Kiev-Pechersky monastery. Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Where is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra

1) Its place among other Russian monasteries and its significance in the history of the Russian Church and the Russian people. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, in fairness, occupies an outstanding place among all the monastic cloisters of Orthodox Russia. This position was created not only on the basis of historical tradition, but also the real significance that this monastery had in the history of Russia. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra undoubtedly belongs to the palm among all Russian monasteries that existed, before and now existing, not only because it was really the first truly Russian folk monastery (in the proper sense of the word) in Russia, in terms of the time of its origin, but also in terms of the amount of the spiritual benefit that it brought to the Russian people and which immeasurably exceeds the merits of all other later Russian monasteries for the benefit of the Russian people and state. True, our later monasteries, undoubtedly, served their purpose. great service for the Russian people. But they all worked, so to speak, in a field already partly cultivated, or at least significantly cleared of weeds. The founders of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were the first ratai on the great Russian field, the first workers in the field of spiritual education and upbringing of the Russian people in the broadest, even comprehensive sense of this expression. The later monasteries, even those of them that, by the will of God, were ordered to work in the uninhabited countries of great Russia, among impenetrable swamps and forests, already had in front of them finished sample in the form of ascetic life and activities of the original Russian monastery - the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This example alone greatly facilitated their work, especially in a moral sense. The merits and glory of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery inspired the later Russian monks in their high service to society, excited and strengthened their energy, lit the way for them to achieve the lofty goal of their vocation. Particularly remarkable is the comprehensiveness of feat and service, by which the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra acquired the palm in all respects among the Russian monastic cloisters and created its glory. All later monasteries became famous for their activities mainly in one field: either teaching, or enlightenment, or missionary, or church-political, and the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, especially in the first period of its existence, was equally famous in all these respects. She was then the true center of Christian educational activity among the Russian people, the center of all Russian Christian education. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, with the radiance of high moral deeds, manifested before the Russian people by its first monks, rendered powerful assistance to the Christian sun that rose over Russian land under St. book. Vladimir, to dispel that fog, that darkness that then surrounded the Russian land, illuminated so far only on its peaks. Thanks to its exceptional position among Russian monastic cloisters and its importance, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra made a deep and irresistible impression not only on the contemporaries of its origin, but also on their distant descendants. That greatest power of the human spirit, which was shown to the world by the first Russian monks, the best representatives of Holy Russia in all respects, in the underground, cave Kiev monastery, irresistibly attracted and now attracts hundreds of thousands of Russian people to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to worship its numerous and wonderful shrines. This strength did not diminish and did not weaken even at a time when the appearance of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra lost its original beauty for a while, when the monastery churches and walls lay in ruins, when the Lavra itself, together with Kyiv and with all Western Russia, was under alien dominion. On the contrary, during the period of alien domination in Southwestern Russia (first Tatar-Mongol, and then Polish-Lithuanian), the glory and strength of the moral charm of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra shone for the Russian people even brighter and stronger than before: then it was a true focus in which the best and strongest rays of the Russian folk faith, morality and education merged. And now the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is the most glorious and beloved among all Russian monastic cloisters a place of pilgrimage for our pious Russian people. Kyiv itself has its high significance of the “Russian Jerusalem” in the eyes of the Russian people thanks precisely to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and its shrines.

2) Foundation and initial arrangement of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The foundation of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was laid in the middle of the 11th century. teacher Anthony. He was a native of the city (now a town) of Lyubech, Chernihiv region. Having gone to the Orthodox East, he visited Mount Athos, in one of the monasteries of which he received monastic vows. Upon his return to Russia, Rev. Anthony decided to found his own monastery and chose a place for it 3 versts from the (then) city of Kyiv downstream the river. Dnieper on its high bank. Here he first settled alone in a cave, which was dug for himself by the priest of the neighboring grand-princely village of Berestov, Hilarion, and which remained free after the election of Hilarion in 1051 as Metropolitan of Kyiv. Glory to the exploits of St. Anthony spread among the surrounding population, and people began to gather to him, looking for places for solitary exploits. Among others, Rev. Anthony appeared (about 1055-1056) Ven. Theodosius, who became the real organizer of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Rev. Theodosius was born in the town of Vasilev (now Vasilkov) in the Kyiv region. When he was still in his early years, his parents moved to Kursk, where Rev. Theodosius spent his childhood and youth. After the death of his father, Theodosius remained in the care of his mother, who dearly loved her son and wished to see him as the heir to his father's estate. But the Rev. Theodosius, by natural location, sought to withdraw from the world. Several attempts by him to escape from his parental shelter to Kyiv were warned and upset by his mother. But in the end, Rev. Theodosius still managed to secretly leave for Kyiv. Here he came to the Rev. Anthony, who, after a short hesitation (in view of the special youth of the applicant), accepted him into his brotherhood. Meanwhile, Rev. Anthony, always striving for solitude and a contemplative ascetic life, left the original cave, which took the form of an underground, cave monastery, and retired to the nearest mountain, where he dug out a new cave for himself. Soon a new small monastic brotherhood formed around him, which led an ascetic life in the caves, now known under the name neighbors, or Antoniev caves. Above the former brotherhood, which remained in the caves, in which St. Anthony and who are now known as distant or Theodosievs caves, prep. Anthony appointed Barlaam as igumen. When was this last one taken? book. Izyaslav as hegumen for the Dimitrievsky monastery arranged by him, then the cave brotherhood chose, with the consent of St. Anthony, his abbot, Rev. Theodosius. At that time, there were only 20 monks in the monastery, who, by their origin, belonged mainly to upper classes Russian society. Rev. Theodosius began to accept into the monastery all Russian people in general, not excluding simple ones, under the condition of their sincere disposition towards monastic life, and soon gathered up to 100 monks. Rev. Theodosius introduced a strict charter in his monastery, modeled on the so-called Greek. Studio. Rev. Theodosius, with the blessing of St. Anthony and with permission led. book. Izyaslav, moved the monastery to a nearby mountain, to the place where it is now located. The monks Anthony and Theodosius expressed their last worries about the improvement of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra by the fact that in 1073 they laid a stone church in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed One. Mother of God. In 1073 Rev. Anthony, and on May 3, 1074, Rev. Theodosius. The construction of the great monastery church was continued by the successors of St. Theodosia - hegumens of the Caves: Stefan, Nikon and John. It was built by Greek masters who brought with them the icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God, which to this day is the greatest shrine of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In 1077, the church was ready in draft form and remained in this form until 1083. In this last year Greek masters appeared who began to decorate the church with mosaics, frescoes and icons. The Russian disciple of the Greek masters, Rev. Alypy the icon painter. By 1889 the church was completely finished and on August 14 of the same year it was consecrated by Metropolitan John of Kyiv. With the consecration of the great church, the initial arrangement of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra ended.

