St Michael's Cathedral of the Vydubychi Monastery: a church at the edge of a cliff

The walls of this church remember Prince Vsevolod, and its sanctuary argued with the Dnipro for a long time — and once the Dnipro won: the eastern part of the cathedral, together with the retaining wall, went into the river.

In brief

History

The Vydubychi Monastery was founded by Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavych, son of Yaroslav the Wise; for a long time the community was simply called Vsevolod’s monastery. According to a legend cited by Discover.ua, the prince founded it in fulfilment of a vow after recovering from wounds received while hunting. The chronicle mentions the founding of the Church of St Michael in the monastery in 1070.

The area itself has an older legend. When Prince Volodymyr baptised Kyiv and ordered the wooden idols to be thrown into the Dnipro, the current, so the story goes, carried Perun ashore below the city. According to the legend first recorded by Feodosii Sofonovych in the 1660s–1670s, the idol “swam up” (vydybav) to the bank right here. The place where Perun “swam up” was called Vydybychi, and later Vydubychi. Another legend, cited by the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (ESU), holds that the monastery arose on the site of an older Zvirynets cave monastery.

Radio Svoboda writes that the masonry church was built over almost twenty years in two stages: first a smaller church, while Vsevolod was still Prince of Pereiaslav, and after 1077, when he took the Kyivan throne, a narthex. The Encyclopedia of Ukraine writes that the church was completed in 1088; Radio Svoboda, citing the chronicle, dates the consecration to 1089. In 1096 the cathedral was burned by the Cumans.

According to Radio Svoboda, the Kyivan princes prayed in the church before campaigns. In its story about the cathedral the same outlet also mentions a princely helmet of the Old Rus’ period bearing an image of the Archangel Michael and a prayer addressed to him — the heavenly commander to whom the cathedral is dedicated.

The church’s main enemy turned out to be not people but the river. The cathedral stood on a terrace above an old channel of the Dnipro; the water undercut the bank, and the church found itself at the edge of a cliff. In 1199–1200 Petro Myloneh, court architect of Prince Riuryk Rostyslavych, built a large retaining wall. The chronicler devoted a separate eulogy to this event — rare medieval attention to an engineering structure.

The wall stood for more than three centuries and then collapsed into the Dnipro together with the eastern part of the church. The Encyclopedia of Ukraine dates this to the 1580s, after a flood; the Free Ukrainian Encyclopedia (VUE) to 1593–1610. The latest limit is known from a document: on 14 March 1610 the Uniate archimandrite Antonii Hrekovych wrote that “the Vydubychi church too has fallen”. In 1632–1647 the monastery was restored under Metropolitan Petro Mohyla; according to the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, the lost eastern part was then rebuilt as a two-storey wooden structure; according to VUE, a wooden sanctuary had been added earlier, in 1610–1612, still under the Uniates. Radio Svoboda mentions that on the objects he donated to the monastery Mohyla left inscriptions cursing anyone who stole them.

In 1760 the church was badly damaged by fire. According to Radio Svoboda, the main help in rebuilding came from the Zaporozhian Cossacks, among whom the monks collected donations at the Sich. In 1766–1769, under the direction of M. Yurasov (according to VUE, on the proposals of P. Nedilko; VUE gives 1766–1779 and completion of the rebuilding by 1781), the eastern part was rebuilt in masonry, and the church acquired a Baroque appearance with a single dome. Inside, it was divided into two floors with two chapels — the Miracle of the Archangel Michael and the Annunciation. The monastery library, according to a study in the Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy, was kept in the church’s gallery.

The 20th century began with explosions. On 6 June 1918 ammunition detonated at the nearby Zvirynets powder depots; the blast wave damaged all the monastery buildings. Sources give different dates for the closure: Radio Svoboda names 1921, the monastery’s website 1924, ESU the late 1920s, VUE 1929; the study in the Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy shows that in 1928 there were 31 people living in the monastery and that the churches remained in use until 1936. Later the Institute of Archaeology was housed here. According to RISU, this is what helped the ensemble survive the persecutions. In the 1960s–1980s (ESU — 1962–1982, VUE — 1969–1982) the buildings were restored under the direction of the architect R. Bykova. Monastic life resumed in 1992, and in 1996 (according to VUE, in 1997) the Cabinet of Ministers handed the monastery over to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Hieromonk Mykhail told Radio Svoboda that at the first service the image of God the Father in the sanctuary was “renewed”, and then, with daily prayer, the paintings gradually grew lighter; this is the community’s account, and that is how it should be read.

The monastery cemetery is the resting place of the patrons Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko, the educator Kostiantyn Ushynsky and General Yakiv Handziuk. So people come to this 11th-century church also looking for the graves of figures from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Timeline

The figures in square brackets are the numbers of the sources in the list at the bottom of the page. The phrase “according to …” means that the fact is confirmed by only one source. The “Legends” section contains traditions and legends: they are recorded in the sources but not documented.

