The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра, romanized: Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv.
Since its foundation as a cave monastery during the 11th century, the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Christianity in Eastern Europe. Its printing house was an early part of the development of printing in Ukraine.
Etymology and other names
Ukrainian: печера, romanized: pechera means lit. cave, which in turn derived from Proto-Slavic *реktera with the same meaning. Ukrainian: лавра, romanized: lavra is used to describe high-ranking male monasteries for monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore, the name of the monastery is also translated as Kyiv Cave Monastery, Kyiv Caves Monastery or the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves (from Ukrainian: на печерах).
History
Foundation and early history
The Primary Chronicle contains contradictory information as to when the monastery was founded: in 1051, or in 1074. Anthony, a monk on Mount Athos, originally from Liubech of the Principality of Chernigov, returned to Rus' and settled in Kyiv as a missionary of monastic tradition to Kyivan Rus'. He chose a cave at the Berestov Mount that overlooked the Dnipro river, where metropolitan Hilarion had reportedly resided during his youth, and a community of disciples soon grew. Prince Iziaslav I of Kyiv (1024–1078) ceded the whole mount to the Anthonite monks who founded a monastery built by architects from Constantinople.
Supported by numerous princes and boyars, the monastery served as the most important centre of religion and culture in Rus'. Its monks produced important works of literature, including the Primary Chronicle and Kyiv Caves Patericon. It also housed renowned builders and artists, and the monastery life inspired numerous tales and legends. At the same time, it suffered from numerous attacks: in 1096 the monastery was plundered by the Cumans, and in 1169 sacked by prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. In 1203 it was once again plundered by forces of prince Rurik Rostislavich and his allies. In 1240 the monastery fell victim to Mongol invaders commanded by Batu Khan, and in 1416 was burned down by forces of Golden Horde ruler Edigey. After being rebuilt by prince Simeon Olelkovich in 1470, it was once again burned by the Tatars in 1482.
At the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra were buried some high-importance personalities from the period when Kyiv was a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Prince of Kyiv Vladimir Olgerdovich and his son Aleksandras Olelka, the Lithuanian and Ruthenian Grand Duke Švitrigaila, Feodor Ostrogski, Uliana Olshanska (a second wife of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas the Great), and the Lithuanian Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, known for commanding the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army in the victorious Battle of Orsha (1514) versus the Grand Principality of Moscow Army. Mayors of Kyiv, members of the szlachta and Cossack starshyna, as well as church hierarchs also found their burial place in the monastery.
Baroque era and Russian rule
Following reconstruction, during the second half of 16th century the monastery received rights of stauropegion from the Patriarch of Constantinople, and started bearing the name of Lavra. During that period, six separate monasteries were united under its leadership. After the Union of Brest, the monastery became an object of dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic communities. In 1613, the Orthodox established their control after receiving support of the princely Ostrogski family.
In the 17th century, under the leadership of archimandrites Eliseus Pletenetsky, Zacharias Kopystensky and Peter Mohyla, the monastery stood at the heart of Ukrainian national identity. Kyiv Caves Patericon, which was created by Lavra's monks and soon became a popular reading around the whole Eastern Europe, contributed to the emergence of the symbolic image of Kyiv as a capital of Eastern Orthodoxy. Lavra's printing house, established by Pletenetskyi in the 1620s, started the process of Kyiv's cultural revival, and the monastery's school, founded by Mohyla, introduced European educational trends of the time, leading to a radical reform of education. During the Baroque era Kyiv Pechersk Lavra flourished as a centre of arts and spirituality, and pilgrimage to Kyiv was seen by some as more preferable than visiting Jerusalem.
According to a legend published by polemicist and preacher Joannicius Galiatovsky, in 1630 the monastery was besieged by a Polish army, but the Holy Mother of God protected its monks by turning a "fiery rain" against the invaders. In 1631 a school was established at the monastery on the base of Western educational establishments; it would eventually formed with the Brotherhood Monastery school, creating the Kyiv Mohyla Academy.
Despite the patronage of powerful figures, including Ivan Mazepa and Raphael Zaborovsky, the Annexation of the Metropolis of Kyiv by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1685 started a process of subjugation of the monastery to Russian imperial authority. In 1688 Lavra became a stauropegion of the Patriarch of Moscow. In 1718, a major fire damaged many of the monastery's buildings, destroying its library and archive, and in 1720 its printing house was subjected to strict government censorship. In 1722, by the decree of Peter I of Russia, the Metropolis of Kyiv was lowered in status to an archbishopric, which made it equal to other subdivisions of the Russian Synodal Church. In the following years, Russian religious traditions, axiology and language were imposed on the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In 1786 the monastery's lands were secularized, and its elected leadership was replaced with the metropolitan's appointees.