3) Brief essay on the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. During the centuries-old, more than eight hundred years of its existence, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which shared the common historical fate of the Russian Church and the Russian people, has undergone many important changes, as a result of which its current state was. From this side, the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra can be divided into the following periods: 1st) 1089–1240, 2nd) 1240–1362, 3rd) 1362–1687, 4th) 1687 –1786 and 5) 1786 to the present. 1) During the first period of its existence, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, being under the protection of the Grand Dukes and enjoying the love of the entire Russian people, continued to develop internally and grow and strengthen from the outside. It is not known exactly when and under what circumstances (according to the tradition of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra itself, Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky led and on his initiative -), she already at that time acquired the rights of patriarchal stavropegy and the name of the Lavra, and her abbots - the title of archimandrites . At the same time, partly through purchases, but mainly through well-meaning donations from princes and other benefactors, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra acquired large real estate estates and other extensive funds. The abundance of funds gave her the full opportunity to show wide public charity and at the same time to arrange herself. After 1106, the former Prince of Chernigov, Nicholas Svyatoshey, who took the vows in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, built a hospital monastery in it with a church in the name of Presv. Trinity; in 1108 a stone meal was arranged in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra; in the second half of the 12th century. The monastery was surrounded by a stone wall. In addition, in 1109, the body of Princess Evpraksia, daughter of V. Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and a chapel was built over her ashes. But at the same time, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, sharing the fate of Kyiv, was subjected to disasters and devastation, as a result of internecine wars of Russian princes, or attacks by foreign enemies. So, for example, on June 20, 1096, the Polovtsy invaded the monastery, robbed the church and the monastery. In 1240, Batu completely ruined the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, turning the monastery into ruins. Some people think that after Batu's pogrom, only the walls of the great church, the small temple of the Forerunner, attached to it, and the Trinity Church on the holy gates survived. 2) During the next period (1240-1362), the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was, it seems, all the time, in desolation, just as Kyiv itself was empty at that time. The monks of the Caves lived in surrounding forests and caves, going to the monastery only to listen to the service, which was performed in the small surviving temple of the monastery. 3) With the transfer of Kyiv and with it the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra under the rule of first the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and then, after the union of Lithuania with Poland in 1386, the Polish kings, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra began to gradually recover, build up and restore its former internal, and an external device. The gradual restoration of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra took place among many adverse conditions. The destruction of it by the Tatars continued, for example, in 1399 and 1416. In 1470, the great church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was restored from the ruins by the governor prince of Kyiv S. A. Olelkovich, and in 1480 Prince. Yu. S. Golshansky with a letter of commendation confirmed the rights of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to own some lands. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra began to settle down, but not for long. On September 1, 1482, the Tatar Khan Mengligirey ravaged Kyiv and, together with him, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which again became deserted after that. In the 16th century, thanks to the emergence of the Cossacks in the south of Russia, which took the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra under their protection, the latter again began to gradually, albeit slowly, recover and settle down. Her financial situation, especially with abundant sacrifices in favor of her from various benefactors from among Western Russian zealots of Orthodoxy, was at that time, one might say, even satisfactory. Most of all, she now suffered from arbitrariness and interference in her internal affairs by the Polish kings and the Polish government in general. For this reason, a wide field was opened for all sorts of searches, intrigues and struggle because of the profitable archimandrite's place in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on the part of various gentry who were looking for this dignity, attracted not by an internal disposition to monasticism or a desire to work for the benefit of the monastery, but exclusively " spiritual bread”, that is, its wealth. That is why among the archimandrites of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the 16th century. sometimes unworthy persons began to appear, producing various disturbances in the monastery. From the end of the 16th century, when Western Russia a church union was introduced, and intensified attempts by the Latin Uniate party began to attract the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to the side of the union. Fortunately, at the same time, prominent zealots and fighters for Orthodoxy appeared at the archimandrite site of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (for example, Elisey Pletenetsky, Zakharia Kopystensky, Peter Mogila, etc.). thanks to which the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is now one of the main lamps and strongholds of Orthodoxy in Western Russia and the center of the struggle for the faith and the Russian people. This direction of activity of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was due to the appearance of educational institutions in it in the form of a printing house, a school, etc., as well as the revival of book publishing, which had a polemical character. Of great importance for the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in its struggle for its independence and for it was also the fact that all this time she was a stavropegic patriarch, that is, she was under the protection of the Patriarch of Constantinople. From 1654, that is, from the time of the accession of Little Russia to the Muscovite state, the beginning of a new direction in the life and work of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is indicated. She, in the person of her archimandrites, is now beginning to take an active part in the ecclesiastical and political life of Kyiv and the entire Southwestern Territory, which was gradually passing, in fact and legally, under the rule of Russia. Following the subordination of the Kyiv Metropolis to the Moscow Patriarch and the annexation of Kyiv to Russia (in 1685-1686), the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was made (in 1868) the stauropegia of the Moscow Patriarch, and then a new life began for the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

4) Exactly for a century (1687–1786), she lives under the rule of her archimandrites, elected (with rare exceptions, for example, Joseph of Orange) by the brethren, and under the supreme authority, first of the Moscow Patriarch and his locum tenens, and then of the Holy Synod . Despite the fact that at that time she had to endure several devastating fires, especially the fire of 1718, when all the churches and buildings (except for the Trinity Church on the Holy Gates), ancient letters, jewelry, a rich library and her archive became a victim of fire , - despite this, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra during the XVIII century. renovated, built, decorated and significantly increased their property and funds. 5) In 1786, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was brought to a full-time position, when many of its estates were taken to the treasury, and placed under the control of the Kyiv Metropolitan, who received the title of Hieroarchimandrite of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. From that time began new period in the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which continues to this day, and now, despite a significant reduction in funds, as a result of the seizure of property to the treasury, the pious zeal of the sovereigns and the reverent respect of the entire Orthodox Russian people for the Lavra shrine make it possible for the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to maintain external splendor and the well-being of the glorious monastery at a height corresponding to its great historical significance.

4) Temples of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and their shrines.

