Byzantine laura/lavra From the fifth century the Greek term
laura could refer specifically to the semi-
eremitical monastic settlements of the
Judaean Desert, where lauras were very numerous. The first lauras of
Palestine were founded by
Chariton the Confessor (born 3rd century, died c. 350): the Laura of Pharan (now
Wadi Qelt) northeast of
Jerusalem, the Laura of Douka on the
Mount of Temptation west of
Jericho, and Souka Laura or Old Laura in the area of
Tuqu' in
Wadi Khureitun. Saint
Euthymius the Great (377–473) founded one of the early lauras in fifth-century Palestine. The Lavra of Saint
Sabbas the Sanctified (†532) in the
Kidron Valley (known in Syriac as
Mar Saba), is one of the most ancient and almost continuously functioning monasteries in the
Christian Church.
Gerasimus of the Jordan established a similar system in the
Jordan Valley in the middle of the fifth century, with 70 cells surrounding a
cenobium and with monks progressing into the cells after time spent in the cenobium. Weekdays were spent in the cells, accompanied only by a rush mat, a small amount of food and palm blades with which to make ropes and baskets. On Saturdays the monks would bring their handiwork to the cenobium and receive the
Eucharist together, returning to their cells on Sunday evening. Cells were left open, and those in need could take whatever they wished from a cell if it were found empty. The lavra had a priest, the lavra's contact with the outside world, and at least two ordained deacons. The
Great Lavra founded by
Athanasius the Athonite in 963 is the oldest monastery on
Mount Athos in Greece.
Coptic tradition Some modern
Coptic authors, and they alone, already apply the specific Greek term
lavra to even earlier monastic settlements from the
Wadi El Natrun and even attribute the writing down of the formal rules of a
lavra to the Egyptian sanctified monk
Macarius of Egypt in AD 330. Unless proven otherwise by future scholarship, this opinion seems to be theirs alone. Their claim is that the lavrite style of living has its origins in the early fourth century, by equating the creation of the first lavras with the founding of a settlement of cells in the Nitrean desert at a site known as
Nitria, named for the nearby town of the same name (near
Alexandria in Egypt). It was a community of 600 hermits who lived scattered over the area, reliant on the town of Nitria for bread, but with their own priest and church.
Kievan Rus' The first lavra in the
Kievan Rus' was the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra founded in the 11th century in
Kyiv (now in
Ukraine). Its founding is mentioned in the 12th-century
Primary Chronicle. ==Later meaning==