Catherine's Church () is a functioning church in

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 ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. St. Catherine's Church was built in the Cossack period and is distinguished by its five gold domes 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. It can be found at the entrance to

and is included as part of the historical reserve of "Ancient Chernihiv". It is one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. The church was erected in honor of the Chernihiv regiment of Cossacks who had shown heroism and bravery during the storming of the Ottoman fortress of

Azov Azov (, ), previously known as Azak ( Turki/ Kypchak: ), is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. The population is History Early settlements in the vici ...

History

St. Catherine's Church was built in honor of the heroism of the

Chernihiv regiment The Chernigov Regiment (also known as ''Chernihiv Regiment'' or the ''Regiment of Chernigov'', , ) was one of ten territorial-administrative subdivisions of the Registered Zaporozhian Host, later incorporated as an autonomy in Tsardom of Russia. ...

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, 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 borde ...

who took part in the assault on the Ottoman fortress of

in 1696 under the command of Chernihiv colonel

Yakiv Lyzohub Yakiv Yukhymovych Lyzohub () was a military and political figure of the Cossack Hetmanate and a member of a well known Cossack family of Lyzohub. He was born in a family of Chernihiv Colonel Yukhym Yakovych Lyzohub and Lyubov Petrivna Doroshenko ...

. The church was dedicated in 1715 in honor of St. Catherine, who had been respected in Ukraine for a long time. St. Catherine's Church has not been subject to great changes over time. In 1837 the narthex was added to the western façade of the church and the bell tower was erected in 1908. Both were taken apart during the church's restoration. The church suffered damage in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1941-1943, when the roofs and the tops of domes were burned. The restoration works were carried out in two phases: 1947-1955 and 1975-1980. St. Catherine's Church is the greatest monument of the Ukrainian (Cossack) renaissance of the 17th-18th centuries which has remained in an authentic state. It produced a decisive influence on the development of Ukrainian church architecture of the 18th century and still plays the role of city building in the historical party of the city. In spring 1990 a group of Chernihiv Cossacks renewed their activity that had been suppressed by the Soviet authorities in 1933. In 1992 the Cossack Orthodox community of St. Catherine's Church was officially registered by the State and in 1994 it was recognized as "a successor of the appropriate right and duties" of the previous community. On April 2, 1995 the Cossacks Orthodox community was taken under the protection of the patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus–Ukraine

Volodymyr (Romaniuk) Volodymyr (secular name Vasyl Omelianovych Romaniuk, ; 9 December 1923 – 14 July 1995) was a Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox priest and human rights activist who was Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate from its founding ...

. On April 5, 2006, the church building was transferred to the possession of St. Catherine's Church Cossacks Orthodox community. On May 22, 2008, according to the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal of Ukraine, the legality of transferring St. Catherine's Church to the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchy was confirmed. On July 19, 2008, the Cossacks Orthodox Community with the chairman of the parish council and the Bishop of Chernihiv and Nizhin entered the Church and renewed public worship after 75 years of prohibition. From then on, Church has become the Cossacks Cathedral of Chernihiv eparchy. The canonization of the Reverend Mercury, Father Superior Bragynski took place in St. Catherine's Cathedral on December 7, 2011. The ceremony was headed by the Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Filaret. The relic shrine of a saint's body has become one of the church's sacred objects. The church parishioners actively supported the

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

in 2013, the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and the volunteer movement helping to regenerate the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. The names of more than one hundred donors who had rendered material and financial assistance and participated in person were entered in the church's synodic list. With the direct participation of the archpriest Eugen (Orda) and the Chairman of the parish council help was rendered to the Kyiv Maidan. Members of the Cossacks Paris have taken part in the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. On June 26, 2014 in the

ATO zone Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone (), or ATO zone (), was a term used by the media, public, the government of Ukraine, and the OSCE and other foreign institutions to identify Ukrainian territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (oblasts) under the c ...

not far from the town of Lugansk, Mykola Bruy. a Cathedral parishioner, was killed in fighting, and his burial service took place in the Cossacks Cathedral. By decision of the parish council, the name of Mykola Bruy was entered in the synodic list permanently. On May 15, 2015 by decree of the President of Ukraine, Bruy was decorated with the third degree Order "for the personal courage and great professional skill displayed in defending the nation's sovereignty, territorial integrity and allegiance to oath". In accordance with Ukrainian tradition and ancient Cossack custom, a synodic list of 134 names of "heroes of the Chernihiv region" have been entered in the church, including 24 from Chernihiv who died fighting for Ukraine. Damaged in a rocket attack in 2022 during the

Siege of Chernihiv The siege of Chernihiv was a military engagement in the city of Chernihiv, in Chernihiv Oblast in the north of Ukraine. It began on 24 February 2022, as part of the northern Ukraine offensive, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 4 ...

Architecture

The church is made of bricks, and is shaped like a cross, with five domes. The composition is centrical, pyramidally built with the highest central dome and lower ones placed over the faceted sleeves of an architectural cross. Its composition is reminiscent of a wooden Ukrainian church with five octahedral capacities – octahedrons each crowned with a dome. Thanks to its pyramidal construction the church looks tender, elegant and solemn. The facades are a characteristic feature of the church. The main role in their decoration is played by portal and windows margins: triangular pediments, frames, and shallow-cut cornices. Modelled ornamentation is not used in the church. Brick, which had replaced plinth by the time of construction, is used both as building and ornamental material. The facades are plastered and limed. The characteristic feature of the interior is its opening upwards. It is a five-chamber pillarless church crowned by five domes. The top is designed in traditional Ukrainian style, with fractures. The walls are white-washed, while the domes and crosses are gilded.

Conflicts around Church

Apart from the Kyiv patriarchy, the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine had a claim on the Cossacks St. Catherine's Church. After the church was transferred to the community of the Kyiv Patriarchy, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine set up "camp church" in the shape of a tarpaulin marquee at the walls of the building. After 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 marquee was dismantled on February 21, 2014 by the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine under pressure of the Chernihiv community.

Gallery

2014 Катерининська церква night view.jpg, Park Dytynets' Chernihiv, Chernihivs'ka oblast, Ukraine - panoramio.jpg, Вид на Катерининську церкву.jpg, Чернігів.Катерининська церква -представник бароко.JPG, Катерининська церква (Чернігів) 01.jpg, Myru Avenue in Chernihiv.jpg, View of the Saint Catherine's Church in Chernihiv.jpg, Katerunka CN.jpg Екатерининская церковь (2116489113).jpg 74-101-0100 Chernihiv DSC 7428.jpg The Saint Catherine's Church (Chernihiv)..JPG The Saint Catherine's Church (Chernihiv).JPG Chernihiv Катерининська церква 2014 Photo 04.jpg Chernihiv Катерининська церква 2014 Photo 02.jpg Chernihiv Катерининська церква 2014 Photo 01.jpg 74-101-0006 Chernihiv DSC 7362.jpg Катерининська церква у Чернігові. 1917 р. Фотограф М.Шамбон.jpg St. Catherine Church.jpg St. Catherine Church - panoramio.jpg

References

* "Churches of Ukraine", Mistetstvo Kyiv 2000,

External links