Cave Monastery in Monastyrka
Pecherny monastery in Monastirtsі
Ukraine, Borschiv
The cave rock monastery in Monastyrka was founded in the 9th-10th centuries by Orthodox hermit monks on the site of an ancient Slavic pagan temple. The cave where the temple is equipped was formed by long-term weathering of limestone, and human hands installed three retaining columns made of flat stones here, supporting a six-meter stone canopy over the entrance. The cave temple measuring 9.5 by 4.8 meters is conventionally divided into a vestibule, a nave and an altar facing east. The natural stone wall of the altar serves as an iconostasis, with a painted Jesus, who closed his eyes, unable to look at human sinful deeds. Not far from the entrance to the cave lies a stone with a cross carved on it, which is called the “Dovbush stone”. From the place where the cave is located, there is a beautiful view of the Seret River and the forests that cover its banks.