, native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_caption = , image = Комплекс Флорівського Вознесенського монастиря 1.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The

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 ...

and bell tower , map_type = Ukraine Kyiv#Ukraine Kyiv Oblast#Ukraine , pushpin_relief = 1 , pushpin_label = Ascension Convent , image_map = , map_caption = , location =

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 ...

, address = , location_city = , location_country = , coordinates = , former_names = , alternate_names = , etymology = , status = , cancelled = , topped_out = , building_type = , architectural_style = , material = , classification = , altitude = , namesake = , groundbreaking_date = , start_date = 1732 , stop_date = , est_completion = , completion_date = , opened_date = , inauguration_date = , closing_date = , demolition_date = , destruction_date = , cost = , ren_cost = , client = , owner =

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...

, affiliation = , height = , architectural = , structural_system = , size = , floor_count = , floor_area = , elevator_count = , grounds_area = , architect = , architecture_firm = , developer = , engineer = , known_for = , website = , embed = , references = , footnotes = , embedded = __NOTOC__ The Ascension Convent ( uk, Флорівський монастир, russian: Флоровский монастырь) in the

an neighbourhood of

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 ...

, also known as the ''Florivsky'', originated in the 16th century as the wooden church of Sts.

Florus and Laurus Saints Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century. According to a Greek tale, they were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons. They were originally from Constantinople, Byzantium but settled in Ulpiana, Dardania, ...

. Its buildings occupy the slopes of the Zamkova Hora. Address: vulytsia Frolivska, 8.

History

The convent greatly expanded at the time of the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, when

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

ordered the demolition of the old Ascension Convent on Pechersk Hill with the aim of building an arsenal there. When run by

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. ...

's mother, the older convent had amassed much property. Its riches and nuns were transferred to the Florovsky Convent. The main church, or

, is a notable example of

Ukrainian Baroque Ukrainian Baroque, or Cossack Baroque or Mazepa Baroque ( uk, Українське бароко або Козацьке бароко), is an architectural style that was widespread in the Ukrainian lands in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was th ...

architecture.Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР
/ref> Its first stone was laid in 1722. Ten years later, the three-domed building was dedicated to the feast of the

Ascension of Christ The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the N ...

. Its Neoclassical

bell-tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

is of later construction. The wooden buildings of the monastery were entirely destroyed by fire in 1811. Only the katholikon and a 17th-century

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 ...

were left standing amid the ashes. It was

Andrey Melensky Andrey Ivanovich Melensky (russian: Андрей Иванович Меленский; 1766–1833) was a Russian Imperial Neoclassical architect from MoscowМ. М. Жербин. Украинские и зарубежные строители: кр� ...

, a Neoclassical architect from Kyiv, who was in charge of the convent's reconstruction. The convent's notable residents included Princess

Natalia Dolgorukova Princess Natalia Borisovna Dolgorukova (née Countess Sheremeteva; russian: Княгиня Наталья Борисовна Долгорукова née Графиня Шереметева; 1714–1771), was one of the first Russian women writers ...

, one of the first Russian women writers.Old Kyiv
It was closed in 1929 but reopened after the Germans entered the city in 1941. Several buildings have since been taken over by industrial enterprises.

References

{{Kyiv churches Convents in Ukraine Monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Religious buildings and structures completed in 1732 Residential buildings completed in 1732 Baroque architecture in Kyiv Neoclassical architecture in Kyiv Podilskyi District Neoclassical church buildings in Ukraine