AND) Cathedral or Great Church. It was built, under circumstances already known to us, by Greek masters in the Byzantine style of the 11th century. In 1470 and 1722–1729 it was renewed, and although its original plan was retained, the facade was changed, especially the cornices, pediments and domes on the domes. At the same time and at other times, additions were made to the original church on the north and south sides of it. Recently, the church has been overhauled - in 1879-1880, outside, and in the 1890s, inside. In addition to the main Assumption Throne, it also has aisles: a) at the bottom: 1) Mikhailovsky, 2) Theological, 3) Three Hierarchs, 4) Stefanovsky, 5) Predtechensky (in the northwestern corner); b) above: 1) Andreevsky, 2) Ireobrazhensky, 3) Antonievsky and 4) Feodosievsky. The main shrine of the great church and the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in general is the miraculous icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God, placed above the royal gates. In the great church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there are: the icon of St. Theotokos, called Igorevskaya, since the prince prayed before her. Igor Olegovich before his murder by the people of Kiev in 1147, and St. relics in special shrines: St. book. Vladimir (head), St. Met. Michael, Rev. Theodosius (under a bushel), all the saints of the Caves (particles) and Archdeacon Stefan; under the floor in Stefanovsky aisle lies the imperishable body of Met. Tobolsk Pavel (Konyuskevich), and under the floor of the main (middle) temple are buried the bodies of some archimandrites of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and princes - its patrons; the bodies of many archimandrites and other eminent people were also buried on the graveyard near the church.

II) Refectory in the name of St. Anthony and Theodosius Church, located next to the great church, on its right side, was built in 1893–1895 on the site of the Peter and Paul Church, originally arranged back in the pre-Mongolian period and restored in 1720. The refectory of the Anthony-Feodosievskaya church was recently painted inside with artistic painting. III) Church of the Annunciation at the Metropolitan House, construction began in 1904 and completed in 1905. It was built at the expense of Metropolitan Flavius ​​on the site of the former one, which was built in 1840 in a single-tier building adjoining the rector's house, which until that time served as a front dining room on the big holidays of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra . Newly built Blagoves. the church, which at the same time replaced the Cross Church, which was located in the metropolitan's house itself, consists of two floors and a choir, in which the following 4 thrones are arranged: 1) the main one, on the second floor, in honor of the Annunciation of the Virgin, consecrated on October 30, 1905; 2) on the lower floor - in the name of St. Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv, consecrated on November 1, 1905 "; 3) in the choir stalls on the right - in the name of St. Flavian, Patriarch of Tsaregradsky, consecrated on 2 in?? 1905, and 4) in the choir stalls on the left - in the name of St. Mitrofan, the first Bishop of Voronezh, consecrated November 4, 1905 IV) Trinity Church on the holy gates, arranged in the pre-Mongolian period and renewed by the hetman I.S. Mazepa at the end of the 17th century; The iconography of this church is especially remarkable, representing a curious monument of South Russian church painting from the very beginning of the 18th century. v) Nicholas Church in the so-called. the hospital monastery, located in the northwestern corner of the Lavra estate and founded in the pre-Mongolian period; the church itself was built in the 18th century; It contains revered icons of St. Nicholas and the great Barbarians of ancient writing. vi) Hospital Church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God: "Assuage my sorrows" located above the aforementioned Nicholas Church and arranged in 1861 in the second floor of a large building built in 1860. VII) Church in the name of all saints in the so-called. economic gates The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was built in 1698 by Hetman I. S. Mazepa. VIII) Church in the name of the icon of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow Joy arranged in 1865 in top floor stone building of the hospice hospital, which is located outside the fence of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, in the courtyard. IX) Holy Cross Church over the entrance to the nearby caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was built in 1700. X) Church in the name of all the Caves saints, added in 1839 at the end of the gallery leading to the aforementioned Holy Cross Church. xi) Sretenskaya Church, wooden, at the cell of the guardian of the nearby caves, arranged in 1854 XII, XIII and XIV) Anthony, Vvedenskaya and Varlamovskaya churches, located underground in nearby caves, with the first two of them having been arranged in the pre-Mongolian period, and the last in 1691 by the Kyiv Metropolitan Varlaam Yasinsky, the former archimandrite of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. XV) Nativity Church, arranged in 1696 by the Kyiv colonel Konstantin Mokievsky, on the top of the hill, near the distant caves, in place of the former wooden one, arranged back in the pre-Mongolian period. XVI) Church in the name of the conception of St. Anna, built in 1809-1811 over the entrance to the distant caves, on the site of the former Church of the Conception, built in 1679 XVII, XVIII and XIX) Annunciation, Nativity and Feodosievskaya churches, arranged, probably, back in the pre-Mongolian period (this is undoubtedly known about the Annunciation Church).

Caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The greatest attraction of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, reverently revered by the Russian people, thanks to St. the relics of the Caves saints make up her caves - neighbors and distant. We know their origin. The Kyiv caves are arranged, like a labyrinth, so diverse and complex that it is very difficult for a person who is unfamiliar with their location to find a way out of them without an experienced guide. These caves are not a work of nature, but the work of the ancient ascetics of the Caves, whose bodies rest incorrupt here for several centuries. Kyiv caves from ancient times made an irresistibly strong impression on their visitors. Therefore, they have often been the subject of heated controversy between Orthodox and Latin Uniates. The main subject of controversy was the incorruption of the relics in the Kyiv caves. “It is not the quality of the soil that is the reason for this,” Orthodox polemicists of the 17th century usually argued, “other bodies, laid there, turned into dust, but the saints of the Caves were awarded incorruption for the sanctity of their lives and a special love for God.” Started by prep. Anthony and Theodosius, cave asceticism continued after them for several centuries. The Pechersk ascetics were by no means " cavemen' as others think. On the contrary, the Pechersk ascetics were the bearers and incarnations of the principles of the highest moral perfection, spokesmen for the victory of the spirit over the flesh. Cave asceticism was by no means idleness; on the contrary, it was the expression and fruit of the highest tension of a strong, lofty and pure religious and moral life, the content of which was: constant prayer, strict fasting, exhausting bodily labors and the continuous struggle of the spirit with evil and passions. Since ancient times, when the Kyiv Caves Monastery was brought to the surface of the earth and moved to its present place, Kyiv caves became a cemetery for monks. For eight centuries, due to earthquakes and other causes, the Kyiv caves were subjected to non-Russian tsars and queens, emperors, Little Russian hetmans, Russian nobles and clerics. Many precious gospels, crosses, chalices, panagias, sakkoses, chasubles, mitres, bishop's batons and other things have been collected and kept in exemplary order here. The most ancient things in the Lavra sacristy are the handwritten gospel and censers from the 16th century, and all other things belong to the 17th and 18th centuries.

5) Printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In a special building, located to the east of the great Lavra church, directly opposite its altar, and built in 1720, there is a printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which is one of the most important organs of a remarkable and highly beneficial for the entire Russian Orthodox people and even for everything Orthodox in general. Christianity of the educational activity of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This printing house was founded by Archimandrite Elisei Pletenetsky (1595-1624), who acquired the Stryatinsk printing house, which remained after the death of the gentry Theodore Balaban († May 24, 1606). The question of the beginning of book printing in the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra hitherto piety and church rule“. This high goal was achieved by the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra by printing and distributing among the Orthodox people part of the polemical writings that defended Orthodox faith from various accusations and attacks on it by the Latin Uniates, in Polish, as the state then in the region, and in the Old Russian languages, for the most part and mainly church liturgical books and patristic works, which delivered healthy and pure spiritual food to the Orthodox people and affirming him in piety. The printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra mainly pursued and carried out this lofty goal from the beginning of its existence until 1688, and during all this time, together with the Lavra itself, it was under the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople and under the influence (until 1654 the actual and until 1686 only legal) rights and laws of the Polish-Lithuanian state. From the end of the 17th century and during the 18th century. The educational activity of the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was expressed in the printing and distribution among the Orthodox Russian people mainly and even almost exclusively of church liturgical books in Slavonic and partly in Greek and others. foreign languages. During all this time, the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, being under the direct control of the archimandrites with their "chapter", or later the spiritual council, independent of the Kyiv metropolitans, was "under the blessing" and the conduct of the first Moscow patriarchs, and then from 1721 St. Synod, who followed especially carefully that the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra "did not print any books, except for the church's previous editions, and these latter printed in perfect agreement with the Great Russian and Moscow models." This guardianship, I must say, greatly and needlessly hampered the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In this position, the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was until 1786. Becoming April 10, 1786, together with Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, under the authority of the Kyiv metropolitans, who now received the title of sacred archimandrites of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, its printing house already in the next 1787 received an important right to print, in addition to Slavic church liturgical books, various works in Russian and other various foreign languages. This right, expressed in reality in the discovery of the so-called. academic printing house at the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, brought a significant revival to the activities of the Lavra printing house. From that time, under the high patronage and strong protection of its sacred archimandrites, the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra began to gradually expand and improve in all respects, until it reached its present state. Now the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra occupies a fairly large 2 1/2-story building (two floors along the facade, from the great church, and three floors from the side of the Dnieper), on the lower floor of which there is a steam engine that provides heating for the entire building and sets in motion machines , printing and turning machines, in the middle - several (7) improved rapid printing machines and manual machines, and in the upper - a dryer, lithography, chromolithography and woodcuts. And now the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra prints mainly church-liturgical books, which are used by a significant part of the churches of our fatherland and the entire Orthodox Slavic world, as well as books of Holy Scripture, church-historical, moralizing and partly study guides. A considerable part of its products, which, in terms of the beauty of the font, the elegance of the finish and the goodness of the paper, are equal to and even surpass the publications of our best printing houses, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra donates free of charge to poor churches not only in Russia, but also in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Mount Athos and etc.

6) Library and archive of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. To the southwest of the great church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a large, tall and beautiful building representing the main bell tower of the Lavra. The bell tower of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was built in 1731–1745. designed by the architect Scheiden. Its height with the cross is 46 sazhens. Outside, it is decorated with columns of various architectural orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Inside the bell tower consists of several tiers. The upper tiers are occupied by bells. The archive of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is now placed in the lowest tier. The files stored in this archive date back only to 1718. Earlier files were lost in a fire and only a few ancient documents survived, mainly in the form of copies. The archive is divided into several departments and is in order. In one of the middle tiers of the bell tower of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which is a fairly spacious and bright room, there is now library Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, moved here relatively recently from the choir of the great church, where it was placed before. Library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra of a relatively new collection. The ancient collection of her books, obviously, perished in a fire during the fire of 1718. The current library, formed mainly according to the wills of the abbots, the learned fraternity of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and some third-party donors, consists of a fairly significant number of printed books and manuscripts. There are now up to 429 nos. of all manuscripts in the library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. They came here partly from the branch libraries that existed at the monasteries - hospital, near and far caves and survived the fire of 1718, but for the most part they were written after that year. By language, the manuscripts of the library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra are divided into Slavic-Russian (276), Latin (133), Polish (4) and Greek (2), according to the material - into parchment (3) and paper (412), according to the time of writing - in a 14th century manuscript. (2), 15th century (5), XVI century. (up to 40) and others of the 18th and 19th centuries, according to content - related to the Holy. Scripture, its interpretation and biblical history (18), liturgy and canon law (66), basic theology and philosophy (47), dogmatic theology, moralizing and asceticism (64), accusatory and comparative theology (17), patristics (74) ', to preaching (11), to the verbal sciences (43), to grammar and linguistics (3), to the history of civil and church, general and Russian (65) and to spiritual education(nine). The printed and manuscript collection of the library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra has written catalogs; in addition, there is a printed description of manuscripts (Prof. N. I. Petrova), and for printed books, a printed catalog. In 1908 he left (??) the first volume of the systematic catalog of books in the library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, compiled by the current librarian of the Lavra, hegumen Mikhail (??) Styansky). The first volume of the catalog includes 4,294 titles of theological books. In 1909, the Lavra library was significantly and significantly enriched, due to the fact that the high pr. Flavian, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Hieroarchimandrite of the Lavra, gave the Lavra his vast and valuable (??) collection. This last collection contains over 8.298 (??) and 15.088 volumes of books of theological, church-historical, historical, literary, legal, philosophical and pedagogical content. In this cathedral there are very valuable publications, such as, for example, Polyglot, patrology, etc. The department of history and especially Russian church history is very rich in it. The department of compositions on church singing is also remarkable. Vysov (??), the consecrated Metropolitan Flavian, built, at his own expense, with (??) a stone two-story outbuilding (between the houses of the metropolitan and the viceroy to house his library, donated by him to the Lavra. The library itself is placed in the upper (??), and the lower floor is occupied the Lavra reading room, for (??) the swarm a new library was acquired and put in order.

7) Educational and craft institutions of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and its charitable activities. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra at its own expense maintains a two-year parochial school, in which children study free of charge. Under it, there are also the following craft institutions: 1) painting school; 2) gilding department of the same school; 3) workshops: metalwork, painting, carpentry, bookbinding and type foundry (for printing houses). Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, fulfilling the behest of its founders and organizers - Rev. Anthony and Theodosius, still conducts a very wide public charity: he maintains a hospital, a hospice, feeds many poor people every day, donates generously for public needs; for example, during the Russo-Japanese War (1904 and later years), the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra donated to the state and society in total more than 100,000 rubles.

