Holy Trinity Ioninsky Monastery In Kyiv: Ven. Iona Of Kyiv, The 1871–72 Cathedral, The Botanical Garden And The 1993 Revival

The Holy Trinity Ioninsky Monastery (Troitskyi Ioninskyi) is a male monastery of Kyiv on the picturesque Zvirynets hills, beside Vydubychi and the Hryshko National Botanical Garden. It arose on the lands of Princess Kateryna Vasylchykova, who in 1867 donated them to the ascetic Iona of Kyiv — a simple-born monk who made the monastery one of the three spiritual capitals of pre-revolutionary Kyiv: before 1917 it had over 800 monks and was visited by up to a hundred thousand pilgrims a year. Its gilded domes and the unfinished 110-metre bell tower were a landmark for ships on the Dnipro. [1][3][7]

At a glance

Full name: Holy Trinity Ioninsky Men’s Monastery (UOC).
Location: Kyiv, 1 Tymiriazivska St. (Zvirynets; borders on the Hryshko National Botanical Garden).
Founded: 1860s — vision of monk Iona (1861/1862), wooden church 1864; land deed 1867.
Main landmark: Holy Trinity Cathedral (1871–1872, engineer Antonov) with the All Saints side-altar (1897, V. Nikolayev).
Famous for: St Iona of Kyiv, 800+ brethren, the 1150-pood bell, the clock tower of 1858.
Status: active; revived as a Lavra skete in 1993.

History of the Ioninsky Monastery

The vision of Iona and the first church

The founder — monk Iona (Myrnenko), a native of Cherkasy region, an ascetic of the Kyiv caves. According to his own account, on 1 March 1861 (or 9 March 1862) he had a vision of the Mother of God on the “Zvirynets mountains”, who commanded a monastery to be built here. After this he began searching for a place; at first they arranged a chapel, and on 4 May 1864 a small wooden cemetery church was consecrated near the Zvirynets graveyard. [1][3][5]

Kateryna Vasylchykova’s gift (1867)

The decisive step was made by Princess Kateryna Vasylchykova, wife of the Kyiv governor-general: on 7 July 1867 she donated her Zvirynets lands to Father Iona for the monastery (previously, on 6 April 1866, permission had come to build a monastic community). Soon she added ten thousand roubles — huge money at the time. In 1872 Father Iona became abbot, and in 1886 archimandrite. [2][3]

The Trinity Cathedral and “the Kyiv Trinity Lavra”

The stone Holy Trinity Cathedral (architect-engineer I. Antonov) was built in 1871–1872, and in 1897 the All Saints side-altar was added (V. Nikolayev). In 1896 a gigantic bell of 1150 poods (18.8 tonnes) was raised into the belfry; a clock of 1858, bought in Paris, rang on the tower. Before World War I over 800 monks lived here, and up to a hundred thousand pilgrims came annually. The construction of a 110-metre bell tower over the Dnipro (foundations laid 1903) was never finished. [1][3][7]

Closure and the Botanical Garden

The 6 June 1918 explosion of the Zvirynets powder magazines half-ruined the church. Life behind the closed gates continued: a 1919 inventory recorded two churches, a bell tower, nine wooden and two brick houses; the monks formed agricultural artels “Zemlerob” (“Tiller”) and “Sadivnyk” (“Gardener”) that rented monastery lands. On 17 November 1929 services ceased; the monastery was finally closed by 1934 (Abbot Iov was exiled to Kazakhstan). In 1930–1934 the bell tower was dismantled (the bricks went to the building site of the Agricultural Academy in Holosiiv), and the church was adapted as a warehouse; in 1935 the territory went to the newly created National Botanical Garden. Secret Liturgies were served in the clock tower for a time by schema-monk Dymytrian. [1][2][6]

1942–1949 and the revival of 1993

Under German occupation the monastery was reopened (1942) thanks to Bishop Ihnatii — and closed again by the Bolsheviks in 1949. It returned to life only on 13 July 1993 as a skete of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. St Iona, canonized as Venerable Iona of Kyiv, laboured on this very spot and was buried near the cathedral; in Soviet times his relics were secretly transferred to the Zvirynets cemetery. [3][4][5]

Architecture and shrines

Holy Trinity Cathedral (1871–1872) — seven-part composition, the All Saints side-altar of 1897 by V. Nikolayev.
Clock tower (1858) — once the southerner greeting of travellers arriving by the Dnipro.
Church-belfry and remnants of the 1903 giant bell tower’s foundations.
St Iona’s places: the site of his cell and the memorial at Zvirynets cemetery.
Neighbourhood: Hryshko National Botanical Garden, Vydubychi monastery panorama.

Practical information

Address: Kyiv, 1 Tymiriazivska St. (Zvirynets, adjoining the Hryshko National Botanical Garden).
Getting there: metro “Vydubychi”, then a 15–20 minute uphill walk through Zvirynets.
Services: daily (the monastery follows the Lavra typikon); festive Liturgy on Trinity and on the feast of St Iona (13 October).
Access: open to pilgrims; the territory adjoins the Botanical Garden — a quiet walk route.
Dress code: usual for an Orthodox monastery; women — headscarf.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the monastery called “Ioninsky”?

After its founder — Venerable Iona of Kyiv (1810–1902), the ascetic to whom the Mother of God appeared on the Zvirynets hills. [3][5]

How many monks lived here before the revolution?

Over 800 brethren; pilgrims numbered up to one hundred thousand a year, making it one of the largest communities of Kyiv. [3][7]

What happened at the monastery in 1929–1935?

Services ceased 17 November 1929; by 1934 the monastery was closed, the bell tower dismantled (bricks going to the Holosiiv building site), and in 1935 the grounds passed to the Botanical Garden. [1][6]

Where are the relics of St Iona?

His grave near the cathedral was obliterated; the relics were secretly moved to the Zvirynets cemetery, where they are venerated today. [5]

Is the monastery related to the Botanical Garden?

Yes: the Hryshko Botanical Garden was created in 1935–1936 precisely on the grounds of the closed Ioninsky monastery and neighbouring estates. [1][6]

Conclusion

The Ioninsky monastery is proof that holiness does not need antiquity: founded by the prayer of a single monk, in half a century it became the “third Lavra” of Kyiv — the estate of Venerable Iona, of the giant bell and of the clock that once greeted steamships on the Dnipro, today ringing again over Vydubychi. [3][5]