It is called the Ukrainian Athos, visited by famous and ordinary people, praised by writers and poets. Manyavskiy skete for many centuries since its foundation remains one of the most famous monasteries of Ukraine, its visit will impress everyone who is interested in ancient holy places.
Many centuries ago, when the Slavic world was under the oppression of the Tatar-Mongol hordes, fleeing from the barbarians, several monks from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra reached here. The monks had with them water from the Lavra well, and while traveling, they were looking for a place where the water would have the same weight and taste as in their native monastery. Only on the territory where Maniava is now located did the monks find such a spring — it flowed in a cave covered by a stone vault, lost among the dense forest. The monks decided to settle in this cave, and their spiritual heritage later became a huge contribution to the creation of the Manyava Skete — it was they who opened this place to the Orthodox world. The male monastery was established 850 meters away from the Blessed Stone, where even today there is a spring whose waters, according to legends, cure all diseases.
The Maniavsk skete was established in 1606 by Job (Ivan) Knyaginitsky, a monk, icon painter, writer, a native of Mount Athos. Having settled here, he soon gathered around him similar servants of the Word of God, together with whom they founded the monastery. In 1612 the first wooden church was built, in 1619 — a larger Vozdvizhenskaya church, in 1621 the territory of the monastery was marked by a stone wall erected with three defensive towers, and by the end of the first quarter of the XVII century the architectural ensemble of the monastery was finally formed in the form in which it can be seen today. Of course, not all the buildings have survived to this day in their original form — so, of the churches survived only underground, where today there is a bleeding icon of the Mother of God, and the above-ground temples were erected in the 80-90-ies of the last century in place of the destroyed, but in full compliance with their original appearance.
For two centuries the monastery, which gained independence from the local rulers, was the main monastery in Western Ukraine, and 556 other monasteries were subordinated to it. A huge library of ancient books was collected here (most of them can be seen today in museums in Lviv and Vienna), a masterpiece of Ukrainian painting — Bogorodchansky iconostasis by Job Kondzelevich (today it is in the National Museum of Lviv) was created. The monks, two hundred of whom lived here during the heyday of the monastery, excelled in many trades, such as salt-making, rizblyarstvo, and icon painting. According to legends, the monks also possessed another «skill» — exorcism, they were also engaged in the treatment of diseases with the help of the so-called «black surgery», the main instrument of which were pincers, red-hot. Of course, such an ancient place cannot but have its mysterious legends, the most amazing of which include the legend that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared here twice.
In 1785 the Austrian government dissolved the Maniavskiy skete, since then it has been neglected for centuries, and its buildings were dilapidated. Only in the 80s of the last century a partial restoration was carried out here, after which the skete was established a historical-architectural museum, the exposition of which, including ancient household items found here, was placed in 20 rooms. Since 1990s the monastery was returned to its original function — today the Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Cross and Exaltation of the Holy Cross is functioning here, and 5 monks live here.
The servants are always happy to welcome guests and willingly tell about the history of the monastery, conduct excursions around the monastery, so visiting this attraction of Ukraine will not cause any difficulties. Traveling to this holy place, walking through its ancient underground corridors, contemplating the paintings in Church Slavonic restored on the walls of the towers will leave the deepest impression and indelible memory of vacation in Manjava.