all who helped, supported, worked and continue to labour. First and foremost, to the brethren. May the Lord grant forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven for these small labours before Him.
Advice to the faithful
– Today, our Ukrainian Orthodox Church is bearing the cross of trials. Many people are in despair and sorrow. What would you wish to them?
– From the depths of the ages, Ecclesiastes, through the Holy Spirit, spoke: "If you approach to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptations." And when the Lord came to earth, He told His apostles: "I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). "In the world, you will have tribulation, but I am with you until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
The Saviour did not promise that life would be easy, but that the thorny path leads to eternal life. Such advice was given to us by the Lord: we must endure. We cannot do evil, but those who do not believe in God and attack Christ's Church are doing evil. And you know who is the source of evil.
If they came to their senses and reflected, they would understand what our Church preaches: peace, harmony, goodness, helping others, the destitute, love for one's neighbour. The Church always calls to these ideals. And we see that the world, lying in evil, takes revenge on us because we try to implement the principles that were preached by the Saviour Himself. This is Christian love.
Merry Christmas, dear brothers and sisters! May the Lord protect you all.
