Tithe church - the lost Ukrainian shrine

The Church of the Tithes is one of the most ancient.temples erected in the territory of modern Kiev immediately after the baptism of Russia. It was built by Prince Vladimir. The temple was built only 5 years old, from 991 to 996. Unfortunately, his fate was rather tragic, in 1240 it ceased to exist. Some remains of the church have survived to the present day and today are located in the estate of the Historical Museum.

In the period when Christianity in Russia is onlywas born, the construction of the church was of great importance. It was erected on the model of the Temple of Constantinople at the court of the emperor. The Church of the Tithes was built by specially invited masters from Byzantium from completely new finishing materials. The place for its construction was not chosen by chance. There used to live two Christian martyrs killed by pagans. To atone for such a sin, Prince Vladimir decided to build a temple.

The tithe church is so called becausethe prince allocated a tenth of his property for the construction of temples, and she was the main treasury. It is known that its structure and dimensions were very impressive, only St. Kiev was the best of this church. Many written sources of those times call the Church of the Tithes marble, apparently because there were many columns, frescoes and mosaics of marble in it. For decorative design, it was one of the best.

The Tithe Church in Kiev originally guardedpeace of prince Vladimir and his wife Anne, and also princess Olga. A little later, the remains of Oleg and Yaropolk - the brothers Vladimir, and then Izyaslav Yaroslavovich and Rostislav Mstislavovich were transferred. The temple stood for a short time, in 1240, Batu Khan attacked Kievan Rus with his accrued army. All the people of Kiev tried to hide in the church, but she could not stand the load, the walls collapsed, burying all the people under them.

The Tithe Church (or rather its ruins) stooduntil the nineteenth century. There have been several attempts to study it. Archaeologists have noted that the walls of the temple are dotted with inscriptions in Waltish. During the excavations they also found sarcophagi with the remains of princes, as well as gold ornaments that were on them.

Десятинную церковь неоднократно пытались to revive. First it happened in 1636, then a small temple was built; and in the 1930s, a new tithe church was built, but in terms of architecture it did not at all resemble its predecessor. Many people of Kiev considered it a shame and an insult to the great temple of Prince Vladimir. Therefore, no one was very upset when in 1936 the church was completely destroyed, dismantled brick by brick.

In 2005, the government signed a decree onrestoration of such an architectural monument and Ukrainian shrines as the Tithe Church. Kiev is a great city with dozens of beautiful temples, but, nevertheless, having raised this church from the ruins, it will become even more beautiful and interesting. But the fate of the temple is not yet known, since construction has not yet begun. There are fierce disputes over what the Titheum Church should be like — to restore its original appearance or build a completely new structure. Whether the parties will come to a compromise, and whether the shrine will be erected, only time will tell.