The princely monastery

1. 1070

   The chronicle under this year mentions the founding of the Church of St Michael in the monastery of Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavych, son of Yaroslav the Wise. For this reason the community was long called Vsevolod's monastery. ^{[1, 4, 5, 11]}

2. 1070–1073

   According to VUE, the first masonry church was built: three-aisled, single-domed, in the opus mixtum technique (courses of plinthos brick alternating with stone). Radio Svoboda also writes of two stages of construction, which lasted almost twenty years. ^{[3, 4]}

   

3. 1077–1088

   After Vsevolod took the Kyivan throne in 1077, the church was enlarged: according to VUE, in 1080–1088 a narthex with a stair tower was added on the west. ^{[3, 4]}

4. 1088

   The church was consecrated; according to Ulianovsky, by Metropolitan John II. Radio Svoboda, citing the chronicle, gives 1089. ^{[2, 3, 4, 5]}

5. 1094

   According to the monastery's website, beside the Church of St Michael the princes Sviatopolk, Volodymyr Monomakh and Rostyslav made peace before a campaign against the Cumans. ^[12]

6. 1096

   The Cumans attacked Kyiv: according to ESU, they burned the cathedral; according to the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, they damaged the monastery. ^{[1, 2]}

7. 1116

   Sylvester, hegumen of the Vydubychi Monastery, completed one of the redactions of the Tale of Bygone Years. ^{[1, 19]}

8. 1169

   According to the monastery's website, during the march of Andrei Bogoliubsky's army on Kyiv about thirty monks who had hidden in the caves were buried alive there. ^[12]

9. 1199

   On 10 July, on the order of Prince Riuryk Rostyslavych, the court architect Petro Myloneh began building a stone retaining wall to the east of the cathedral so that the Dnipro would not undercut the slope. ^{[1, 3, 9]}

   

10. 1200

    On 24 September the wall was completed. The chronicler devoted a eulogy to the event and called the master a “craftsman” (khudozhnyk). ^{[1, 9]}

11. 1240

    The Mongol invasion laid waste to the monastery. The anonymous chronicler of the Vydubychi Monastery of the early 18th century gives 1234 and writes that the church stood desolate until 1470. ^{[1, 2, 8]}

12. 1250

    Prince Danylo of Halych visited the monastery together with his brother Vasylko. ^{[5, 11]}

13. 1470

    According to the anonymous chronicler, Prince Semen Olelkovych restored the church; he is buried in it. ^[8]

Collapse and return

1. 1580s – 1610

   Myloneh's retaining wall, which had stood for more than three centuries, collapsed into the Dnipro together with the eastern part of the cathedral. ESU writes “16th century”, the Encyclopedia of Ukraine the 1580s, after a flood, VUE 1593–1610. On 14 March 1610 Archimandrite Antonii Hrekovych already reported that “the church ... has fallen”. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11]}

   

2. 1596

   After the Union of Brest the monastery passed to the Uniates. ^{[3, 7, 12]}

3. 1610–1612

   A wooden sanctuary was added to the surviving western part so that services could resume. The Encyclopedia of Ukraine, by contrast, links the wooden two-storey addition with Metropolitan Petro Mohyla. ^{[2, 3, 7]}

4. 1618

   On 23–24 February Cossacks seized Archimandrite Antonii Hrekovych and drowned him in an ice hole on the Dnipro. ^{[7, 8]}

5. 1635

   The Uniates finally left the monastery; it returned to the Orthodox. Some sources give 1637, the year restoration work began under Petro Mohyla. ^{[7, 8, 11, 12, 14]}

The Cossack era and the Baroque

1. 1637–1647

   Metropolitan Petro Mohyla restored the monastery and began the rebuilding of Kyiv's holy places precisely with the Church of St Michael. In 1637 and 1642 he donated liturgical objects to the church, and in his will left 500 zlotys for its upkeep. ^{[1, 4, 7]}

   

2. 1696–1701

   At the expense of the Starodub colonel Mykhailo Myklashevsky, the five-domed St George's Cathedral and a refectory with the Church of the Saviour were built nearby. ^{[1, 11, 14]}

3. 1727–1733

   At the expense of Hetman Danylo Apostol a bell tower with the Church of the Prophet Daniel was built. The fourth tier was added later (the sources differ on the date: 1812 or 1827–1831). ^{[11, 14]}

4. 1745

   On 24 September Metropolitan Rafail Zaborovsky issued a travel letter to three monks so that they could collect donations for the Church of St Michael in the Hetmanate and at the Zaporozhian Sich. ^{[4, 17]}

5. 1760

   On 28 March a fire destroyed the wooden sanctuary addition and damaged the cathedral. The largest funds for the restoration came from the Zaporozhian Cossacks. ^{[3, 4, 11]}

