St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, the oldest holy monastery in Kiev, includes in its complex a majestic temple built in the name of the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of the city. In addition to the undoubted artistic and architectural merits of the cathedral, its feature is that it was the first temple in Russia, the domes of which were covered with gold. This gave the name to the entire monastery complex.
Cathedral, built by Prince Svyatopolk
It is generally accepted that the construction of the monastery is connected with the name of the Kiev Metropolitan Michael, an outstanding church figure of the 10th century. However, the construction of the famous golden-domed cathedral began only a century later, during the reign of Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. Having been baptized, he was named Michael, and the construction of the temple became a sign of his humble admiration for the heavenly patron bestowed upon him.
Built by a pious prince, the cathedral occupied an important place in the life of the townspeople, since Kiev was under the heavenly protection of the Archangel Michael. It is no coincidence that the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, in the complex of which he was a part, from the 12th century became the burial place of persons of the princely family. It was a kind of pantheon, capturing a significant period in the history of Kievan Rus on its gravestones.
The first gold domes in Russia
In 1108, a significant event took place in the life of the monastery: from the Byzantine capital of Constantinople the relics of the Great Martyr Barbara were transferred to it, which became the main shrine of the monastery. Researchers also attribute to the same period the birth of a gilding of domes, new at that time, in the architectural tradition. The Church of St. Michael the Archangel was the first in Russia, where architects implemented this innovation.
Tatar invasion and Polish jurisdiction
The years of the invasion of alien conquerors were seriously affected by the fate of the monastery. Among them, the hordes were most damaged by hordes of Tatars who captured Kiev in 1482. They destroyed many buildings on the territory of the monastery and destroyed the priceless monuments of ancient Russian painting and writing.
When the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery, together with the whole of Kiev, came under the jurisdiction of the Polish kings, letters were granted to him, which gave the right to independently elect the abbots and ensured independence from the church authority of the metropolitans and the arbitrariness of the governor. This served as an impetus for its development, and, as follows from the historical documents of that era, by the middle of the XVI century the monastery became the largest and richest religious center in Kiev.
The fight against the Uniates
The Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery became a witness to dramatic events at the beginning of the 17th century, when the King of Poland transferred it to the Uniates - representatives of the Greek Catholic Church, who was trying to extend its influence to the territory of the southern and southwestern regions of Russia.
Their attempts to seize the monastery and the estates belonging to it put an end to the Cossacks, with arms in their hands who stood up to defend the fatherly shrines.
The blood of the defenders of the monastery was not shed for nothing. Thanks to their courage, the monastery remained under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church, and his abbot Job Boretsky was elevated to the metropolitans. Left to live within the walls of the monastery, he thereby significantly increased its status, making it a permanent metropolitan residence for many years.
Events of the XVII-XVIII centuries
Another important stage in the life of the monastery was 1654, when there was annexation of Kiev and its territories to the Russian state. Despite the fact that St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery lost part of its land estates, which became the property of the Commonwealth, this loss was more than compensated by the hetmans and Cossack foremen, who deducted significant territories located in Left-Bank Ukraine to the possession of the monks . Since 1800, the monastery has also become the residence of the vicars of the Kiev diocese.
In the period of the XVII-XVIII centuries, the entire complex of buildings underwent significant restructuring in the fashionable for that time Baroque style. As a result of the work, the ancient, still pre-Mongol church included the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery. All that remained of it were altar absids, fragments of walls and a central dome. Particular attention was paid to ancient mosaics and frescoes that adorned the walls of the temple. Sufficiently studied by art historians, they were subsequently cleared and restored.
Recalling the pre-revolutionary history of the monastery, one can not help but mention the monastery that belonged to him, built near Kiev, and the nearby convent of the same name, transferred in 1712 to Podil. This holy monastery was also founded in honor of the heavenly patron of the city - the Archangel Michael.
The destruction of the cathedral in the Soviet period
Neither from the Tatar hordes, nor from foreign conquerors, the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery did not suffer such irreparable losses as from its own citizens, covered in atheistic madness during the Soviet period. When the capital of the Ukrainian SSR was moved from Kharkov to Kiev, and it took a lot of space for the construction of administrative buildings, the republican authorities ordered the demolition of the old cathedral.
Despite all the attempts of art historians to save a unique ancient monument from destruction, in 1934-1936 work was carried out to dismantle it. The mosaics and frescoes of St. Michael’s Cathedral of the Golden-Domed Monastery were partially saved. They were fortified on a new foundation and placed in the St. Sophia Cathedral, located in the center of Kiev.
Orthodox shrines that have become museum exhibits
To preserve the mosaic panel, the Eucharist had to build a wall in the exhibition hall of St. Sophia Cathedral, exactly reproducing the outlines of the altar absins of St. Michael's Church. Other fragments of mosaics and frescoes are included in the collections of museums in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev.
During the German occupation, mosaics and frescoes that once adorned the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery were taken to Germany. At the end of the war, they returned to our country, but not on the banks of the Dnieper, but in museum funds of other cities. The relics of the great martyr Barbara, who for many centuries have been the main shrine of the monastery, have been resting in the Vladimir Cathedral of Kiev since the beginning of the sixties. Mosaic images of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery could be seen in Moscow, Leningrad and Novgorod.
It should be noted a very sad fact. The construction plan for the administrative building on the spot where the main cathedral of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery was located before was never implemented. Destroying the most valuable monument of ancient Russian temple architecture, the authorities left a wasteland in its place, throughout the Soviet period testifying to their barbaric attitude to their own history.
Reborn shrine
Restored in the late nineties according to the project of architect Y. Lisitsky, the temple was inaugurated on May 30, 1999. Many objects of former decoration returned to that time in museums of the country, and the pediment was decorated with a copy of an ancient sculpture of the archangel Michael.
The bell tower, recreated from ancient images, installed a modern musical instrument - carillon. With its help, professional musicians perform complex spiritual compositions.