The Kiev Pechersk Lavra is about 966 years old. The most intriguing legends and miracles surround this Orthodox shrine, plus the caves and how they appeared in the remote XI century. In the past different parts connected with the shrine were rebuilt several times.
In 1051, a monk named Anthony took residence in a cave situated in one of Kiev's forests. Since his authentic piety was attracting the truly faithful and people were eager to become his disciples, the number of monks started to grow; soon they abandoned the dark dungeons and today these caves just serve as a place of pilgrimage.
Landslides destroyed the inner caves
The traditional cave monasteries originate from the Middle East, for there monks would dig temples and cells in rocks; in fact, monasteries bear a strong resemblance to those preserved very well in the Crimea, including a terrace as well as several entries to shallow premises.
First, the monastery sitting on the Dnieper River slopes saw construction in the same fashion, but then the monks realized soon that it had to be modified, for the natural landslides were destroying the caves on the surface and they were forced to dig deeper and deeper.
One fortified entrance having a stove survived; it heated the caves and helped bake bread in it. Because monks were never hermits, they would emerge, cultivate their garden, and go to the market, where they even sold their needlework and purchased grain. The enochs enjoyed the freedom of going to preach in the city.
Wooden beds and furniture were kept in several underground cells. But there also were ascetics who voluntarily confined themselves, leaving just a window for drinking water and prosphora. Even today, several are genuinely shocked and horrified at how they lived in those conditions, asking for what purpose.
This isn't self-punishment. For the ascetic it's normal to exchange comfort for simplicity. As comfort is disregarded, the soul is the main focus and must prevail over the body. The entire body might weaken, go through bouts of illnesses, but it will perish in the end. However, according to the ascetic logic, the soul lives, and to achieve this it must be cleansed of materialistic dirt.
Reconstruction brought monasteries to the surface
Only some monks resided under the ground. In spite of several desiring to learn from these isolated monks, they were not prepared to endure all the hardships connected with harsh austerities such as cold and dampness.
Slowly, the monasteries surfaced in the wide open, while the caves started to be used only for burial. The monks dug lengthy galleries together with funerary chambers getting also built. The next phase of the restructuring process was when pilgrims started to go underground to pray.
The caves' design was simplified and the galleries elongated so people wouldn't feel crammed. Later, the galleries were rounded to prevent groups of pilgrims from intersecting; the walls adorned and stylized as the Roman catacombs.
It's a really unique site, preserved from the 11th century. This comprises a complex of underground structures that ranges from tombs, grain pits, cells, temples, cells to transitional points between three floors. Bear in mind that on account of the poor condition of these caves, tours are never an option.
St. Mark's headwear heals
It's believed the relic actually heals those who put it on. This metal-made headwear, weighing four kilograms, is kept stored in the Near Caves.
Parishioners could wear it as the prayer ends. Moreover, they also believe that it possesses the capacity to absorb all the negative, eliminate evil eye, spoilage, as well as provide pure energy. Alla Pugacheva himself worn this headwear many times. There's a story that it healed a Russian star from a headache.
Women also resided in the monastery
Although Lavra is a monastery only for men, a woman lived there. Daria, a merchant's daughter, fled from her father’s home, and disguising herself like a man, started a new, monastic life.
She resided as a hermit in one cave, ate bread and drank water, and never lit fire there. But not one suspected she was a girl. The monk's piety eventually reached Empress Elizabeth, who gave her full support requesting for Daria to become a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
It was only after her demise that the truth came out that this was just a woman wearing the dark robe: her relatives saw the monk's portrait and at once identified him as the missing Daria.
The relics of the supposed holy virgin Juliana, Princess Olshanskaya, found in the Lavra. Because her father was a benefactor, the princess's body was buried in the Great Lavra Church. For whatever reason, the coffin was opened some time later and witnesses saw that her body was not decomposing.
The myrrh-pouring skull heads
These skulls which lay in silver and glass vessels, are stored in an abandoned underground church.
Back in the period of the Middle Ages, everyone knew about the miracles of the myrrh-pouring: They exude myrrh oil and can heal sicknesses of anyone with faith who is anointed with it.
In Soviet times, after these heads were displayed in the museum, myrrh-pouring ceased. However, when the monastery saw renovation in the 1990s, they once again started to emit the myrrh.
The relics belonging to 123 godly servants
The most stunning wonder of the Lavra is the saints. The cathedrals and caves house the relics of no less than 123 saints. You can't find such relics in other monasteries in the world. According to Russian folk tales, the remains of the warrior Ilya of Murom rests also in Lavra's caves.
Some people only come here to seek his relics and to pray to be blessed with the gift of power. Another heroic monk Nestor the Chronicler, resting in the Lavra, is regularly prayed for aid in the sciences. Visitors from all over the world request from other saints for many things such as health and prosperity in business.
Caves, thieves and their treasures
The caves survived and are well-preserved, although very old. According to some legends, prior to the monks' arrival there, robbers lived in these caves. The monks supposedly robbed their treasures, and until now, legends still exist about many unaccounted treasures.
However, there are far more stories that tell about the caves' length. Some claim that the galleries of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra travel to other cave-like monasteries situated in Pochaev, Pskov, and Chernigov. But according to geodesists' measurements, the overall length of the caves is just around 300 meters. They go no deeper than between 10 and 15 meters.
Sacred springs
In the lower portion of the Lavra, two chapels sit above the wells that monks excavated in the caves. Although the close distance, the wells' water differ in taste, and, according to one legend, mirrors the character of the elders, for one was kinder and the other was stricter with his brother.
A second source is known as “Tears of the Blessed Virgin.” As the legend goes, the wells were discovered during a terrible epidemic. Shepherds observed the Blessed Virgin and, immediately the spring materialized on the site where she stood. Drinking the spring's water, the shepherds were healed at once.
It is also believed the spring has survived miraculously in the 1970s. But were put into concrete drainage systems. However, after workers sipped from a sacred spring, they chose not to disturb it, since they enjoyed the water's taste so much.
Bell tower once the highest
With its height being 96.5 meters, for a long period it was the highest structure in Ukraine. In the Soviet era there was a decision made to “belittle” the monastery, thus, the sword of Motherland Monument was planned to rise higher than the bell tower's cross.
But once the construction started, the ground beneath the monument commenced to sink. Construction ceased for a while, and then the platform's height was reduced. Allegedly, the holy fathers counseled the builders, and thereafter no more problems plagued construction.
