Антонієві печери

Antoniyevi Pechery

Useful Information

Location:	Chernihiv, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, 14000. (51.4776979, 31.2842998)
Open:	All year daily 10-17. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=350 m, T=5 °С.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Antoniyevi Pechery, Chernihiv, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, 14000, Tel: +380-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

983	Antony Pecherskyi born in the Chernihiv region.
1069	Antony Pecherskyi founds the Mother of God monastery, with the support of Prince Svyatoslav of Chernihiv.
1239	the Mongol-Tatar horde destroys Chernihiv and burns it down.
13th century	Illina church built of bricks.
1649	reconstruction of the Illina and Borogodichna churches, as well as the caves.
1970	tunnels excavated.

Description

Антонієві печери (Antoniyevi Pechery, Anthony Caves), in Russian Антониевы пещеры is a huge cave monastery located in Chernihiv, the administartive center of the homonymous oblast. The cave complex was created during the 10th century by Antony Pecherskyi. He was born in 983 in the Chernihiv region, he went twice on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos where he learned about monastic life. Back in the Ukraine he settled down in a cave near Kyiv. He lived as a hermit, and soon disciples started coming in flocks. They also lived in caves digging them nearby, which later became the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, he was one of the founders of the most famous cave monasteries in Ukraine. When Antony Pecherskyi resettled to Chernihiv, probable because he originated from here, he dug himself another cave. This was the start of an entire subterranean monastery complex, which was later named St. Antony’s Caves. He lived 90 years and was revered as a saint almost immediately after his death. His remains are still at the monastery. Once the church tried to move the remains to Moscow, but flames and water burst from the ground, preventing the relics from being taken.

The cave complex is a labyrinth of passages, living quarters, necropolises, and several churches. It has a total length of 350 m, and some parts are quite spacious. The caves from two levels, although there are rumours that there are four levels of caves. The rock is very stable and so no shoring was required. On some walls, murals from the Middle Ages can be found. The churches of Feodosius Totemsky, Mykola Svyatoshi and Antony Pechersky are located on the second level. The Feodosius Totemsky Church has a ceiling height of 10 m, which makes it Ukraine’s largest cave church. All three were built during the 18th and 19th century in a style resembling the Cossack Baroque. The walls were painted white. But due to the high humidity, it was not possible to install wooden iconostasis. Actually, all decorative elements which are normally made of wood, like icons or the royal gate, are made of metal. There is also an ancient church, which was built in the 12th century. One of the tunnels was the cemetery or catacomb, it has rooms with burial niches.

The caves were excavated in 1970. Volodymyr Rudenko, one of the members of the archaeological team, was looking for the remains of candles in the Church of Mykola Svyatoshi. Hew saw a man in a black robe appeared at the door, but he disappeared when he tried to talk to him. On his way back to the other archaeologists, he saw the monk again. He later realized that the monk was quite realistic, but he was clearly visisble standing in a black robe in a dark corner, which is impossible. In 1995, a group of visitors had a similar experience. Around the underground church of Mykola Svyatoshi people saw a gaseous cloud of whitish color and smelled ammonia. Then they saw the contours of a human figure in a cassock and a face with a beard. Soon the legends of paranormal phenomenons spread and bioenergetics "scientists" conducted research. They found bursts of energy which could not be explained. Really weird is that they stated that this was the result of a meteorite, which fell in ancient times and still lies here.

The caves are very popular, they are visited by thousands of tourists and believers from all over the world every year.