A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα;
Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for
hermits
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
, with a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
and sometimes a
refectory at the center. It is erected within the
Orthodox and other
Eastern Christian traditions. The term is also used by some
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
communities. The term in Greek initially meant a narrow lane or an alley in a city.
[.]
History
Byzantine laura/lavra
From the fifth century the Greek term ''laura'' could refer specifically to the semi-
eremitic
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
al monastic settlements of the
Judaean Desert, where lauras were very numerous. The first lauras of
Palestine were founded by
Chariton the Confessor (born 3rd century, died ca. 350): the Laura of Pharan (now
Wadi Qelt) northeast of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, the Laura of Douka on the
Mount of Temptation west of
Jericho, and Souka Laura or Old Laura in the area of
Tuqu' in
Wadi Khureitun.
Saint
Euthymius the Great (377–473) founded one of the early lauras in fifth-century Palestine. The Lavra of Saint
Sabbas the Sanctified (†532) in the
Kidron Valley (known in Syriac as
Mar Saba), is one of the most ancient and almost continuously functioning monasteries in the
Christian Church.
Gerasimus of the Jordan established a similar system in the
Jordan Valley in the middle of the fifth century, with 70 cells surrounding a
cenobium and with monks progressing into the cells after time spent in the cenobium. Weekdays were spent in the cells, accompanied only by a rush mat, a small amount of food and palm blades with which to make ropes and baskets. On Saturdays the monks would bring their handiwork to the cenobium and receive the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
together, returning to their cells on Sunday evening. Cells were left open, and those in need could take whatever they wished from a cell if it were found empty. The lavra had a priest, the lavra's contact with the outside world, and at least two ordained deacons.
The
Great Lavra
The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasi ...
founded by
Athanasius the Athonite in 963 is the oldest monastery on
Mount Athos in Greece.
Coptic tradition
Some modern
Coptic authors, and they alone, already apply the specific Greek term ''lavra'' to even earlier monastic settlements from the
Wadi El Natrun and even attribute the writing down of the formal rules of a ''lavra'' to the Egyptian sanctified monk
Macarius of Egypt in AD 330. Unless proven otherwise by future scholarship, this opinion seems to be theirs alone.
Their claim is that the lavrite style of living has its origins in the early fourth century, by equating the creation of the first lavras with the founding of a settlement of cells in the Nitrean desert at a site known as
Nitria, named for the nearby town of the same name (near
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
in Egypt). It was a community of 600 hermits who lived scattered over the area, reliant on the town of Nitria for bread, but with their own priest and church.
[
Monasticism, Daniel Al-Antouny (ed.)
]
Russian lavras
The largest and the most important
Russian Orthodox monasteries have been called lavras and became
subordinated directly to the
Patriarch of Moscow. In 1721 they became subordinated to the
Most Holy Synod.
Some notable lavras
A list of lavras of different types.
*
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople:
**
Great Lavra
The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasi ...
,
Mount Athos (10th century):
*
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
:
**
David Gareja monastery complex (since 1505)
*
Church of Greece
The Church of Greece ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ekklēsía tē̂s Helládos, ), part of the wider Greek Orthodox Church, is one of the autocephalous churches which make up the communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It ...
:
**
Agia Lavra
Agia Lavra ("Holy Lavra") is a monastery near Kalavryta, Achaea, Greece. It was built in 961 AD, on Chelmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters, and can be described as the symbolic birthplace of modern Greece. It stands as one of the oldest m ...
(since 961)
*
Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, el, Πατριαρχεῖον Ἱεροσολύμων, ''Patriarcheîon Hierosolýmōn;'' he, הפטריארכיה היוונית-אורתודוקסית של ירושלים; ar, كنيسة الرو� ...
:
**
Mar Saba (532)
*
Polish Orthodox Church
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( pl, Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny), commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. T ...
:
**
Supraśl Orthodox Monastery
The Monastery of the Annunciation in Supraśl ( pl, Monaster Zwiastowania Najświętszej Marii Panny w Supraślu; be, Супрасльскі Дабравешчанскі манастыр; russian: Супрасльский Благовещенск ...
(since 1505)
*
Romanian Orthodox Church:
**
Neamț Monastery (since 15th century)
*
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
:
**
Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (since 1744)
**
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...
(since 1797)
*
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church:
**
Univ Lavra (since 1898)
*
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...
:
**
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (since 1051)
**
Pochayiv Lavra (since 1833)
**
Sviatohirsk Lavra (since 2004)
See also
*
Cenobitic monasticism
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of pre ...
*
Hermitage
*
Skete
References
Sources
*
*
External links
The Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra*
{{Authority control
Eastern Orthodox monasteries
Eastern Catholic monasteries
Mount Athos
Church architecture