Near Caves

Coordinates: 50°26′02″N 30°33′41″E / 50.4340°N 30.5614°E / 50.4340; 30.5614

The Near Caves or the Caves of Saint Anthony(Ukrainian: Ближні печери, Blyzhni pechery; Russian: Ближние пещеры, Blizhnie peschery) are historic caves and a network of tunnels of the medieval cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The Near Caves have a total length of 383 metres and are 5 to 20 metres deep (see map).

The Near Caves were founded when in 1057, Saint Varlaam was appointed as the first hegumen (abbot) of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra by Saint Anthony. Monk Anthony withdrew himself from the monastery and later settled on a new hill, where he dug out a new underground cell, now called the Near Caves.

The Near Caves contain the underground Church of Saint Anthony, the Church of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, and the Saint Varlaam Church. The caves also have a total of 79 surviving burials, among them being Nestor the Chronicler, the icon artists Alipy and Grigory, the doctor Agapit, the prince-ascetic Nikolai Sviatosha, the holy martyr Kuksha, as well as the remains of the epic hero Ilya Muromets. During the examination of the remains, it was established that Ilya Muromets had died from a stab wound. According to a legend, a force of angels transported him from the place where he had died to the Lavra caverns.

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Wikipedia