Transcarpathian Tours : Monastery in the village Boronyava

Monastery in the village Boronyava

The village Boronyava of the Khust area is located on a small river Boronyava, a tributary of the river Tisa on the outskirts of Khust, at the altitude of 243 meters above the sea level. The first mention about the village dates from 1389. Indisputably, the main attraction of the village is a monastery, known as the Basilian monastery of the Annunciation (Ukr: Василіянський Монастир Благовіщення Пресвятої Богородиці). The abbreviation "ЧСВВ" (Чин Святого Василия Великого; Latin: Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni), translated as Rank of St. Basil the Great, is the official name of the monastery.

In 1716 a local priest Ioann Kozak (Ivan Kotsak) became a monk and took the name Joseph. He paid 40 gold coins to the Khust community and bought a piece of land, where he built a small wooden church and housing for monks at it (which was used right up to 1788). 30 years passed and the church already had an iconostasis, a wooden crown, chandeliers, crosses, several valuable books, and other church utensil. The new church was built in 1774. In 1785 the monastery received a valuable gift - the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady, which had significantly helped to increase the attractiveness of the monastery for the flock. 14 years after the construction of the church the Austrian Emperor ordered to close the monastery. Its property was transferred to Mukachevo monastery and the monks for a long time were living in the caves in the woods. In the early 19th century a housing of 10 cells was built from adobe (straw + clay). In 1847 the monks began to build their first stone church for the residents of Boronyava (The Holy Virgin Protection Church). The construction was completed 40 years later, in 1888. Since 1893 the Basilian monks have been living in the monastery. In the late 19th century the peasants of the village were released from working for their landlord. Their efforts were directed at further building of the monastery. In 1905 a new brick chapel was built. The amount of "visitors" of the monastery increased up to tens (!) of thousands. 50,000 (!) people gathered here during the last Mass in 1946. In 1947 the monastery was closed by the Soviet government. The monks had been brought to penal servitude in Siberia. In 1948 the monastery was sealed and all the values were taken out of it. Since 1949 it started to function as a kindergarten. In 1953 half of the Monastery was dismantled, the property was transferred to the collective farm, and the building of the church was used as a warehouse. In 1967 the authorities decided to destroy the church completely in order to finally stop the secret meetings of people in it. As soon as the ruining had only begun and the very first wall of the church had been destroyed, the people quickly gathered and "rescued" the church, which for a long time afterwards was being restored and enclosed by a fence with barbed wire. In 1990 the church was returned to the Greek Catholics and the reconstruction work was started. Already in 1991 the first Mass was held in the monastery, and the famous icon returned from Khust to its original place. In 1992 the old wooden belfry was dismantled and a new one, wooden as well, was built in its place. In 7 years they have replaced the wooden one and built in its place a stone belfry.

And now let's see some photo material. This is how the monastery looked like in the 19th century. This photo print is taken from the book of Stephen Augustine.

And this is a beautiful view at the monastery. The weather was gorgeous that day...

And this is the newest chapel (in the place of previous two wooden belfries). Numerous wooden benches are on each side.

This is a courtyard. The old buildings, as well as the newly built ones, are seen here. The construction process still continues.

Here we can see the underground church on the edge of the monastery. Some Orthodox monks live inside of it. Water, bread, and peas are the only products they consume. They go outside once a month. Okay, I was just kidding. It is a "newly built" roof waiting to be hoisted up onto the chapel.

Incidentally, the monastery is not the only attraction of the village. A few hundred meters away from the monastery's wall one can find the beginning of “The Cross” roads (procession), which passes along the slopes of the hills around the monastery and ends in the place where Immaculate Virgin has appeared recently.