| St Volodymyr's Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 Front view of St Volodymyr's Cathedral | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Church of Ukraine |
| Rite | Byzantine Rite |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Kyiv,Ukraine |
 Interactive map of St Volodymyr's Cathedral | |
| Coordinates | 50°26′41″N30°30′32″E / 50.44472°N 30.50889°E /50.44472; 30.50889 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Alexander Vikentievich Beretti |
| Type | cathedral |
| Style | neo-Byzantine style |
| Completed | 1862–1882 |
| Specifications | |
| Dome | seven |
| Dome height (outer) | 49 m (161 ft) |
| Materials | Brick |
St Volodymyr's Cathedral (Ukrainian:Володимирський собор[woloˈdɪmɪrsʲkɪjsoˈbɔr]) is acathedral in the centre ofKyiv, and one of the city's major landmarks at the intersection ofIvan Franko Street, theTaras Shevchenko Boulevard, and the Botanical Square. Since theunification council of the Eastern Orthodox churches of Ukraine in December 2018, it has been under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of theOrthodox Church of Ukraine. Before that, it was themother church of theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate.
In 1852,MetropolitanPhilaret of Moscow suggested a large cathedral should be built inKyiv to commemorate the 900th anniversary of thebaptism of Kyivan Rus' by princeVolodymyr the Great. People from all over theRussian Empire started donating to this cause, so that by 1859 the cathedral fund had amassed a huge sum of 100,000rubles. TheKyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) produced one million bricks and presented them to the cathedral as well. The design was executed inneo-Byzantine style initially by the architects I. Schtrom, P. Sparro, R. Bemhardt, K. Mayevsky, V. Nikolayev. The final version of the design belongs toAlexander Vikentievich Beretti. It is a traditional six-piered, three-apsed temple crowned by sevencupolas. The height to the cross of the main dome is 49 m (161 ft).
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The colourful interior of the cathedral is particularly striking. Itsmosaics were executed by masters fromVenice. Thefrescoes were created under the guidance of ProfessorAdrian Prakhov by a group of famous painters:Wilhelm Kotarbiński,Mikhail Nesterov,Mykola Pymonenko,Pavel Svedomsky,Viktor Vasnetsov,Mikhail Vrubel, Viktor Zamyraylo (1868–1939), and others. The painting of the Holy Mother of God by Vasnetsov in the altar apse of the cathedral impresses by its austere beauty.[citation needed]
The entrance door is adorned with relief bronze sculptures ofOlga of Kyiv by sculptorRobert Bakh and St. Volodymyr (sculptor H. Zaieman) against a blue background. Theiconostasis is carved from the whitemarble brought fromCarrara. The cathedral was completed in 1882, however, the paintings were fully completed only in 1896.[1]
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The cathedral risked damage during thePolish–Soviet War in 1920.[2] During theSoviet period, the cathedral narrowly escaped demolition, but not closure. Until theSecond World War, it served as a museum of religion and atheism. The relics ofSaint Barbara, a martyr of the 3rd century AD, were transferred to St Volodymyr's from theSt. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery before it was destroyed by theBolsheviks,[3] and have remained there since.
After the war, the cathedral was reopened and has since remained continually open. It was then the main church of the KyivMetropolitan See of the Ukrainian Exarchate. The cathedral was one of the few places in the USSR where tourists could openly visit a working Orthodox Church. It saw the revival of Orthodox religion in 1988 when the millennium celebration of theBaptism of Rus' marked a late change in Soviet policy on religion.[citation needed]
After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, St Volodymyr's Cathedral ownership became an issue ofcontroversy between twodenominations that both claim to represent UkrainianOrthodox Christianity – theUkrainian Orthodox Church, a church with anautonomous status that was, at the time, under theMoscow Patriarchate, and the newly establishedUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate, which, ultimately, won the control over the cathedral.
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