Valley Iosafatov (Vinnytsia region, Crimea): photo, description

Since ancient times, approximately from X century, the territory of Crimea was inhabited by Karaites - a small ethnic group, professing Judaism. Currently, this place is the valley of Josaphatov, and next to it - a large burial place of the Karaites. This sacred place had a different name - Balta Tiimez, which in translation from the Karaite language means "the ax will not touch." According to legend, in the place of the cemetery, when it was a dense forest. Trees growing here were considered sacred. The name (the valley of Josaphatov) appeared only in the 18th century.

History of occurrence

It is known that in the second half of the 18th century these lands were captured by the Turks. To escape from captivity and the enslavement of strangers, the peasants went to a local monastery and sought shelter there. According to tradition, once the monks had a vision of the Mother of God, she commanded them to leave from here and move to the east. People did so. For three days they walked toward the morning dawn, until they saw the well and stopped for the night. The same night the monks again had a vision and the Mother of God, who appeared to them, blessed the district. The fugitives decided not to go anywhere and settled next to the holy spring. The vicinity of the holy well was called Golinchintsy. This name was associated with extreme poverty of monks and laymen who fled from the Janissaries. Gradually, people began to build houses, and over time, around the blessed well, four villages appeared. Local residents began to gather near the well and perform a prayer service. They called this place Josaphatova valley. The Karaites, who had long inhabited the neighborhood, called the valley Imec Jehoshafat, which literally translates as "the valley in which God will judge." The Karaites were sure that this place is mentioned in the Old Testament. The name echoes with the same in Jerusalem, where, according to tradition, the Last Judgment will take place. Between these two large graves, an analogy is often drawn.

"Celebrate Christ, put the crosses!"

Many years ago people lived here, until one day another villager came to one of the villagers. On a hot summer day he grazed cattle and went to the well to drink spring water and plunge into the holy spring. Bending over, he saw the reflection of the Mother of God with the baby in his arms. Later the shepherd remembered that he was not at all afraid. On the contrary, he was overcome by an amazing calmness in those minutes. In answer to the question of the shepherd, what should they do next, the Mother of God said: "Christ be praised, crosses set." The shepherd immediately ran to the people, to tell about what he had seen. And then the first oak cross appeared near the sacred well. The news of this wonderful vision quickly spread to all villages, and now, hundreds of laity from all over the world went to the valley and carried crosses. Very soon the entire valley of Josaphatov was dotted with crosses.

Brutal reprisal

In those Soviet anti-religious times, such events could not pass without a trace. And now, in November 1923, the regional executive committee received a report that in the valley not only many crosses appeared, but now the place itself is considered sacred, and people come here from everywhere, allegedly to cure serious diseases. The commission established on the fact of this report decided to completely erase the crosses from the face of the earth and punish all participants in the events. Mounted police dispersed crowds of pilgrims, and crosses were excavated and sawed for firewood. As a result of the massacre, 50 pilgrims who did not want to renounce their faith were brutally beaten and arrested. One of the arrested men was martyred - rats were eaten alive in his cell. After the interrogation, all those arrested were thrown out into the street, and they, bloodied and barefoot, made their way to their native places on foot.

Trial

What was the surprise of the martyrs when they came to the valley of Jehoshaphat! On an empty spot after the massacre, there were new crosses. There were more than 15 thousand of them. It turned out that these crosses were taken from the most remote corners. From there, where not yet had time to learn about the brutal punishment of local residents and pilgrims. Almost immediately, in the sacred valley, horse policemen again appeared, who dug up the crosses and sawed them. Those who tried to prevent them were brutally beaten. A new investigation was launched, and a criminal case was opened on this fact. On the dock were 9 priests and about 20 laymen. Investigation of this high-profile case went on for a very long time. And although no evidence of guilt was found on the articles that were charged by the defendants, the investigators did not find them, they were still convicted for various periods of forced labor. The valley of the crosses was barbarously destroyed by Josaphatov.

Who told the world about the events in the Josaphat Valley

Information about all the events that took place at that time in the Josaphat Valley could not have reached our time. Ivan Artemovich Zaletsky - a man through whom we know all the details of the terrible massacre of pilgrims and villagers. When Ivan Artemovich was still a child, his mother sheltered the deadly widow of a priest from the Josaphat Valley. A dying woman in paints told of the torment that they had to endure in the name of faith. This story has made an indelible impression on the child's child's consciousness. Being an adult, Zaletsky tried to tell the whole world about those terrible events: he wrote books, articles in newspapers, appeared on radio and television. Thanks to Ivan Zaletsky, Iosafatov Valley (Vinnytsia region), the photo of which you see, is known all over the world.

Revival of the Shrine

The Soviet anti-religious government with its time has done everything to permanently erase this sacred place from the face of the earth. However, the people's memory, unbending Christian faith and careful attitude to the monuments of religious culture have done their good work. Today this place in Ukraine is reborn, and every year it gathers more and more pilgrims. On the way to the valley of Jehoshaphat there is the church of St. Dmitry, and beside it there is a cross decorated with towels. This cross - a kind of index to the holy place, where there are a lot of crosses. Where is the Iosafata Valley, now, probably, every believer in Ukraine and the near abroad knows. Thousands of crosses installed here are a living reminder that true faith can not be killed.

