Svyatogorsk, Ukraine, January 17, 2020
Aerial view of the monastery. Photo: svlavra.dn.ua
In honor of the upcoming feast of the Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, the abbot and brethren of the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have launched a new virtual tour of the monastery.
“Dear visitors of the site of the Svyatogorsk Lavra … and all pilgrims! We cordially congratulate you with the upcoming feast of the Baptism of the Lord! In honor of the festal days, we present an updated virtual tour of the Svyatogorsk Lavra, which contains a large number of new locations… The editors of the site thank photographer Sergei Orlik for his work on creating the tour,” reads the announcement on the monastery website.
Church of the Holy Fathers. Photo: svlavra.dn.ua
The tour presents a high-quality tour from nearly 50 points in and around the monastery, including views of the monastery’s many churches and sketes, cemetery, stores, museum, the cell of St. John the Recluse of Svyatogorsk Lavra, and a view of the monastery’s 600 year-old oak tree, and much more.
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The Svyatogorsk Lavra is one of the most important monasteries of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located on the steep right bank of the Donets River in the eastern Donetsk Province.
It is likely that the first monks settled in the area in the 15th century. The first written mention of the monastery dates from 1627. Catherine II shut down the monastery in 1787, though its rebuilding began in 1844.
Cell of St. John the Recluse. Photo: svlavra.dn.ua
Before World War I, the monastery had approximately 600 monks. The monastery was again closed, by the Bolsheviks, in 1922, and several churches were demolished in the 1930s.
The monastery was restored in 1992 following the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2004, it was officially granted the status of a lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Today the community consists of more than 100 monks.
