St. Elijah's Monastery

St. Elijah's Monastery stands in the village of Varvarivka, Kremin district, Luhansk region, on the site of a parish church built in the century before last. In 1860 a stone church was erected there: according to the monastery's own account, it was dedicated to the Holy Prophet Elijah¹, whereas, according to the Luhansk Regional State Administration, the main church arose around 1861 and was consecrated in honour of the Nativity of John the Baptist³.

Under Soviet rule the church was closed and partly destroyed¹. In the 1990s the parish was revived there, and from 2003 a monastic community began to form¹; in 2004 a brotherhood building was erected for it¹.

On 10 November 2005 the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, having heard the report of Metropolitan Ioannikiy of Luhansk and Starobilsk, blessed the opening of St. Elijah's Monastery in the village of Varvarivka, Kremin district, Luhansk region². That same year the house gained the status of a monastery - a fact independently reported by both the monastery itself¹ and the Luhansk Regional State Administration³.

At the same time major repairs began on the church of St. Elijah: in 2006 the roof was replaced, and in 2007 the 36-metre bell tower was restored¹. In 2005-2006 a fence was built around the monastery, and in 2006 a venerated water spring was reconsecrated¹.

In 2007 the monastery was given an old building that had once housed the parish school; from 2008 it was being repaired and adapted as the superior's residence¹. At the same time a gatehouse building was under construction, combining a small gate bell tower with an icon shop¹.

In 2013 the restoration of this same former parish-school building was completed: according to the regional administration, it then housed the church of St. Varvara³ - information that does not agree with the monastery's own account of the building being adapted as the superior's residence¹.