Venerable (Monastic)11th century

Venerable Nikon of the Kiev Far Caves

11th century (reposed 1088)

Also known as Nikon of the Caves · Nikon, Abbot of the Kiev Far Caves

An early disciple of Saint Anthony at the Kiev Caves monastery, Nikon tonsured many of the brethren, including Saint Theodosius, and later served as abbot of the community.

March 23New Calendar

Feast Day

April 5Old Calendar

Suggest a correction Contribute

Icon galleryBrowse icons and imagery elsewhere

Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Nikon, Abbot of the Kiev Caves

Life

Nikon was an eleventh-century monastic of the Kiev Caves monastery (the Pechersk Lavra) and one of the earliest companions of its founder, Saint Anthony. A priest by ordination, he received and tonsured many of the brethren who joined the fledgling community, among them the future abbot Saint Theodosius, and he himself later served the monastery as its igumen (abbot).

His life spans the formative decades of monasticism in Kievan Rus'. Sources record his early role in clothing new monks, a period of withdrawal to the Tmutarakan peninsula where he founded a separate monastic community, his return to the Kiev Caves under Saint Theodosius, and his eventual leadership of the house. He reposed at an advanced age in 1088 and was buried in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide

TroparionTone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Nikon, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline6 momentsReadHide

Mid-11th centuryEarly companion of Saint AnthonyAs one of the first disciples and fellow-ascetics of Saint Anthony, Nikon joined the nascent Kiev Caves community and, as a priest, tonsured the new monks who came to the monastery, including Saint Theodosius.
c. 1060sConflict with Prince IzyaslavAfter Nikon tonsured Saints Barlaam and Ephraim, who were favorites of Prince Izyaslav of Kiev, he drew the prince's anger upon himself; according to the accounts the prince's displeasure was eventually appeased.
c. 1060sWithdrawal to TmutarakanSeeking greater stillness, Nikon departed for the Tmutarakan peninsula on the eastern side of the Kerch straits and settled in an unpopulated place; as his reputation spread, followers gathered and a monastery and a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos were established.
c. 1067Return to the Kiev CavesNikon returned to the Kiev Caves monastery and lived in obedience to Saint Theodosius as his spiritual father; when Theodosius was absent he entrusted the brethren to Nikon's care and at times asked him to instruct them in his place.
After Stephen's departureChosen as igumenWhen Saint Stephen left the Kiev Caves monastery, Nikon was chosen as its igumen (abbot), and he labored to furnish the monastery with spiritual books and icons.
1088ReposeNikon died at a great old age in 1088 and was buried in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Ministry and Leadership

Within the early Kiev Caves community Nikon held a central role: as an ordained priest he administered the tonsure to those entering the monastic life, a function that placed him at the heart of the monastery's growth and that links him directly to several of its most prominent figures, including Saint Theodosius.

His tenure as igumen followed the departure of Saint Stephen. The sources remember him chiefly as a steward of the community's spiritual resources, noting his efforts to adorn the monastery with books and icons.

The Tmutarakan Foundation

A defining episode of Nikon's life was his withdrawal to the Tmutarakan peninsula on the eastern banks of the Kerch straits. There, in an unsettled location, he attracted a following through his ascetic reputation, and a monastery with a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos arose around him.

The accounts connect this departure to the political turmoil of the period; when Prince Svyatoslav drove his brother Izyaslav out of Kiev, Nikon is said to have withdrawn again to the monastery he had founded. He is generally understood to have returned to Kiev around 1067.

Connection to the Chronicle Tradition

Scholarship on the early chronicles of Kievan Rus' associates an Abbot Nikon of the Kiev Caves Monastery with one of the formative stages of the chronicle compilation that underlies the Primary Chronicle. The historian Aleksey Shakhmatov attributed to Nikon a more structured text, dated to around 1073 and emphasizing monastic history.

This identification rests on the correspondence between the chronicler-abbot and the Nikon of the Caves community who is known to have spent time away founding a monastery before returning to Kiev. The attribution is a matter of scholarly reconstruction rather than direct documentary statement.