Message of greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to the participants in the celebrations devoted to the 950th anniversary of the Holy Dormition Lavra of the Caves in Kiev
16.09.2001 · English, Архив 2001
MESSAGE OF GREETINGS FROM HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH ALEXY II TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE CELEBRATIONS DEVOTED TO THE 950TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLY DORMITION LAVRA OF THE CAVES IN KIEV
Your Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine, beloved in the Lord,
Your Eminences, Your Graces,
Reverend representatives of Local Orthodox Churches,
Dear brothers and sisters:
The Monastery of the Caves rejoices brightly today, celebrating its glorious 950th anniversary, and it is a truly pan-Orthodox festivity. We are delighted to greet our dear brothers, representatives of Local Orthodox Churches who have come with love to the Kievan bounds to share our joy and to testify in common prayer to the fraternal unity of the Orthodox Churches with His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine and the flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church faithful to their Primate.
The great Kiev Lavra of the Caves shines in the church sky like a bright star. It has given to the world hundreds of venerable and God-bearing fathers, zealots of devotion, who, we believe, in their prayerful standing before God’s Throne bless today with their heavenly blessing this glorious celebration, interceding for us who turn to them with faith and love.
The foundation of the Monastery of the Caves by Ven. Anthony initiated the Orthodox monasticism in Kievan Rus. Monastic life is the highest expression of man’s love for God. It is a movement of the human heart in response to God’s call to Christian life. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of monasteries in the spiritual life of the people. The influence of monasticism on the world was often fateful in various periods of the church history. A rise or fall of the ascetic ideal in the people’s soul invariably influenced their historical fortunes, the public morality and the spiritual foundations of statehood. In this regard, the significance of the Kiev Lavra of the Caves has been decisive in the history of our Church.
According to St. Nestor the Chronicler, Ven. Anthony of the Caves, the great and glorious founder of the monastery, became famous “as Anthony of Egypt” and father of Orthodox monasticism in Rus. Already one his first disciples, Ven. Theodosius, having asserted the Studite rule in the monastery and preserved the ascetic tradition of ancient monasteries in the East, considerably softened its severity by the effective ministry of peace, love and charity towards ordinary people who flocked to the monastery. Ven. Theodosius did not only refuse to isolate his monastery from the world, but put it in the closest possible relation with society. Even the very location of the monastery close to Kiev as if destined it for social service. And it is in this monastery that the starets tradition so much loved by our Orthodox people was initiated.
The Kiev Monastery of the Caves grew through tears, prayer and fasting. Already in its first years it gave to the world many ascetics who by their lives made an immaculate sacrifice to God on behalf of newly-enlightened Rus. Among them are Ven. Nicetas the Recluse, who was to become Bishop of Novgorod, and Ven. Kuksha, who baptized the Viatichi and his disciple, Ven. Ioann, who crowned their apostolic ministry with martyrdom, and Ven. Alypius the Iconpainter and Ven. Nicholas the Devout, who was the first among Russian princes to take monastic vows in the Monastery of the Caves, and Ven. Abrahamus of Smolensk and Varlaam of Khutin and St. Cyril of Turov. They burned with such zeal “to live according to God” that all the sensitive souls who came in touch with them were carried along. Many ascetics from the Monastery of the Caves became founders of other glorious monasteries. It was also from this place that archpastors were elected for our growing Church.
Along with various expressions of asceticism, the Monastery of the Caves also gave examples of suffering for the faith and truth. In the hardest historical times, the Kiev Lavra of the Caves was one of the most important supports for Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Even in the years of militant atheism when the Lavra was closed and turned into a museum, Orthodox people would come on pilgrimage to Kiev from all over the world to venerate its shrines in the secret of their hearts, to appeal to the relics of the saints dwelling in the caves for intercession and to shed tears of repentance and love. These prayers were not in vain. Through the intercession of the ascetics of the Caves, the painful time of trouble has ended. Now the bright light of the Kiev Lavra shines again, the innermost prayer of the monks is lifted up, and the mellow chime of the Lavra’s bells resounds throughout our Mother Church.
The body of Orthodox Ukraine is tormented today by the pain of schism. The enemy of the human race seeks to sow the thorns of confusion and division in the field of Christ. But we are firmly convinced that the truth of God will triumph in spite of all. And a guarantee to this is the present celebration of the Kiev Lavra which has remained faithful, as it was throughout its history, to the truth of Holy Orthodoxy! The shrines of the Kiev Lavra of the Caves have again gathered together those who have been divided. They give peace to saddened hearts and give consolation to sorrowful souls, for sanctity does not know of division, and where the Spirit of God is present there all are one.
On this remarkable day, I wholeheartedly congratulate the Ukrainian Orthodox flock so dear to my heart and lift up to God warm prayers for you all, my dear ones. Your feat of remaining steadfast in the faith, your spiritual maturity, your commitment to the sacred canons and the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church, your faithfulness to your Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir, – all this is precious in God’s eyes. It will be that solid foundation on which, we believe, the unity of all those who seek to heal the baneful schism will be built.
I cordially congratulate on this significant His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine, my fellow-hierarchs, the father superior of this blessed monastery, the monastic community, the clergy and all the blessed people of God and all those who love and venerate our pan-Orthodox shrine, the Kiev Lavra of the Caves. I wish you all abundant mercies and help from our Lord and Saviour in the ministry to which each of us is called, fulfilling it for the good and prosperity of the Holy Church and for the salvation of the people of God.
We give our Patriarchal blessing to all the participants in the celebrations, to all the faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And we lift up an ardent prayer to the Lord that He may heal the wounds of the schism by His merciful hand and give the pious people of Ukraine peace, well-being and prosperity.
May the All-Merciful Lord, through the intercession of the venerable and God-bearing fathers of the Kiev Caves, “make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:21).
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