Why tithe church. Re-establishment of the Tithe Church: “This work pleases God”

In the 10th century, the main building of the capital city and the first stone temple of the Kiev era? Rus' had the Tithe Church. Was it built in honor of the Holy One? Theotokos in 986–996, during the reign of Vladimir the Great, who? donated a tenth of his income - tithe - for the construction and maintenance of the temple. In Tithes? Church there was a grand-ducal tomb, where Prince Vladimir, his wife, the Byzantine princess Anna, were buried, Grand Duchess Olga.

Tithe Church - the second temple (1842-1928)

The temple was destroyed several times. In 1240, the hordes of Batu Khan, having taken Kyiv, destroyed the Tithe Church - the last? stronghold of the people of Kiev. According to legend, the church collapsed under the weight of the multitude of people who filled it and tried to escape from the Mongols.

For a long time, on the site of the magnificent temple there were only ruins. In 1824, on behalf of Metropolitan of Kyiv Evgenia (Bolkhovitinov) began to clear the foundations of the Tithe? churches. This work was carried out under the guidance of archaeologists Kondrat Lokhvitsky and Nikolai Efimov. And in 1828–1842 huge buildings were erected here? stone? temple, newly named? in the name of the Mother of God. The author of the project was St. Petersburg? architect Vasily? Stasov.

In 1935, the temple was barbarically destroyed.

Prince Vladimir himself pledged it, spent money on its maintenance, and bequeathed to rest in it. The Tithe Church was the first stone church in Rus'. She did not survive the Mongol-Tatar invasion, but remained in people's memory a symbol of Russian piety and holiness.

Construction

Prince Vladimir built a stone church in the name of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (scientists argue about whether it was dedicated to the Dormition) on the site of the murder of the Varangians Theodore and John - Christians who became victims of pagans. They began to build the church with the help of Greek craftsmen, decorated it with “silver and gold”, put a lot of marble on it - and, as the chronicle says, they worked on it for five years.

According to the chronicler, when the construction was completed, Vladimir allocated a tenth of his income for the maintenance of the new temple - tithe, from which the church itself began to be called “Tithe”. Anastas Korsunyanin was entrusted with managing it - the man who, as some historians believe, personally baptized the prince. It is this clergyman who is also credited with a decisive role in the capture of Korsun (Chersonese) by Vladimir. During the siege of the city, Anastas, who served in one of the Kosrun churches, sent an arrow through the walls to the Russian prince - a message was inscribed on the arrow about how to take the city: “Dig up and stop the water that comes from the wells that are behind you from the east.” . According to legend, Vladimir did as instructed and publicly promised: “If this comes true, I will be baptized!”

When Chersonesos was taken, Anastas left for Kyiv in Vladimir's retinue. Having become a steward in the Tithe Church, he in fact began to lead the young Russian church instead of the Kyiv Metropolitan - he was absent for a long time, visiting Byzantium.

In ancient Kyiv, the Church of the Tithes played a role cathedral. In this capacity, she was given a place of honor: archaeological research shows that the distance between Desyatinnaya and the princely palace did not exceed 60 meters.

Shrine

It is believed that the first shrines for Tithe prince Vladimir brought it from Korsun - they were the relics of St. Clement, Pope of Rome, and the relics of his disciple. “A Sermon on the Renewal of the Tithe Church” (11th century) speaks of Clement as the first heavenly intercessor of the Russian land. There is evidence that the head of the saint was later shown by Prince Yaroslav the Wise to the French delegation, who arrived to marry his daughter Anna Yaroslavna to their king Henry I.

Later, the Church of the Tithes became a princely tomb. The Byzantine wife of Prince Vladimir Anna (died in 1011) was buried in it, and later the baptist of Rus' himself, who reposed in the Lord in 1015. Their remains were buried in marble sarcophagi that stood in the center of the temple, and were lost after Batu's invasion (at the beginning of the 17th century, it was announced that a sarcophagus with the prince's remains had been found - however, scientists doubt their authenticity).

