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The St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the
Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
river, to the northeast of the St Sophia Cathedral. The site is in the historical administrative neighbourhood of Uppertown and overlooks Podil, the city's historical commercial and merchant quarter. The monastery has been the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 2018. Built in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
by the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
ruler Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, the monastery comprises the
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
church, the Refectory Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, constructed in 1713, the Economic Gate, constructed in 1760, and the
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 to ...
, which was added in the 1710s. The exterior of the structure was remodelled in the
Ukrainian Baroque Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an style (visual arts), artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and Europea ...
style during the 18th century; the interior retained its original
Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...
. Much of the monastery, including the cathedral church, was
demolished Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...
by
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
authorities in the 1930s. The complex was rebuilt following
Ukrainian independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publi ...
in 1991; the cathedral reopened in 1999.


History


Early years

There were once many medieval churches in Kyiv, but nearly all of them were timber-built; none of these have survived. During the 1050s, when Kyiv was a part of the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
state
Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) (; ; ; ; ) is a hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. Grand duke is the usual and established, though not litera ...
Iziaslav I built a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, close to the St Sophia Cathedral. The heads of the monastery were the
hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...
s of the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...
. According to an 1108
annal Annals (, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between annals and histo ...
from the Laurentian Codex, Iziaslav's son Sviatopolk II of Kyiv founded a stone church in Kyiv, and it is thought that the monastery of St. Michael was founded at the same time. Contemporary
chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
s give no account of a foundation, and it is likely that Sviatopolk built the cathedral for the new monastery within the precincts of the monastery of St. Demetrius. There are no historical references to St. Michael's before the end of the 14th century. The church, which was dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, Iziaslav's
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
, may have been built to commemorate Sviatopolk's victory over the
Polovtsians The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as "Cum ...
, as Michael is the patron saint of war victories. The exact date of the completion of St. Michael's is unknown. It is considered to have been built between 1108 and 1113, the latter year being when Sviatopolk was buried in the cathedral. By tradition, the
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s of
Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...
were transferred there during his rule. He was a
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
prince of the
kings of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
, who allowed him the freedom to choose the monastery's hegumens. The cathedral's dome was probably the first in Kievan Rus' to be gilded, and the monastery was likely called "the Golden-Domed" for this reason. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the cathedral became the burial place of members of the ruling Izyaslavych family. The monastery probably came under the control of the Pechersk Lavra . St. Michael's sustained damage and was looted during the
Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
in 1240, when Kyiv was occupied. It survived the invasion and subsequent political violence, but afterwards ceased to function as an institution. It was mentioned again in documents only in 1398, and a 1523 charter of
Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...
described the monastery as being deserted in 1470. It sustained further damage in 1482, during the raid on Kyiv by the
Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
Khan
Meñli I Giray Meñli I GirayCrimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (1445–1515) was thrice the List of Crimean khans, khan of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Stru ...
, after which it was abandoned. It had re-emerged by 1496, shortly before the
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
"the Golden-Domed" started to be used.


16th17th centuries

During the 16th century, St. Michael's became one of the most popular and wealthiest monasteries in what is now Ukraine. From 1523, it was granted freedoms by Sigismund I, who encouraged restoration work to be undertaken. The Austrian soldier and diplomat Erich Lassota von Steblau visited Kyiv in 1594. He wrote a diary of his travels, later published that year as , and described the monastery thus: While most of the city's Orthodox clergy and monasteries converted to the Greek Catholic Uniate Church in the 17th century, St. Michael's retained its Orthodox doctrine. In 1612, the Polish king
Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...
gave the monastery to the Uniate Church, which never took possession of the monastery and its estates. A wooden refectory church was built in 1613. In 1618, the religious figure tried to extend his power over the monastery. This provoked a sharp reaction—the
Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...
captured him and drowned him in a ditch opposite the Vydubychi Monastery. In 1620, St. Michael's hegumen Job Boretsky made the monastery's cathedral the seat of the re-established Metropolis of Kyiv, Galicia and all Rus'. The monastery's
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 to ...
and
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
were constructed during his hegumenship. Under Boretsky, a nun's
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
was established close to the monastery, on the site of what is now the Kyiv Funicular's upper station. During this period a printing house was established. On both a map of Kyiv in ''Teraturgy'' (1638), written by the Kyivan monk , and on a Dutch drawing of 1651, the monastery is shown with its single dome. The work on rebuilding the medieval cathedral was mentioned by the French engineer
Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan ( – 6 December 1673) or William le Vasseur de Beauplan was a French-Polish cartographer, engineer and architect. Beauplan is best known for his maps of Ukraine (which he spelt as ''Ukranie'' or ''Vkranie'', wi ...
in his (1650). The Syrian traveller and writer Paul of Aleppo visited the monastery whilst in Kyiv during the summer of 1654. In describing the church, he compared it with St Sophia in Kyiv and the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, writing of St. Michael's:


