First sightseeing trip in Kiev to Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery)

Here we are as we begin our tour of the Pechersk Lavra or "Cave Monastery".  Left to right:  Marcia, Sister Graves, Brother Graves, Kristina Powell, Alan Powell holding Ben and our tour guide Helena.

Walking toward the entry.  It is a working Monastery with many monks living here.  It was built originally by Saint Anthony in 1051 A.D.  He started underground, building tunnels and sanctuaries in the caves.

There are many Cathedrals on the Monastery Grounds.  This was the first one we went in and the walls were covered with paintings of different Saints and elaborate gold work.

Looking up at the dome of the Cathedral and all the paintings.  The one in the dome depicts Christ.

Here we are looking up at the dome and trying to understand all Helena is telling us.  They don't have any benches in their cathedrals.  They stand as the service is being conducted.

 The Saint in the black robe on the left is Saint Cyril.  He was the creator of the Cyrillic Alphabet which is used in the Russian language.

Another view of the Cathedral we were just in.

We are approaching the Dormition Cathedral.  It was bombed completely during World War II.  The Russians actually bombed it but blamed it on the Germans.  It has been rebuilt and is still under construction in some areas.

This Bell Tower is very famous in Kyiv.  As you can see they are doing work on it, so we weren't able to go up inside it.  The gazebo to the right of the tower displays a large rock from the original Dormition Cathedral.

A close-up view of the only remaining piece of the original Dormition Cathedral.

The paintings and ornate gold work inside the Dormition Cathedral.

The dome of the Dormition Cathedral was very interesting to us.  Here they depict Christ on the left, the Holy Ghost is the dove, and Heavenly Father on the right.  We thought it interesting that they depicted the Godhead as three distinct personages as we believe.

The back view of the Dormition Cathedral.

Rodina Mat, or Motherland Monument constructed as a World War II Memorial.  She stands on a war museum and looks across the Dnieper River over Kyiv.  She was finished in 1981.  She is 203 feet tall and weighs 560 tons.  The ILP (international language program) girls in our Branch call her the "Big Mama".  You can see that she is very close to the Monastery.

Looking from the Monastery across the Dneiper River to the other side of Kyiv.

They figure this tree is from the 1500's.

There are chruches all over Kyiv.  This one is just outside the walls of the Monastery.  Again, left to right:  Kristina Powell, Alan Powell holding Ben, Brother Graves and Sister Graves, Marcia and Jay.

Another Cathedral near the Monastery.

We ended our trip at a Ukranian Thatched-Roof Restaurant.  The food was a little different, but good.