Fate

The fate of the first stone temple was not easy. In 1171, the church was plundered by the troops of Andrei Bogolyubsky during internecine wars for Kyiv throne. Thirty years later, at the beginning of the 13th century, Desyatinnaya was again plundered, this time by the soldiers of Rurik Rostislavovich. Then, according to chronicle sources, all the icons, crosses and sacred vessels were taken from the temple, and the monks and priests were killed.

In 1240, Kyiv was captured by Batu Khan. The Tithe Church turned out to be the last stronghold of the Kyiv defense - the townspeople closed themselves inside it, led by the local governor. The chronicle says: there were so many people that the building could not stand it and “from the burden” collapsed, burying the Kievites who did not want to surrender.

This temple was never restored. At the beginning of the 17th century, Peter the Mogila built on one of the corners of the foundation of Tithe small temple- in memory of her. In the 19th century, this temple was dismantled during an attempt at a new reconstruction: a new church, built in the Russian-Byzantine style, grew up on the site of Desyatinnaya; it did not replicate the original building; moreover, part of the original foundation was destroyed for the new temple. In the 30s of the 20th century, the Bolsheviks dismantled it into bricks.

The remains of the foundation of the Tithe Church are open today and anyone can see them.

Tithe Church - the first stone church Kievan Rus. It was built on the spot where, by order of Prince Vladimir, pagan god Two Christians were sacrificed to Perun - the baby John and his father Feodor.

The church was built by Old Russian and Byzantine masters in 989-996. during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, who allocated a tenth of the prince's income - tithes - for its construction. This is where the name of the temple came from. The temple was founded in honor of the Assumption Mother of God.

The church was a cross-domed six-pillar temple. At the beginning of the 11th century. it was surrounded by galleries. The Tithe Church was decorated with mosaics, frescoes, carved marble and slate plates (icons, crosses and dishes were brought from Tauric Chersonese (Korsun). Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and his wife, the Byzantine princess Anna, were buried in the Tithe Church, and the ashes of Princess Olga were brought here from Vyshgorod. At the end of 1240, the hordes of Batu Khan, having captured Kyiv, destroyed the Tithe Church - the last hiding place of the Kievites.

Excavations of the church ruins began in the 30s. XVII century on the initiative of Metropolitan Peter Mogila. Then Saint Peter Mogila found the sarcophagus of Prince Vladimir and his wife Anna in the ruins. The prince's skull was placed in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Savior-on-Berestov), ​​then it was transferred to the Assumption Church Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Bone and jaw handed over St. Sophia Cathedral. The rest of the remains were buried again.

The saint built a temple in honor of St. on the site of the Tithe Church. Nicholas, which stood until 1824. According to his will, Peter Mogila left a thousand gold pieces for the restoration of the Tithe Church. In 1758, the church needed restoration, which was carried out under the supervision of the nun of the Florovsky Monastery Nektaria (Dolgorukaya). The sarcophagi were found and reburied. In 1824, Metropolitan Evgeny Bolkhovitinov ordered archaeologist K.A. to clear the foundations of the Tithe Church. Lokhvitsky, and in 1826. - Efimov. Remains of marble, mosaics, and jasper were found. The excavations were not guarded and therefore they began to be stolen.

On August 2, 1828, the beginning of construction of a new church was consecrated. According to the competition, the construction of the new church was entrusted to the St. Petersburg architect V. P. Stasov. The construction of a new temple in the imperial, Byzantine-Moscow style, which had nothing in common with the original structure, cost more than 100 thousand rubles in gold. The iconostasis was made from copies of the iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, created by the artist Borovikovsky. On July 15, 1842, the new Tithe Church was consecrated by Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev, Archbishop Nikanor of Zhitomir and Bishop Joseph of Smolensk. Several bricks of the Tithe Church were laid on July 31, 1837 in the foundation of the Red Building of Kyiv University, which was supposed to symbolize the connection of the Kyiv University of St. Vladimir with the educational heritage of the Equal-to-the-Apostles prince as the Baptist of Rus'.