18th century

In 1712, the nuns of St. Michael's, who lived near the monastery, were transferred to a separate institution in the Podil district of Kyiv. The refectory church was built in 1713–1715 in the
Ukrainian Baroque Ukrainian Baroque (), also known as Cossack Baroque () or Mazepa Baroque, is an style (visual arts), artistic style that was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the result of a combination of local traditions and Europea ...
style from the bricks of Kyiv's Simeon Church, which had been destroyed by fire in 1676. The remains of 18th-century foundations for part of the western
aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
of the cathedral have been preserved. As indicated by the foundations of the cathedral's extension in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the northern aisle was added first, followed by the southern aisle in 1709, while the western aisle was built at a later date. It could be seen that the
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...
es had been put in place to strengthen the structure where it was placed on low-strength soil (soil that cannot support heavy weights). This had become necessary after the dismantling of the old walls of the original church when the cathedral was enlarged. During the late 18th century, a number of the monastery's properties were sold off. All of its estates were lost in 1786, following a decree issued by
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
. As a result, the number of monks who could be supported by the monastery greatly reduced, and all new building work stopped.


19th century

In 1800, the monastery became the residence of both the bishop of
Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...
and the vicars of the diocese of Kyiv. By the start of the 19th century, the monastery had a library, a teacher training school, and a choir school. The growth of church choirs during this period meant that musical education became a priority for the monastic authorities. The choir at St. Michael's recruited from Chernihiv before musical education began to be imparted. The most important choir in the Kyiv
eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...
, St. Michael's choir was also one of the earliest to be formed in the city. In 1886, a singing school was opened, which ran until the start of the 1920s. During the 19th century there were up to 240 monks at St. Michael's. In the 1880s, the Russian art historian Adrian Prakhov discovered some of the cathedral's 12th-century
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s and
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es, which he cleaned and restored. He made life-sized copies of them in
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
, and photographed the restoration process. Copies of his work were exhibited in St. Petersburg in 1883 and in
Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
in 1884. In 1888, the cathedral was equipped with a hot air heating system, and provided with new flooring. The interior decoration was left unaltered. Construction work in the monastery precinct continued up to 1902 and included the construction of a large pilgrims' hotel and a new building for the monks' cells.


20th century

The refectory church was damaged by a fire in 1904. In 1906, a medieval
hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
was discovered in a casket on Street (now ), opposite the gates of St. Michael's. The hoard, which was dated to the 11th–12th centuries, was probably hidden in 1240, when Kyiv was sacked by the Mongols. Gold jewellery from the hoard is now housed in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York; other pieces are in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. The cathedral was nearly destroyed in the aftermath of World War I, when it was hit by shells fired by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
. One of the arches supporting the cathedral's central dome was destroyed, and a large hole emerged at the side of the building as a result of the shell damage. In 1919, the monastic buildings were appropriated by the new Soviet government. In 1922, the monastery was closed by the authorities. The refectory was converted into the Proletarian Students' House, and used as a sleeping quarters. The other buildings were used by various institutions, including a driver training school.


