, native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_caption = , image = Svjatogorsk,_Lavra_3.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Sviatohirsk Lavra from the left bank of the Seversky Donets River , map_type = Ukraine Donetsk Oblast#Ukraine , pushpin_relief = 1 , pushpin_label = Sviatohirsk Lavra , image_map = , map_caption = , location = Sviatohirsk,

Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...

, address = , location_city = , location_country = , coordinates = , former_names = , alternate_names = , etymology = , status = , cancelled = , topped_out = , building_type = Lavra , architectural_style = , material = , classification = , altitude = , namesake = , groundbreaking_date = , start_date = , stop_date = , est_completion = , completion_date = , opened_date = 1526 , inauguration_date = , closing_date = , demolition_date = , destruction_date = , cost = , ren_cost = , client = , owner = Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) , affiliation = , height = , architectural = , structural_system = , size = , floor_count = , floor_area = , elevator_count = , grounds_area = , architect = , architecture_firm = , developer = , engineer = , known_for = , website = , embed = , references = , footnotes = , embedded = The Holy Mountains Lavra of the Holy Dormition ( uk, Свято-Успенська Святогірська Лавра, Sviatohirsk Lavra or the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery; russian: Свято-Успенская Святогорская лавра, Sviatogorskaya Lavra or the Sviatogorsky Cave Monastery) is a major Orthodox Christian monastery on the steep right bank of the Siverskyi Donets River. The name comes from the surrounding Holy Mountains; the

Holy Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac Rit ...

is another term for the death of the Virgin Mary. The monastery is near the town of Sviatohirsk (so named for the monastery in 2003), in

, eastern Ukraine. The monastery also forms the centrepiece of the

Holy Mountains National Nature Park Holy Mountains National Nature Park ( uk, Святі Гори національний природний парк) (also: (Sviati Hori) NNP) is located along the chalk cliffs and river terraces of the Donets River in Eastern Ukraine. The park's b ...

(established 1997). The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) proclaimed it a lavra in 2004.

History

The first written mention of the monastery dates from 1627, although

Sigismund von Herberstein Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his extensi ...

had alluded to the "Holy Mountains" area as early as 1526. It is likely that the first monks settled the area in the 15th century. At the time it was a minor monastic establishment in the Wild Fields regularly ravaged by the Crimean Tatars. In 1787, Catherine II had it shut down. The monastery's lands were secularized and donated to Prince Grigory Potemkin, the Viceroy of New Russia. One of his heirs, Aleksander Mikhailovich Potemkin, and his wife Tatiana, née Princess Galitzine, financed the monastery's revival and rebuilding, starting in 1844.

Soviet closure

Before the October Revolution, the Sviatohirsk Monastery owned a worker's shop, windmills, various kinds of repair shops, and trading buildings. The lavra's main Dormition Cathedral was designed by

Alexey Gornostaev Alexey Maksimovich Gornostaev (russian: link=no, Алексей Максимович Горностаев; February 18, 1808 – December 18, 1862) was a Russian architect, notable as a pioneer in Russian Revival, the builder of Valaam Monastery h ...

, who included a traditional Byzantine tower. From 1917 onward, the Bolsheviks plundered and desecrated the monastery on numerous occasions, beating and murdering many monks and in 1922, they shut the monastery down completely, setting up a Sanatorium for the

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

workers on the grounds. Before World War I, the monastery was inhabited by

approximately An approximation is anything that is intentionally similar but not exactly equal to something else. Etymology and usage The word ''approximation'' is derived from Latin ''approximatus'', from ''proximus'' meaning ''very near'' and the prefix ' ...

600 monks. During the 1930s, some of the churches were demolished by the Soviets, along with other numerous religious sites throughout the Soviet Union.

Restoration in independent Ukraine

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the regaining of Ukrainian independence in 1991, the monastery was restored a year later. In 2004, the monastery was officially granted the status of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church lavra. Today, the monastery community consists of more than 100 monks, and is increasing each year. On October 25, 2005, the National Bank of Ukraine issued its 10- hryvnia commemorative coin depicting the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

2022 Russian shelling

During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the monastery provided shelter to civilian refugees. On 12 March 2022, it was damaged by a Russian airstrike on the nearby bridge across the

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...

, at which time about 520 refugees were present in the monastery. The blast from the explosion damaged windows and doors of the monastery buildings, and several people were injured from the glass shards of the shattered windows. On 4 May, repeated shelling wounded 7 people. Later in May, Russian shelling destroyed Our Lady of the Joy of All Who Sorrow Skete, St. George's Skete, damaged St. John of Shanghai Skete and the Church of Holy Martyrs of the Lavra. Two civilians were killed in a shelling attack on the monastery on 1 June. On June 4th, it was reported that Russian shelling had destroyed the Skete of All Saints within the Lavra.

Gallery

Svjatogorsk, Lavra 14.jpg, The Sviato-Pokrovska Church of the Lavra Северский Донец и Святогорская Лавра. 2006.jpg, The Sviato-Pokrovska Church from the right side Деревянная церковь Всех Святых Всехсвятского скита.JPG, The Skete of All Saints, an all-wood church within the Lavra, in 2010.

References

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External links

Official website

{{Authority control Monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Buildings and structures in Donetsk Oblast Religious buildings and structures completed in 1992 1624 establishments in Europe Religious organizations established in the 1620s Donets Buildings and structures destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Lavras