In 1928, the Church of the Tithes, like many other monuments of culture and art of the pre-Soviet period, was destroyed by the Soviet government. In 1938-1939 An expedition from the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences, led by M.K. Karger, conducted a fundamental study of the remains of all parts of the Tithe Church. During the excavations, fragments of the mosaic floor, fresco and mosaic decoration of the temple, stone tombs, remains of foundations and so on were found. Near the Church of the Tithes, the ruins of princely palaces and boyar dwellings were found, as well as craft workshops and numerous burials of the 9th-10th centuries. Archaeological finds are stored in the Sofia Museum reserve, in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The plan and salvaged parts indicate this. that the church was built and decorated in the style of Chersonesos and early era Byzantine style.

Website of the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC

The Church of the Tithes, erected in Kyiv on the initiative of the holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in 988-996, became the first stone church of Kievan Rus. Initially, the prince allocated a tenth of his annual income for the construction and maintenance of this building, its servants and clergy, for which the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (the official name of this building) received its name. Currently, this temple does not exist, but it was located on the Starokievskaya Upland, in close proximity to the upper part of St. Andrew's descent, descending to Podol.

Historical reference

The Tithe Church (its first building) was built in the first years after the Baptism of Kievan Rus on the site of the death of Christians torn to pieces by a crowd of pagans and was consecrated already in 996. The first building, similar to a Byzantine basilica, was built from local stone - it measured 32 by 42 meters. It had six tiers, and the structure itself had the shape of a Byzantine cross. In the first church there were three altars - the main altar was dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and the other two - to St. Nicholas and St. Vladimir. It was in this temple that St. Vladimir was originally buried (his grave was discovered during archaeological excavations). During its existence, the first building of the temple, despite the fact that it was built of stone, burned several times (in 1017, 1203). It was this temple that became the last point of defense of Kyiv during the siege of the city by Batu’s horde and collapsed during the assault, burying the city’s defenders under its walls in 1240. Over the years of its existence, before the construction of the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, this temple remained the tomb of the grand ducal family - after the construction of the temple, the remains of Saint Olga, the grandmother of Vladimir the Great, his wife the Greek princess Anna and some other descendants of the Baptist of Rus' were transferred to it.

The building of the Tithe Church became a model for the construction of many Christian churches Kievan Rus - Chernigov Cathedral, Sophia of Kyiv.

The first attempt to restore the temple was made under the leadership of Peter Mogila, and on the site of the Tithe Church a small wooden church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary was built, in which the metropolitan was buried and it existed until the mid-18th century

The second building of the Church of the Tithes was built only 600 years later - in 1824, the first archaeological excavations in Kyiv, which were under the patronage of the Church, began at the site of its construction. During these surveys, fragments of the mosaic floor, frescoes and wall mosaics, and almost the entire foundation were found. Directly near the foundation, the ruins of the palace of the Grand Duke, the houses of his boyars, craft workshops, and the first Christian cemetery on the territory of Kyiv were found.

The construction of the second building of the Tithe Church took the period from 1828 to 1842 and was largely financed by royal family. An iconostasis was installed in it, which was an exact copy iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg - its icons were an exact copy of Borovikovsky’s works.

The building of the Tithe Church, as well as the St. Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv, were destroyed during the period of mass persecution of the church in 1936 and were completely dismantled into bricks used for buildings in the city. Despite the fact that in the spirit of Ukraine’s independence it was decided to restore the Tithe Church, after several scientific conferences it was decided not to restore the building. The complex of archaeological excavations is, like the entire complex of St. Sophia of Kyiv, under the protection of UNESCO.

Tithe Church on the map of Kyiv

The Church of the Tithes, erected in Kyiv on the initiative of the holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in 988-996, became the first stone church of Kievan Rus. Initially, the prince allocated a tenth of his annual income for the construction and maintenance of this building, its servants and clergy, for which the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (the official name of this building) received its name. In on..." />

The Tithe Church is the first cathedral of Kievan Rus after baptism. This is a shrine of such a scale, its role is so great that after its destruction the idea of ​​​​restoring this temple arose more than once.

Detinets of Ancient Kyiv was a fortified princely settlement: the Kiya Palace, the palace of Princess Olga were located there, Prince Vladimir was born and raised there. And there stood pagan temples and the idol of Perun.

