Hustynia Monastery: The Hustynia Chronicle, Hetmans Samoilovych And Mazepa, The 'Second Lavra' And A Visitor Guide • Monasteries, Monasteries: Chernihiv Oblast

Hustynia Holy Trinity Monastery in the village of Hustynia, Chernihiv Oblast, is a former “Cossack monastery” to which Ukrainian history owes two treasures at once: the Hustynia Chronicle, an outstanding work of historiography written here in the 17th century, and the ensemble of the Trinity Cathedral — a masterpiece of Ukrainian Baroque built at the expense of Hetman Ivan Samoilovych. In its day it was the wealthiest monastery of Left-Bank Ukraine after the Kyiv Caves Lavra, popularly nicknamed “the second Lavra.” [2][3][5]

At a glance

Full name: Holy Trinity Hustynia Monastery.
Location: village of Hustynia, Pryluky district, Chernihiv Oblast, near the Udai River, about 12 km from Pryluky.
Founded: 1600, by the monks Ioasaf and hieromonk Athanasius, both from Mount Athos.
Main landmark: Trinity Cathedral (1674–1676) in Ukrainian Baroque style.
Literary fame: the Hustynia Chronicle (1620s).
Patrons (ktitors): the Vyshnevetsky princes, Hetmans Ivan Samoilovych and Ivan Mazepa, Colonels Horlenko.
Status: architectural monument of national importance; a functioning women’s monastery.

History of Hustynia Monastery

An island in the thicket: the founding in 1600

The monastery dates back to 1600. The monk Ioasaf, together with hieromonk Athanasius, came from Mount Athos and, with the blessing of the Kyiv Caves Lavra superior Yelysei Pletenetsky, settled in seclusion on an island in the Udai floodplain, amid dense forest. The name Hustynia is said to derive from that “thicket” (hushcha). [2][3][5]

The young monastery was taken under the patronage of the Vyshnevetsky princes. In 1612 Mykhailo Vyshnevetsky wrote to his stewards instructing them to give every assistance to Fathers Athanasius and Isaiah of the Caves in building the monastery; the monks obtained ownership rights to the island from Prince Mykhailo Korybut Vyshnevetsky. Princess Raina Mohylianka-Vyshnevetska also supported it. The first buildings were wooden: the Holy Trinity Church (1614), the Dormition Church (1624), cells and a fence. In 1620 Hustynia was visited by Patriarch Theophanes. [2][4][8]

The Hustynia Chronicle — the voice of the Cossack age

In 1623–1627 the monastery produced the Hustynia Chronicle, an outstanding monument of Ukrainian historiography. Its anonymous author set out the history of Ukraine from Kyivan Rus to the late 16th century, drawing on Old Rus’, Polish, Lithuanian and Byzantine sources with references in the margins, in a language close to the vernacular Ukrainian of the time. The work became widely known after hieromonk Mykhailo Losytsky compiled its main copy in 1670. [3][4][6]

A separate “Chronicle of the Founding of Hustynia Monastery” covers 1600–1640: from it we learn that the Trinity Church “stands on the bodies of three martyrs,” about the moat dug in 1639 on the orders of hegumen Vasyl amid fears of raids, and other details of everyday monastic life. [9]

The Khmelnytsky era, a patriarch’s visit and a devastating fire

In 1648 insurgent detachments plundered the monastery, but Bohdan Khmelnytsky took the community under his personal “protection and defence” and secured its landholdings. In 1654, travelling from Kyiv to Moscow, the Antiochian Patriarch Macarius visited Hustynia with his son Paul of Aleppo, who left an admiring description — the Arab travellers were especially struck by the beauty of the Trinity Church iconostasis. [2][5]

In 1671 disaster struck: a devastating fire destroyed almost all the wooden buildings. The ruin was so terrible that the monks decided to rebuild the monastery on a new site — by the dam leading across the Udai to the Romny road, where the community stands today. [2][9]

Hetmans Samoilovych and Mazepa: the heyday of the “second Lavra”

In 1674–1676, funded by Hetman Ivan Samoilovych, the monumental five-domed stone Trinity Cathedral was built; it was consecrated on 23 May 1675, the feast of the Holy Trinity, by Chernihiv Archbishop Lazar Baranovych. As the ktitor, Samoilovych was portrayed on the cathedral wall: in 1845 this fresco portrait was described by Taras Shevchenko, who visited the “half-ruins” on assignment for the Kyiv Archaeographic Commission. [1][5]

In 1695, at the expense of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, a stone Dormition Church with a refectory and bakery was erected. The hetman donated 500 gold coins yearly to Hustynia Monastery. The community was also cared for by the Pryluky colonels Lazar Horlenko and his son Dmytro — the family vault of the Horlenkos and Markovyches lay beneath the Trinity Cathedral. [2][5][7]

