monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Qafthanë Cave Church The Qafthanë Cave Church () is a cave church near Urakë, Elbasan County, Albania. It is a Cultural Monument of Albania In Albania, a cultural monument () is a construction or work of cultural, historical and artistic value that is built in a ...

St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church, St. Mary the Virgin's Church, St. Mary Church, Saint Mary Church, or other variations on the name, is a commonly used name for specific churches of various Christian denominations. Notable uses of the term may refer to: Albania ...

Maligrad Maligrad (, also ''Qytet i Vogël'' "small city"; , ''Mal Grad'' "small city/town") is an island situated deep within the Albanian part of Lake Prespa, with many caves suitable for wildlife and a circular cliff. Shaped like a tadpole, it contains ...

Prespa Prespa (, , ) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Greece and Albania. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen in North Macedonia with 9,000 inhabitan ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Geghard Geghard (, meaning "spear") is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with enhanced protection status. Wh ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Aladzha Monastery Aladzha Monastery (Bulgarian: Аладжа манастир) is a medieval Orthodox Christian cave monastery complex in northeastern Bulgaria, 17 km north of central Varna and 3 km west of Golden Sands beach resort, in a protected f ...

Albotin Monastery Albotin Monastery (, also: ''Albutin Monastery'', Албутински манастир) is a presently inactive Bulgarian medieval cave monastery on the territory of Kula bishopric of Vidin Diocese of Bulgarian Orthodox Church, in the localit ...

Basarbovo Monastery Basarbovo Monastery () – the Monastery of Saint Dimitar Basarbowski – is a Bulgarian Orthodox cave monastery near the city of Ruse in north-eastern Bulgaria. It has the same name as the nearby village of Basarbovo and lies about 35 metres a ...

Provadia Provadia ( ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Varna Province, located in a deep karst gorge (Provadia syncline) along the Provadiya River not far from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the administrative centre of Provadia Municipal ...

Shumen Shumen (, also Romanization of Bulgarian, romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city ...

Tervel Caesar Tervel (), also called Tarvel, Terval, or Terbelis in Byzantine sources, was the ruler Caesar of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named him caesar, the first forei ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Simon the Tanner Saint Simon the Tanner (), also known as Saint Simon the Shoemaker (; ), is the Coptic Orthodox saint associated with the story of the moving the Mokattam Mountain in Cairo, Egypt, during the rule of the Muslim Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz Lideeni ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Monolithic church A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Abbey of Saint-Roman The Abbey of Saint-Roman (French: Abbaye de Saint-Roman) is a cave monastery located in the communes of Beaucaire and Comps, in the Gard ''département'' of France. The site, which includes the ruins of a castle, the château de Saint-Roman-d' ...

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Abbey of Saint-Roman
*

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

**

David Gareja monastery complex David Gareji ( ka, დავითგარეჯის სამონასტრო კომპლექსი) is a rock-hewn Georgian Orthodox monastery complex located in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, on the half-desert slopes of ...

** Vanis Kvabebi cave monastery/fortress, Javakheti Plateau **

Vardzia Vardzia ( ka, ვარძია ) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia (country), Georgia, Rock cut architecture, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura (Caspian Sea), Kura River, thirty kilometre ...

cave city and monastery *

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

**various cave hermitages at

Meteora The Meteora (; , ) is a rock formation in the regional unit of Trikala, in Thessaly, in northwestern Greece, hosting one of the most prominent complexes of Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox monastery, monasteries, viewed locally as se ...

**various cave hermitages at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

***caves at Karoulia ** *

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

**

Gellért Hill Cave The Gellért Hill Cave () is part of a network of caves within Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary. The cave is also referred to as "Saint Ivan's Cave" (''Szent Iván-barlang''), regarding a hermit who lived there and is believed to have used th ...

chapels and monastery,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

*

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

**

Rabban Hormizd Monastery Rabban Hormizd Monastery () is an important convent to the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Chaldean Catholic Church, founded about 640 AD by the Church of the East, carved out in the mountains about 2 miles from Alqosh, Iraq, 28 miles north o ...

