YalTa: CriMea's PreMiere resorT

Фото / Photo: dreamstime.com
The Uspensky Cathedral, belltower and other
buildings of the Pochayivska Lavra stand atop a hill in
Ukraine’s western Ternopil region, an area rich in history and
long a crossroads for many cultures. A feeling found perhaps
only in Pochayiv is that of the mystery which emanates from
buildings erected to pay devotion to a higher power. A clerical
legend says that St. Mary, the Mother of God, once revealed
herself on Pochayiv Hill in the 13th century and left her right
footprint in the moist soil, giving rise to a spring in that very
place. Each year thousands make the pilgrimage to Pochayiv,
believing the Lavra’s divine waters can soothe and heal afflictions
of the body and mind.
The approaches to the town of Pochayiv are flanked by endless
green fields in summer or frozen, snow-clad plains in winter.
The sacred hill and golden domes of the Lavra mark the spiritual
heart of the local people and give a glimpse of a life lived in long
past. For centuries the history of this unique Orthodox shrine
has been recorded and its symbolism revered through prayer and
noble Christian sacrifice.
Поднявшись на вершину холма, где расположилась лавра,
ощущаешь близость неба! На Тернопольщине, в Западной
Украине, немало возвышенностей и строений
разных веков, связанных с мирскими и церковными реалиями.
Почему же возникает ощущение особого величия этого места?
Церковное предание гласит, что на Почаевской горе в ХШ веке
явилась Божья Матерь и оставила на влажной земле отпечаток
своей правой стопы. На этом месте тут же забил святой источник,
исцеливший тысячи больных людей.
При подъезде к Почаеву меж бескрайних зеленых полей или
зимой среди стылой равнины взору вдруг открывается Святая
гора с золочеными куполами, словно мираж легендарного
града Китежа. Здесь зримо ощущается, как началась и продолжает
укрепляться в молитвах и наяву многовековая захватывающая
история православного святого места.
Согласно легенде, около 1240 года в скитах и пещерах Святой
горы обосновались иноки Киево-Печерской лавры, которые вынуждены
были искать здесь убежище от татарского нашествия.
Выбрать пристанищем именно это место помогло знамение.
Пресвятая Богородица в огненном столпе внезапно предстала
на вершине горы перед двумя иноками и пастухом по имени
Иосиф и оставила на земле свой видимый и по сию пору след.
Сейчас на этом месте возвышается величественный Успенский
собор, построенный в ХVIII веке. В его центре в раке, подобной
алтарю, – мироточащий след святой стопы. На алтарной
стене – изображение Матери Божией в огненном столпе. Святой
источник под ажурным куполом находится вне пределов
храма. К нему никогда не редеет поток верующих и туристов.
Иконостас Успенского собора выполнен академиком Нестеровым.
В нем тридцать две иконы, написанные лучшими
российскими живописцами: Лавровым, Горбуновым и Васи-
premier
landmark
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According to legend a group of monks from the Kyiv Pecherska
Lavra came to Pochayiv to settle the area in 1240 following the
Mongol invasion of Kyiv. St. Mary suddenly appeared atop the hill
to two monks and a local peasant named Josef, and so it was on
this land that the Pochayivska Lavra churches now stand.
Today the Assumption Cathedral of the 18th century anchors the
Lavra grounds, and inside is the sacred footprint, surrounded by
an artist’s rendering of the holy fire that emanated from St. Mary
when she appeared before the monks. The sacred spring is now
covered by a beautiful cupola and is a popular site for many.
The altar of the Assumption Cathedral, made by the Russian
academician Nesterov, includes thirty-two icons painted by
skilled Russian painters Lavrov, Gorbunov and Vasiliev. Russian
Tsars Nicholas I and Alexander II used to visit and pray at this
beautiful cathedral, kneeling before the famous icons.
The icon of St. Mary was painted in ancient Constantinople (today’s
Istanbul) and later brought to what is now Ternopil region by the
Greek bishop Neophyte in 1559. As the bishop travelled around the
area he was welcomed to stay for a night at the home of a devout
noble woman named Anna Goiska, famous for her charitable
works and support for travellers. Deeply impressed with Goiska’s
strong Christian beliefs and by her family’s tragedy (Goiska’s brother
was born blind), Neophyte decided to leave his ancient icon
with Anna. As legend goes her payers before the icon produced
a miracle, as her brother eventually regained his sight. The family
decided that such a miraculous icon must belong to all people, so
they donated it to the monks. Goiska herself did considerable work
to facilitate the construction of the monastery and also donated
vast plots of land to the monastery in 1597. By the end of the 16th
century, the Lavra took on a new look, with believers the world
over coming to worship before this miraculous icon also.
Throughout history there has been but one attempt to steal the
icon of Pochayiv, and not only was the icon returned, but its
thieves also punished. In 1623 a group of armed servants of Ferlei,
a reckless relation of the noble Goiskas, stole the miraculous
icon from the monastery and took it to his mansion. There he
and his wife gathered a large audience of locals to view and mock
the Pochayiv icon. But upon viewing it, Ferlei’s wife took ill and
was instantly paralysed. Ferlei nearly went out of his mind with
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Summer ‘10