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Slavonic ANTONIJ PECHERSKIJ
X/XI Centuries
A native of Ukraine, Anthony (c. 983-1073) brought monasticism to
Russia. A solitary, he travelled c. 1028 to the Balkans or to Mt.
Athos. He became a hermit attached to the Esphigmenon monastery on
the Holy Mountain, at which the community followed the rule of Basil.
The Primary Chronicle relates that the abbot encouraged Anthony
to take Athonite practice to his native land. On his return, Anthony
settled in a cave in Mt. Berestov on the Dnieper, and disciples gathered
around him. He hoped to combine in the monastery, which came to be the
Pechersky Lavra, the communal life as practiced at the Studion and the
solitary life as taught by the Desert Fathers. Anthony's monastery, says
The Primary Chronicle, was founded, not through the donations of
the wealthy, but through the prayer and ascetical efforts of the monks.
Desiring greater solitude, Anthony resigned as abbot and appointed
Theodosius to succeed him. Anthony moved to a hermitage on Mt. Boldin
but returned to the Lavra of the Caves to die.
Karen Rae Keck
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