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| During the Soviet Times, the cathedral survived from the massive anti-religion campaign from destruction, but not from closure. Until the war a museum of religion and atheism existed there. After the war the cathedral was opened and was not closed since. During this time it was the main church of the Kiev metropolitan's ] of the Ukranian Exarchate. It seen the revival of Orthodox religion in 1988 when the millenium celebration of the ] marked a turn in the Soviet policy of religion. However afterwards the cathedral again became a subject of controversy. In ], following the events surrounnding the ouster of ], a Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine of the ], the cathedral became the first building to be seized by the newly proclaimed ] in a series of ]. The followers of the schizmatic church with the assistance of nationalist paramilitary groups barrikaded themselves inside the cathedral and refused entry to the new canonical church leader and several thousand believers who gathered to meet him. The cathedral remains in the hands of the ]. | During the Soviet Times, the cathedral survived from the massive anti-religion campaign from destruction, but not from closure. Until the war a museum of religion and atheism existed there. After the war the cathedral was opened and was not closed since. During this time it was the main church of the Kiev metropolitan's ] of the Ukranian Exarchate. It seen the revival of Orthodox religion in 1988 when the millenium celebration of the ] marked a turn in the Soviet policy of religion. However afterwards the cathedral again became a subject of controversy. In ], following the events surrounnding the ouster of ], a Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine of the ], the cathedral became the first building to be seized by the newly proclaimed ] in a series of ]. The followers of the schizmatic church with the assistance of nationalist paramilitary groups barrikaded themselves inside the cathedral and refused entry to the new canonical church leader and several thousand believers who gathered to meet him. The cathedral remains in the hands of the ]. | ||
| All the patriarchs and many top hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church conducted religious service in St Volodymyr's. The service is conducted in Ukrainian. The choral singing in St Volodymyr's on religious holidays is unparalleled in its magnificence and moving power in the whole of Ukraine. Opera singers are invited to join the choristers and priests in singing during the service on big religious holidays. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 15:11, 25 October 2005
St Volodymyr's Cathedral (Template:Lang-uk) also known as St Vladimir's Cathedral) is one of Kiev's major landmarks and the mother cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy, one of two major Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, viewed, however, uncanocical by the Eastern Orthodox Communion. It is one of three greatest Orthodox churches built in the nineteenth century, on the par with St Isaac's in St Petersburg and Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
In 1852, metropolitan Philaret of Moscow suggested a large cathedral should be built in Kiev to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus. People from all over the Russian Empire started donating to this cause, so that by 1859 the cathedral fund had amassed a huge sum of 100,000 rubles. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) produced one million bricks and presented them to the cathedral as well. The design was executed in delightful Byzantine style by the architects Ivan Schtrom and Alexander Beretti. Much stymied by technical problems, the construction works dragged on for three decades. On August 20, 1896, the cathedral was finally consecrated to St Volodymyr in the presence of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fyodorovna.
It is the cathedral's colourful interior that particularly strikes the eye. Mosaics were executed by masters from Venice. Frescoes were the work of three outstanding Russian painters of the day: Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Vrubel, and Mikhail Nesterov. The iconostasis is carved from the white marble brought from Carrara.
During the Soviet Times, the cathedral survived from the massive anti-religion campaign from destruction, but not from closure. Until the war a museum of religion and atheism existed there. After the war the cathedral was opened and was not closed since. During this time it was the main church of the Kiev metropolitan's see of the Ukranian Exarchate. It seen the revival of Orthodox religion in 1988 when the millenium celebration of the baptism of Rus marked a turn in the Soviet policy of religion. However afterwards the cathedral again became a subject of controversy. In 1992, following the events surrounnding the ouster of Filaret, a Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine of the Russian Orthodox Church, the cathedral became the first building to be seized by the newly proclaimed Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy in a series of clashes between several Ukrainian churches. The followers of the schizmatic church with the assistance of nationalist paramilitary groups barrikaded themselves inside the cathedral and refused entry to the new canonical church leader and several thousand believers who gathered to meet him. The cathedral remains in the hands of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy.
All the patriarchs and many top hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church conducted religious service in St Volodymyr's. The service is conducted in Ukrainian. The choral singing in St Volodymyr's on religious holidays is unparalleled in its magnificence and moving power in the whole of Ukraine. Opera singers are invited to join the choristers and priests in singing during the service on big religious holidays.