Sviatohirsk Lavra, Orthodox monastery in Sviatohirsk, Ukraine

Sviatohirsk Lavra is a male Orthodox monastery on the right chalk bank of the Siverskyi Donets, built both on the ground and into a white rock outcrop. A long covered gallery with a brown wooden railing runs along the rock face, linking white buildings with green roofs. Above them stands a church with several small green domes and one taller central dome, all topped with gold crosses.

The first written mention of the monastery dates to 1526, though academic D. I. Bahalii argued it existed before the Mongol invasion. In 1787 Catherine II abolished it and its lands passed to Prince Potemkin; Nicholas I restored it in 1844 at the request of landowner Tatiana Potemkina. Soviet authorities closed it in 1922 and turned it into the Artem rest home, and it reopened in 1992.

The name comes from the chalk cliffs above the Siverskyi Donets, called the Holy Mountains. The monastery holds the relics of John the Recluse of Sviatohirsk, canonized in 1995, and in 2008 the Council of the Sviatohirsk Fathers was glorified here, 17 saints in all. Monks wear an old form of church dress at the Antoniy and Feodosiy of the Caves church.

The climb to the upper level involves a long stone stairway that can be slippery in wet weather. Visitors should wear appropriate clothing, as the grounds host active worship services and modest dress is expected.

Some of the original cave rooms were carved directly into the soft chalk wall and served as cells and chapels for monks over centuries. These underground passages remain accessible today and offer cool spaces that provide welcome relief from summer heat outside.