Demolition and aftermath

In January 1934, the government decided to move the Ukrainian capital from
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
to Kyiv, and in April a competition to build a new Government Centre was announced, to be built on the site occupied by St. Michael's. To prevent public protests, the art critics , , and —who were thought by the authorities to be likely to publicly oppose the demolition—were arrested. Archaeologists, including Volodymyr Goncharov, condoned the proposed demolition of the cathedral, declaring that the buildings dated only from the 17th century. On 26 June, under the supervision of of the Leningrad Academy of Arts, work began on the removal of the 12th-century Byzantine mosaics. They were apportioned among the
State Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
, the
Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...
, and the State Russian Museum. Between 1928 and 1937, surveys of the monastery were made by the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Ukrainian SSR. The monastery was systematically demolished between the spring of 1935—when the golden domes of the cathedral were dismantled—and 14 August 1937, when the shell of the cathedral was dynamited. The refectory was left intact, and two buildings used to house the monks, the choristers' building, part of the bell tower's lower southern wall, and the monastery's cellars also survived. The foundations of the cathedral and the bell tower, and one part of the monastery wall were not completely demolished. In 1938, following the demolition of most of the complex, excavations were carried out on the site of the monastery and in adjacent areas. The information obtained consisted of documents and photographs of the ruins of the interior and exterior of the cathedral, and of the excavation process. The new headquarters of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...
was built on the site of the demolished . Work on the site of the demolished monastery was interrupted by World War II, but resumed after the liberation of Kyiv in 1944. The refectory church was then used as a canteen for archaeology students. The empty site was converted into sports pitches, and until the mid-1970s, the refectory was used as an indoor sports facility. The refectory and several of the other surviving buildings were threatened with destruction in the 1970s, when a Lenin Museum was planned to be built on the site. The refectory, at that time in a state of disrepair, was restored.


Restoration


Plans and preparatory work

The idea to rebuild the monastery was first suggested in 1966 by the Russian architect Pyotr Baranovsky. The proposal had public support, and was backed by the newly founded . During the 1970s, architects and engineers worked out plans for reconstructing the monastery. These were only seriously considered after Ukraine became an independent state in 1991, when there were calls for the monastery's full-scale reconstruction as part of the rebuilding of the country's lost cultural heritage. The Swedish artist Carl Peter Mazér had visited Ukraine in 1851 and made a series of architectural drawings. Included were depictions of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and the interior of the cathedral. The drawings are a unique record of mid-19th century Kyiv, and were accurate enough to be used to help rebuild the monastery. Documentation produced by , the Soviet architectural historian prior to the destruction of the monastery, were also used. To determine the new building's correct orientation and position, an old photograph taken from the 12th storey of the bell tower was used to produce an electronically generated drawing—a technique first used for the reconstruction of the city's Fountain of Samson. The monastery was designed to include the Ukrainian Baroque additions it had possessed at the time of its destruction. The restorers researched Baroque-style imagery to incorporate into the parts of the monastery known to have been built in the 17/18th centuries, such the cathedral's side
aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
s dedicated to St. Barbara and St. Catherine of Alexandria. The core of the cathedral's interior was planned to look as it might have appeared during the 11th century. Drawings and photographs of the 12th-century mosaics and frescoes were used as templates, and the styles of the interiors of extant Rus' and Byzantine churches such as St. Sophia's Cathedral and the Church of St. Cyril were copied. During the excavation work, which was done by the NASU Institute of Archaeology between 1992 and 1995, over 300 graves were found, and a unique 11th-century carved slate slab was discovered. During 1996/1997, the foundations were left exposed for a year, which resulted in damage being caused to the surviving foundations. The original foundations of the bell tower were found to have laid down as a result of poor workmanship, with rubble stone and bricks of an indifferent quality being used. The foundations had consequently deteriorated, and so were never planned to be used for the restoration. The site was
sanctified Sanctified may refer to: *Sanctification, the process of making holy Music Albums * ''Sanctified'' (album), by Morgana Lefay, 1995 *''Sanctified'', by the Rance Allen Group, 1975 Songs * "Sanctified" (song), by Rick Ross featuring Big Sean and ...
on 24 May 1997.


