Relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves) is one of the oldest and most significant monasteries in Ukraine, as well as one of the most renowned Orthodox monastic communities in the world.

The monastery was founded by the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves in the mid-11th century, when St. Anthony settled in a cave on a hill overlooking the Dnipro River, establishing monastic life in Rus’ modeled after the monasteries of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos). Since then, the Lavra has become a spiritual center renowned for the ascetic feats of hundreds of monks. The Synaxis of All the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves unites around 150 saints. Among them are the most diverse examples of holiness: hermits, healers, chroniclers, icon painters, missionaries, strict fasters, and other ascetics.

Here are a few of the most well-known and venerated saints whose relics now rest in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra:

Saint HIlarion († c. 1067) — the first metropolitan of Kyiv of Slavic origin, an outstanding theologian and writer. He is the author of the famous Sermon on Law and Grace, one of the oldest and most important works of ancient Rus’ literature.

Saint Agapitos († 1095) — a healer known as the “unmercenary physician.” He treated everyone free of charge—from princes to the poor—using prayers, herbs, and God’s grace, even helping in hopeless cases. He is considered the patron saint of the medical profession in Rus’.

Saint Alypius († 1114) — the first known Kyiv icon painter, mosaicist, and jeweler by name. He painted churches, created icons and church vessels, and is regarded as the patron of church art in Rus’.

Saint Nestor the Chronicler († c. 1114) — the author of the Tale of Bygone Years (Primary Chronicle), a foundational chronicle that became the basis for all subsequent historical works of Kyivan Rus’ and preserved key events of the 9th–11th centuries for posterity.

Saint Ilya (Elijah) of Murom († c. 1188) — a warrior in the retinue of Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, famed for his strength and military exploits against the enemies of Rus’. After suffering a severe wound, he became a monk. While defending the monastery from a foreign raid, he received a mortal wound.

In the Near (Anthony’s) and Far (Theodosius’) Caves of the Lavra, the incorrupt relics of approximately 120 saints now rest.

Particles of the relics of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves are also kept in the Orthodox church of the Life-Giving Spring in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The reliquary for them was consecrated at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

The feast of the Synaxis of All the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves is celebrated on the second Sunday of Great Lent.