The Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is home to Christian sacred shrines that are of global importance. There has always been a constant flow of pilgrims to the ancient monastery – representatives from all countries and peoples who come to venerate the miraculous icons and ask for prayerful assistance from the Venerable Fathers of the Caves.

Not only pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world constantly stream in to see the Lavra’s Holy objects, but also representatives from other confessions. On this occasion, the Caves Monastery was visited by an official Italian delegation of Catholic bishops who hail from all over Sardinia. Following the veneration of one of the great relics of the Lavra monastery, – the head of the Holy martyr Saint Clement , who is equally revered both in the Eastern and the Western Churches since the IX century, the group, which was led by the Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC , Archpriest Mykolay Danylevych, continued on to explore the Near Caves.

After receiving the esteemed guests, His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel recounted his own pilgrimage to Sicily, where ancient Christian shrines may also be found, including the cave where Saint Paul took refuge. The Father Superior of the Lavra drew attention to the fact that a large number saints are included in the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Caves Lavra , “to which recently have been added the newly canonised saints – Saint Ioannikiy and the Venerable Vassian”.

The Catholic Bishops are also preparing to visit other Orthodox Sacred shrines that are located in Ukraine’s capital, including Saint Sophia Cathedral, where, as in Sicily, ancient mosaics of Byzantine style have been preserved.

The www.lavra.ua edition
Photographs by Hierodeacon Innokentiy

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