by RT News Staff at RT News
The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, a major Orthodox shrine regarded as the third of the Four Earthly Domains of the Most Holy Mother of God, has lived through both bright and dark times in its thousand-year history. The monastery has survived the Mongol invasion, Polish religious persecution, Napoleon and Hitler’s wars, and the rule of the fiercely atheist Bolsheviks. The walls of the monastery preserved their centuries-old heritage and the monks persevered in prayer.
However, today the Lavra faces new trials.
Today, the monastery is undergoing another siege – this time by the Ukrainian state. The authorities are attempting to snatch away the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the canonical church and evict the monks. A state commission has been sent to the monastery to make an inventory of the property, including the relics of the saints. To prevent this, hundreds of believers have gathered at the monastery each day. But the Ukrainian state also has its supporters – columns of young people in balaclavas line up in front of the Lavra, threatening to forcefully evict the clergy.
A shrine on the banks of the Dnieper
The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was established in 1051 – ten years earlier than St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, three centuries before the world-famous Notre Dame Cathedral, and four centuries before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The Russian Orthodox shrine is twice as old as St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
The monastery was established on the banks of the Dnieper River by…
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