Interview with the Abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshhorod and Chornobyl, on the eve of the great Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

— Your Eminence! On the eve of the patronal celebrations of the Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, we would like to speak with you, as the Abbot of the monastery, about this great feast.

As we know, all our Ukrainian Lavras, as well as many monasteries and cathedrals, are dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Why do you think our holy places are dedicated specifically to this event from the life of the Mother of God?

Greetings, dear readers of our website!

Indeed, our pious people have venerated the Most Holy Theotokos in a special way since ancient times. When entrusting His Mother to Saint John the Theologian, the Lord said: “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27). In the person of this Apostle, we have Christ the Saviour’s indication concerning the Mother of God, that She is both our Mother and Intercessor.

The Most Pure Virgin, being “more honourable than the Cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim,” is the Protectress and Abbess of both male and female monasteries. When we read the troparion of the Dormition, “In giving birth You preserved Your virginity…,” we see that, despite having a completely human nature, She was not subject to the natural laws in their fullness. “The laws of nature are overcome in You, O Pure Virgin.” She gives birth to the Saviour and remains a Virgin; She dies and remains alive, because death became rather like sleep. Of course, to many people this may seem incompatible, but one only needs to reflect on the words of these hymns, and then it becomes clear that She never abandons us.

— A turning point in the history of our Church and in the development of the entire Old Rus’ state was the Baptism of our people in 988. But Orthodoxy could not have arisen and borne abundant fruit on an empty foundation. What were the prerequisites for the Christianisation of our society and the establishment of monasticism?

As far back as the time of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, there were probably churches among us, perhaps small house churches. The holy Princess Olga knew about Christ, which means that someone from among the clergy had already enlightened her.

In ancient times, we also had an Orthodox episcopate. Seven Chersonesus bishops who became hieromartyrs in the fourth century are known by name; their feat is commemorated in the liturgical books.

In the ninth century, Princes Askold and Dir attempted to Christianise Rus. There were also other saints before them, I think. All of them were persecuted by pagans, such as the holy Theodore the Varangian and his son, the infant John (+983), whose relics rest in the Near Caves of the Lavra.

The Lord has always helped us preserve the holy faith. Christ has already warned all of us about the kind of trials we are experiencing today: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Luke 21:17). We are not as bad as they say we are. But they want to destroy us and Christ. They are not persecuting us. What can they do to us? Well, they can kill us, poison us, drive us away, but they are fighting against Christ. And Christ is eternal.

— Your Eminence, this year the 975th anniversary of the founding of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery is being commemorated at the state level. It is difficult to imagine the history of Kyivan Rus without it. What do you associate the Lavra’s rich history with?

The thousand-year history of the Pechersk Monastery speaks of the holiness of our Church, of the fact that the Mother of God Herself chose this holy place as Her portion. On the one hand, I recognise the 975 years of the monastery’s existence, while on the other, I consider it to be even older.
Saint Anthony came to the Holy Mount Athos for a second time because of the princely internecine strife that began in Kyivan Rus after the death of the great Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. This was in 1016, and the brethren of the Athonite Monastery of Saint Panteleimon found confirmation of this. Saint Anthony then told them how the passion-bearers Boris and Gleb had been killed shortly after the death of their father, Saint Prince Vladimir.

The year 1051 as the date of the official founding of the Pechersk Monastery is taken from the earliest handwritten sources. But then the question arises: how, for example, did Saint Moses the Hungarian, after returning to Kyiv from captivity, come to the Pechersk Monastery to Saint Anthony and pursue his monastic asceticism there for ten years until his repose in 1043? This indicates that the monastery already existed much earlier than 1051.

— Even before the founding of the Pechersk Monastery, there were other monasteries, including in Kyiv, but they ceased to exist. Despite all the historical upheavals, the Lavra still exists, and monks continue to pursue their ascetic life there. What do you think has contributed to this?

After the Baptism of Rus, there were already many monasteries. It is said that the venerable father visited the monasteries, yet, as the Apostle Paul says, they had not yet been spiritually established: they were earthly and set their minds on the things of the flesh (cf. 1 Cor. 15:47; Rom. 8:5). But Saint Anthony brought from the Holy Mount Athos the spiritual tradition that exists today in our Holy Lavra.

The Mother of God has never abandoned the Pechersk Monastery, because it is Her House. Pointing to the Greek builders, She said: “I want to dwell in the city of Kyiv.” She gave them Her icon of the Dormition as a sign that in man the image of death no longer has power, but there is only sleep. And we see this in the example of the incorrupt relics of the Pechersk saints of God, who served Her until the end of their earthly lives.

— Your Eminence, how did the Lavra influence the development of monasticism and the establishment of other monasteries in ancient times and in our own day?