Revival of pilgrimage

Thanks to the activities of Ivan Artemovich Zaletsky Iosafatov, the valley is alive even today. People not only know and honor the history of this place, but also with pleasure make a pilgrimage to the sacred well, participate in numerous religious processions, pray for the salvation of souls.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat Nowadays

People go to the valley of Josaphat today to pray, to ask God for health for themselves and their loved ones. Until recently, not all knew about the existence of this sacred place in Ukraine, until August 15, 2006 was not organized diocesan procession into the valley. It was attended by more than 15 thousand people from all over Ukraine and near abroad. Pilgrims carried crosses, which were left in the valley. All the participants in the procession heard the conversion of Bishop Simeon to their flock, took part in the divine liturgy, and before they left they had the opportunity to collect holy water from the well and plunge into the newly constructed bathing-place. In addition, the organizers arranged a fair, where they sold church books, icons, candles and crosses. In that year the icon "Miracle of the Virgin Mary in the Josaphat Valley" was painted. Since that day, the procession to the valley of Jehoshaphat is a good annual tradition that gathers thousands of people who want to turn to God with their prayers. On earth, there are only a few places where the miraculous visions were the Mother of God. Iosafatova valley in the Crimea - one of them.

Wonderful Healing

The valley of Josaphat, whose history begins in the depths of centuries, is famous for the wonderful things that occur near the well with holy water. People who have made a pilgrimage to the Vinnytsia region tell of miraculous healings. Here are just some of them.

• In Khmelnytsky region , a child was born, to whom doctors did not predict healing. After the operation, transferred in infancy, the boy, according to doctors, could never walk. Mother did not despair, and decided to seek help from God. For three years she took the child to a holy spring in the Josaphat Valley, where she moistened the feet of the child in the holy water and prayed ceaselessly. God heard the mother's request for the healing of her son, and the child went.
• A resident of Odessa came to the Iosafatov Valley on crutches. For three days she spent the night in the valley, wet her feet in holy water and prayed. On the third day she got to her feet without the help of crutches.
• People from the surrounding villages prepare food on the water from the Josaphat Valley. Many after this are cured of gastritis.

Thanks to these miraculous healings thousands of pilgrims are attracted by the Vinnitsa region. The Josaphat Valley, located here, is truly a wonderful place with a curative holy spring.

How to get to the Josaphat Valley

The Iosafata Valley is only two kilometers from the city of Bakhchisaray. It is he who serves as the main guide for pilgrims. Next to Bakhchisarai is the "cave city" Chufut-Kale. If you move from it along the path of ancient funeral processions, you will certainly find yourself at the arch of the Josaphat Valley. Once upon a time, a sazoo behind the entrance to the cemetery was the caretaker's caretaker. Since people began to leave these places and move to cities and comfortable villages, there was no one to take care of the graves in the ancient cemetery. Now there are only pilgrims and tourists. The cemetery path passes through the city of the dead from west to east. On either side of it are ancient tombs with tombstones. On all slabs there are inscriptions in Hebrew. Now the whole cemetery is overgrown with grass, gravestones are lined with lianas. Despite this, Josaphatova Valley crosses gives pilgrims peace and pacification, and every year collects hundreds of believers.

Karaite cemetery

The ancient Karaite cemetery in the Josaphat Valley has not yet been fully studied. Once there was a thick forest, and the trees in it were considered inviolable. Karaites carefully guarded them from cutting down. Such a worship of the age-old giants was explained simply. High trees have long been considered a kind of signpost. Under the trees, often buried dead relatives. It was believed that the soul of the deceased within 40 days after death is in the branches of a tree. In other words, destroying a tree meant losing contact with your ancestors, with your roots. In addition, according to the Holy Scriptures, according to which the Karaites lived, the oak is a Divine tree, a witness of the Divine presence. To date, at the Karaite cemetery, there is absolutely no trace of the fact that many centuries ago there was a dense forest here.

Studies of historians

The original chronicle of the Karaites in the form of tombstones that survived to our times to this day causes a lot of disputes among eminent historians. It is impossible to establish even the exact number of tombstones - the figure varies from 5 to 10 thousand. This is due to the fact that, in addition to the monuments on the Karaite graves, there are many more plates that were placed for travelers who died on the road. Many gravestones have long been hidden underground, so the question of the number of buried Karaites remains open. At one time Karaite writer and archaeologist Firkovich Abraham Samuilovich collected a significant part of the gravestones and published them. These publications were followed by a lot of disputes among historians and archaeologists, the main essence of which was limited to the dating of the first burials. According to the latest research of the archaeologist Babalikashvili, the oldest tombstones date back to 956. It says only that the valley of Josaphat (Shargorodsky district), namely the cemetery of the Karaites, requires even more detailed study.