In the 17th century all Ukrainian monasteries were united in the Order of Saint Basil the Great, following a path similar to that taken by Western Rite monasticism.

[2] The Communists attempted to destroy this particular branch of the Ukrainian church, in 1946 they forcefully subjected it to the Moscow Patriarchate and the Univ Lavra was turned into a concentration camp for Greek Catholic clergy who openly refused to serve them and renounce their loyalty to the Pope.

A small group of monks, who during the war ended up in Western Europe, emigrated to Canada where they established the Holy Dormition Monastery in Woodstock, Ontario in 1951.

On Christmas Eve of 1991 the bells of the Univ Lavra tolled for the first time in half a century, that night also announcing the rebirth of Ukraine.

They are also heavily involved in the collection and preservation of Greek Catholic church art, including icons, wooden sculptures, tapestries and metal work.