Rebuilding the monastery

The western end of the boundary walls and the Economic Gate were rebuilt first, followed by the bell tower, which was then used as a temporary observation platform. Later, the
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
s on the walls were restored. Work on the rebuilding of the cathedral church officially began on 24 May 1997, with building work continuing from November 1998 until the end of 1999. A new church on the second floor of the bell tower was built, dedicated to the Three Saints. The church was
consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
in 1999 in memory of the destroyed church of the same name, and to all the Ukrainian victims of Soviet repression. The new bells in the high tower were rung for the first time on 30 May 1998. Most of the bells, including the seven heaviest ones, were cast at
Novovolynsk Novovolynsk (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine. Novovolynsk, together with the rural settlement of Blahodatne, Volyn Oblast, Blahodatne and six villages, is incorporated into Novovolynsk urban hromada. Population: ...
in western Ukraine. Their weights range from to 8
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s. A computer-controlled keyboard for operating the , not found elsewhere in Ukraine, works 12 bells that are tuned chromatically. A new electronic clock was installed, the bell tower's chimes sound every hour, and can play 23 well-known Ukrainian melodies. The ceremony to sanctify the completed cathedral took place on 28 May 2000. Amongst the attendees was then Ukrainian president
Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...
. The cathedral was officially reopened on 30 May 1999, prior to the interior decorations, mosaics, and frescoes being completed on 28 May 2000. The side
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
s were consecrated to St. Barbara and St. Catherine in 2001. The rebuilt cathedral has received criticism for being based on "renditions of scantily recorded and insufficiently studied predecessors", and for being constructed upon the historical remains of the destroyed cathedral. According to the historian Olenka Z. Pevny, "the recreated cathedral not only memorializes the present view of the past, but draws attention to the perspective contemplation embodied in 'preserved' cultural-historical sites." The  is situated on the first floor of the bell tower. It was established in 1998 to exhibit some of the many excavation finds.


Metropolitan see

In the years following the
Declaration of Independence of Ukraine The Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (''Verkhovna Rada'') on 24 August 1991.Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...
. The monastery became the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine after the church's creation on 15 December 2018. St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is used as the headquarters of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine. The rector of the monastery has the rank of diocesan bishop. The Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, and the primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, is Epiphanius I of Ukraine. The
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of St. Michael's is , who was appointed on 10 November 2009. When the restarted in 1992, the refectory became the Kyiv Theological School's church.


Architecture

The monastery's four main buildings were the domed cathedral, the refectory, the hotel accommodation (originally built in 1858), and the hegumen's accommodation block (first built in 1857). The 11th century church was located in what became the centre of the cathedral. where the originally single dome was located. A miniature church, likely a
baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...
, may have adjoined the cathedral from the south. As with the cathedral, the baptistery could have been topped by a dome.


Dates, styles and architects

The names of the architects and artists involved in building the medieval monastery are unknown, but the
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
painter Alypius of the Caves, who is associated with the paintings in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, is traditionally considered to have been involved in decorating the cathedral church.


Cathedral (11th20th century structure)

The 11th-century cathedral was modelled on the of the Monastery of the Caves. It was designed with the
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
plan prevalent during the time of the Kievan Rus', adapted from churches built in the
Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the ...
, and had six pillars. It had three naves and three
apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
s on the eastern side. Maps of Kyiv from 1638 and 1651 show the cathedral with its single dome. There was also a tower with a staircase leading to the choir loft; it was incorporated into the northern part of the
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
rather than protruding from the main block as was common at the time. Using donations from the Cossack commander
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...
, the cathedral dome was gilded during the period when he was the
hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
of the
Zaporozhian Host The Zaporozhian Host (), or Zaporozhian Sich () is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory in what is Southern and Central Ukraine today, beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River, from the 15th to th ...
. The building began to be enlarged during the 16th century, but the main changes to the cathedral occurred a century later. Along with many of Kyiv's Byzantine churches, during the 17th and 18th centuries, the cathedral was remodelled and was given a Baroque exterior. In 1715 and in 1731, two side aisles (St. Catherine's from the south and St. Barbara's from the north) were added to the original core of the building. The St. Catherine aisle, which replaced the 15th-century Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, was paid for by Peter I and
Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ...
. At the same time, large arches were pierced into the ancient northern and southern walls. The arches weakened the structure and necessitated the addition in 1746 of massive (flying buttresses) with single-storey rooms between them and two tall protrusions on the western facade. The cathedral was largely rebuilt between 1746 and 1754, which caused the central dome to split into four. A seven-domed structure was then created. As the cathedral was enlarged over the centuries, it had the effect of making the interior darker. The upper tiers of the 1718 iconostasis were removed in 1888, when the
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
mosaic was revealed. 1908, the cathedral was given underfloor heating, new
parquet Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring. Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...
floors, and vestibules for the entrances.


