Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery in Ukraine: A heritage of faith and culture

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is not only Ukraine's oldest monastery but also one of the foremost symbols of its Christian history and spiritual identity.

In an interview with Vatican News, medieval historian Dmytro Hordienko, Scientific Director of the National Sanctuary Complex of Saint Sophia of Kyiv, traces the origin of the Lavra, recounts its role in shaping the monastic tradition of Kyivan Rus', and explains its enduring religious, cultural, and national significance, as well as the challenges the monastery continues to face today.

According to tradition, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery has two founders: Saint Anthony of the Caves and Saint Theodosius of the Caves ("Pecherskyi" means "of the caves"). "Formally, Anthony is the first founder, but the monastery as we know it today took shape under Theodosius," explains historian Dmytro Hordienko.

Anthony, a native of Liubech, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Kyiv, received his spiritual formation on Mount Athos, where he was blessed to spread the monastic way of life in Kyivan Rus'. Upon returning to Kyiv, he settled in the caves of Pechersk, then located outside the city. "Tradition holds that he brought the Athonite monastic tradition here, but the caves already existed, and the priest Hilarion—who later became Metropolitan of Kyiv—had also lived there," Hordienko notes.