Trinity-Elijah Monastery (Chernihiv): The Caves Of Anthony Of The Caves And Mazepa's Cathedral — History And Guide • Monasteries, Monasteries: Chernihiv Oblast

The Trinity-Elijah Monastery (Troitsko-Illinskyi) on the Boldyni Hills in Chernihiv is one of the oldest monasteries of Ukraine — according to the chronicle, founded around 1069 by none other than Venerable Anthony of the Caves. It is the only cave monastery of Chernihiv: beneath the hills survive the famous Anthony Caves, a four-level underground complex of the 11th century, while above them rises the Trinity Cathedral, one of the finest examples of Ukrainian Baroque, built with the participation of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. [1][2][4]

At a glance

Full name: Trinity-Elijah Monastery (former men’s monastery) of Chernihiv.
Location: Chernihiv, Boldyni Hills, south-western edge of the historic centre.
Founded: c. 1069, by St Anthony of the Caves according to the chronicle tradition.
Main landmarks: Anthony Caves (11th c.), St Elijah Church (12th c.), Trinity Cathedral (1679–1695).
Feature: the only cave monastery of Chernihiv; nearby — the ancient barrow necropolis of the Boldyni Hills.
Status: monuments belong to the “Ancient Chernihiv” National Architectural-Historical Reserve; Trinity Cathedral is an active church and the residence of the diocesan bishop.

History of the Trinity-Elijah Monastery

The cave of Anthony of the Caves (1069)

According to the Hypatian Chronicle, the monastery began with Anthony of the Caves — the founder of monasticism in Rus’. Banished from Kyiv by Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavych, Anthony came around 1069 to the Boldyni Hills (“bold” in Old Slavic means an oak; an oak grove once rustled here), dug a cave in the ravine and settled for prayer. The chronicle relates that the prince secretly brought Anthony back to Kyiv, but the cave remained. [2][3][9]

That same year, tradition says, Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavych of Chernihiv raised a wooden church of the Prophet Elijah above the cave — and so the monastery was born. The caves dug by Anthony and his followers eventually became a multi-level underground complex of cells, necropolises and cave churches known today as the Anthony Caves: four underground levels, two of them still unexplored. In pagan times the hills hosted shrines; in the Middle Ages the caves served locals as hiding places from Tatar raids. [1][2][4]

The 12th-century Elijah Church and the Mongol ruin

In the mid-12th century Chernihiv builders replaced the wooden church with a three-part single-domed masonry St Elijah Church — it still stands today. In 1237–1239, during the Mongol sack of Chernihiv by Batu’s troops, the monastery buildings were destroyed; the complex decayed in the 14th century, part of the cave passages being filled in. Archaeology proves that monastic life continued in the 14th–16th centuries, but by the early 17th century the monastery no longer functioned. [2][3][4]

Revival: Colonel Podobailo and the Cossack age

In 1649 the monastery was revived at the expense of the Chernihiv colonel Stepan Podobailo — acting hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine — through the efforts of Hieromonk Zosima Tyshevych: the Elijah Church was restored and received the three-dome finish typical of Cossack-era Ukrainian sacral architecture. Podobailo was killed in 1654 at the battle of Staryi Bykhiv and was buried in the Elijah Church he had restored. The monastery then became known as a centre of church painting. [2][3][5]

Baranovych and Mazepa: the birth of Trinity Cathedral

In 1672 Archbishop Lazar Baranovych — an outstanding church, political and cultural figure of the late 17th century — moved to Chernihiv from Novhorod-Siverskyi. On his initiative construction began of a new “upper” part of the monastery on the highest plateau of the Boldyni Hills: cells in 1672, the Intercession refectory church in 1677, and in 1679 the foundation of the grand Trinity Cathedral. A verse inscription in Church Slavonic above the cathedral’s eastern gate still records the foundation date — the end of April 1679. [1][4][5]

Construction lasted seventeen years: funded by Chernihiv colonel Vasyl Dunin-Borkovskyi and Hetman Ivan Mazepa; most researchers attribute the design to the Vilnius architect Johann Baptist Sauer. The church was consecrated in 1695 — and from that time the Elijah Monastery became known as the Trinity-Elijah Monastery. [3][4][5]

From 1679 to 1820 the Chernihiv printing house, transferred from Novhorod-Siverskyi, operated in the monastery, and the monastery library held more than 11,000 books. By the mid-18th century the monastery ran a huge feudal economy: nearly 10,000 serfs, 24 villages, dozens of windmills and factories. There was even a plan to host the Chernihiv University here, but the idea was abandoned after the death of its patron, Prince Grigory Potemkin. [4][5]

