Exaltation of the Holy Cross church, Monastyrok, Ternopil Oblast

Legends and tales about the Yazhchytska Cave tell us that in the ninth century, local caves were illuminated by Christian monks. They set up cells there, and chose a place for an altar near one wall. They painted God on top of the icon-like relief of the stone. However, the paint was constantly disappearing, no matter how many times it was renewed. Today, the icon has been restored to the wall in the cave.[2]

Next to the small labyrinths of the monastery is a huge stone dolmen, placed on small stones that serve as its "legs". Before major religious festivals, water is poured into a hollow carved in the shape of a cross. Three days later, it and the bottom of the hollow turn the color of blood.[2]

Nearby are the buildings of a monastery dating back to the 16th century. The monks built a small wooden church, which burned down in 1530. A large marble cube, which was used to perform the sacraments in the baptismal chamber, and an icon of the Mother of God remained from the church. In honor of the surviving icon, the church rebuilt in 1560 was named the Church of the Assumption. It is said that about three hundred years ago, a wooden cross appeared nearby, in a cave church, from nowhere. The monks and priests decided to move it to a neighboring village, but a few days later the cross reappeared in Monastyrok. Because of this sign, the church was named in honor of the Exaltation of the Cross. The remains of the cross are still kept in the church as a valuable relic.[2]

There are wooden crosses around the caves. This is a calvary, a Way of the Cross, but not an ordinary one. There are 12 crosses dug into the solid ground, each of which marks not the stages of Christ's ascent to Calvary, but one of the village families, of which there were once twelve. Once a year, people from Monastyrok come to the village and decorate their cross with greenery.[2]

In 2010, they bought bells.[2]

• Hegumen Feodosii Hlynskyi (2000–2021)[3]

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  Ancient cave sanctuary
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  Cave cell