,

Alqosh Alqosh (, , , alternatively spelled Alkosh, Alqoš, or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District situated 45 km north of the city of Mosul. The inhabitants of Alqosh are Assyrian peopl ...

**Mar Qayuma Monastery, Dooreh *

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

**

Qumran Caves The Qumran Caves ( '; ''HaMeara Kumran'') are a series of caves, both natural and artificial, found around the archaeological site of Qumran in the Judaean Desert. It is in these caves that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Israel Nature a ...

, once inhabited by the

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd cent ...

*

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

** Kališta Monastery,

Struga Struga ( ; , sq-definite, Struga) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality. Name The name Struga ...

*

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

** Basarabi Cave Complex ** Corbii de Piatră ** Nămăiești *

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

** Monastery of the Caves,

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

** Pskov Cave Monastery,

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

** Divnogorye and Saviour Convent,

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

*

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

** Blagoveštenje ** Crna Reka ** Gornjak **

Kađenica The Smoke Cave or Kađenica is a cave-church located in the village of Dljin near Čačak on the right bank of the Zapadna Morava, one kilometre upstream from Ovčar Banja, Serbia. During the Hadži Prodanova buna, Hadži Prodan's revolt in 1814 ...

**Churches of Kovilje Monastery ** Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, also known as the ''Cave Church'', 14th-century church in Lukovo ** Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, in Rsovci, where was painted a unique fresco of bald

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

** Hermitage of St. Peter Koriški ** Savina *

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

** Wat Tham Khan,

Sakon Nakhon province Sakon Nakhon (, ; , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''). It lies in upper northeastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Kalasin, and Udon Thani ...

**

Tiger Cave Temple The Tiger Cave Temple (, ) is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple north-northeast of Krabi, Thailand. A sacred site, it is known for the tiger paw prints in the cave, tall Gautama Buddha, Buddha statues and the strenuous flight of stairs to reach the summ ...

(Wat Tam Sua),

Krabi Krabi (, ) is the capital of and main town in Krabi Province (''thesaban mueang''), on the west coast of southern Thailand, where the Krabi River flows into Phang Nga Bay. The town lies south of Bangkok, and as of 2020, has a population of 32, ...

*

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

**

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

cave monasteries **

Cave monastery of İnceğiz Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

**

Church of Saint Peter The Church of Saint Peter (also known as St. Peter's Cave Church and Cave-Church of St. Peter; (romanization); ) near Antakya (Antioch), is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Starius with a depth of 13 m (42 ft. ...

*

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

** Assumption Cave Monastery and Inkerman Cave Monastery in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

** Assumption Cave Monastery in

Zymne __NOTOC__ The Assumption Monastery at the Holy Mountain () is a stauropegial Ukrainian Orthodox cave monastery belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It is located at the top of the Holy Mountain rising above the Luha River near the villag ...

, near

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

** Bakota Cave Monastery in Bakota, near

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

** Eletsky Monastery in

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

**

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...

and ,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

In Bulgaria

Northeast Bulgaria

*Rock monasteries near Ruse **

Basarbovo Monastery Basarbovo Monastery () – the Monastery of Saint Dimitar Basarbowski – is a Bulgarian Orthodox cave monastery near the city of Ruse in north-eastern Bulgaria. It has the same name as the nearby village of Basarbovo and lies about 35 metres a ...

** Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo **Great Nisovo Rock Monastery (Голям Нисовски скален манастир), near Nisovo village **Tabachka Cave Church, near Tabachka village **Rock monasteries near Cherven village ***Malkiya Rai Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Малкия Рай“) ***Koshuta Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Кошута“) ***Golemiya Rai Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Големия рай“) ***Moskov Dol Rock Church (Скална църква „Москов Дол“) **Krepcha Rock Monastery (Крепченски скален манастир), near Krepcha village *Rock monasteries near

Tervel Caesar Tervel (), also called Tarvel, Terval, or Terbelis in Byzantine sources, was the ruler Caesar of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named him caesar, the first forei ...