8) Monastic deserts under the jurisdiction of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Deserts are now under the jurisdiction of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra: I) Kitaevskaya,II) Preobrazhenskaya and III) Goloseevskaya located near Kyiv. IV) Kitaevskaya Pustyn is located 9 versts from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra downstream of the river. Dnieper, on its right bank. According to the tradition of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the foundation of this desert dates back to pre-Mongol times and is attributed to Prince. Andrei Bogolyubsky, nicknamed "China". The mountains surrounding the Kitaevskaya Hermitage are dotted with caves similar to the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. In the 17th century in Kitaev there was undoubtedly a small hermitage. In 1716, the Kyiv military governor Prince. D. M. Golitsin renewed the hermitage by building a wooden church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh and with her fraternal wooden cells. In 1767, on the site of a dilapidated wooden church, the current stone Trinity Church with two side chapels was built - in the name of St. Sergius and St. Dimitry of Rostov. In 1835, a warm church was built here in the name of 12 Apostles at a fraternal meal and a stone bell tower, and in 1845 a stone two-story fraternal building. In 1904, a church was built and consecrated in the same year in the name of Rev. Seraphim of Sarovsky fraternal almshouse of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, located in the Kitaevskaya desert .

Until the 1870s, Kitaevskaya Hermitage served as a burial place for the dead monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. And when the Kitaev cemetery turned out to be insufficient, a new cemetery was built one verst west of Kitaev, in the area called Kruglik. To pray for the departed, a stone church was built here in 1873 in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and since that time a foundation has been laid II) Transfiguration Desert. Some earlier, in 1869 a wooden church was built in the name of the icon of the Pres. Mother of God "Recovery of the Lost" on the island of Zhukov, 4 versts from Kitaev, near the Lavra farm located here. III) 3 versts northwest of the Kitaevskaya desert is located Goloseevskaya Pustyn. Initially, in this place, among a secluded and picturesque forest dacha, there was an economic farm of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Another Met. Peter (Grave) drew attention to the special beauty of the place, built a church here in the name of one of St. saints of his native Moldavia - John Sochavsky and with her a house for himself, planted a garden and laid the foundation for a small desert monastery. The successors of Peter Mohyla took care of maintaining the latter, especially Archim. Zosima Valkevich, who, after his dismissal in 1786 from the management of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Goloseevskaya Hermitage was given life-long management. In 1845, Metropolitan Filaret (Amphitheaters), who especially loved this desert, built in it the current stone Intercession Church with two side chapels - in the name of St. John of Sochava and three saints. At present, the Goloseevskaya Hermitage serves as a place for the summer stay of the sacred archimandrites of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra - the Kyiv metropolitans.

9) Office of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. From the time of its establishment, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, being under the general command of the Kyiv metropolitans, was at the direct disposal of its archimandrites, who were elected by the monastic brotherhood. But already in the second half of the XII century. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, according to the tradition preserved in it, acquired the rights of a stavropegic grand duke and independence from the Kyiv metropolitans. In the second half of the fifteenth century. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra became the stavropegic patriarch of Constantinople and continued to be governed by archimandrites, who were elected by the free votes of the brethren and representatives of secular society. In 1685, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was temporarily entrusted to the authority of the Kyiv Metropolitan, who then submitted to the Moscow Patriarch. But in 1688, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was again seized from the power of the Kyiv metropolitans and recognized as the stauropegia of the Moscow Patriarch, and with the establishment of the Holy Synod, it was renamed into his stauropegia. In 1786, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was subordinated to the Kyiv metropolitans, who from that time began to be called its sacred archimandrites. Now, at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the highest governmental and administrative power belongs to the sacred archimandrite, who is assisted by the Spiritual Council, consisting of the highest members of the Lavra brethren, in charge of mainly judicial and economic affairs and having all the rights of government offices. At the head of the Spiritual Council is a vicar, who bears the rank of archimandrite and has general supervision and leadership in all parts of the administration of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

Archpriest F. Titov

And who needs a twisted story?

The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is a thousand-year-old national shrine, an “equal-celestial monastery” (as it was called in the Middle Ages) and the most tourist Mecca of Ukraine - about a million tourists annually. There is no doubt that this year's Eurovision has significantly increased this figure.

We decided to ask how tourists are presented with the chronicle of the shrine in the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. For this purpose, we visited 5 excursions, none of which sounded Ukrainian. They say that "we must warn about the language."

We heard a specific selection of information about the events that took place in the monastery, which is the oldest "in our fatherland" and "our homeland." And they did not hear a lot of things that formed the history of the monastery as a national shrine of Ukraine.

With this in mind, we decided to offer the scientific and methodological council of the reserve a number of authoritative historical sources for objective coverage of the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

1. "Lavra - the cradle of Russian monasticism" - with these words the excursion begins. We looked for such a definition from the chronicler Athanasius Kalnofoysky, from Peter Mohyla, from the historians Grushevsky, Antonovich, Arkas, Girich, Zhilenko. But they didn't find it.

Taking into account what was read by these authors, we suggest starting the tour differently: “The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is one of the most significant spiritual and cultural centers of Europe. Her merits in the development of Ukrainian and other Eastern European cultures can only be compared with the Vatican and the Cluniac Abbey in the Catholic world.

In the cells of the Pechersk Monastery, a lamp of Ukrainian culture was lit. It is here that the ancient Ukrainian literature, art, and medicine originate. Nestor the chronicler is the first historian of Ukraine-Rus, the author of the Tale, which is the main source for the study of Ukrainian history, Agapius is the first known doctor, Alypiy is the first painter...

Dear tourists, we do not deny the significance of the contribution of this Kyiv spiritual center to the treasury of all East Slavic cultures, but we emphasize that the Lavra is, first of all, a phenomenon of Ukrainian culture.”

View of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the "Holodomor Victims Memorial" (left), dedicated to those who died during the genocide in Ukraine in 1932-33, carried out by the then communist regime of the USSR

2. Questions from tourists: “Why is the name of the Lavra Pecherskaya and not Peshcherskaya?” All as one guides answer: "Pechera is a Church Slavonic word." It is not true.

The word "pechera" is absent in all dictionaries of the Church Slavonic language.

But from the “Lexicon” of Pamvo Berinda, published in the Lavra Printing House in 1527, one can learn that the word “nativity scene” corresponds to this concept in the Church Slavonic language, because next to it the author gives the Ukrainian analogue - “pechera”.

Visitors may ask why in the text of the Tale of Nestor the Chronicler (the language of the work is Church Slavonic) the ancient monastery is called only Pechersk. One of the best connoisseurs of ancient Russian chronicles, Professor Vasily Yaremenko, claims that this is only proof that spoken language the author was Ukrainian. That is why “Ukrainian vocabulary flows like a rich stream in Povistia: live, well, friends, thick, pechera…” - argues the professor.

