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The Church of the Tithes or Church of the Dormition of the Virgin ( uk, Десятинна Церква, ) was the first stone
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
in Kyiv.Mariya Lesiv, ''The Return of Ancestral Gods: Modern Ukrainian Paganism as an Alternative Vision for a Nation'', (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2013), 105. Originally it was built by the order of
Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...
Volodymyr (Volodymyr) the Great between 989 and 996 by
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and local workers at the site of death of martyrs Theodor the Varangian and his son Johann. It was originally named the ''"Church of Our Lady"'', in honor of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The church was ruined in 1240 during the siege of Kyiv by Mongol armies of
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
. Volodymyr set aside a ''
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
'' of his income and property to finance the church's construction and maintenance, which gave the church its popular name. On an initiative of the Metropolitan of Kyiv
Eugene Bolkhovitinov Meropolitan Eugene (russian: Митрополит Евгений, secular name: Yevfimy Alekseyevich Bolkhovitinov, russian: Евфимий Алексеевич Болховитинов; –) was the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galici ...
, the church was rebuilt in the mid-19th century, but in 1928 it was once again destroyed by the
Soviet regime The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Con ...
.


Medieval church

By Volodymyr's order, the remains of his grandmother
Princess Olga Olga ( orv, Вольга, Volĭga; (); russian: Ольга (); uk, Ольга (). Old Norse: '; Lithuanian language, Lith: ''Alge''; Christian name: ''Elena''; c. 890–925 – 969) was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav I of Kiev, ...
, the first Christian ruler of
Rus' Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...
, were reburied in this church.''The Notion of "Uncorrupted Relics" in Early Ukrainian Culture'', Gail Lenhoff, Christianity and the Eastern Slavs: Slavic cultures in the Middle Ages, Vol. I, ed. B. Gasparov, Olga Raevsky-Hughes, (University of California Press, 1993), 264. Volodymyr and his wife, Princess Anna, the sister of
Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar ...
, were also buried in the Church of the Tithes. The church was seriously damaged in the fire of 1017 and was rebuilt by
Yaroslav Yaroslav () is a Slavic given name. Its variant spelling is Jaroslav and Iaroslav, and its feminine form is Yaroslava. The surname derived from the name is Yaroslavsky and its variants. All may refer to: Historical figures * Yaroslav I the Wise ( ...
and rededicated in 1039.''The Earliest Mediaeval Churches of Kiev'', Samuel H. Cross, H. V. Morgilevski and K. J. Conant, Speculum, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Oct., 1936), 482. In 1044, Yaroslav would make the church a mausoleum for Kyivan princes, having the remains of Yaropolk and
Oleg Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...
baptised and interred. In 1171 and 1203, the church was sacked and in 1240 it was used by Kyivans as the last refuge while the city was being ravaged by the hordes of
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
, when it finally collapsed from fire.
Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...
's Saviour Cathedral (1036) is an extant structure supposed to reproduce the dimensions and exterior appearance of the original Church of the Tithes.


Replacement buildings

In the early 19th century, another metropolitan bishop,
Eugene Bolkhovitinov Meropolitan Eugene (russian: Митрополит Евгений, secular name: Yevfimy Alekseyevich Bolkhovitinov, russian: Евфимий Алексеевич Болховитинов; –) was the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galici ...
, had the site excavated. Under his administration, a new church of the Tithes was built in stone (between 1828 and 1842). Its Russian Revival design by Vasily Stasov had little in common with the medieval original. In 1935 Stasov's church was destroyed by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
authorities.


Plans for reconstruction

A plan to rebuild the church is under consideration in Kyiv. Proponents of reconstruction point out the historical and political importance of rebuilding a church so significant in Eastern Slavic history. Opponents refer to the lack of any documentary descriptions or depictions of the original church, and that
excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...
s were unable to determine even the layout of its foundation. Besides, the monumental building of the new church is likely to be in disharmony with the delicate 18th-century St. Andrew's Church, one of the most famous landmarks of Kyiv, located adjacent to the original location of the destroyed Church of the Tithes. Its reconstruction would also require the destruction of the city's oldest tree, a 370-year-old linden. On 3 February 2005, the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, signed a decree on the restoration of the Tithe Church, to which the state budget provides nearly ₴90 million ($18 million). In 2006, an Orthodox tabernacle was established near Desyatynna church. In 2007, a wooden church was built in the location of the tabernacle, consecrated by Primate of the UOC
Metropolitan Volodymyr Metropolitan Vladimir (Volodymyr; secular name Viktor Markianovich Sabodan, russian: Виктор Маркианович Сабодан, uk, Віктор Маркіянович Сабодан, November 23, 1935 – July 5, 2014) was the hea ...
on July 25 of that year. On July 9, 2009, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it was decided to open the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Desyatynnyi monastery in Kyiv and appoint as governor Gideon Archimandrite (Charon). In January 2010, Kyiv's Head of Urban Planning, Architecture and Urban Environment Design, Sergii Tsilovalnyk, reported that a platform will be built on the ruins of the Tithe church to serve as a foundation for the new church, which will belong to the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...
.Website Desyatinny Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin


List of burials

Within its premises the church had a princely tomb. *
Pope Clement I Pope Clement I ( la, Clemens Romanus; Greek: grc, Κλήμης Ῥώμης, Klēmēs Rōmēs) ( – 99 AD) was bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 AD t ...
* Anna of Byzantium * Vladimir the Great * Olga of Kiev, reburied from
Vyshhorod Vyshhorod ( uk, Ви́шгород) is a city in Kyiv Oblast (region) in central Ukraine, situated immediately north of Kyiv city, the national capital, and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It is on the right (western) bank of the Dnieper r ...
*
Yaropolk I of Kiev Yaropolk I Sviatoslavich (Old East Slavic: Ꙗрополкъ Свѧтославичъ, transliterated as ''Iaropolk Svyatoslavich''; Russian: ; Ukrainian: Ярополк I Святославич; 952 – 11 June 978) was a young and rather enig ...
*
Oleg of the Drevlyans Oleg was a Rurikid ruler of the Drevlians from 969 to his death in 977. He was the second son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev. Date of birth is not known, but is probably before 957. Sviatoslav split up his domains, and gave the Drevlyan lands to Oleg. O ...
The remnants of Anna of Byzantium and Vladimir the Great were first reburied in the Church of the Saviour and later in the Dormition Cathedral of
Kyiv Caves Monastery Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...
. Some remnants were reburied in the Saint Sophia's Cathedral.


External links


Church of the Tithes

3D-model of Church of the Tithes (1.33Mb)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tithes, Church of the Former buildings and structures of Kyiv 10th-century churches Vasily Stasov buildings and structures Religious buildings and structures completed in 996 1240 disestablishments in Europe Churches completed in 1842 Buildings and structures demolished in 1935 Demolished churches in Ukraine Stone churches Churches in Kyiv Demolished buildings and structures in Kyiv Volodymyrska Street