Ignatius and Nicandrus of Sinai
Laurence the Recluse of the Kiev Caves
Saint Laurence, Hermit of the Caves and Bishop of Turov, in the Near Caves at first lived as a hermit at the monastery of the Great Martyr Demetrius, built by Great Prince Izyaslav at Kiev near the Monastery of the Caves. Later, he transferred to the Kiev Caves monastery, and was glorified by a gift of healing.
He was elevated to the See of Turov in 1182 (Turov is a city in the Minsk region), and was a successor of Saint Cyril of Turov (April 28). He died in 1194, and was buried in the Near Caves. His memory is celebrated also on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra (In Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра; in Russian: Киево-Печерская Лавра) is a major Orthodox monastery located in Kiev, Ukraine, also referred to as the Monastery of the Kiev Caves. Founded during the times of Kievan Rus’ (1051 A.D.), the monastery has remained a major center of Orthodox Christianity in the Slavic world. OrthodoxWiki
Modern News
MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Monks from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra will not leave the monastery, neither in the upcoming days, nor at any other time, because Ukrainian authorities have no legal right to expel them, says Metropolitan Clement, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Information and Education Department.
According to the Metropolitan, the forcible removal of the monks, should it happen, will be illegal and will simply become proof of a serious human rights problem in Ukraine, with the fundamental rights to freedom of thought and religion. TASS
Gildas the Wise
Gildas (c. 450/500 – c. 570)) and Gildas Sapiens (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his religious polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, which recounts the history of the Britons before and during the coming of the Saxons. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during the sub-Roman period and was renowned for his Biblical knowledge and literary style. In his later life, he emigrated to Brittany, where he founded a monastery known as Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys.
He was educated at a monastic centre, the College of St. Illtud, where he chose to forsake his royal heritage and embrace monasticism. He became a renowned teacher, converting many to Christianity and founding numerous churches and monasteries throughout Britain and Ireland. He is thought to have made a pilgrimage to Rome before emigrating to Brittany, where he took on the life of a hermit. However, his life of solitude was short-lived, and pupils soon sought him out and begged him to teach them. He eventually founded a monastery for these students at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys in Brittany, where he wrote De Excidio Britanniae, criticising British rulers and exhorting them to put off their sins and embrace true Christian faith. He is thought to have died at Rhuys and was buried there.
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