The Monastery of the Caves, also called Kiev Pechersk Lavra, near modern Kiev, Russia, is a monastery of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Throughout the long centuries, the monks of this Eastern tradition painted icons of sacred images.
As a child prodigy of icon painting, Andrei, who will eventually become the vampire Armand, is sent to the Monastery of the Caves to study with the monks. Andrei discovers that he has not only a talent for painting but also a deep conviction to be a monk and to spend the rest of his life in prayer, solitude, and the creation of images of God.
The Monastery of the Caves appears in The Vampire Armand (1998). For more perspectives on the Monastery of the Caves in the Vampire Chronicles, read the Alphabettery entries Andrei and Armand.