And Mikhail Drahomanov, in a report at a literary congress in Paris in 1878, said: “As for the Chronicle of Nestor, the Tale of Igor's Campaign, etc., these works were the direct fruits of local life ancient Ukraine. These works start Ukrainian literature.”

3. “Peter Mogila is the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia,” the guides say. In fact, the title of the Grave sounded differently - the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia and All Russia. Obviously, the last component of the title is hushed up because (present-day Russia) then had nothing to do with the territory of "All Russia" of Peter Mogila.

Doctor philosophical sciences Zoya Khizhnyak calls the metropolitan "a great reformer of the Ukrainian Church on the principles of Christian learning." His works "Orthodox Confession of Faith" and "Trebnik" (republished in Europe 25 times during the 17th-18th centuries) led to the worldwide recognition of the Ukrainian theological school.

4. "This chandelier was presented to the temple by the king..." - guides are sure to report. And not a word about Ivan Mazepa (except perhaps on excursions with Lithuanians).

But the glorious hetman was and still is the greatest benefactor and donor in the history of the Caves Monastery. This is evidenced by the figures from the report of the Bendery Commission on Mazepa's donations: “20,500 gold for gilding the dome of the Pechersky Monastery, a million for the wall around the monastery, a large bell and bell tower for the Pechersky Monastery - 73,000 gold, a large silver candlestick, a golden bowl, and the same frame of the Gospel ... » Following the example of the hetman, the colonels from his administration also acted, at whose expense churches were built in the Lower Lavra.

“There has never been and never will be like him,” wrote a Lavra monk, a contemporary of Mazepa.

And he was not mistaken, because so far no one has surpassed the hetman in his good deeds in relation to the Caves Monastery.

5. “In 1718 there was a fire in the Lavra. The reason is negligence with candles in the monk's cell. The library, which was located in Belfry, burned down.

Historian Igor Girich points out other causes of the fire: “According to eyewitnesses of the fire, which were kept by the famous Kiev historian Archpriest Peter Lebedintsev, the Lavra was set on fire by messengers from Moscow, who were dressed as monks. A huge archive and library burned down, letters of Lithuanian princes, Ukrainian feudal lords and hetmans perished. The fire destroyed the written memory of the independent Ukrainian political and spiritual life of the Lavra. During its centuries-old history, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra survived more than one attack, withstood more than one siege, was destroyed many times, burned, but none of these misfortunes caused such harm to the unique Lavra written monuments.

6. “To be buried in holy places is a great honor. This honor was awarded only to those who during their lifetime crowned themselves with righteous deeds, ”the guides say, leading tourists to the burial place of Iskra and Kochubey (the authors of the denunciation of Mazepa).

Let me ask you, since when did denunciations become an integral part of righteous deeds?

After all, according to the rules of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, denunciation is a great sin, because for it a person is excommunicated from the church, communion and anathematized.

At this point on the tour, it is very appropriate to quote historian Igor Girich: “The most ideologically harmful for Ukraine was the reburial near the Assumption Cathedral of Colonels Kochubey and Iskra. These historical figures served as a model of devotion to Moscow; dozens of generations of loyal Little Russians were brought up on their example. They are an example of disregard for their nation.”

7. “Here is the tombstone of Count Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. The sculptural image was restored at the expense of the Kyiv City Council.

We did not manage to find out for what services to Ukraine the Kyiv administration marked this person so dearly (in the sense of spending money)?

But at this point of the tour, it makes sense to report the following: the Lithuanian ambassador to Ukraine, Petras Vaitiekūnas, took the initiative to restore the tombstone of Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky, an outstanding commander from the time of the Lithuanian principality. “Having laid down Moscow with the Tatars, he wrote out 63 victories over them” - this is from the epitaph. One of the most famous victories of Prince Ostrozhsky was in the battle of Orsha. This happened in 1514, when the Polish-Lithuanian army (numbering 25,000) under the command of the Russian prince inflicted a crushing defeat on the 40,000-strong Moscow army.

“Ostrozhsky generously built and decorated Orthodox churches, introduced schools for children under them, and thus began Russian education” - this is how Nikolai Kostomarov characterized the prince.

By the way, the Lithuanian government decided to provide 44,000 euros for the restoration of the monument to Prince Ostrozhsky. We know that the reserve's scientists are also involved in this project. Why hush it up?

8. “On November 3, 1941, the Assumption Cathedral was blown up. Who did this remains the great secret of the Lavra,” the guides say under the video with Messerschmitts and marching columns of German soldiers.

A moment later, tourists are shown golden bowls, salaries, crosses with precious stones, which were taken out from under the ruins of the Assumption Cathedral after the war. Only five thousand units.

The question arises: why would the Germans, who took out dishes, furniture and even clothes from Kyiv apartments, blow up the cathedral with all its treasures, along with German guns, soldiers and officers?

Information about who actually destroyed both the Assumption Cathedral and Khreshchatyk has long been made public in open sources, many articles and studies have been written. We will not retell them, just go to Google.

We will only quote from the diary of a German officer of the headquarters of the 29th Army Corps of the Wehrmacht, which is now stored in the Regional State Administration of the SBU.

"Beautiful morning blue sky, A bit cold. We went to the citadel to enjoy the beauty of the ancient Lavra. After a short meeting with General von Armin, we went to the Dnieper. Having reached the middle of the river, they suddenly heard a terrible explosion, as if thunder had struck. A colossal fountain of sand and stones rose in front of the citadel, which in a short time fell in a furious hail onto the shore and into the river. Although we did not yet know what had happened, we felt that this was one of the sadistic acts of the Russians. Immediately after this, we heard another terrible explosion in the south, in the area of ​​​​the military harbor. Upon our return, we learned the details of the misfortune in the citadel. First, the area in front of the citadel exploded, on which an artillery observation point was located and anti-aircraft gun. The explosion took away many officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers from us. Among them is my friend, Colonel von Seydlitz.

Rebuilt Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

It is known that the Soviets tried in every possible way to hide the fact of undermining historical monuments Kyiv, under the rubble of which killed thousands of civilians. So they blamed the Nazis for this vandalism. The “Report of the Extraordinary State Commission” was even published, where it was noted that the Lavra was robbed and destroyed by order of the German command. By the way, the well-known underground worker Ivan Kudrya, in one of his reports to the center, persistently asked to scatter leaflets over Kyiv with the message that Kyiv was destroyed by the occupiers, and not. Such postcards, as Kudrya wrote in his report, "make a special impression on the people and inspire them to further struggle."