The 1786 secularization: a bishops’ residence

In 1786, by order of Catherine II, the monastery’s estates were secularized, and in 1790 the monastery became the residence of the Chernihiv archbishops — the “Archbishop’s House”: the bishop moved here from the Borysohlibskyi Monastery, and the Elijah Church became a parish church. The Trinity church functioned as a parish until 1929. A necropolis existed on the grounds; near the cathedral survive brick chapels, one of which holds the ashes of the Russian diplomat and Chernihiv native Hryhorii Shcherbyna, killed in Serbia in 1903. [1][4][5]

The 20th century: from a zootechnicum to a women’s convent

Before World War II the monastery buildings were used by a zootechnical school. In November 1941, during the German occupation, an active women’s monastery was revived here under Abbess Antoniya (Sorokina). The buildings were heavily damaged by the bombings of 1941 and 1943. The convent operated until 1961–1962. [1][4]

From 1967 the complex became part of the Chernihiv State Architectural-Historical Reserve. In 1974–1988 a large-scale restoration was carried out under architect Marionila Govdenko and painting restorer Volodymyr Babiuk, after which the cathedral regained its original 17th-century forms with its characteristic seven domes. In 1988 the buildings were handed over to the church community. [4][5]

The Anthony Caves and the Elijah Church

Beneath the Boldyni Hills stretches a four-level underground labyrinth — a unique monument of underground construction, a contemporary of the Kyiv Caves Lavra. Monks’ cells, cave churches and a necropolis survive here; the caves still bear the name of Anthony of the Caves. Today they form an exhibition of the “Ancient Chernihiv” National Reserve; the Elijah Church above the cave entrance is under restoration. [1][7]

Architecture of the complex

Trinity Cathedral (1679–1695) — a three-nave cruciform domed church, today with seven domes after restoration; the dominant feature of the Chernihiv skyline.
St Elijah Church (12th c., rebuilt 1649) — a three-part single-domed monument of pre-Mongol Chernihiv architecture; the 17th-century restoration gave it a three-dome finish.
Intercession refectory church (1677), the bell tower, the bishop’s house, the wall with towers and the cell buildings.
Anthony Caves (11th–19th c.) — four levels of underground passages; two levels remain unexplored.

Since the 1990s the hegumen’s building hosts a theological school training priests and choir conductors; the former monastery remains the residence of the Archbishop of Chernihiv. [5]

Practical information for pilgrims

Getting there: Chernihiv, Illinska St.; from the Detynets — a 10–15 minute walk up the Boldyni Hills.
The complex: Trinity Cathedral is open for services; the Anthony Caves and Elijah Church lie within the reserve (restoration).
View: the Boldyni Hills offer the best panorama of Chernihiv — the ramparts, the Desna river, the Transfiguration Cathedral.
Necropolis: the ancient burial mounds of the Boldyni Hills are a unique urban barrow cemetery.
Dress code: as for an active church; women should cover their heads.
Martial law: Chernihiv region may be at risk — check air-raid alerts before travelling.

FAQ

Who founded the Trinity-Elijah Monastery?

Around 1069 — Venerable Anthony of the Caves, who dug his cave here; Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavych raised a wooden church of the Prophet Elijah above it, giving the monastery the first half of its name. [2][3]

Why is it called “Trinity-Elijah”?

Originally it was the Elijah Monastery. In 1695, after the consecration of the new great Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the monastery was renamed Trinity-Elijah. [2][4]

Who built the present Trinity Cathedral?

The initiator was Archbishop Lazar Baranovych; the funds came from Colonel Vasyl Dunin-Borkovskyi and Hetman Ivan Mazepa; construction ran 1679–1695, probably to a design by Johann Baptist Sauer. [4][5]

What makes the Anthony Caves famous?

A four-level 11th-century cave complex with cells, churches and necropolises, dug — by tradition — by Anthony of the Caves himself; two levels are still unexplored. [1][7]

Is the monastery active today?

Not as a monastery: the active parts are Trinity Cathedral and the bishop’s residence; the complex is cared for by the church and the “Ancient Chernihiv” reserve. [5][7]

Conclusion

The Boldyni Hills are Chernihiv on three levels: the pagan shrines of the oak grove, the caves of Anthony of the Caves’ own company, and a Baroque cathedral that took seventeen years of the hetman age to build. Few places in Ukraine let you walk from the 11th to the 17th century in a single stroll — one more reason to travel to the north of the country. [2][3][9]

Trinity-Elijah Monastery (Chernihiv): the caves of Anthony of the Caves and Mazepa’s cathedral — history and guide