Chervonyi Maiak

Saint Hryhoriy Bizyukiv Men's Monastery, located on the bank of the Dnipro in the village of Chervonyi Maiak, was at one time one of the largest monasteries in the south of Ukraine.

The monastery was founded in 1781 as the Sophroniy hermitage on the site of an old Turkish fortress, which after the expulsion of the Turks was called "Zaporizhzhian town". At first, monks lived in caves. According to legend, these multi-kilometer tunnels, passing under the entire village, existed since the time of the nomads. In 1803, the Bizyukiv monastery was transferred here from the Smolensk province, and from that time the monastery received its current name.

During the Soviet rule, the Saint Hryhoriy Bizyukiv Monastery was closed, the Zaporizhzhian Church of Saint Hryhoriy (1782), the Ascension Cathedral and the bell tower (1894) were destroyed, and part of the fence was dismantled. The walls with towers (XVIII-XIX centuries), the Intercession Church, the bishop's house with the Church of the Three Saints, the Trinity Church, the Refectory, the building of cells, the hotel building, the gate, fountains, cave cells (XVIII century) have been preserved.

Now the monastery is being revived. One of these caves cut out of a steep limestone rock, where a small cave church has been preserved, is a place of pilgrimage for pilgrims.

The monastery belongs to the Kherson Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

On February 10, 2024, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bizyukiv Monastery was damaged by massive shelling by the Russian army - the roof and facade of the building were destroyed.