Did you know that in the winter of 1765, the Lavra monastery received an unusual gift?

The gift was made by Sylvester (Yunitskyi), Archimandrite of the Vysokopetrovsk Moscow Monastery, who had taken monastic vows in Lavra. A generous donator of the Pechersk monastery, he took advantage of the occasion, which was suitable for those winter days, and donated 100 rubles for the needs of the Lavra, supplemented by ... two peacocks and a peahen.

In spite of the cold weather, the birds surprisingly well endured the journey from Moscow to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

In the monastery, one of the Archimandrite's housekeeping areas was equipped for them, and with the coming of spring, the birds were placed in the aviary of the Archimandrite's Garden. In those days, aviaries in the gardens were a bon ton. So, owing to the care of Archimandrite Sylvester, exotic birds in the Lavra garden had been cheering up not only the proprietor – Archimandrite Zosimus (Valkevych) – but also the monastery brethren, guests, and visitors of the Father Superior of Lavra.

Natalia Lytvyn

Captions to illustrations:
Fig. 1. [untitled]