6. 1766–1769

   Under the direction of M. Yurasov the eastern part was rebuilt in masonry; the church acquired Baroque forms and a single dome. VUE gives 1766–1779, mentions the proposals of P. Nedilko and writes that the rebuilding was completed by 1781. ^{[1, 2, 3, 13]}

   

Closure and restoration

1. 1918

   On 6 June the powder depots at Zvirynets exploded; all the monastery buildings were damaged, and the monk Patricius died of his wounds. St Michael's church suffered comparatively little, and plaster fell from the south wall, revealing an old image of an angel. ^{[4, 6]}

2. 1919

   The monastery was renamed a “labour commune”. On 19 July the brethren formed the Holy St George Community in order to preserve the churches. ^{[4, 6]}

3. 1922

   During the confiscation of church valuables, a silver-gilt reliquary with relics disappeared from St George's Cathedral. V. Didora found no document on its confiscation. ^[6]

4. 1928

   According to Didora, as of 7 July there were 31 people living in the monastery: 8 monks aged 35–50 and 23 over 50. ^[6]

5. 1929

   The monastery was closed (according to VUE; Didora — not earlier than 1929). Other sources give 1921 or 1924, ESU the late 1920s. The churches were handed to the UAOC community; services in them continued until 1936. ^{[1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12]}

6. 1936

   The churches were closed. According to ESU and the monastery's website, the Baroque iconostases of the churches of St Michael and St George were burned in the courtyard. The act of 28 May 1936, by contrast, records the transfer of the property of the churches of St Michael and the Annunciation to the Darnytsia community, including a single-tier iconostasis of 5.31 × 3.10 m. ^{[1, 6, 12]}

7. 1968

   On 26 November a fire in St George's Church destroyed the book collections; the Encyclopedia of Ukraine writes of four fires in 1968–1969. ^{[2, 3]}

8. 1960s–1980s

   The buildings of the ensemble were restored under the direction of the architect R. Bykova (ESU — 1962–1982, Encyclopedia of Ukraine — 1967–1982, VUE — 1969–1982). ^{[1, 2, 3]}

9. 1974–1981

   During restoration, 11th-century fresco painting and 18th–19th-century paintings were discovered in the cathedral. ^{[3, 10]}

   

10. 1975–1997

    The monastery buildings were occupied by the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. According to RISU, this helped the ensemble survive the anti-religious campaigns. ^{[1, 3, 11, 13]}

The revived monastery

1. 1990

   M. Strikhar discovered an 11th-century cave beneath the church's foundations; according to VUE, the cave complex lies at a depth of 4.5 m. ^{[3, 5]}

2. 1992

   Monastic life was restored; the first service took place in St Michael's church. ^{[1, 4, 13]}

3. 1996

   The Cabinet of Ministers handed the monastery over to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (according to VUE, in 1997). ^{[1, 3, 13]}

4. 1998

   The mosaic icon “The Miracle of St Michael” was created in an arched niche above the entrance (R. Krychenko, B. Lobanovsky). ^{[1, 3]}

5. 2022

   On 19 September, the feast of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae, Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv led the liturgy at the monastery. ^[15]

6. 2025

   On 8 February, according to the Kyiv City State Administration, smoke was reported on the ground floor of St Michael's church; the fire was put out and there were no casualties. ^[18]

Lost and recreated

Architecture

Today’s church is two eras joined in one building. The western part has kept its Old Rus’ walls of the 11th century; the eastern part is Baroque, built in masonry in 1766–1769 on the site of the one that went into the Dnipro. The church is crowned by a single dome. The sources are ambiguous about the original top, so we deliberately do not offer a reconstruction of it.

The cathedral is the oldest, but not the only building of the ensemble. Next to it stand the five-domed St George’s Cathedral of 1696–1701, built at the expense of the Starodub colonel M. Myklashevsky, the refectory with the Church of the Saviour from the same period, and the bell tower of 1727–1733, commissioned by Hetman Danylo Apostol; its fourth tier was added in 1829–1833 by the architect A. Melensky. Against the Baroque tops, the modest St Michael’s church is easy to take for a secondary building, although it is six centuries older than its neighbours.

Above the entrance, in an arched niche, the mosaic icon “The Miracle of St Michael” was created in 1998; its authors are R. Krychenko and B. Lobanovsky. Inside, according to Discover.ua, fragments of fresco painting, mosaic and 11th-century graffiti have survived.

Below are two elements of the church: in a photo and in a drawing. The drawings show the form, not exact dimensions.

The dome

The single dome appeared during the rebuilding of 1766–1769 and stands above the Baroque part of the church. It is the most visible sign of the 18th century on the Old Rus’ body of the building.