Therefore, it remains a mystery why the Lavra guides still “inspire” Ukrainian and foreign tourists with the theses of the NKVD leaflets.

9. Two years ago, a new object appeared on the territory of the reserve - "Diamond Pysanka". As the explanatory plate shows, “employees, partners, students, volunteers” joined this. It is clear that decent funds went into the manufacture of the object (consisting of 16,000 mirror particles). It is not clear why he was here useful. Which Christian virtues or monastic customs can be symbolized by the Diamond Pysanka object? On the contrary, in Word 33 of the Life of Father Theodosius, the cult of treasures and property is called "connivance of sin", which the monk seized and burned in the oven "as demonic possessions."

"Diamond Pysanka" on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Undoubtedly, it would be incomparably better for a diamond pysanka to be placed somewhere in the exposition, for example, with the Mezhygorsk “golden loaf”.

Dear employees of the reserve, if you have partners with money, we advise you to use these funds to restore the Onufrievskaya Tower.

Onufrievskaya tower

Or at least a stamp worthy of the status of the National Wildlife Refuge entrance tickets.

Above - a ticket to the Vienna Art Museum. Bottom (left to right): ticket to national reserve"Kiev-Pechersk Lavra" and a check from the Fora store (they look similar) and a ticket to the National Reserve "Sofia Kyiv"

And the last. During five excursions, we never heard the phrase "national shrine" or " National treasure". And therefore, they did not understand at all what kind of involvement in the reserve has the status of National?

For reference: according to the Decree of the President of Ukraine N451 / 95 of June 16, 1995, the national status is granted to institutions (institutions) of Ukraine that have achieved the highest performance in their activities in using the intellectual potential of the nation, implementing the idea of ​​national revival and development of Ukraine, introducing the state language.. .

The Russian-Ukrainian church dispute has moved from a purely spiritual to a property sphere.

Speaking on 07/31/2018 on the Pryamiy TV channel, the head of the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate, Filaret, said that after the recognition of the united Ukrainian Orthodox Church, both the Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavra will be transferred to it, UKROP reports with reference to Vesti-UA.

“The Moscow Patriarchate has no property in Ukraine. Take, for example, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the Pochaev Lavra - whose property is this? Property of the Ukrainian state. And the state transferred its property to the use of the Ukrainian church of the Moscow Patriarchate. But when the Ukrainian church is recognized here, then the Lavra - both one and the second - will be transferred to the Ukrainian church, ”explained Patriarch Filaret.

The answer to Patriarch Filaret on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was given by the press secretary of this organization Vasily Anisimov: built." “Filaret’s statements are completely absurd and ridiculous from a legal point of view,” Anisimov said, and in order to prove the rights of the Moscow Patriarchate to real estate in Kyiv, he resorted to analogies: “Each property has its own history, this is a legal term, and everyone knows very well that if your the house was taken away, and you were settled, then this house will then be returned to your son, but not to everyone who wants to get it. And what does autocephaly have to do with it?”

Autocephaly here, of course, has something to do with it, because if we consider the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra not only as an Orthodox shrine and cultural heritage site, but as real estate, then it is owned by the state of Ukraine, which has the right to dispose of its property, including transfer it to the use of one organization or another. And about the history, Vasily Semenovich remembered in vain, since the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was created in 1051, and the town of Moskov was first briefly mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle in 1147, that is, almost a century later. So it is better for representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate not to touch history in this dispute over real estate.

As for obtaining autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, this process turned out to be much longer and more difficult than expected by the authorities of Ukraine and, in particular, Petro Poroshenko, who promised the believers of the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate a tomos of autocephaly on the day of the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Rus.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the First, whose tomos Pyotr Alekseevich waited in vain, is an adult man (78 years old) and grated. with Moscow complicated relationship, since he has repeatedly taken an anti-Moscow position both in the situation with the Estonian Orthodox Church, and in relation to the concept of “Moscow is the third Rome”, dear to the heart of the Kremlin, which Bartholomew the First called “theologically untenable”. But the Ecumenical Patriarch clearly does not intend to quarrel with Gundyaev, or rather, with Putin. So, Ukraine should not expect the longed-for tomos of autocephaly in the near future.

Judging by the polls of sociologists of the SOCIS service, 31.7% of Ukrainian citizens are in favor of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 20.7% are against, 18.8% do not know anything about it, the rest found it difficult to answer. Ukraine, unlike Russia, is not an authoritarian state, and there is no unity of opinion here, and there never will be. Therefore, Ukrainian politicians have a difficult choice regarding the church war. Since its continuation does not promise a quick victory, and it is also impossible to completely surrender the “church front”.

For Putin, this church war is beneficial in any case. With its aggravation, he turns on his information tools at full power, which will yell to the whole world about the infringement of the rights of believers by the Bandera regime. If Kyiv retreats, the influence of Gundyaev's fifth column will grow in Ukraine. Ideally, the European choice of Ukraine should have been accompanied by an increase in the secular nature of the state and a gradual decrease in the influence of any church on society. Unfortunately, under the conditions of war, the process of secularization of society is slowed down, so that changes are not expected on the Russian-Ukrainian church front in the near future.

To the question Why is the Kiev-Pechersk-Lavra so nicknamed? .. What is its historical noteworthiness? .. What kind of mummies of saints are there?) @@@*****TANNI==ANNA*****@@@ the best answer is
link
The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is one of the first monasteries in Russia to be founded. Founded in 1051 under Yaroslav the Wise by monk Anthony, a native of Lubech. The co-founder of the Caves Monastery was one of the first students of Anthony - Theodosius. Prince Svyatoslav II Yaroslavich presented the monastery with a plateau above the caves, where beautiful stone temples, decorated with paintings, cells, fortress towers and other buildings.
At present, the lower Lavra is under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church(Moscow Patriarchate), and the upper Lavra - under the jurisdiction of the national Kiev-Pechersk historical and cultural reserve.



Source: Kiev-Pechersk Lavra - one of the first monasteries in Russia

Answer from Neurologist[active]
definitely, best question in a branch

Answer from suck out[guru]
Kiev Pechersk Lavra is an Orthodox monastery founded in 1051.
The central attraction are the caves, in which for more than 900 years imperishable bodies the founders of the monastery - the monks Anthony and Theodosius, the healer Agapit, Nestor the chronicler, Ilya Muromets, and the relics of other 118 saints of the Caves.
The community of monks they created soon attracted the attention of Prince Izyaslav, and he allowed them to build a monastery on the mountain.
The community gradually grew, and after the death of Anthony in 1073, it included 100 monks.
Theodosius, with the blessing of Anthony, introduced a strict charter in the monastery, following the model of the Greek Studion, transferring the main cloisters of the monastery to a nearby mountain.
Named Pechersky - from the word cave
Lavra is the name of the largest male Orthodox monasteries subordinate directly to the patriarch.