Even before the baptism of Prince Vladimir, after his victory in one of the military campaigns, when they were supposed to sacrifice to idols, the lot fell on christian baby John. This is how the first martyrs who confessed Christ were killed - the Varangian Fedor and his son baby John. The place of their martyrdom was chosen for the location of the altar of the first cathedral.

Prince Vladimir built the Tithe Cathedral at his own expense. He gave tithes of his income to this church, which is why it is called that.

The Tithe Church was dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. And not to any of her images or holidays, but to the Most Holy Theotokos as a person. Just as there is a Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, so there was a Temple Holy Mother of God in Kyiv. Kyiv is the destiny of the Mother of God, and the dedication of this temple tells us that initially Holy Ancient Rus' chose the Most Holy Theotokos as its patroness.

In addition, the Tithe Cathedral was a princely tomb. When Prince Vladimir came to rest, his relics in the sarcophagus stood in the middle of this temple along with the remains of his wife Byzantine princess Anna. The relics of Princess Olga, the grandmother of Prince Vladimir, were also transferred there. And there were many other princely remains there - the Tithe Church was the first tomb Kyiv princes, as the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin later became the tomb of Russian sovereigns.

This church was evidence of a symphony of state and church power, a demonstration of the belonging of Kievan Rus to Christianity. She was a symbol of the fact that the new state accepted Christ and now sees its future with Him.

The tithe temple was built by Byzantine craftsmen, according to chronicle evidence, immigrants from Greece. It was richly decorated with marble details and due to this it was even called the “marble” temple.

The words of the prayer-promise of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, pronounced by him at the entrance to the newly built temple, are touching: “...If anyone prays in this church, then hear his prayer, and forgive all his sins, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God.”. These words are constantly remembered and encourage action.

Simultaneously with the Tithe Temple, new palaces were also erected. This was the center state life. According to chronicles, a monastery operated here in the 10th century. Archaeological research shows: this is the most interesting, unique, most significant part of the city, its undoubted center. Probably, if you have visited us, you have seen a stone with the inscription: “Where did the Russian land come from?”

First and second revival - Saint Peter Mogila and architect Vasily Stasov

The first known restorer, under whom liturgical life was revived on the site of the Cathedral of the Tithes, was St. Peter Mohyla. In the 17th century in the southwestern part ancient temple, partly using the ruins of its walls, he built a small temple dedicated to St. Nicholas.

Church built by Metropolitan Peter Mogila

Much later, in 1828, with the highest order of Emperor Nicholas I, the St. Petersburg architect Vasily Stasov designed a new temple on the site of the Tithe Church classical forms, which did not repeat the plan of the ancient one. It was built on part of its foundations.

In 1842 the temple was consecrated. But less than a hundred years later, in 1936, it was destroyed by the atheistic authorities. Bricks from it were used for the construction of school No. 25, which was erected nearby.

Tithe Church in the 19th century

It must be said that from the time of its destruction to this day, the ancient remains of the Tithe Church have been repeatedly studied. Under Saint Peter Mohyla the first excavations were carried out. In the 19th century, research was continued by the amateur archaeologist Kondrat Lokhvitsky, then by the St. Petersburg architect Nikolai Efimov. They also owned the first fixation of the monument. This was in the 20s of the 19th century, then there was still a lot left on the site of the destroyed temple.

Generally speaking, Scientific research leftovers Tithe Temple were flagships in archeology and played a large role in the development of this science. This also applies to research of the 20th century, when restorer Dmitry Mileev made the first professional recording of the remains of the eastern part of the ancient temple. And after the destruction of the Stasovsky temple, the remains of the Church of the Tithes were deeply studied by archaeologist Mikhail Karger.

In the 80s, a stone trace of the outlines of the foundations of an ancient temple was made on the surface of the earth. And we know many examples when people came individually and in groups and prayed here for the revival of this glorious ancient shrine.

So the desire to erect and revive the Tithe Temple is not an idea of ​​today. This is not the momentary desire of some group of people, a separate community, or some ambitious desire of architects and builders. This is the hope of the entirety of the Orthodox Church. And it was and will be until the Tithe Church of the Most Holy Theotokos again acquires its due significance. It was and will be. The holy thing cannot be in the abomination of desolation.