The Lavra practically gave rise to all the monasteries that exist not only here in Kyiv, but also in other cities, because during difficult times monks left the holy monastery amid persecutions and periods of turmoil and spread throughout the whole of Holy Kyivan Rus. Therefore, our connection is one and inseparable. The founding fathers of monasticism in Rus’ were Saint Anthony of the Kyiv Caves and his followers: Saints Nikon, Theodosius, Stephen, and a number of other great men.

The fact that we have a genuine spiritual connection can be seen in the unbroken monastic tradition that existed in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and continues today in many monasteries. Although some things have changed, continuity nevertheless exists, has existed, and will exist. This can even be seen in the liturgical books containing stichera and canons to our saints. At this time, when I am being held in confinement by those in power who for some reason disliked my way and manner of life, I have an additional opportunity to pray more, to review and reread the sacred books. And in the Menaion (an Orthodox liturgical book containing hymns, prayers, and services for each day of the year — ed.), I constantly encounter hymns dedicated to many of the saints who are included in our Church calendar, and it is clear that they are connected with the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery and that their ascetic path began there.

— In spiritual literature, we often read about the extraordinary holiness and miracles of the ancient Church. Does anything similar happen today, Vladyka?

It is astonishing how many miracles took place in the Lavra. But they continue to take place to this day, although they are not visible to many, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ should shine on them” (2 Cor.4:4)
There are people who like neither churches nor feasts, but are driven only by ambitions. During more than 30 years of monastic life, I have seen how deep the monks are in their faith, humility, and meekness, regardless of their position or rank. I truly share their suffering. Although I am in confinement, I still have communication with my living brethren, and even greater communion with the holy saints of God, who unite us all with Christ.

— Your Eminence, the academic year will soon begin. What would you wish for schoolchildren, students, and their parents?

I wish the students of our Kyiv theological schools that they may return as soon as possible to the buildings of their Alma Mater, their spiritual home in this House of the Mother of God.

Today, higher educational institutions are failing to enrol enough students; there are not enough of them. Many children have left, and many have died during this difficult and troubled time, during the period of persecution against our country and our Church. But I would like to ask them, while learning something new there, not to abandon what is their own, in the words of the Kobzar (Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko – ed): “Learn, read, learn from others, but do not turn away from your own.”

Judging by the history of the Church and our country, no matter how difficult the circumstances may be, there are very many believing people. And the richness we possess in our cultural heritage testifies that the Lord does not abandon us. Therefore, we must preserve what we have and remember our ancestors: the holy Prince Vladimir and Princess Olga. And above all, we must remember the Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril. Without them, we would have had neither the foundation of our culture and learning, nor writing and the alphabet.

And everything good that our country still possesses to this day speaks of the labours of Saints Alypius the Iconographer, Nestor the Chronicler, and other Pechersk saints, perhaps not always literate, but possessing knowledge of everything. Many other our saint servants of God, who pursued their ascetic labours not only in Kyivan Rus but also in other lands, testify to the divine grace of the Lord and the mercy of the Mother of God toward us.

— At the conclusion of our conversation, we traditionally ask for your words of guidance and your wishes for the brethren of the Pechersk Monastery.

Dear brethren, I appeal to you today with a request: you should not leave the Holy Lavra. In these days, the Lord has shown us what the ascetic feat of seclusion is. You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Thanks to this, our country flourishes, whatever may happen. They destroy stone churches, but no one can destroy the temple of the soul. The venerable fathers withdrew from the world and descended, as it is said, “into the depths of the earth,” deep into the earth, and there crushed the head of the evil serpent, the ancient enemy of the human race who had fallen away from God.

Do not go out into the world. You have clothes; you have food. It may perhaps become even worse with heating, but endure it for Christ’s sake. The Lord said: the world will hate you; they will persecute you; they will kill you; they will think that by doing so they are serving God. Therefore, endure, for the whole world is watching us.

When they put an electronic bracelet on me, thousands of messages came that very night, in which people asked me: “Vladyka, do not waver in the faith.” Endure everything for Christ’s sake, because many of our children, grandchildren, and loved ones have come to Christ. You see, one person suffers, while 200 of us in the Lavra suffer for Christ and thereby bring people to God.

The time will come, you will see, when the Lord brings us to Himself, and you will say: “Lord, here am I and the children whom You have given me” (cf. Heb. 2:13).
We are now bloodless confessors, martyrs for the faith of Christ. I ask for your holy prayers; I pray for you, and every day, with tears, I ask the Lord not to put my hope and confidence to shame that it is He who has brought them, His children, as is said in the High Priestly Prayer: “I do not pray for all, but for those whom You have given Me” (cf. John 17:9).

The deeds of all will be revealed later, when the Lord comes in glory.

I congratulate you, dear brothers and sisters, on the recent Feast of the Transfiguration, on the commemoration of Saint Theodosius on the day of the translation of his holy relics, and also on the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. And I invoke God’s blessing upon you all!

The interview with Metropolitan Paul was conducted by archdeacon Nikodim, head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Kyiv Caves Lavra