**Rock monasteries near Balik and Onogur villages ***Asar Evleri Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Асар евлери“) ***Gyaur Evleri Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Гяур евлери“) ***Sandakli Maara Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Сандъкли маара“) ***Tarapanata Rock Monastery (Скална обител „Тарапаната“) **Valchanova Staya Rock Hermitage (Скален скит „Вълчанова стая“), near Brestnitsa village *Barbino Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Върбино“), near Varbino village *Haidushki Kashti Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Хайдушки къщи“), near Kolobar village

Provadiya river valley

Rock monasteries situated in and around the Provadiya river valley: *Rock monasteries on the Shumen Plateau **Osmar monasteries, near Osmar village **Trinity (Troitsa) monasteries, near

Troitsa Troitsa () is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural localities in Russia. Modern localities Kaluga Oblast As of 2012, two rural localities in Kaluga Oblast bear this name: *Troitsa, Yukhnovsky District, Kaluga Oblast, a ...

village **Hankrumovski Monastery, near Han Krum (Hankrum) village **Divdyadovski Monastery, near Divdiyadovo village **a 14th-century rock-hewn church on the northwestern edge of

Shumen Shumen (, also Romanization of Bulgarian, romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, tenth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city ...

city *Rock monasteries near Nevsha **Gyurebahcha Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Гюребахча“) *Petricha Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Петрича“), near Razdelna, Varna Province *Kisheshlika Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Кишешлика“), near Avren, Varna Province *Rock monasteries around

Provadia Provadia ( ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Varna Province, located in a deep karst gorge (Provadia syncline) along the Provadiya River not far from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the administrative centre of Provadia Municipal ...

**Shashkanite Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Шашкъните“) **Chukara Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Чукара“) **Holy Archangel Gabriel Rock Chapel (Скален параклис „Св. Архангел Гавраил“) **Sara Kaya Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Саръ кая“) **Kara Cave Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Кара пещера“), just north of Manastir village **Rock monasteries near Petrov Dol village ***St. George Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Свети Георги“) ***Golyamata / Big Rock Monastery (Seven Chambers / Hodaviah) (Скален манастир „Голямата канара“) ***Gradishte Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Градище“) **Tapanite Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Тъпаните“), near Blaskovo village **Rojak rock monasteries: Dzheneviz Kanara Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Дженевиз канара“) or Golyamata Kanara Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Голямата канара“), near

Rojak Rujak ( Indonesian spelling) or rojak ( Malay spelling) is a salad dish of Javanese origin, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The most popular variant in all three countries is a salad composed of a mixture of sliced fruit ...

village *

Aladzha Monastery Aladzha Monastery (Bulgarian: Аладжа манастир) is a medieval Orthodox Christian cave monastery complex in northeastern Bulgaria, 17 km north of central Varna and 3 km west of Golden Sands beach resort, in a protected f ...

near

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

Others

*St. Stefan Rock Monastery (Скален манастир „Св. Стефан“), Nikopol *Rock hermitages near the Krushuna Falls south of Krushuna village *St. Nicholas Rock Monastery (Gligora) (Скален манастир „Свети Никола“ (Глигора)), near

Karlukovo Karlukovo ( ) is a village in Lukovit Municipality, Lovech Province, northwestern Bulgaria. References

Villages in Lovech Province {{Lovech-geo-stub ...

village *St. Ivan Pusti Monastery (Манастир „Свети Иван Пусти”), near Bistrets, Vratsa Province *

Albotin Monastery Albotin Monastery (, also: ''Albutin Monastery'', Албутински манастир) is a presently inactive Bulgarian medieval cave monastery on the territory of Kula bishopric of Vidin Diocese of Bulgarian Orthodox Church, in the localit ...

, northwestern Bulgaria

References

*''"Mysteries of caves in the Chernihiv area"'', and article in ''

Dzerkalo Tyzhnia ''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' (, ), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror of the week'', is a Ukrainian online newspaper; it was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.in Russian
an
in Ukrainian
{{Authority control

Monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...