Nun Elena (Kruglyak). Photo: Efim Erichman

Tithe Church: “This thing pleases God...”

The anniversary year 2000 from the Nativity of Christ became significant in the history of this place. Then President Leonid Danilovich Kuchma issued a decree on the revival of the Tithe Church, given its exceptional importance for Ukraine along with the Assumption Church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. But the matter did not move forward, did not move to a practical level. I see in this the providence of God, who prepared this shrine to be revived in due time.

Then, in 2000, we had the opportunity to meet with His Beatitude Vladimir. The perspicacious elder listened to us, took out the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos, Abbess of Mount Athos, and said: “This matter is very pleasing to God and the Most Holy Theotokos, but it is of such a scale that only the Most Holy Theotokos herself knows how to do it and can organize it. Therefore, I present your wish to Her.”. And he gave us these little icons. I still have this icon.

In 2005, His Beatitude Vladimir blessed Archimandrite Gideon to work on the revival of the Tithe Church in order to again light the lamp of love in this shrine.

His Beatitude Vladimir blesses the project of museumification of the Tithe Church

It is significant that in 2005, permission was received from the district authorities to install a chapel directly on the foundation of the Tithe Church. And when they came to the main department for the protection of monuments, its head said: “Wait, you can’t put it there, there will be excavations there, and then you will interfere. And when we rebuild the big church, should we tear down this small one? No, you must be there and help us prayerfully.”

In fact, the place where it now stands small church He pointed out the Desyatinny Monastery to us, but it turns out that God chose this place. Because later parishioners living nearby said that even before the installation of the temple-tabernacle, birds flew surprisingly persistently, in groups of eights, around this place...

The small temple was erected in 2006 on Easter, and on Friday Bright Week, On April 28, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in it.

The service had already ended; his clergy friends from the Ilyinsky Church had just come to Father Gideon to support him. They stood on the street, and two female parishioners prayed in the temple. Entering the temple, the clergy felt awe and learned from the women that the Most Holy Theotokos had just entered the temple. The Queen of Heaven stopped at the central lectern, prayed with raised hands, and then entered the altar through the open royal doors.

The six clergy began to shed tears of their own accord; the grace was felt in a physical way. The appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos greatly strengthened the community and to this day inspires confidence that through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos God will accomplish what is impossible for man.

In 2009 Holy Synod The UOC issued a decree on the formation of the Tithe Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary monastery.

The existing temple of the Desyatinny Monastery

Our work is based on research

In 2005, the state made a new decision on the fate of the Tithe Church. A decree was issued on the museumification of the foundations and on making a decision on the reconstruction of the temple after the completion of the excavations. Museumification is the process of giving a historical and cultural monument a state where it is ready for display and for visiting by tourists and pilgrims. And a lot has already been done today.

In 2005-2014, a large volume of research, survey and design work. In 2011, an all-Ukrainian competition was held for the museumification and revalorization of the Tithe Church. By the grace of God, our project became the winner of this competition.

Comprehensive archaeological excavations carried out in 2005-2011 provided invaluable evidence about this monument and made it possible to draw up a holistic description of it. For example, it was previously believed that the six-pillar core was first built, and then the Tithe Church was built with galleries.

However, it turned out that the temple was immediately built with galleries; this was the original plan. After all, at that time it was the Grand Ducal Cathedral. And the cathedral itself was part of an even more complex complex, the full name of which now sounds like an archeological monument of national importance “Detinets of ancient Kyiv of the 8th-10th centuries with the foundation of the Tithe Church of the 10th century.”

Now we know where in the spot of the Tithe Temple there is an archaeological layer and where it is not. Based on the results of archaeological research, the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine identified possible locations for installing supports for the museumification of the Church of the Tithes. After all, we are not Cairo or Jerusalem; we cannot demonstrate authentic archaeological remains under open air. Therefore, it is imperative to create a room where the appropriate temperature and humidity conditions will be maintained and proper ventilation will be provided. This will allow the monument to be preserved.

