Sviatohirsk Lavra Buries Monk Killed in Attack

SVIATOHIRSK, UKRAINE — The brethren of the Sviatohirsk Lavra held the funeral service for Monk Varsonofiy (Turianskyi) on Aug. 25, two days after he was killed in an attack on members of the monastery community. His body was placed in a coffin in the Dormition Cathedral before the funeral service.

Following the rite of the final kiss, Monk Varsonofiy was buried behind the cathedral’s altar, beside Archimandrite Galaktion (Vuichenko) and Monk Aristokliy (Khashchyna), who were killed during shelling of the Lavra in 2022. Archimandrite Theophan delivered a eulogy before the burial.

According to a forensic medical certificate, Monk Varsonofiy died from a through-and-through gunshot wound to the head and neck. The brethren found him lying in a pool of blood on the landing of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius staircase. His final words were: “Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ! I am a monk.”

Born Vasyl Turianskyi in 1973, Varsonofiy joined the Lavra brotherhood in 2013 after earning two university degrees and working as a design engineer. He was tonsured a rassophore monk in 2015 and received the monastic name Varsonofiy in 2019. His obediences included work in the refectory, flower garden, and greenhouse.

The monk had received the Holy Mysteries shortly before the attack at 11:00 am. Archpriest Yevhen Hreitsar, who knew him, recalled that three doves flew into the church during the service, prompting Varsonofiy to say, “The Lord does not abandon us.” Fr. Yevhen later urged Christians to respond to the violence with Christ’s words: “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.”

A wounded novice, Andriy Kyriienko, said three men wearing Ukrainian Armed Forces uniforms attacked him near the upper grounds of the Lavra. He reported being beaten, stabbed, and thrown into a ravine. Kyriienko said he later learned that Monk Varsonofiy had been killed and Monk Hryhoriy wounded.

Police have opened criminal proceedings for deliberate murder and attempted murder. Investigators are examining the circumstances of the attack, while the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the Field of Defense of the Eastern Region is providing procedural supervision.

Metr. Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv compared Varsonofiy’s death with the martyrdom of Venerable Martyr Rafaila a century ago. He said, “This is exactly how Satan hates God and God’s truth. And people who submit to Satan, who become his instruments in this world, hate in exactly the same way those who belong to God, who live holy lives for the sake of God and His grace.” He added that such violence confronts Orthodox Christians with the question of whether their faith is merely professed or truly lived.

Previously, the UOJ reported that a monk was killed and two were wounded in an attack at Sviatohirsk Lavra.