Vydubychi Monastery () is a historic

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in the Ukrainian capital

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. During the

Soviet period The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

it housed the NANU Institute of Archaeology.

History

The monastery was established between 1070 and 1077 by Vsevolod, son of

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...

. It was a family cloister of Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh and his descendants. The monastery, and the neighbourhood in present-day Kyiv where it is located, was named after an old Slavic legend about the

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

god

Perun In Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, Perun () is the highest god of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, ir ...

and the

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) (; ; ; ; ) is a hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. Grand duke is the usual and established, though not litera ...

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...

of Kyiv. The word "Vydubychi" comes from the word ''Vydobychi'' → ''Vydobych'' → ''Vydobech'' () which means "to swim up", "emerge from water". The legend has it that Vladimir ordered the wooden figures of Perun (the Thunder God) and other pagan gods dumped into the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

during the mass Baptism of Kyiv. The disheartened Kyivans, though accepting the baptism, ran along the Dnieper River calling for the old gods to emerge from water (). Accordingly, the area down the river stream where Perun emerged was named ''Vydubichu'' or ''Vydubychi'' in modern Ukrainian. The monastery operated the

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

across the

and many of the best scholars of that time lived and worked there. Among them, chroniclers Sylvestr of Kiev and Moisey made a great contribution to writing the '' Tale of Bygone Years''. From the 1596

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

the Monastery was an official seat of the first three metropolitans of the

Greek Catholic Church Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

in Ukraine — Mykhajlo Rohoza, Ipatii Potii and Yosyf Rutskyi. In 1635. it was returned to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.''The Vydubytskyi Monastery: A Kyiv landmark worthy of attention, Ukraine Weekly'' 1996-08-11 Vydubychi at Pokrova Church 1

1996-08-11 Vydubychi at Pokrova Church 1

The monastery was continuously protected by Ukraine's

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

s and aristocratic families. Hetman

Ivan Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (; ; ) was the Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host and the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687–1708. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired Cultural legacy of Mazeppa, many literary, artistic and musical works. He was ...

in 1695 forbade the Vydubytskyi Monastery's neighbors to "do injustice to the monastery" and placed it under the guard of Starodub Regiment Col. Mykhailo Myklashevskyi, who established the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style Church of St. George and new Transfiguration Refectory. Hetman

Danylo Apostol Danylo Pavlovych Apostol ( – ) was Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host from 1727 to 1734. Biography Born into a Cossack family of Moldavian origin, Danylo Apostol was a prominent military leader, ''polkovnyk'' (colonel) of the Myrhorod Regiment, an ...

subsidised construction of the monastery's bell tower. In the 18th century the help of Hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky's ensured the new properties for the Vydubychi. Since the late 1990s, the monastery is administered by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — Kyiv Patriarchate. The Vydubychi Church Choir was among the first choirs in newly independent Ukraine to reinstate singing of the Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian language.

Buildings and structures

Only a few churches of this monastery have survived over the centuries. One of these is the Collegiate Church of Saint Michael, which was built on behest of Vsevolod I and partly reconstructed between 1766 and 1769 by Russian architect M. I. Yurasov. 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 ...

structures include the magnificent 5-domed St. George Cathedral, Transfiguration of the Saviour Church and refectory, all dating from 1696-1701. A belltower, commissioned by the

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

, was erected in 1727-33 and built up in 1827-31. * Saint Michael Church * Saint George Cathedral * Refectory with Savior-Transfiguraton Church * Chapel of the Saint Michael Church * Fraternity building * Building of the abbot * Necropolis

Necropolis

Many distinguished individuals are buried there, including: * Y. Handzyuk — Commander of the First Ukrainian Corps (1918), executed by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

. * Bogdan Khanenko (1848–1917) collector and patron of the arts, his collection was moved to the Kyiv Museum of Art and Industry after his death. * Konstantin Ushinsky (1823–1871) — pedagogue, advocate of teaching in Ukrainian (which was prohibited in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century according to the Ems Ukase). * Vladimir Alekseyevich Betz (1834–1896) — anatomist famous for his discovery of giant pyramidal motoneurons which are now called

Betz cell Betz cells (also known as pyramidal cells of Betz) are giant pyramidal cells (neurons) located within the fifth layer of the grey matter in the primary motor cortex. These neurons are the largest in the central nervous system, sometimes reaching 1 ...

s. * Lev Mikhailovich Yashvil (1768–1836) — artillery general during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. File:80-382-9007 Видубицький монастир.jpg, Vydubychi Monastery File:Георгиевский Выдубицкого.jpg, St. George's Cathedral File:Выдубицкий монастырь 1.JPG, The Bell Tower (left) and the Abbot's House (right) File:Михайловский Выдубицкого.jpg, St. Michael's Church File:Видубицький монастир а.jpg, The Refectory (left) and the Fraternity Building (right) File:Дзвіниця Видубицького монастиря, Київ.jpg, The Bell Tower

Vydubychi Monastery in art and literature

* Drawing, ''Vydubytskyi Monastery in Kyiv'' (1844) by

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

. The work is located in the National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv. * Drawing, ''Vydubytskyi Monastery'' (1840s) by Mykhailo Sazhyn. The work is located in the National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv.

References

Vydubitskiy Monastery

External links