Historian calls for burial of Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves in the Pantheon of Heroes
Saints, the founders of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, have been proposed for recognition as "creators of identity" within a memorial to outstanding figures.
In Ukraine, during the development of the concept for the National Pantheon, it was proposed to immortalize the names of the founders of monasticism in Rus - the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. This initiative was put forward by historian Vadim Anikievich on the pages of Hromadske publication. In his opinion, the holy ascetics should take their place among outstanding figures who shaped the people's identity.
The author of the proposal believes that the founders of "Ukraine's most ancient cave monastery" are key figures in the history of statehood. Besides the Caves saints, the scholar included in the preliminary list of "heroes" Prince Vladimir the Great, Yaroslav the Wise and Daniel of Galicia, as well as Metropolitan Peter Mogila.
The Pantheon is conceived as a place of final rest for those whose graves are currently abroad or under threat of destruction. For persons whose burials have not survived to our days, the memorial complex plans to install sculptural images and information stands. Government officials and scholars are now discussing the criteria by which they will determine the "creators of history" for repatriation of remains and ceremonial reburial.
Practical implementation of the project began in May 2026, when the remains of OUN leader Andrey Melnik and his wife were brought to Ukraine and ceremonially reburied. Such initiatives to include the Lavra saints in the "state list of heroes" are heard against the backdrop of systematic attempts to revise the spiritual heritage of the monastery and administrative pressure on its brotherhood.
