Athonite delegation from Esphigmenou Monastery visited Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (VIDEO)

Archimandrite Bartholomew, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou on Mount Athos, visited Ukraine accompanied by a group of monks. At the invitation of Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, he presided over the Festal Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy marking the feast of Saint

Anthony of Kyiv, founder of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

During the Divine Liturgy, celebrated on Friday, July 10, 2026, at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Epifaniy was present in prayer. The hymns were chanted by the choir of Archon Protopsaltis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Grigorios Daravanoglou.

The presence of the Abbot and the Athonite fathers from the monastery where St. Anthony received his monastic formation highlighted in a particularly moving way the centuries-old and unbreakable spiritual bonds linking Mount Athos, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the Church of Kyiv.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Abbot Bartholomew addressed the faithful and reflected on the historical journey of St. Anthony, who departed from Kyiv, received the monastic habit at the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou, and, having received the blessing of Abbot Theoktistos, returned to his…