Monk’s cave reveals its secrets

The scientific expedition of the Institute of History, Ethnology and Archeology of the Carpathians of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, conducted a study of a rock-cave site near the village of Isakiv in the Olesha Territorial Community of Ivano-Frankivsk district (former Tlumatsky district) of Ivano-Frankivsk region. It consisted of Professor Mykola Kuhutyak, associate professor Boris Khruslov, and scientific specialist Roman Kobylnyk.

The rock-cave monument near the village of Isakiv has not yet received a full-fledged scientific study; it is not mentioned in written sources either. Oral traditions mention a hermit monk who lived here in the 1930s.

The cave itself is located 75 m from the Dniester River in the northeastern direction from the village of Isakiv. The entrance to the Monk’s Cave is located on the southwest side of the Dniester River at a height of three meters and has a pyramidal shape.

A long entrance of more than 1 m leads to the hall. To the left is a carved pyramidal niche; next to it is a small elevation that resembles a wall bench. In the middle of the hall, there is a round fire pit. At the end of the cave hall there is a cut passage, a kind of balcony with a view of the Dniester River. To the left of the balcony is the altar part. A rock-cut icon can be seen on it.

In the course of the research, traces of the use of the cave as a cult religious monument were found, which embodies the traditions of Christianity of the 12th – 13th centuries in Prykarpattia.