In addition, there are many archaeological finds made on the site of the Tithe Church, which are now scattered in different museums, partly in St. Sophia of Kyiv, in the National Museum of History of Ukraine. Even in the Hermitage there are material fragments that belonged to the Church of the Tithes. And, of course, it is logical for all this to be exhibited in one place and give a complete picture of this monument.

Scientific and technological, topographic and geodetic, engineering and geological studies were carried out, a comprehensive engineering survey the condition of the remains of the foundations of the Tithe Church and the buildings adjacent to the monument.

Experts conducted historical, archival and bibliographic research, systematized written evidence about the Tithe Church and its surroundings, as well as the history of research that was conducted here at different times.

In December 2011, temporary conservation of the foundations of the Tithe Church was carried out, which makes it possible further work on comprehensive museumification.

Our idea is to preserve all archaeological material: both the remains of the Tithe Church of Prince Vladimir, and other archaeological layers, including the remains of the Stasov Temple of the 19th century. This will allow you to vividly demonstrate the entire history of the temple.

Nun Elena (Kruglyak). Photo: Efim Erichman

Tithe church above the museum: how to do it

The remains of the ancient temple are now below the surface of the earth, so the museum will be located in the stylobate. Visitors will be able to enter there, and regular lectures will be held there for students and schoolchildren. Pilgrims and tourists will examine the remains of the Church of the Tithes from special bridges, and only scientists will have direct access to the remains themselves, for whose work all conditions will be created in the museum.

Designed on supports reinforced concrete slab. It is calculated in such a way that at the top it would be possible to erect a temple of the same size as the Tithe Church of the era of Prince Vladimir.

As already mentioned, in the spot of the Tithe Temple, places have been identified where we can place supports painlessly for the cultural layer. Current technologies make it possible to do this completely safely. It is planned to use bored reinforced concrete piles with a depth of twenty meters in casing pipes. According to current building regulations their use is permissible in conditions of close proximity of monuments; it will not cause soil movement at all. And this is not some new technology– it has been tested for decades. Any designer will say that already fifty centimeters from the installation site of this pile there is no movement of the soil, which means that the safety of the ancient remains of the Tithe Temple is ensured.

The layout of the supports is designed so that the museum space is as free as possible. Now we are armed with such scientific capabilities that all loads are calculated in advance. The remains of the foundations of the Tithe Church are a monument of national importance and all work here is carried out exclusively with scientific support.

To bring the project to life, it will be important to choose a high-quality contractor and direct contractor. The responsibility is enormous. This issue will require detailed study in the future.

It's good that we live in the 21st century. According to the results of archaeological excavations in the 10th century, the builders of the Church of the Tithes, when faced with soils such as those in Kyiv, placed wooden beds under the foundations and secured them with wooden pegs. This is clear to us now - in order to damage a monument, nothing worse can be imagined: the wood rots, then voids form, and, naturally, subsidence is inevitable...

Currently, invaluable experience has been accumulated in the museumification of archaeological sites. Of the world analogues that we focus on, the most successful and modern, in our opinion, is the Archaeological Museum of the Acropolis in Athens.

Nun Elena (Kruglyak). Photo: Efim Erichman

Reconstruction, replica, recreation of the Tithe Church

If we talk about the future temple, it is logical to want to get as close as possible to the image of the Tithe Church under Prince Vladimir. I want to immediately answer your question directly: this is not a reconstruction, not a replica, this revival of a shrine of world significance. We need to be aware of two most important tasks– careful preservation of the authentic remains of the ancient temple, a symbol of the adoption of Christianity by Ancient Russia, and the revival of liturgical life in this holy place. To make it clearer, let’s turn to world analogues.

You and I know that the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was built by Queen Helena, was once destroyed and was rebuilt by the crusaders. Even his Holy of Holies, the Edicule, was destroyed several times. And is it even possible to imagine that this shrine would not have been revived? In this case, the convergence can be considered an expression of the will of God Holy Fire, confirming the presence of the Living God. The Temple in Bethlehem, which Queen Helena built over the Cave of the Nativity of Christ, was also destroyed. And in its place, several centuries later, a new temple was also built, in which services are held to this day.