Under the Russian rule, Pechersk Lavra became a popular place of mass pilgrimage for both the common folk and figures of authority, including the royal family. During the late 19th century numerous guides for pilgrims visiting the monastery were published in Tsarist Russia, contributing to its inclusion into the empire's symbolic space. Among prominent figures buried in Lavra's walls under the Russian rule are Natalia Dolgorukova, Pyotr Rumyantsev and Pyotr Stolypin. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the monastery also served as the residence of Metropolitans of Kyiv, and was known for producing myrrh for the whole Russian Empire. By the time of revolution, the Lavra housed over 1200 monks.
Modern history
During the Ukrainian Revolution of the early 20th century attempts to Ukrainize the Lavra failed due to political instability. On 25 January 1918 Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev was tortured and murdered in the monastery by Bolshevik troops. In 1921-1922 many valuable objects were confiscated from the monastery by Soviet authorities. Eventually, the monastery was disbanded, and in 1926 a museum was opened on its territory. In 1934, the museum complex was disbanded, and its artifacts distributed among various institutions. Under German occupation religion services in the monastery were resumed.
On 3 November 1941 the main Dormition Cathedral was blown up by Soviet NKVD; Soviet press would falsely accuse the Germans of committing that act. The demolition of the cathedral's ruins continued into the 1960s. After a long period of reconstruction, on 24 August 2000 the reconstructed Dormition Cathedral was solemnly reopened.
Starting from the end of the Second World War, the monastery resumed its activities as part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Over 100 monks lived on Lavra's premises until its next closure by the authorities in 1961.
In 1988 activities of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra were renewed as part of celebrations dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. During the early 1990s the monastery was headed by metropolitan Filaret of Kyiv, whose residence was located on its premises. However, in 1992 ownership over the Lavra was transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) with the support of Kyiv's political leadership. Under the management of the Moscow Patriarchate Lavra became an epicentre of several scandals connected with its leadership's love for expensive cars and other attributes of wealth, as well as its monks' connections to Russian FSB, veneration of Tsar Nicholas II and spread of anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. The monastery complex is considered a separate national historic-cultural preserve (sanctuary), the national status to which was granted on 13 March 1996. The Lavra is not only located in another part of the city, but is part of a different national sanctuary than Saint Sophia Cathedral. While being a cultural attraction, the monastery is once again active, with over 100 monks in residence. It was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine on 21 August 2007.
Until the end of 2022, jurisdiction over the site had been divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP) as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Onufrius, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. In January 2023, the Ukrainian government terminated the UOC-MP's lease of the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church (also known as the Trapezna Church), returning those properties to direct state control. It also announced that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) had been granted permission to celebrate a Christmas service in the Dormition Cathedral, on 7 January 2023, Orthodox Christmas by the Old Calendar, a service which was celebrated by Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv at 9am that day.
On 10 March 2023, the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve announced that the 2013 agreement on the free use of churches by the UOC-MP would be terminated on the grounds that the church had violated their lease by making alterations to the historic site, and other technical infractions. The UOC-MP was ordered to leave the territory by 29 March. The UOC-MP answered back that there were no legal grounds for the eviction and called it "a whim of officials from the Ministry of Culture." On 17 March 2023 Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that the decision of the Ukrainian authorities not to extend this lease to representatives of the UOC-MP "confirms the correctness" of the (24 February 2022) Russian invasion of Ukraine. The UOC-MP did not fully leave Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following 29 March 2023.
On 23 July 2025, a religious service in the Ukrainian language, the first of its kind in many years, was performed in the Far Caves of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra by Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv.
2026 drone attacks
On 24 January 2026, a Russian drone attack shattered windows and damaged two buildings of the complex, marking the first time it sustained war-related damage since World War II.
On 14 June 2026, a Russian drone attack caused significant damage to the complex, as part of a targeted attack that also damaged other cultural elements in Kyiv. The damage, likely from Geran-2 drones ("the Russian version of the Iranian Shahed-type kamikaze drone"), included destruction of a significant portion of the roof, damage to the main dome and cupola, and significant fires within the structure of the Dormition Cathedral. This was the first time the structure was targeted in an armed conflict since World War II. The Security Service of Ukraine published photos of debris from the Geran-2 drone. By 15 June, the remains of two Shahed-type drones had been found at the UNESCO World Heritage site by state security officials, suggesting at least two drones targeted the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex around 4:55 a.m. Kyiv time. Russia denied responsibility and blamed a US-made Patriot air-defence missile, but the Kremlin spokesperson offered no evidence of this claim, and no explanation why the remains of Russian-made Shahed-type Geran-2 drones were found at the site instead.