Univ Lavra
Encyclopedia
Lavra
In Orthodox Christianity and certain other Eastern Christian communities Lavra or Laura originally meant a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center...
of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. It is situated in Peremyshliany Raion
Peremyshliany Raion
Peremyshliany Raion is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Peremyshliany. It has a population of 47 763.It was established in 1939.-See also:* Subdivisions of Ukraine* Lviv Oblast...
, Lviv Oblast
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...
. The monastery houses about 100 Studite Brethren
Studite Brethren
Studite Brethren are a religious society of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.The Studite rule was developed at the Stoudios monastery of Constantinople, from the 5th century onward, especially by Saint Theodore the Studite . The rule was brought to Kievan Rus in the 11th century by Saint...
.
The original Orthodox monastery was founded ca. 1400 by Theodore, the son of Liubartas. Parts of the 15th century walls survive. The abbey was surrounded by a high rampart and a deep moat. The main church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
. It was built after a Tatar raid in 1548 and looks like a small fortress. A two-storey bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
from the 1630s stands nearby.
In the 18th century Univ housed a printing house. The monastery was disbanded in 1790. Mykhajlo Levitsky transformed the property into his residence. The moat was filled in and parts of the medieval wall were demolished. Levitsky's summer palace dates from the 1820s. The lavra was re-established in 1904 on the basis of the Krystinopil Basil Monastery by the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky
Andrey Sheptytsky
Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1901 until his death. During his tenure, he led the Church through two world wars and seven political regimes: Austrian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Soviet, German National Socialist , and...
.