The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Dormition Cathedral

As the community of ascetics gathered around St. Anthony grew, the physical limitations of the caves, even with expansions, could not keep up with growth. To solve this problem the idea came to them to build a church above ground. Circa 1062, St. Theodosius, as hegumen, found a convenient place not far from the cave, and, with St. Anthony’s blessing, he asked Prince Izyaslav for this land in order to build a new monastery. Soon a large wooden church of the Dormition of the Theotokos was built, along with cells and an enclosing wall. (One record has Varlaam, the hegumen prior to St. Theodosius responsible for building this church in 1058.) The brotherhood moved there in 1062, and the monastery quickly grew to something on the order of 100 ascetics.

HOWEVER, this wooden Church of the Dormition was eventually to be replaced by a stone structure, as prophesied by St. Anthony (and I can’t say juSt. when it was demolished or destroyed). Once, three of the Yaroslavich princes—Izyaslav of Kiev, Svyatoslav of Chernigov, and Vsevolod of Pereslavl’—prepared to go on a march againSt. the Polovtsians, and they came to St. Antony for a blessing. He foresaw their defeat and, weeping, he told them, "For the sake of your sins, you will be defeated by the barbarians. Many of your soldiers will be drowned in the river, some will languish in captivity, and others will fall by the sword." This prophecy was fulfilled on the Alta River, where the princes themselves barely managed to escape—Izyaslav and Vsevolod to Kiev, and Svyatoslav to Chernigov—while the Polovtsians spread out over the lands of Rus’, ruined it and led away many inhabitants into captivity. He also made a prophecy concerning Shimon, the son of Afrikan, the Varangian (Viking) prince who was at battle together with the princes of Rus’. He foretold to him his deliverance from death, by God’s Grace, during the battle with the Polovtsians, and he also told him that he would eventually be buried in the Caves church. He also foretold the miraculous building of this church, and all this came to pass.

Upon returning from battle, Shimon told St. Antony, "I was lying among the slain, covered with wounds. But I received unknown strength from God, and carried myself away from there and was healed of my wounds, and I found all of my warriors unharmed."  Shimon also related: "Twice, I saw in the air the likeness of a church which was to be built, in which I was supposed to be buried. This vision appeared near the Alta River and, earlier, on the seashore when I was driven away by my uncle, Yakun (Haakon). From Varangia, I came away to Rus’, to Prince Yaroslav." Shimon also brought a belt and a golden crown and gave them to St. Antony, saying, "I took these from before an icon of ChriSt. on the Cross when I left my native land. There was a voice from the Lord that the foundation of this church should be measured out with this belt. And let this crown be hung over the table of oblation."

St. Antony continued in his struggles, fasting, keeping vigil and praying. He thought diligently about the stone Caves church prophesied through him. He consulted with St. Theodosius, and they prayed to the High Creator, that He bless and help them create the church in the name of His undefiled mother—our Mistress the Theotokos. When St. Antony gave himself up to such prayer a great miracle occurred! Though they did not leave the monastery, he, with St. Theodosius, were miraculously seen in Constantinople (i.e., two angels appeared there under their forms), from which event they obtained both the means and the stonemasons to erect the Caves church.

The Greek stonemasons arrived in Kyiv, and the miraculos nature of their commission soon became known. St. Antony was amazed. When the stonemasons asked concerning the spot for erecting the church, St. Antony prayed for three days. Then, by God’s inspiration, Prince Svyatoslav arrived and donated one of his fields for this purpose (according to the Life of St. Theodosius, the prince even began the digging for the foundation). When he heard this, Antony prayed to the Lord that He might indicate by some means exactly where He desired that the church be built. In the morning, there was dew everywhere on the ground except where the church was to be built. On the second night, Antony asked that on the next morning all the ground be dry, except that the spot where the church was to be built be bedewed. God granted this requeSt. to St. Antony, and on the third day, Antony blessed this spot, and, with the golden belt dedicated to ChriSt. which was received from Shimon, he had the foundation measured out—thirty belts in length and twenty in width—as it was revealed to Shimon.

St. Antony blessed the site and the start of the building, and then began to prepare himself for his departure to the eternal temple. St. Antony comforted his children, promising that even after his repose, he would not forsake this holy place, but would always watch over it. The saint reposed there on 10 July, 1073, at the age of ninety. The saint’s honorable relics remain in the cave in which he reposed (Near Caves), under the great monastery.

The blessed Theodosius himself labored and toiled everyday with the brethren to construct this church, but it was not completed within his lifetime. (He foretold the day of his repose, on Saturday at sunrise. When that morning arrived, he kissed each of the brothers, and gave up his soul. It was the year 1074, on the third day of May.) The stone Church of the Dormition was finally completed in 1075 (also reported as 1077 and 1089); at that time it was a six-piered, single-domed structure, 43 meters high.

The interior of the church was painted with frescoes and decorated with mosaics by Greek masters, along with the local Kyivan iconographer Alipy (17 AUG). This was accompanied, like the original construction, by miraculous events. Sts. Anthony and Theodosius had been gone from this world some ten years when a group of Greek iconographers came to the Caves Lavra demanding to see the two monks who had hired them to adorn the new church with frescoes. They were rather angry inasmuch as the church standing before them was considerably larger than they had been led to believe and would consequently require more work than was covered by the sum of gold they had received there in Constantinople upon signing the agreement. Abbot Nikon, confessing his ignorance of the matter, asked who it was that had hired them. “Their names were Anthony and Theodosius,” “Truly,” said the abbot, “I cannot summon them, for they departed this life ten years ago. But as you yourselves testify, they continue to care for this monastery even now.”

The Greeks, scarcely believing this possible, called some merchants traveling with them, who had been present at the signing of the agreement, and asked that they be shown an image of the deceased. When this was done the Greeks bowed low, for they recognized in the saints the exact likeness of the two men who had commissioned them to paint the frescoes and given them the gold. Acknowledging the supernatural power of the saints, they decided not to cancel the agreement after all, and set about with heightened inspiration to embellish the church. The iconographers never returned to Constantinople; they became monks and ended their days there in the Caves Monastery.

By the end of the 11th century, the Lavra had become a large monastery complex with something like 100 monks living there. (All told today, there are something on the order of a dozen churches at the Lavra, besides an array of other structures.)

Throughout the centuries the church has been repeatedly damaged and rebuilt. After a fire in 1718, extensive restoration works on the cathedral were conducted; it was at this point that the cathedral acquired its Ukrainian baroque features including more cupolas and decorative architectural elements.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, 1880s

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, 1930s

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, EaSt. Side, 1930s

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, northweSt. corner, eaSt. facade, 1930s

The worst event it suffered was in WW-II, when on November 3, 1941 soldiers blew it up with explosives (about one-quarter of the structure remained).

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, WW-II destruction.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, WW-II destruction.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, WW-II destruction.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, WW-II destruction.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, ca. 2000.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, ca. 2000.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed entrance, ca. 2000.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed detail, ca. 2000.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, northwest corner, reconstructed east facade, ca. 2000.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, northwest corner, reconstructed north facade, ca. 2000.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, north side, ca. 2000.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, north side, St. John Baptistry exterior wall, ca. 2000.
Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, east side, ca. 2000.	Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Dormition Cathedral, reconstructed, iconostasis, ca. 2000.

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