The entrance with a mosaic

The arched niche above the entrance with the 1998 mosaic “The Miracle of St Michael” is the newest layer of the church. Behind it are the oldest walls.

Details that are easy to miss

A swallow’s nest in the wall. According to Radio Svoboda, a swallow’s nest has survived between the church’s main wall and the one added later. According to the same source, the builders worked the masonry around the nest because of a folk belief.

A “carpet” floor. Archaeologists found fragments of an old floor of dark pink slate slabs with smalt inlays. The historian Vasyl Ulianovsky, quoted by Radio Svoboda, described it as a multicoloured carpet.

An angel under the plaster. After the 1918 explosion the plaster fell away, and the face of an angel from the old painting appeared beneath it. The art historian Fedir Ernst, describing the damage, noted that the oldest church of the monastery had suffered comparatively lightly. The explosion that damaged the whole monastery revealed what had been hidden for centuries.

An iconostasis with two endings. ESU writes that in 1936 the Baroque iconostases of St Michael’s and St George’s cathedrals were hacked to pieces and burned. The author of a study in the Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy doubts this version, which he traces to the work of T. Kilesso: he cites an act of 28 May 1936, published by V. Ulianovsky, on the transfer of the property of the churches of St Michael and the Annunciation to the Darnytsia community, including a single-tier wooden iconostasis measuring 5.31 × 3.10 m. Which fate is true remains an open question.

A chronicle was written here. In 1116 Sylvester, hegumen of the Vydubychi Monastery, produced one of the redactions of the Tale of Bygone Years. Texts we read as a source on Kyiv were partly born next to these walls.

The church is still at the edge. The cathedral stands right above the slope. In 2010, when an approach to a nearby bridge was being completed in haste, Kyiv City Council deputy Oleksandr Bryhynets, according to Gazeta.ua, warned of the threat of a landslide and of about 24 square metres of 11th-century paintings crumbling. The Dnipro is far away, but the slope has not gone anywhere.

Photo gallery

Stone and material

The old part of the cathedral is 11th-century Kyivan masonry; the eastern part is Baroque walling of the 18th century, set on the site of the collapse. The boundary between them shows as a change of architectural language: from the restrained surfaces of the princely era to the plasticity of the Baroque. A separate material layer is the floor of slabs with smalt inlays, of which fragments remain, and the 1998 mosaic above the entrance.

But the main building story of Vydubychi is not about the walls of the church, but about the wall beneath it. The chronicler considered Myloneh’s retaining wall worthy of a eulogy. That is the right instinct: a foundation nobody sees is often more complex than the façade everyone sees. The same is true of a stone floor or steps — their quality is decided in the layers beneath the slab, long before polishing. More on this in the steps and floors section.

Some researchers suppose that Petro Myloneh also worked in Ovruch, on the construction of St Basil’s Church. Another Kyiv church dedicated to the Archangel is St Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral.

Did you know

Legends

Figures

• Vsevolod Yaroslavych — prince, son of Yaroslav the Wise; founder of the monastery and the church (1070). ^{[1, 5]}
• John II — Metropolitan of Kyiv; according to Ulianovsky, consecrated the church. ^[5]
• Sylvester — hegumen, author of the redaction of the Tale of Bygone Years of 1116. ^{[1, 19]}
• Riuryk Rostyslavych — prince, commissioner of the retaining wall of 1199–1200. ^{[1, 9]}
• Petro Myloneh — Riuryk’s court architect, builder of the wall. ^{[1, 9]}
• Danylo of Halych — visited the monastery in 1250. ^{[5, 11]}
• Semen Olelkovych — according to the anonymous chronicler, restored the church in 1470 and is buried in it. ^[8]
• Ipatii Potii, Yosyf Rutsky — Uniate metropolitans who held the monastery. ^[7]
• Antonii Hrekovych — Uniate archimandrite, resumed services in the ruined church; drowned in 1618. ^{[7, 8]}
• Petro Mohyla — metropolitan, restored the church after its return to the Orthodox. ^{[1, 4, 7]}
• Mykhailo Myklashevsky — Starodub colonel, founder of St George’s Cathedral. ^{[11, 14]}
• Danylo Apostol — hetman, founder of the bell tower. ^{[11, 14]}
• M. Yurasov, P. Nedilko — builders of the Baroque rebuilding of 1766–1769. ^{[1, 3]}
• Fedir Ernst — art historian, described the consequences of the explosion of 1918. ^[4]
• Raisa Bykova — architect of the ensemble’s restoration in the 1960s–1980s. ^{[1, 3]}
• Vasyl Ulianovsky — historian, researcher of the church’s dedication and publisher of the act of 1936. ^{[5, 6]}
• Yakiv Handziuk, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko, Kostiantyn Ushynsky, Volodymyr Betz, Mykola Leliavsky — buried on the monastery grounds. ^{[1, 14, 16]}

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