Then and Now: The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra's Rebirth Under the UOC 1990—2025

The "Life-Giving Spring" Church of the Lavra, restored by the monks of the UOC. Photo: UOC press service

Nearly 37 years ago, on June 24, 1988, the Soviet authorities began transferring the buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the Church. This was recalled in the Facebook group “SvitViry (World of Faith).”

The group writes:

“This was the territory of the Far Caves. In 1990, the authorities transferred the territory of the Near Caves and the buildings located there to the monks – the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the gallery and bell tower, the church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God ‘Life-Giving Spring,’ as well as a number of other structures. Most of the buildings transferred by the city authorities were in a condition just short of collapse.”

They also posted photos of the Lavra buildings taken at the time of the transfer, alongside photos taken many years later after the restoration of the monastery, with a link to the press service of the UOC. Almost all examples show that the buildings were fully restored by monks and believers.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, in justifying the termination of the lease agreement with the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, claimed that the buildings of the Lower Lavra exhibited “inadequate maintenance of an architectural monument of local significance.”

An entire photo gallery can be found at this link to the UOJ’s Serbian branch.

Read also