Answer from Little Russian[guru]
Do not speak or write again Pecherskaya.
This is what the previous patriarch said. By analogy with the Pechora Monastery in the Pskov region.
Lavra of the Pechersk. Because monks lived in caves. (pecherakh - in the old and as in the present
Ukrainian language). And the district of the city where it is located is called Pechersk with an emphasis on the second syllable.

Narrated by the Monk Nestor the Chronicler.

The God-loving Prince Yaroslav loved Berestovo and the Church of the Holy Apostles that was there, and kept many priests with her. Among them was a priest named Hilarion, a kind man, a bookish man and a faster. He went from Berestovo to the Dnieper, to the hill where the old Caves Monastery is now, and prayed there. There was a big forest here. Hilarion dug himself a cave in it, a small one, two sazhens, and, coming from Berestovo, he would bury the hours here and secretly pray to God. Then God put in the heart of the prince to appoint Hilarion as metropolitan of St. Sophia, but this cave has remained.

About the same time lived a certain person, a layman, from the city of Lubech. And God put it in his heart to go wandering. He went to the Holy Mountain (Athos), saw the monasteries there and, having gone around them all, fell in love with monasticism. And he came to one of the monasteries and begged the abbot to lay a monastic icon on him. He listened, tonsured him and gave him a name: Anthony. Having instructed him and taught him how to live as a monk, the abbot said to him: “Return to Russia, and may the blessing from the Holy Mountain be with you! Through you, the monks in Russia will multiply.” He blessed and released him, saying: "Go in peace."

Anthony came to Kyiv, and began to think where he could live. He went to monasteries, but—it was already pleasing to God—he did not like them. And he began to walk through the wilds and mountains, looking for where God would show him to live. And he came to the hill where Hilarion dug a cave, and he fell in love with this place. He settled here and began to pray to God with tears, saying: “Lord! establish me in this place, and may the blessing of the Holy Mountain and my abbot, who tonsured me, be on it. And he began to live here, prayed to God, ate dry bread, and then every other day, and drank water in moderation; he dug his cave, and so he lived in constant labor, in vigil and prayer, not giving himself rest, day or night. Then good people found out about him, came to him, brought what they needed. And fame passed about him as a great man, and they began to come to him to ask for blessings and prayers. When he passed away Grand Duke Yaroslav, and his son Izyaslav took power and sat down in Kyiv; - Anthony was already glorified in the Russian land. And Izyaslav learned about his life, and came to him with a squad to ask for blessings and prayers. Antony became known to everyone, and everyone revered him. And the brethren began to come to him, and he received and tonsured them. He gathered 12 brethren; they dug a large cave - a church and cells, which are intact even now in a cave, under a dilapidated monastery. When the brethren gathered in this way, Anthony began to say to them: “Behold, brethren, God has united you with the blessing of the Holy Mountain, with which the local abbot tonsured me, and I tonsured you. May blessings be upon you, firstly, from God, and secondly, from the Holy Mountain! Then he said: “Live now on your own. I will appoint an abbot for you, and I myself will go alone to another mountain: I have already become accustomed to seclusion before.” And he appointed Varlaam hegumen, and he went and dug himself another cave in the mountain, which is now under the new monastery. There he died, having lived in virtue for 40 years, never leaving the cave, where his relics lie to this day.

Meanwhile, the brethren lived with their abbot in a cave, and when there were already a lot of them, they decided to build a monastery outside the cave. And the brethren and the abbot came to Anthony and said to him: “Father, the brethren have multiplied so much that it is impossible to fit in a cave. May God's command and your prayer be that we put a small church outside the cave. And Antony commanded them. They bowed to him and placed a small church over the cave in the name of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. And God began to multiply the Chernorizians with the prayers of the Mother of God. Then the brethren, in consultation with the abbot, decided to build a monastery. And again they went to Anthony and said: "Father, the brethren are multiplying, and we would like to build a monastery." Anthony was glad and said, “God bless for everything! May the prayer of the Holy Mother of God and the fathers of the Holy Mountain be with you! And having said this, he sent one of the brethren to Prince Izyaslav to tell him: “My prince, God has multiplied the brethren, but the place is small. Would you give us that mountain above the cave.” Izyaslav, hearing this, gladly sent his husband and gave them this mountain. The abbot and the brethren founded a large church, surrounded the monastery with a fence, and set up many cells, and, having finished the church, decorated it with icons. Thus began the Pechersk Monastery.

It was called Pechersky because the brethren used to live in a cave; This monastery went from the blessing of the Holy Mountain. When the monastery was already built, and Varlaam was the abbot in it; Izyaslav built the monastery of St. Demetrius and transferred Varlaam to the abbess there, wanting to make his monastery higher and hoping for wealth. Many monasteries were set up by kings, boyars and wealth; but they are not like those set by tears, fasting, prayer, vigil. Anthony now had neither gold nor silver, but he acquired everything with tears and fasting, as I already said. When Varlaam went to the monastery of St. Demetrius; The brethren, having consulted, went to Elder Anthony and said: “Establish us an abbot.” He said: "Whom do you want"? And they said: "Whom God wants and you." And Antony said to them: Who among you is more obedient, meeker, more humble than Theodosius? Let him be your abbot.” The brethren were glad, bowed to the elder, and placed Theodosius as abbot over them; And then there were 20 of them. Having accepted the monastery, Theodosius introduced in it abstinence, great fasting and prayers with tears; and he received many Chernorizians and gathered the brethren of 100 people. Then he began to look for the monastic charter. Michael was found here, a monk of the Studian monastery, who came from Greece with Metropolitan George. Theodosius began to look for the charter of the Studian monks from him, and having found it, copied and established in his monastery: how to monastic singing, how to bow, how to read reading, and standing in church, and the whole church order, and how to sit at a meal, and what there are on what days - everything is according to the charter. Theodosius acquired this charter and introduced it in his monastery, and other monasteries were adopted from him; and therefore the honor of the Pechersk Monastery above all others. Thus Theodosius lived in the monastery, leading a virtuous life, observing the monastic rule, and receiving everyone who came to him. Then I came to him, a thin, unworthy slave, and he accepted me. I was then 17 years old. And so I wrote this and put the year when the Pechersky Monastery began to be.

Notes:

1. According to the old pronunciation of the Pechera.
2. In the annals, all this is told under the year 1051.