The Epiphany or Theophany Monastery (better known as ''Bratsky'', or ''Brotherhood Monastery'') is an
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in
Podil
Podil ( uk, Поділ) or the Lower cityIvankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace over the Dnieper betwe ...
,
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, in the vicinity of
Kontraktova Square
Square of Contracts or Contract Square ( uk, Контрактова площа, translit.: ''Kontraktova ploshcha'') is a square in the historic Podil neighborhood of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The square is an important economic, cultural, ...
. Its history has been interwoven with that of
Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
which now occupies the remaining monastery buildings.
The monastery is supposed to have been founded by
Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople (†1595). Patriarch
Theophanes III
Theophanes III of Jerusalem ( el, Θεοφάνης Γ΄ Ιεροσολύμων) was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1608 to 1644.
The early life of Patriarch Theophanes is largely unknown. As the successor to Sophronius IV, Theoph ...
of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
had it reorganized as a
local brotherhood school, hence the name.
Overview
by Sergei Bulgakov
Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (; russian: Серге́й Никола́евич Булга́ков; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist.
Biography
Early life: 1871–1898
Sergei Nikolaevich B ...
Its benefactors included Petro Sahaidachny
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny ( uk, Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний; pl, Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahajdaczny; born about 1582 in Kulchytsi, today Sambir Raion – 20 April 1622 in Kyiv) was a Ukrainian Cossack political and ...
(whose tomb was on the grounds[Old Kyiv](_blank)
), Petro Mohyla
Metropolitan Petru Movilă ( ro, Petru Movilă, uk, Петро Симеонович Могила, translit=Petro Symeonovych Mohyla, russian: Пётр Симеонович Могила, translit=Pëtr Simeonovich Mogila, pl, Piotr Mohyła; ...
(who raised its status to that of collegium
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...
), and Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...
(who asked Osip Startsev
Osip Dmitrievich Startsev (Осип Дмитриевич Старцев) was a Russian architect who mastered both Muscovite Baroque and Ukrainian Baroque idioms during the early part of Peter the Great's reign. His father Dmitry Startsev was the ...
to design the five-domed katholikon
A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church:
* The cathedral of a diocese.
* The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...
in a style known as Mazepa Baroque).
Mazepa's church, belfry, and most other buildings of the monastery were demolished by the Soviets
Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union.
Nationality policy in th ...
in 1935. The remaining buildings have been either reduced to ruins or rebuilt with significant alterations (as was a refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...
church, dating from the 17th century).
References
Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine
Buildings and structures in Kyiv
Baroque architecture in Ukraine
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1620
Demolished Christian monasteries in Ukraine
Buildings and structures demolished in 1935
Ivan Mazepa
1620 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
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