Krekhiv
Encyclopedia
Krekhiv is a village in the Lviv Oblast
(Province
) of Ukraine
, located within the densely forested Roztochia Upland about 10km west of Zhovkva
and 50km north of Lviv
at around 50°2′56"N 23°48′43"E. The village is famous for its Basilian monastery which is a popular pilgrimage site.
The monastery was established in the 16th century by two monks from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Joel and Silvester, who settled in nearby caves. Around 1612 or 1618 the owner of Zhovkva, Stanisław Żółkiewski offered the monks land to build their monastery, later surrounded with fortifications during the second half of the 17th century to defend it from roaming Tatar hordes. In the 18th century the monasteries prosperity rose and wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones which stand there today. At the beginning of the 19th century it suffered from the policies of Austrian emperor Joseph, however by the end of the century it was one of the main centers of the rebirth of Ukrainian monasticism. The hardest time for Krekhiv came with the advent of soviet occupation in 1939, by 1949 the monastery was closed and many of the monks were martyred in soviet prisons while others had to live undercover. With the collapse of the soviet union the monastery was reopened on 29 August 1990 and the complex has undergone a thorough renovation.
The monastery is known for its miracle working icons of the Mother of God and of St. Nicholas. The largest annual pilgrimage to Krekhiv is held on the Feast of the Translation of St. Nicholas on May 22 (May 9 according to the Julian calendar
).
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
(Province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, located within the densely forested Roztochia Upland about 10km west of Zhovkva
Zhovkva
Zhovkva is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine, north of Lviv. It is the administrative center of the Zhovkivskyi Raion . The current estimated population is 13,500.-History:...
and 50km north of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
at around 50°2′56"N 23°48′43"E. The village is famous for its Basilian monastery which is a popular pilgrimage site.
The monastery was established in the 16th century by two monks from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Joel and Silvester, who settled in nearby caves. Around 1612 or 1618 the owner of Zhovkva, Stanisław Żółkiewski offered the monks land to build their monastery, later surrounded with fortifications during the second half of the 17th century to defend it from roaming Tatar hordes. In the 18th century the monasteries prosperity rose and wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones which stand there today. At the beginning of the 19th century it suffered from the policies of Austrian emperor Joseph, however by the end of the century it was one of the main centers of the rebirth of Ukrainian monasticism. The hardest time for Krekhiv came with the advent of soviet occupation in 1939, by 1949 the monastery was closed and many of the monks were martyred in soviet prisons while others had to live undercover. With the collapse of the soviet union the monastery was reopened on 29 August 1990 and the complex has undergone a thorough renovation.
The monastery is known for its miracle working icons of the Mother of God and of St. Nicholas. The largest annual pilgrimage to Krekhiv is held on the Feast of the Translation of St. Nicholas on May 22 (May 9 according to the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
).