There are no exact and documented references to the Zverinetsky Cave Monastery. It is assumed that the settlement of the caves by monks occurred in the 11th-12th centuries during the Christianization of Kievan Rus. Some church historians believe that the Zverinetsky Monastery is the predecessor of the Vydubitsky Monastery and owes its appearance to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich. Some time after its founding, most of the brethren moved to the ground Vydubitsky Monastery, and then, during the raids of nomads, the monastery was destroyed , after which it was not restored and was abandoned.
At the end of the 19th century, the caves of the monastery were found, after which the monastery was partially revived in 1913 as the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra at the Zverinetsky Caves. Shortly before its closure in the late 1920s, there were up to 40 residents. One of the trustees of the monastery, Prince Vladimir Zhevakhov, took monastic vows with the name Joasaph in the skete church in 1924, and in 1926 he headed the monastery. Later he was ordained bishop. In December 1937, Bishop Joasaph of Mogilev was shot near Kursk. In 2002, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as the holy martyr Joasaph of Mogilev.
After the Soviet period of desolation, the labors of Museum of the History of Kyiv and the brethren Holy Trinity Ionin Monastery Zverinetsky caves were cleared again. In 1997, the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on the Zverinetsky Caves was revived. In 2009, the Archangel Michael Monastery was established on the basis of the Zverinetsky monastery. Since 2006, reconstruction of cave structures and construction of monastery buildings has been underway. Two temples and stone entrances to the caves were built. The painting of the crypt entrance to the caves was carried out from August 2012 to March 2013. Of the temple buildings, only the Church of the Reverend Fathers of Zverinetsky is fully painted.
Currently, the monks of the Zverinetsky monastery conduct daily services both in caves and in two above-ground churches. For worship, the cave church in honor of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Khoneh and the temple in honor of the Council of the Reverend Fathers of Zverinetsky, located above the entrance to the caves, are used. Sunday and holiday services are held in the cathedral church.
Where is the Archangel Michael’s Zverinetsky Cave Monastery?
Michurina street, 20-22
044 285 2440