MODERN HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE ORTHODOX MONASTERІES IN KYIV HISTORY: THE FORMULATION OF THE QUESTION

Abstract

The most popular in the modern studies are Monasteries in Kyiv. Such factors contribute to this: 1) Kyiv is one of the oldest Ukrainian cities where the first monastery was founded; 2) The monasticism exists over the most long period of time there; 3) In many points exactly monasteries of this city became a models for monastic practice of other regions; 4) There exactly the monasteries emerged which became the shrines for the entire Orthodox world and the centers of the Orthodox culture.

The central place in the historiography of the monasteries in Kyiv study occupies the history of Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery. In the post-Soviet period perhaps the greatest amount of scientific and popular researches was written about this monastery. Their characteristic feature is their versatility in different scientific areas and genres: purely historic, archaeological, biographical, art, source and monuments studies, etc. However a lack of historiographic researches is obvious among them.

Often the researches have been published by the scientists of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve. Chronologically these studies have a fairly broad framework that goes beyond the existence of only one monastery. The same can be said about other aspects of scientific interest (biographical, cultural contacts, interchurch relations, social situation, etc.). "Lavra Almanac" and "Mohyla Reading" are the leading scientific editions, where most materials on Kyiv-Pechersk monastery history have been published.

St Sophia, St Cyril, Presentation of the Virgin, Mezhyhirsky, St Michael, St lor monasteries etc. were the other Kyiv monasteries to which researchers have paid much attention. In some cases, you can meet also summarizing researches on the history of Kyiv monasteries (like M. Yaremenko’s studies on the history of Kyiv monasticism of the 18^th century). Of particular importance in modern historiography of Kyiv monasteries are monuments study because their goal is not only to study the existing monuments, but also lost ones (like the monograph of I. Margolina and V. Ulyanovsky about destroyed in 1936 bell tower of St Cyril monastery). Also the new direction in history was the study of Kyiv monastic cemeteries (St Flor, the Pechersk Monasteries). Archaeological researches are able to provide answers to the important questions on the history of the monasteries in the new social conditions and new methods of scientific work. In the post-Soviet period they have become regular in Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery. They showed the possibility to study the monastery territory using archaeological methods in diversity of chronological material as well as other aspects ( e.g. using anthropology). You must pay attention to the research of cave monastery complexes in the context of monuments studies. Most attention was given to Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery caves. At the same time the other cave complexes were studied. One of the first scholars who paid them attention was T. Bobrowsky. The idea of the existence of a number of cave monasteries in the vicinity of Kyiv is one of his concepts. They weren’t known from written sources, but archaeological finds testify to them. The cave complexes of Hnyletsky, Zverynetsky monasteries and Kytayevo hermitage etc. have been studied also. Thus, we should note today the presence of a sufficient for the quantitative characteristics and diverse historiographical basis to create a generalizing historiographical research on the history of monasteries in Kyiv.