In the first half of the eleventh century...
the monk Anthony, a future great venerable father and a native of Kiev Rus, labored as an ascetic of the Esphigmenou monastery on Mount Athos, and took upon the Lesser Schema there.
The Mother of God however revealed to his abbot Theoktistos...
that Anthony should return to his native lands.
Bidding Anthony farewell, the abbot told: “Go back to the land of Rus, and may those who live there prosper and establish themselves in the Christian faith through you, and may the blessing of Mount Athos be with you always!”
In 1013, Anthony arrived from Athos.
He dug a cave near the village of Berestove [Kiev].
Shortly afterwards, however, he chose to return back to Athos.
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After the throne of the Great Princedom in Kiev was awarded to Yaroslav the Wise in 1019...
the abbot Theoktistos again had a Divine revelation, telling him to send monk Anthony to the land of Rus a second time.
He called for Anthony, and announced to him: “Depart for the land of Rus one more time, and may the blessing of the Holy Mountain be always with you! Wherefore a great number of monks will stem [voortkomen] from your presence there.”
In 1028...
during the reign of the great prince Yaroslav the Wise...
Anthony returned to Rus, and dwelled in a cave on the high bank of River Dnieper, not far from the city of Kiev. While there, he kept to unceasing praying and fasting.
Many Christians travelled there to seek his advice and receive his blessing. Some stayed, and took monastic vows.
That is how the great Kiev Caves Lavra, the third domain of the Most Holy Theotokos, was founded.
Initially, the monastery’s prayer life was concentrated in the caves...
where the monks dug out the church quarters, the refectory and the cells.
Eventually, the number of monastics increased and the cave church could no longer hold everyone. Therefore, Venerable Anthony blessed the construction of a wooden church on top of the mountain.
This is how the great monastery received its name “of the Caves”...
in memory of its humble beginnings.
The Venerable Anthony did not own any gold...
but his ascetic labors grew the treasure like no other...
as his monastery grew to become the first spiritual center of Rus.
[bron]
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