Rebuilt cathedral

In 1992, the decision was made to excavate the site before rebuilding the monastery. The Ukrainian government produced a draft program for the rebuilding of historical and cultural monuments, and in 1998 the List of Historical and Cultural Monuments Subject to Reproduction of Top Priority was approved. Part of the ancient cathedral was uncovered and found to be still intact; this structure today makes up a part of the current cathedral's
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
.


Exterior

The cathedral could have been reconstructed to look as it last appeared in the 1930s, or as it was in 1840, when detailed records were made by the architect . It was decided to restore it to its appearance when it was first remodelled in the Ukrainian Baroque style, thus avoiding the need to reconstruct the extensions made after this period that had caused structural issues, or include outbuildings that had been added in later years. The total area of the cathedral is ; its height is ; and the central cross is high. The building's walls and vaults are constructed in brick. The outside walls are blue, with those parts that project being painted white or gold. The cathedral walls are approximately above the level of the 11th-century foundations. Both the original foundations and a staircase were not destroyed in the 1930s, and are able to be viewed. The newly made concrete foundations were designed to reach a depth of , but still allow the remains buried underground to be inspected.


Interior

The interior was painted throughout, the central core being in the style of the ancient Rus' frescoes, and the aisles in a baroque style. New mosaics were commissioned for the high altar and the main dome. The interior decorations, mosaics, and frescoes were not completed until 2000. Some of the paintings could be recreated using archive photographs, but for those in St. Catherine's aisle, 18th-century examples of paintings from other buildings had to be used. The reconstruction of the cathedral's interior showed the effectiveness of advanced paint technologies. Keim's process was used, which made the artworks more resistant to surface dirt, light, moisture, temperature variation, and the effects of
microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
. In 2001 and 2004, 18 art works were returned to Kyiv from Moscow.


Refectory

The refectory church is a small, one-story structure typical of Orthodox monasteries. The main entrance was originally on the northern side, and was lavishly decorated. In 1787, the church was described as being stone-built with a gilded cross above the bell tower, with a sheet-iron roof painted green, the main roof being iron and painted red. The iconostasis gate was carved and gilded. An architectural drawing made by Sparro in 1847 shows the building with three entrances. In 1824, during the rectorship of Bishop Athanasius of Chyhyryn, the roof of the refectory, was repainted green, as were the iron roofs of other monastic buildings. In 17151718, at the expense of Kyiv Metropolitan , a single-tier carved wooden and gilded iconostasis was installed in the refectory church. It is considered that the church was built using the bricks of Kyiv's Simeon Church at Kudriavka that burnt down in 1676. A description from 1880 describes the iconostasis as having images of God the Father with the Holy Spirit, the
Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
, Mary, the
Nativity of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
, the
four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...
, the Epiphany, and the Introduction of the Mother of God into the Church. During the renovation of the refectory in 1837, the shrine was decorated with a new wall painting. By 1845, the walls had been decorated with 23 icons. 1850s sources describe a painting of the Miracle of the fishes and the loaves on the ceiling. In 1904, the temple was significantly damaged by fire, but the shrine was soon restored. During the Soviet period, the religious painting was whitewashed. In 1937, the refectory church of John the Theologian was the only sacred building that remained intact during the destruction of the monastery. In August 1963, the preserved refectory of the demolished monastery without its Baroque
cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...
was designated a monument of architecture of the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
. The building was restored between 1976 and 1981 under the leadership of the architect . When the ceilings were rebuilt, the 1780s southern extension was removed, and the roof replaced with a Baroque-style shingle roof. As part of the 1970s restoration, the painting was restored, which was preserved only in the lower tier of the altar part; the composition depicts the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
, the image of the four Evangelists, and two
seraphim A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a Angelic being, celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and ...
. The preserved part of the wall painting was created by an unknown master in the style of classicism. After the restoration, the building was used to house the Museum of Ceramics of the State Architectural and Historical Reserve, also known as the "Sophia Museum". In 1998, the shrine was restored. With the restoration of Ukraine's independence, in the early 1990s, the church was returned to the religious community. The Church of John the Theologian became one of the first churches in Kyiv where services were held in the Ukrainian language. In 1997–1998, the refectory church of John the Theologian became the first building to be restored in the architectural ensemble of the St. Michael Golden-Domed Monastery. Also at this time, the shrine was restored to its historical appearance, covering the roof and baths with shingles, a roofing material made of wedge-shaped boards. In 2014, during the
Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...
, the temple was equipped with an improvised hospital where the wounded were treated.


