Kiev Pechersk Lavra
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra ( Ukrainian Києво-Печерська лавра ; Russian Киево-Печерская лавра ; German Holy Assumption Monastery ) is located on the hilly western bank of the Dnepr, south of today's city center of Kiev . The large walled monastery complex is divided into two areas: the upper and lower lavra. Both parts include a large number of culturally significant churches, monasteries and museums as well as monk caves in the lower Lavra, which form the historical core of the complex.
history
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra is one of the oldest Orthodox monasteries in the Kiev Rus . The proven oldest mentions of the caves are found in the major "chronicle of recent years" (Ukr. Повість временних літ ) Nestor (also " Primary Chronicle called" the beginning of the 12th century) and in patericon the cave monastery.
The records of the hermit was Anthony of Kiev (Anthony) from Liubech 1013 of the shore Dnepr in the Waräger down caves. Together with the monk Theodosius of Kiev (Feodosij), who became head of the ascetic community in 1062 , he founded an Orthodox monastery in 1051. At the end of the 11th century, the first construction of the Assumption Cathedral (ukr. Успенський собор ) took place. In the following centuries, the entire monastery area developed into the leading monastery in the Kievan Rus. This tradition was not interrupted by the Mongol rule from 1240 to 1480, although Kiev lost its importance as an important trading city with Constantinople during this time . In 1688 the cave monastery was given the honorary title of " Lavra ". Only a few significant monasteries in Orthodox Russia received this high distinction.
Today's church and monastery buildings are shaped by the Ukrainian baroque from the 18th century. Important buildings since this time have been the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Church of All Saints, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Church of the Mother of God. The construction of the large bell tower began in 1731. The refectory church was the last large church to be built in 1893–95.
After the Russian Revolution and the turmoil of the civil war , the cave monastery was converted into a state museum reserve under the young Soviet power in 1926. The caves were closed in 1929. At the end of the Battle of Kiev in September 1941, the Assumption of Mary Cathedral ( Uspensky Cathedral ) was blown up by the German occupiers on November 3, 1941 . Reich Commissioner of Ukraine Erich Koch gave as the reason that subjugated peoples should not have any identity-creating places of worship that would strengthen their strivings for independence.
In 1988, when a reorientation began in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev with glasnost and perestroika , monastic life in the cave monastery was revived. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence , the Orthodox Church got the lower part of the monastery back. Monks are also settling here in the traditional caves. The Assumption Cathedral was rebuilt from 1998 to 2000.
After partial martial law was imposed in November 2018 , investigations into incitement to religious hatred were launched against the head of the monastery, Metropolitan Pawlo / Pawel, and the domestic secret service SBU searched his home.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine, many residents of the cave monastery fell ill with Covid-19 . Metropolitan Pavlo refused to quarantine the monastery until he infected himself and required inpatient treatment.
caves
The monastery got its name from extensive artificially created caves , which have served as hermitages for monks since the founding time. Here, in the greatest isolation from the world, monks tried (and are trying again) to approach God through prayer. The long cave passages contain tiny monk cells and underground churches at certain intervals. The caves were also used as a burial place for deceased monks. In niches along all the corridors are the coffins of many monks, whose bodies have mummified themselves in the coffins over the centuries. The famous chronicler Nestor is also buried in the caves. The cave system, which is now partially accessible to tourists, is divided into two areas: the near and the distant caves, both accessible from the lower lavra.
meaning
The Pechersk Lavra is one of the main attractions of Kiev. The high status is also underpinned by the fact that the monastery complex has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990 . More than a million tourists visit the extensive facilities and their museums every year. The most important museum is the "Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine". Here handicrafts from the area of today's Ukraine are exhibited. The focus is on the most valuable gold work from the time of the Skyten , including a golden "pectoral" (breast ornament) from the 4th century BC. BC, as well as from the times of the Kievan Rus and Cossacks. Other museums include the “Museum of Ukrainian Folk Art” and an exhibition of miniature works of art that can be viewed under magnifying glasses and microscopes.
In art
The poem "Do you know about those saints" by Rainer Maria Rilke refers to the monks of the cave monastery.
Archimandrites (selection)
- Nikephoros Tur (1593-1599)
- Zacharias Kopystenski (1627-1627)
- Innocent Giesel (1656–1683)
See also
Web links
- Kyiv-Pechersk National Cultural and Historical Reserve, official site of the state museums
- Kyiv Holy Assumption Monastery, official site of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
- Video "Kiev Pechersk Lavra (4k UltraHD)"
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quoted from Helmut Krausnick and Hans-Heinrich Wilhelm: The troops of the Weltanschauung war. The task forces of the S8 Security Police and SD 1938–1942. = Sources and presentations on contemporary history, Vol. 22. Stuttgart 1981, p. 5545.
- ↑ reuters.com November 30, 2018: Ukraine's security service raids home of Russian-backed monastery head
- ↑ FAZ.net May 12, 2020: Is God the chief physician?
- ↑ Rilke: Do you know of those saints , text reproduction
- ↑ Adrianna Hlukhovich, Like a dark leap through a light cup. Rainer Maria Rilke's Poetics of the Blind p. 37, fn. 18 - online: [1]
Coordinates: 50 ° 26 ′ 6.3 " N , 30 ° 33 ′ 26.8" E