St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv - the cultural heritage of Ukraine

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In the very heart of Kyiv there is a significant building of the times of Kievan Rus - St. Sophia Cathedral, not for nothing that it was included in the UNESCO list. This is a really interesting and unique temple, a piece of history and culture of the Ukrainian people. The year of construction of the cathedral is unknown: some researchers tend to think that it was built by Yaroslav the Wise, while others insist that construction began under Prince Vladimir. Be that as it may, but despite its age, almost 1000 years, the temple has survived to this day.

It is known that St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was built at about the same time as St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople. The Ukrainian temple was built like the Cathedral of Our Lady of Oranta, which is located in Constantinople. The construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was timed to coincide with the victory of the people of Kiev over the Pechenegs, and a temple was erected on the site of the decisive battle. Its architecture largely resembles the Byzantine style, with the exception of some nuances, so it is assumed that craftsmen from Constantinople were invited to build it.

The St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv has been on the verge of destruction more than once. Andrey attacked the temple for the first timeBogolyubsky in 1169, then the cathedral almost completely burned down during a fire in 1180. The horde of Batu Khan in 1240 also negatively affected the state of the church, many relics were stolen or destroyed at that time. In the XV century, the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was robbed by the Crimean Tatars. Then came a period of decline. Ivan Mazepa took up the revival of the temple in the 17th century.

The interior of the cathedral is still amazing and almost unaffected by vandalism and time. There are still many frescoes, mosaics and graffiti on the walls. There are murals made by Byzantine painters in the 11th century, that is, when the temple itself was erected. Mosaic works are best preserved; their palette is very rich and includes up to 170 shades. Not all frescoes have been preserved and many of them were updated in the 17th century. Some of them in the 19th century were cleaned to their original appearance and covered with oil, the masters painted the damaged frescoes.

The St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv also became the place where the remains of the princes of Kievan Rus were buried. Here they found the sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise, his son Vsevolod, as well as grandchildren - Vladimir Monomakh and Rostislav Vsevolodovich. The temple kept such relics as the "Cap of Monomakh", which was presented to Vladimir by the emperor of Byzantium, as well as a crucifix brought from Constantinople by Queen Olga.

With the advent of the Soviet government in the twentieth century, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was under threat of destruction. Whilemany monuments of Christian culture were simply demolished, but France stood up for the temple, because Anna, the wife of King Henry I, was the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, the founder of the cathedral. In 1934, it was decided to create a museum-reserve here.

St. Sophia Cathedral is still a museum, for this reason it does not belong to any religious organization. Divine services are held here only once a year - on the Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24, then representatives of different faiths gather to pray for the well-being of the country.