Other buildings

A 1911
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
shows the arrangement of the precinct during the early part of the 20th century, with the cathedral, the bell tower with the Holy Gate, the bishop's house with the Cross Church of St. Nicholas, the choristers' cells, the refectory, and the cells for the older monks all depicted. The three-tiered bell tower built over the entrance to the monastery was the oldest example of a brick-built bell tower in Kyiv. In around 1631, Boretsky entered into an agreement with the "mason Peter Nimets, a citizen of Kyiv" to construct a brick bell tower. Instead, a three-storey wooden tower was built. This was replaced in 1716–1720 with the new structure, which had a gilded dome and was made with bricks taken from the destroyed St. George's Church in Oster, which had belonged to the monastery. There were 23 bells in the tower. In the south-east part of the monastery precinct was a farm, gardens and an area for cultivating vegetables. The farmyard was surrounded by stables for the horses, and a
carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...
. Other buildings in the precinct included a hospital, a treasury building, and a school. The entrance to the monastery's cellars was close to the Economic Gate. In 1908, a pair of four-storey accommodation blocks were built, forming an independent block with their own courtyard. The monastery and the nunnery (before the nuns were relocated) were both surrounded by walls, and separated from each other by parallel rows of monastic cells. The Economic Gate was a traditional mid-18th-century Ukrainian feature, being an arch flanked by columns and topped with a decorated
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
. Its position at an angle to the wall is unusual.


Rebuilt bell tower

When excavated, the original foundations of the bell tower were discovered to be dilapidated, and the brick masonry was of indifferent quality. The foundations were therefore not used for the reconstructed building. The architectural style of the rebuilt bell tower resembles the over-gate bell towers of the St Sophia's Cathedral and the Vydubychi Monastery. The floors are made with
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
. The structure is tall. It was possible to reduce the thickness of the rebuilt walls from their original to . The second tier, which is
cubic Cubic may refer to: Science and mathematics * Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement * Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex ** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system w ...
, has four arches, and is narrower than the first tier, is narrower still, and has a chiming clock and four windows. The third tier, which is crowned with a gilded dome, The mechanism of the original clock was broken already by the middle of the 19th century. It never had dials, but in March 1998, dials were placed in the tower's clock. On 14 May 2025, the tradition of bell ringing in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery was inscribed on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine.


Cathedral artworks (pre-1935)


Interior elements

The ancient cathedral's most striking interior elements were its 12th–century frescoes and mosaics. In the 1880s, Prakhov formed a team of Kyiv artists, selected from the drawing school of the Ukrainian painter and art historian Mykola Murashko. In 1882, the team made copies of the cathedral mosaics; in 1884, the newly discovered mosaics of the dome and the triumphal arch were drawn; and in 1888, drawings of the previously unknown frescoes were made. Few of the mosaics and frescoes escaped destruction when the cathedral was demolished. Some of those that survived were shown in 1935 at an exhibition "Religion in the Service of Feudal Exploiters" in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. During the Second World War, those mosaics and frescoes not previously removed to Moscow by the Soviets were taken to Germany by the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. After the end of the war, they were returned to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.


