Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery)

Ukraine is a religious country, surprisingly so since under communist rule hundreds of churches and cathedrals were destroyed.  The holiest site in Kiev is the Pechersk Lavra which is also known as the Monastery of the Caves was founded in 1051.  This center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a national sanctuary.  It is also a working and active monastery where hundreds of monks and nuns reside and is visited by hundreds of pilgrims every day.   Continue reading “Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery)”

Macabre Monkey

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Kongo visited the “Bone Church” in Sedlec, Czech Repubulic (near Kutna Hora), a town dating from the 13th century located about two hours outside of Prague (depending on traffic, road construction, and tour guides).

In the 1200s an abbot returned from Jerusalem with a bag of dirt from the Holy Lands and sprinkled a handful on the graveyard at the small chapel of the Queen of All Saints outside the medieval silver mining town of Kutna Hora. This made the cemetery so popular that people from all over central Europe wanted to be buried there. This really was one of those “to die for” places at the top of everyone’s last resting place list.

Continue reading “Macabre Monkey”