The Cossack starshyna endowed the monastery with lands, villages and farmsteads. By the mid-18th century it owned more than 3,000 desiatinas of land in Chernihiv gubernia and over 3,000 peasant “souls.” In wealth it conceded only to the Kyiv Caves Lavra, so people called it the “second Lavra.” On 15 May 1844, at Trinity feast, the new monastery gate was solemnly opened; the Resurrection (Refectory) Church acquired its present appearance in the same period. [5][9]

The closure of 1924 and the Soviet tragedy

Peaceful life ended with the 1917 revolution. In 1920 the Pryluky district education department became the monastery’s “manager” and set up a children’s colony here. The liquidation commission became active in 1923: the last archimandrite, Serhii Lubentsov, and the 48 remaining brethren were allotted only a bell-house and a shed; churches were closed, land and property confiscated. In March 1924 the monastery was officially closed; the children’s commune occupied its walls until the early 1940s. [2][5]

In the 1930s there were plans to destroy the ensemble completely, but the public defended it. Inside the Trinity Cathedral the ktitor portraits of Vyshnevetsky and Mazepa were destroyed, the Horlenko family vault was filled in, and the precious vestments were ripped off the icons and melted down. [2][9]

A women’s monastery: from 1943 to today

In 1943, during the German occupation, nuns from the closed Ladan Intercession Monastery were allowed to settle here: the community was revived as a women’s monastery under hegumeness Yevstoliya. According to the Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine it was closed again in 1953; other sources say the women’s community functioned until 1959. Some icons were taken in time to the Presentation Cathedral in Pryluky; the rest burned down together with the church in the village of Riashky, where Fr Mykola had moved them. [2][6][10]

In 1993 the monastery was restored as an active women’s community. Led by hegumeness Vira, the nuns set about rebuilding the ruined churches — and today Hustynia welcomes pilgrims again. [6][7]

Architecture of the ensemble

Hustynia is a unique ensemble in the Ukrainian Baroque style that strongly influenced church building in Left-Bank Ukraine. [7]

Trinity Cathedral (1674–1676) — a monumental five-domed structure on a high basement, funded by Ivan Samoilovych; beneath it lies an old crypt with the burials of the Horlenko and Markovych families.
Dormition Church (1695) — a foundation of Ivan Mazepa with a refectory; in 1845 the Repnin princes’ burial vault was arranged beneath it.
Resurrection (Refectory) Church — begun in the 17th century, it acquired its present appearance in 1844.
The gate complex — solemnly opened in spring 1844, on the feast of the Holy Trinity.

Practical information for pilgrims

Getting there: Hustynia village is 12 km from Pryluky (Chernihiv Oblast); from Kyiv — about 170 km via Pryluky.
Type: active women’s monastery; services follow a schedule — keep silence on the grounds.
Dress code: women — skirt below the knee and a headscarf; men — long trousers.
Cost: entry free; guided walks around the grounds by arrangement with the sisters.
Must-see: Trinity Cathedral, Dormition Church, the monastery gate.
Nearby: Pryluky with its Presentation Cathedral, to which some Hustynia icons were moved in the 1920s.

FAQ

Who founded Hustynia Monastery?

In 1600 — the monk Ioasaf and hieromonk Athanasius from Mount Athos, with the blessing of the Kyiv Caves Lavra superior Yelysei Pletenetsky. The Vyshnevetsky princes became its protectors. [2][3]

What is the Hustynia Chronicle?

An outstanding work of Ukrainian historiography from the 1620s: a history of Ukraine from Kyivan Rus to the late 16th century, written in a language close to vernacular. The main copy was compiled in 1670 by hieromonk Mykhailo Losytsky. [3][4]

Why was Hustynia called the “second Lavra”?

In the 18th century the monastery owned over 3,000 desiatinas of land and 3,000 peasant souls, making it the richest community of Left-Bank Ukraine after the Kyiv Caves Lavra. [5]

Who built Trinity Cathedral?

It was funded by Hetman Ivan Samoilovych in 1674–1676 and consecrated on 23 May 1675 by Chernihiv Archbishop Lazar Baranovych. Taras Shevchenko described the ktitor portrait of Samoilovych on the cathedral wall in 1845. [1][5]

Is the monastery active today?

Yes: after Soviet-era closures (1924 and the 1950s) it has functioned as a women’s monastery since 1993. [2][6]

Conclusion

Hustynia is a place where Ukrainian history was not only “made” but written down: the chronicle composed here shaped how we see the Cossack age. Wealthy hetmans building a cathedral to be “most beautiful,” occupation and communes, ktitor portraits someone tried to erase, and the nuns who raised the community from ruin — this long thread makes Hustynia one of the most eloquent witnesses of Ukrainian monasticism. [2][5][6]

Hustynia Monastery: the Hustynia Chronicle, Hetmans Samoilovych and Mazepa, the ‘Second Lavra’ and a Visitor Guide