Frescoes

From 1746 to 1754, during reconstruction work, subsidence in the aisles of the cathedral split the main dome into four, and the subsequent repair work caused irreparable damage to many of the frescoes. At the beginning of the 19th century, the interior of the cathedral was decorated using oil-based paints. In 1888, a number of 12th-century frescoes, previously hidden by other oil paintings, were discovered and cleaned by Prakhov. They were revealed hidden under layers of plaster after the iconostasis was dismantled. They were hidden again when the lower tiers of the iconostasis were reinstalled. In 1889, the frescoes above the iconostasis were painted over, having been left unretouched by Prakhov as a "keepsake for posterity". Medallions were painted on the cathedral's pillars that depicted half-figures of
Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
along with names of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, images of St. Barbara, the archangel
Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
, Mary, the high priest Zechariah, the prophet
Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
, and a small number of unnamed figures. When the cathedral's mosaics were being removed in 1934, the frescoes were seen again. Some were taken away between June and mid-September that year; information about the means by which this was done is fragmentary. The work on removing them continued until August 1937, when the cathedral was destroyed. Those that had been taken were afterwards distributed among the museums of Kyiv and Moscow. As scaffolding was not installed prior to the cathedral being demolished, it is not thought any of the dome's frescoes were saved. Most of the Kyiv frescoes were taken to Germany during the war, which caused them to be damaged or lost. After the war the surviving works were returned to museums in
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
and
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(now Saint Petersburg).


Mosaics

Above the main altar was a collection of mosaics depicting the
Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
and the Apostles of Jesus. Paul of Aleppo described them he saw them in 1654: The mosaics became so covered with dust and soot that many remained hidden and unrecorded until they were rediscovered by Prakhov. In 1888, with approval from the diocese, he cleaned them using a soap and oil mixture, and removed the dirt between the cubes using dough-like
plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
patches. Prakhov's team made sketches of all the mosaics. Four large-format volumes of drawings and draft sketches were produced. His work attracted the interest of the art historian Nikodim Kondakov, who was largely responsible for initiating the systematic study of . Kondakov identified a clear artistic shift from the "Greek" mosaics and frescoes of the St Sophia Cathedral to those of the Monastery of St. Michael, arguing that the figures at St. Michael's were more fluid than the static and stylised figures in St Sophia's. Kondakov concluded this was due to the influence of Russian craftsmen, who were employed in addition to the Byzantine masters. In 1899, the art historian Dmitry Aynalov and the archaeologist noted the similarities between the mosaics depicting the Eucharist in St Sophia's Cathedral and St. Michael's: "The general character of the style is lower than the Sophian mosaic; there are disproportionately smaller heads, arms and legs; the draperies are tangled. Technically, the mosaic is distinguished by colourless tones; it is dominated by white and red cubes." Besides the Eucharist mosaic, the only mosaics to have survived the demolition of the cathedral depict the figures of Saint Demetrius,
Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...
, and the Apostle Thaddeus. The mosaic of St. Demetrius was located on the southern edge of the north-eastern pillar, under the eastern arch of the main nave. In 1936, the mosaic was removed, set in cement, and taken to the . Some of the mosaics were deposited at the Tretiakov Gallery in Moscow and St Sophia's Cathedral. The items at St Sophia's were looted by the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
after they occupied Kyiv. After the end of the Second World War, they were returned by the Americans to the Soviet authorities. They were then reinstalled at St Sophia's.


