page_title: Near Caves
hierarchical_section_title: Near Caves
context_page_description: The Near Caves or the Caves of Saint Anthony are historic caves and a network of tunnels of the medieval cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The Near Caves have a total length of 383 metres and are 5 to 20 metres deep.
  The Near Caves were founded when in 1057, Saint Varlaam was appointed as the first hegumen of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra by Saint Anthony. Monk Anthony withdrew himself from the monastery and later settled on a new hill, where he dug out a new underground cell, now called the Near Caves.
context_section_description: The Near Caves or the Caves of Saint Anthony(Ukrainian: Ближні печери, Blyzhni pechery; Russian: Ближние пещеры, Blizhnie peschery) are historic caves and a network of tunnels of the medieval cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The Near Caves have a total length of 383 metres and are 5 to 20 metres deep (see map).
  The Near Caves were founded when in 1057, Saint Varlaam was appointed as the first hegumen (abbot) of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra by Saint Anthony. Monk Anthony withdrew himself from the monastery and later settled on a new hill, where he dug out a new underground cell, now called the Near Caves.
caption: The Near Caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Drawn by author Abraham van Westerveld in 1651.
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