Back to main menu | to historical-architechtural sights

Sviato-Troyits'kyi Monastery, the XVI - XVIII centuries. Preservation Number #756 | Foto
Town of Sataniv

Sviato-Troyits'kyi Monastery

Father Volodymyr, Superior, Sviato-Troyits'kyi Monastery

Unfortunately, history has saved neither the date of the foundation of the Monastery, nor the names of the people involved in its foundation. They say, it was founded circa the ղ century. It is known that that has been the same time as the appearance of the cave monasteries in Russ'. These monasteries were hewed in rocks, rising above the Dnipro and Zbruch Rivers. We can consider Satanivs'kyi Monastery to be one of these. In the monastery caves, a hermit monk found shelter and soon his followers had joined him, building the walls of Sviato-Troyits'kyi Monastery.
We need not have a rich imagination to see the Monastery with eyes of our ancient ancestors. From three sides, it is surrounded by walls of 2 m thickness with a height of 6 m. From the fourth, the northern side, there is an insurmountable stone precipice and a steep mountain with artificial caves that reaches the bank of the Zbruch River. At one of these walls, there are dwelling houses with narrow windows/loopholes and Gothic vaults. There are also cells there. Above the entrance to the yard, there is a three-storied bell tower with the gates next to it. These stone walls have stood there for around several centuries, strengthened by a lime solution.
There were three churches on the territory of the Monastery, one of which was built by our Ukrainian ancestors in honour of the Trinity and Mykola, the Miracle-Worker. Once, while demolising a wooden church which was ruined by time, workmen found the inscription, 1600 ���� ("the year of 1600").
It is known, that since 1707, the Monastery belonged to the representatives of the Uniate church. These times were rough and the underground monastery casemates remind us of it. Stories say that people were tortured and even buried alive there... Not everybody had an opportunity to leave that place.
In 1711, at the peak of his reign, the Russian sovereign, Peter I, passed through Sataniv. However, he did not pass by the Sataniv Monastery. We are not able to know what he was talking about with the monastery monks, but this conversation would be very interesting, because the times were rich with historical events - wars - when the fortune was on the side of the side of the strongest, or on the side of the smartest, but the guileful were lucky too.
In 1733, the monastery passed into the hands of the Orthodox church.
In 1744, the monks placed the clock in the monastery. On the northern side of the church, they fixed the stone flag and skilfully cut out a dial-plate of it. In the centre, there was an ancient Podillian emblem - a smiling face - and at the foot of it there were numbers in a form of a semicircle that remained till today.
During many centuries, near the walls of the monastery and on surrounding lands, the fights of the Polish, Lithuanian feudal lords, Turkish and Tatar conquerors took place. However, in the Monastery, prayer service was conducted without stopping for a single day. That is why even today, God's grace is felt not only by believers. A big nut tree, which grows on the highest hill, has gathered marvellous force inside. It is enough to sit under its crown and a person will be filled with peace and accumulate the vital energy.
As for the inhabitants of the Monastery, we can say that the famous chronicler Arseniy Satanivs'kyi came from there, who soon was at court of the Russian Tsar, Myhaylo Fedorovych. The Monastery had close contacts with Kyievo-Mohylians'ka Academy, a printing-house of Kyievo-Pechers'ka Lavra. In 1899, it became a nunnery. In 1929, with the coming of a Soviet rule, the Monastery was closed and ruined.
Only in 1942, at the time of fascist occupation, the work of the Monastery was renewed. The monks under the supervision of Mother Superior Raphaila restored the church and cells and took up farming. They cultivated the land, kept cattle, made carpets and pillows for retail, and helped the families, which were poor and had many children.
Soon, the spring with healing water rose from the ground near the Monastery and pilgrimages began there. We can say that the monastery had reached the top of its development and became a pearl of Podillia.
Then, in 1962, the Monastery was closed by the Soviet rule again. The church belongings were taken to the trash dump of the neighbouring village. The buildings were ruined.
The healinhg water had better luck. Geologists had analysed the chemical composition of the underground water and ascertained that it is not inferior to the well-known "Naftusia" in its quality. By the way, it is not the only spring with healing waters. The same quality of water is found in the neighbouring Spasivka Village's spring. The divine service was once carrying out there. This gave the local authorities a reason to immure the spring.
Then, the year 1989 came, when Sviato-Troyits'kyi Monastery again passed into the hands of the Orthodox community. Then a restoration of this monument of architecture began.
Observing the history of the Monastery, we could say, that God presented the people these healing springs - the waters that treats without an operating knife - due to the prayers for mental and physical renovation of the soul and body.

Translated by Yana Anufriyeva
mail to: [email protected]