Relics of St. Barbara

The monastery enjoyed the patronage of hetmans and other benefactors throughout the years. The chief attraction of the monastery for pilgrims were the relics of St. Barbara, alleged to have been brought to Kyiv from Constantinople in 1108 by the wife of Sviatopolk II. According to a tradition, St. Barbara's relics were hidden under the staircase when Kyiv was occupied by the Mongols. At one time, they were kept in a silver reliquary donated by Hetman
Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (; ; ) was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host and the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687–1708. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired Cultural legacy of Mazeppa, many literary, artistic and musical works. He was ...
in 1701. Weighing , it represented the crowning achievement of Ukrainian jewellery-making. In 1870, about 100,000 pilgrims travelled to the monastery to see the relics. Before the Russian Revolution in 1917, rings manufactured and blessed by the monks, known as St. Barbara's rings, were very popular. They were said to bring good luck and protect the wearer against
witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
, but were also considered effective against illness and sudden death. The saint's relics were kept at various locations in the city after the monastery was destroyed. , they are kept at
St Volodymyr's Cathedral St Volodymyr's Cathedral ( ) is a cathedral in the centre of Kyiv, and one of the city's major landmarks. Since the unification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine in December 2018, it has been under the ecclesiastical jurisdictio ...
.


Iconostasis

Behind the sepulchre was a wooden five-tiered gold and
silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French language, French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling silver, sterling) which has been gilding, gilded. Most large objects made in goldsmithing tha ...
iconostasis, donated by the
Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
nobleman Ivan Skoropadsky in 1718. The iconostasis, which replaced the one installed in the cathedral in 1631, was made by the Chernihiv craftsman Hryhoriy Petrov, and had icons painted by the Kyiv priest Stefan Lubenskyi. During renovation works in 1888, the iconostasis was planned to be replaced by a marble altar wall. Due to a lack of funds, the three upper tiers were removed, leaving the iconostasis in two tiers, as shown by a number of 20th-century photographs. A sketch of the iconostasis was made by , the architect responsible for its partial dismantling in the 1880s, and the complete iconostasis is partly visible in a 1851 drawing by Mazer. The church historian , writing in 1908, described the iconostasis in the cathedral church as having a golden icon of St. Michael the Archangel, sprinkled with diamonds and other gems, that had been gifted to the church by Tsar Alexander I in 1817. The iconostasis was destroyed shortly before the cathedral was demolished.


Other notable artworks

Paul of Aleppo described the cathedral's tabernacle as it was when he saw it in 1654: Other notable artworks in the cathedral included an icon of St. Barbara, adorned with stars, clasps and diamond rings, gifted by Anna and
Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...
, a gold lamp set with pearls and diamonds, and five silver candlesticks commissioned by Hetman Mazepa in 1701.


Books and documents

One of the achievements of the
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
(1762–1863), who was head of the Kyiv Theological Academy, was to improve the monastery's library. As well as being the centre of the preservation of the city's historical manuscripts and books, the monastery provided for the spiritual and educational needs of the people of Kyiv. Falkovskyi catalogued the books and
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
s, which he numbered and listed alphabetically. He also worked on renovating the books in the library. In the 1860s, a free reading room was opened for the public. The Soviets confiscated the library's books, and moved them to the National Library of the
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...
(now the National Library of Ukraine). Prior to the Soviet period, the monastery library contained 4,200 books. The monastery's surviving collection of old books, numbering approximately 300 publications and 750 manuscripts, are now stored in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. St. Michael's main library has more than 20,000 books.


See also

*
Architecture of Kievan Rus' The architecture of Kievan Rus' comes from the medieval state of Kievan Rus' which incorporated parts of what is now modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, and was centered on Kiev and Novgorod. Its architecture is the earliest period of Russian an ...


Notes


References


Sources


In English

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


In Ukrainian

* * * * * * * * * *


In Russian

* * * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* (self-published)
Information about the monastery
from MD-Ukraine.
A 2022 recording of the bells of the monastery
by Barny Smith.
A report on the role played by the monastery during the anti-government protests of 2014
from
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
.
More information about the history of the refectory church
from ''pslava.info'' (in Ukrainian) {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Michaels Golden Domed Monastery, Kyiv Religious buildings and structures in Kyiv Monasteries of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Christian monasteries established in the 1100s Demolished Christian monasteries in Ukraine Rebuilt buildings and structures in Ukraine Churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Church buildings with domes Tourist attractions in Kyiv Baroque architecture in Ukraine Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv Ukrainian Baroque church buildings 1108 establishments in Europe