By CAROLE BRESLIN
In the northeastern section of Greece, a peninsula drops down from the mainland, upon which are located 20 monasteries. This mountainous region also claims Mount Athos, an area known as the site of monasteries since the early years of the Church. Homer mentions it in the Iliad (book 14, 229). This same piece of land was on the invasion route of Xerxes I in 486 B.C.
Furthermore, some accounts relate a legend that St. John and the Blessed Virgin Mary landed there. Mary found it so beautiful that she asked God for the land, to which He responded, “Let this be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved.” At that time it was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and no other women were allowed there.
Archeological evidence reveals that monks have inhabited Mount Athos since the fourth century — some pagan and some Christian. According to one account, the monastery was founded when Pulcheria, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, initiated the construction. Throughout the different eras buildings were destroyed — one time by falling rocks. However, in 943, the civil authorities established borders for the monastic state.
In 956 the civil authorities issued a decree providing over 1,100 square yards for the monks to use. Around 1000, a holy man came to reside inside the walls of the Mount Athos monastery. This man, St. Anthony Pechersky, came all the way from Ukraine to find peace and serenity.
Anthony Pechersky, born in 983, began his life in Kiev, now part of Ukraine. He was born in Lyubech in Chernigov near the northern border with Belarus. He must have received a Christian upbringing since he left for Mount Athos when he was only 17 years old. He traveled to Greece, to the land pushing out into the Aegean Sea near Thessalonica — to Mount Athos.
During his stay at Mount Athos, Anthony lived in a cave far removed from other villages. His small cave, high on a cliff, overlooked the sea. After 11 years, his abbot granted Anthony permission to return to Kiev in order to expand monasticism in his native land.
Once he arrived back in Ukraine, he settled 160 miles south of his birthplace. Specifically, he found a place on the Dnieper River near the bustling city of Kiev.
Since this habitat was not as austere as that which he occupied on Mount Athos, he set about finding a more suitable abode. He found the small cave, only four yards square. It had been dug by St. Hilarion, who had served as metropolitan — or bishop, as the position is referred to in the Roman Church. Here Anthony resided with peace and serenity.
However this quiet interlude did not last. With the death of Vladimir I in 1015, civil war broke out when Vladimir’s heirs, Yaroslav and Sviatopolk, fought against each other over the succession to the throne. While this conflict raged, Anthony returned to Mount Athos in Greece.
When the conflict had ended, Anthony returned to Kiev but only in obedience to his abbot to once again expand monasticism in Ukraine. Once again he returned to the cave in Kiev where he lived as a hermit. He ate only a piece of rye bread every other day and drank little water. His reputation of such extreme asceticism made him recognized as a holy man.
Such holiness, as is usual among the saints, drew other men to his place. Most of the men he turned away. St. Nikon and St. Theodosius became his first disciples. St. Nikon, having come from a wealthy background, surrendered it all to follow the ascetic life in the monasteries.
These three men worked together to develop the monastic system in Ukraine which became popularly known as the Kiev Caves Monasteries. St. Theodosius, also raised by pious parents, grew up with a love of the Scriptures. Over the years, he worked with St. Anthony to build more monasteries, establish the rules of those monasteries, and was elected the father superior by his fellow monks.
The new monastery, blessed with the support of royalty, soon grew to include 12 men. One man, the son of a wealthy boyar (a member of royalty ranked just below a prince) had joined Anthony. Iziaslav I demanded that Anthony make the son leave, but Anthony refused and deemed it prudent to leave the monastery. However, Iziaslav’s wife begged him to return.
Although he returned, he longed to follow the reclusive life of his namesake, St. Anthony of Egypt. Thus he moved to a nearby mountain and dug his own cave which became known as the Far Caves of Kiev.
Shortly thereafter, Iziaslav asked Barlaam, the first abbot, to build another monastery near the gates of Kiev. When this new one, St. Demetrios, was completed, Barlaam became its abbot while Anthony named Theodosius the abbot to replace him. As the number of monks grew and overcrowding became a problem, Iziaslav gave the entire hill where the caves were located to the monks.
In 1068, an opposition involving the Cumans arose in Kiev. When Iziaslav asked for Anthony’s blessing, he refused, telling Iziaslav that he would be defeated because of his sins. Before Iziaslav could banish Anthony, he escaped to Chernigov. Here Anthony dug another cave upon which now stands the Elelsky Monastery.
It was not long before relations between Anthony and Iziaslav were restored and once again Anthony returned to Kiev. The number of monks continued to grow so Anthony and Theodosius planned to build another church. After blessing the foundation of the new church, Anthony died in 1073.
His relics have never been found.
Years later, when Khan Bonyak invaded Kiev in 1096, he captured Nikon and held him prisoner for three years. During that time Nikon suffered daily tortures and beatings as well as near starvation. He was miraculously transported back to the monks at the church of the Dormition. When asked to explain his sudden appearance back in Kiev with his tethers still on, he simply replied that it was through the intercession of St. Anthony and St. Theodosius who had died in 1073 and 1074 respectively.
Dear St. Anthony, today in Ukraine there are many uprisings just as there were throughout your lifetime. As you look down upon your native land, intercede for the people to achieve the peace and joy you found in the presence of God. Amen.
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(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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