Svyatogorsk Lavra of the Holy Dormition

The Svyatogorsk Lavra or the Svyatogorsk Cave Monastery is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery of the highest level (lavra) near the town of Svyatogorsk in Donetsk oblast. The Lavra is located on the right bank of Seversky Donets river. The name comes from the hill on which it sits — Syatogorsk or the Holy Hill.

The first monks to settle the area came in the 14th-15th centuries, while the first written record of the monastery goes back to 1526. The Lavra is a striking example of how religious commitments can survive through invasions, ravages and destructions, which were quite numerous in the early history of the monastery.

The Lavra gained its present look after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when the monastery was restored and refurbished. Today, over 100 monks belong to the monastery community, making it the largest religious centre of Donbass and the southern Ukraine. The site is also well-known far beyond the borders of Donetsk oblast, as on religious holidays it pulls over 10,000 pilgrims from around Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

On 25 October 2005, the National Bank of Ukraine issued its 10-hryvnya commemorative coin depicting the Svyatogorsk Lavra. It was the honour, which no other site of Donetsk oblast has ever seen.

Contact information:
1 ulitsa Zarechnaya, Svyatogorsk town, Donetsk oblast 84131
Tel: +38 062 625 30 24; +38 062 625 34 24; +38 062 625 30 20

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