Another remarkable monastery just east of the Lavra is the Chernigovsky Skete, unique in central Russia for hand-dug monk cells and prayer caves. Featuring the pseudo-Russian red-brick style, the Chernigovsky skete is a small complex on the northern shores of the Skitsky (Korbushinsky) pond with the Chernigovsky cathedral in the center, a holy spring in the caves underneath and a huge belfry above the gate. It was founded in 1847 and quickly blossomed into a top Orthodox monastery under Elder Barnabas of Gethsamene until it was shut down in 1922 after the Bolshevik revolution and used as a prison, nursing home and boarding school. Only in 1990 was it returned to the Lavra and has been going through a lengthy restoration process. It is quickly regaining its status and attracting pilgrims from all over the country - and beyond – to bow to Elder Barnabas’ relics and 2 miraculous Chernigovskaya icon copies. Many also come here for the everyday unction sacrament with anointing.