Consider the Basilica of Nazareth: it was built in 1969 over the archaeological remains of the house where the Holy Family lived. Divine services are held there, it is a very revered place. And the Basilica of the Martyr Clement in Rome, where are there four levels of layers? Temple of Demetrius of Thessalonica, where the myrrh-streaming relics were located in the ancient crypt, and which was revived after destruction. Now there is a beautiful basilica on top. And there are dozens of such examples in the world...

The new temple in Kyiv is not a reconstruction or a replica. The etymology of these words is completely unsuitable for conveying the meaning that we now want to put into our works. We have to revive this place.

By the way, according to international legal norms security cultural heritage The most important goal of protecting the monument is the revival of its functions and the introduction of the monument into modern life.

This place cannot be just a monument; it is wrong to make it just a museum or, even worse, to leave the ancient foundations under wraps. When the foundations had already been traced, animals were walked there... And what is the meaning of this, what is the spiritual meaning?

And how can we break the liturgical thread that began at this site many centuries ago? As His Beatitude Vladimir said when the small church was erected: “You have finally lit the lamp of love that was in this place.”

This is the goal. We don't dead child, we are not erecting a doll, not a coffin. This is not a mausoleum, no cardboard box, not a layout of something. This is a functioning, living House of God. Our only task is to make it as close as possible to the image of the Byzantine temple built by Prince Vladimir.

If the task was simply to build a temple, it would not cost anything to accurately recreate it in Stasov’s forms, there are graphic materials, there are a lot of photographs left. But then the spiritual, cultural and historical significance of this place will not be conveyed. After all, it was Prince Vladimir who built this first temple here.

It is completely logical that the reconstructed temple will be designed in the style of the 10th century. We invite everyone to cooperate - archaeologists, architects, scientists, museum workers. Our business requires deep study and the correct finding of a compromise. This is exactly what we are doing, examining the results of archaeological excavations and all existing historical information about the Tithe Church.

One of the projects of the Tithe Temple

Tithe Church. Life's work

I realized for myself that the revival of the Tithe Church is a matter of life. This will be the fruit of common, conciliar efforts - creative and scientific workers, historians, Byzantine scholars.

At one time, state money was allocated for museumification. Now the community is taking the initiative to revive the temple. The project will not be done with public money; this is not the current situation in the country. Probably, this is the will of God, so that out of love for the Most Holy Theotokos, out of a great desire to serve God, this would be done...

Once upon a time, Prince Vladimir gave a tithe of his income to the Tithe Church. Can you imagine with what with a pure heart, out of what love for God he did this. Therefore, my personal opinion is that it is a great honor to participate financially in this matter. Naturally, this is a national cause; people’s money will have to be collected. Anyone can be a participant in this process.

If we talk about the temple... King Solomon would probably be shocked by the possibilities of today's temple construction and what materials can be used. We try to make the most of all the achievements of science. After all, a lot has now been studied, including those monuments that were created in the same era as the Church of the Tithes and before it.

To work on the project, it is necessary to study the entirety of the heritage that the builders of the Tithe Cathedral could only see in the 10th century, as well as later churches, for which the Tithe Cathedral became a model after its construction. Previously, it was very difficult for an architect to simultaneously see and study churches in Constantinople, Greece, and Bulgaria. Now there is such an opportunity.

The issue of museumification and revival of the Tithe Church must be resolved in conjunction with the study and museumification of other buildings in the city of Vladimir.

Nun Elena (Kruglyak). Photo: Efim Erichman

Everything has its time. We believe it is providential that the Church of the Tithes was not restored earlier. They probably weren’t ready for this yet. Neither spiritually nor technically.

The revived Tithe Church will be the fruit of the joint efforts of the Church, the state, architects, scientists and artists, museum workers, and most importantly, all those praying for the success of this Cause, pleasing to God. After all, the most important thing is to fill them, along with the construction of the walls, with hearts burning for the Lord, thirsting for enlightenment, union with God and forgiveness of sins. We consider this work our contribution to achieving peace on our Ukrainian land.

In modern architectural practice - the restoration of an object with a re-affirmation of its value, its rethinking and actualization.

With God a thousand years are like one day...

Archimandrite Gideon (Charon)

Word from the vicar of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Desyatinny MonasteryArchimandrite Gideon (Charon):

On the thousand-year anniversary of the blessed Dormition of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, we offer the Bloodless Sacrifice on the spot where Saint Vladimir once erected the first cathedral in Kievan Rus, the Tithe Church, in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The chronicler testifies to the prayer of the holy prince with which he entered the built temple:

“Lord God! Look down from heaven and see and visit Your grapes, and accomplish what Your Right Hand has planted, this new people, whose hearts You have turned to understanding, so that You may know the true God; and look upon this church, which Thy unworthy servant has created, in the name of the Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary the Mother of God who gave birth to You; and if anyone prays in this church, then hear his prayer, and forgive all his sins, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God.”

With God, a thousand years are like one day and one day is like a thousand years... More than a thousand years have passed since Rus' was born after the Baptism new Church Christ in the firmament, and Saint Prince Vladimir erected a cathedral in honor of the Most Pure Mother of God. And now the heavenly Church and the earthly Church are coming together in this celebration.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, addressing me, the rector of the Tithe Church, said: “The city of Kyiv is the second Jerusalem. It also stands on seven hills. Just as in Jerusalem the greatest shrines are the Holy Sepulcher and Golgotha, and all other shrines are united with them by history and grace, so in the city of Kyiv the greatest shrine is the Tithe Church of the Most Holy Theotokos.” After all, it was built on the spot where blood was shed for the first time on Slavic soil for Christ by the holy first martyrs Theodore and his infant son John. And how legislation was given at Mount Sinai to the Jewish people, and from here, from Starokievskaya Mountain, the place “from where the Russian land came,” the light of Christ’s truth, the light of the Holy Gospel spread from south to north and from west to east to all corners of Ancient Rus', to where Ukraine and Russia now extend , Belarus.

Without the past there is no future

This place should not be in the abomination of desolation. According to the words of His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Vladimir, of blessed memory, with whose blessing the process of revival of the Tithe Church began: “...lamp divine love re-lit at this place.” And her fire needs to be maintained. We need to educate the people of God regarding the exceptional role of the Tithe Temple in history. It is necessary to unite our efforts to revive this shrine.

Revival in every sense of the word has already begun: prayer is taking place in this place, the sacraments are being performed. Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine prays and blesses him for the success of this undertaking, and is supported by the entirety of the Orthodox Church. Here prayers must constantly be offered for our people, for our Orthodox Church, for peace on our land and throughout the world.

And of course, in this holy place we remember with special solemnity and reverence the dormition of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Here he lived, here he erected his brainchild - a temple in honor of the Most Pure Mother of God. It was in this temple that the relics of the holy prince were located after his dormition.

Church of the Tithes of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the mother of Russian churches

We cannot be Ivans who do not remember our kinship. For without the past there is no future. The fifth commandment of the Lord says: “Honor your father and your mother, and goodness will come to you, and you will live long on the earth.”

The Tithe Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Russian churches. And we must pay due respect to it, because it was destroyed by the atheistic authorities and is in desolation. Right now, the Church of the Tithes of the Blessed Virgin Mary needs our help. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this doing.

The time has come for all of us to take care of the mother of Russian churches - the house of the Most Holy Theotokos. And our Most Holy Lady Theotokos will take care of the faithful servants of our Lord and through Her Mother’s prayers peace will reign on our land.

The revival of our first cathedral of Ancient Rus' is important for the establishment of Orthodox spirituality and the unification of the East Slavic peoples around the Gospel truths. This is especially important now when there is a war in Ukraine.

Just as the scattered Slavic principalities once burned in the fire of civil strife, so now our peoples are undergoing a similar division. And it is the Cathedral of the Most Pure Mother of God, erected by the holy Prince Vladimir, now, as then, that can and should become a unifying symbol for our peoples.

Tithe Church. Road map:

Films about the Tithe Church: