The reign of Yaroslav the Wise is known for the blossoming of the Old Russian state, the development of culture and education. Under him, cities grew rich, temples were built, and Kiev was compared to Constantinople. He remained in history as the greatest ruler. And also - as the creator of St Sophia Cathedral, the main Christian temple of Russia.
Today this cathedral decorates Kiev and is considered one of its main symbols. It is the basis of the national reserve "Sophia of Kiev", which has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites since 1990. In the XI century, during the heyday of Kievan Rus, this temple eclipsed everything that had been created in the Russian lands earlier, and was not surpassed in all subsequent eras. Built in the likeness of Byzantine churches, it had no analogues in Byzantium itself. And the second millennium remains a brilliant masterpiece of world architecture.
There are few people who, having come to Kiev, would not visit the Cathedral of St Sophia of Kiev - the main attraction of the city. Excursions to this national reserve are included in all tours of Kiev.
At the place of the glorious battle
According to the "Tale of Bygone Years", the victory over the nomadic Pechenegs was the most important for the Kievers and the beginning of the end for the Pechenegs. After the defeat, they began to move to Hungary and soon disappeared as a tribe. In memory of such a significant event in 1037 on the site of the battle Yaroslav the Wise ordered to erect a stone cathedral of St Sophia - as a symbol of the victory of Christianity over paganism, the symbol of Christian Russia.
It began to build on the highest place of old Kiev 40 architects invited from Constantinople. The construction went on for 2.5 years, and at that time there was a special tax in Kiev. Who came to the city on a cart, paid for an entrance some stones - for building.
The church turned out to be absolutely unique - both architecturally, and in type, and in forms. This cross-domed church made a lasting impression even with its size - 55 x 35 metres. Crowning it 13 domes symbolised Christ and 12 apostles. The domes were executed pyramidally: the main dome is in the centre, 4 domes are located above the altar part, 8 lower domes - above the western corners of the temple. Monumentality of the church with five naves was facilitated by galleries - they in two rows surrounded the cathedral from three sides. On the vaults of the dome laid a lead roof. For the 11th century it was absolutely advanced, innovative construction.
The very masonry of the church is remarkable - from thin burnt bricks, alternating rows of large stones, more often granite. The use of such bricks - plinfa - and the mortar of the same crushed bricks with lime can be called Old Russian masonry. It was not plastered and looked very textured. And separate square bricks, put on a rib, served as elegant decorations of a cathedral.
The appearance of the cathedral "Sophia of Kiev" today
Centuries have passed since then. The original appearance of the church has been preserved only in written sources and few images. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt more than once. The most barbaric was the robbery of the cathedral by Batyi Khan, he captured Kiev in 1240. Lithuanian princes and Crimean khans were "continuers" of Batyi's deed. The cathedral was abandoned and destroyed. Until there was a big fire, which served as an impetus to the restoration of the temple.
It began under the patronage of Metropolitan Varlaam, his work was continued by Metropolitan Raphael. The church was rebuilt in the manner of Ukrainian Baroque, giving the structure an even more grandiose appearance:
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added 6 domes, making the cathedral 19-domed;
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the facades received shaped pediments and ornamentation;
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windows were decorated with lush platbands and mouldings;
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the church was plastered and whitewashed, adding light to its appearance;
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built a 76 metre high bell tower in the form of a pyramid.
But the interior of the temple is left as it was in the 11th century. Of course, restored. Of particular value are the mosaics of the central dome with an area of 260 sq. m. The 11th century images are made of pieces of coloured glass with the inclusion of precious stones. The palette of this smalt has 117 shades of colour.
In the vaulted part of the central altar is a 6-metre mosaic image of the Virgin Mary. Dressed in bright blue robes, surrounded by golden shimmer, the Virgin raises her hands to heaven as if asking for leniency for human sin. This is the most famous mosaic of the temple. Legend tells that during the invasion of the Tatars in 1240 the enemies beat with a battering ram into the wall of the cathedral, in which the Kievers took refuge. On the side where the mosaic of the Mother of God shone, the wall stood.
The zenith of the dome is decorated with a mosaic of the Saviour Almighty measuring more than 4 metres. It is surrounded by 4 archangels. It is impossible to describe all the splendour of the mosaics of the cathedral. It all must be seen with your own eyes.
A separate story - frescoes on the walls and pillars of the cathedral. They occupy an area of more than 5,000 square metres. The murals are dedicated to:
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to the Apostles Peter and Paul,
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Archangel Michael,
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St George, who was the patron saint of Yaroslav the Wise,
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to the childhood of the Mother of God,
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the acts of the apostles,
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Lives of the Saints,
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the Passion of Christ.
Very interesting frescoes devoted to secular themes, the life of noble Byzantines and Kievers. This cycle is placed on the walls of the towers and along the staircases leading to the choirs. Even the floors of the cathedral are decorated with decorative mosaics and glazed slabs, emphasising the beauty of the interior decoration.
St Sophia Cathedral represents the world's most complete complex of authentic frescoes and mosaics of the 11th century. And was awarded the Gold Medal of Europe for the preservation of historical monuments.
Of particular interest is the necropolis of the cathedral. It counts over 100 tombs of great princes as well as metropolitans. Some of them over the centuries were lost. Others have been discovered quite recently.
Since 1934 the cathedral has been declared a state museum-reserve. And in 1990 it was taken under the aegis of UNESCO. In this regard, the services are not held in it, except for the Independence Day of Ukraine, when a common prayer is held by all religious organisations.
The cathedral is not used for religious services.
Photo: A-bg78. Source: wikipedia
The oldest graffiti
As it turns out, the custom of leaving inscriptions like "Kisa and Osya were here" have a tradition at least a thousand years long. The inscriptions found on the walls of the cathedral have become a unique source of information, almost the same as frescoes. The subject matter is the most diverse. This peculiar chronicle in stone tells about the facts of not only church but also secular life, historical personalities and events of the past.
Many people left autographs on the walls of the cathedral. Thus, next to the fresco of St. Panteleimon the autograph of Yaroslav's daughter Anna, the future queen of France, was found. A gigantic work of historians and graphologists was carried out to identify her handwriting.
Among the later graffiti are interesting inscriptions left in the 16-18th centuries by representatives of various religions - Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Uniates. This is evidence that St Sophia Cathedral united all religions. Such a fact may become a new page in the history of interfaith relations in Kiev.
There are also funny secular inscriptions, such as this one, full of indignation: "Kozma the Tart stole meat. Aspen on your head. Amen!"
In total, more than 7000 inscriptions were found, scratched on the plaster by parishioners of the past centuries.
The cathedral's main mystery
Despite numerous studies, the ancient cathedral continues to harbour many secrets and mysteries. The main one, of course, is the mystery of the sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise. The prince was buried, of course, in St Sophia Cathedral, built by him.
For the first time the princely sarcophagus was officially opened in 1936. Three years later, the remains were sent to the Leningrad Institute of Anthropology. There, also for the first time, it was confirmed that the skeleton of a man belongs to Yaroslav. And on the skull restored the alleged image of him. The third time opened the sarcophagus in 1964, the purpose is unknown.
As historians continued to debate who is the mother of Yaroslav - Polotsk princess Rogneda or Byzantine princess Anna - it was decided to make a DNA analysis of the remains. For this purpose in September 2009 the sarcophagus was opened again. The examination of remains has shown, that they do not belong neither to Jaroslav, nor to his wife. Moreover, the skeleton was only one, female.
Picked up the acts on the return of the remains from the examination in 1940. It became clear that traces of ashes were lost already in Kiev. Investigation has shown, that remains of Grand Duke have taken out in 1943 and they are in New York, in Sacred Trinity temple. But this is an assumption.
The study of the skeleton found in the sarcophagus also gave more questions than answers. So at this point there are two mysteries:
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Where did the ashes of Yaroslav the Wise disappear to;
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Whose remains were found in his sarcophagus and how they got there.
Photo: Gotenot. Source: Wikipedia
Other legends and mysteries
The legend belongs rather to the category of miracles. In the collection of stories about the foundation of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery there is a story about the masters who decorated the altar of the St Sophia Cathedral with mosaics. They saw how the image of the Mother of God suddenly appeared by itself and shone so that it was impossible to look at it. And then a white dove flew out of the mouth of the Mother of God, flew upwards and disappeared.
And this legend was written down by Austrian diplomat E. Lyasota, who visited Kiev in 1594. In one of the slabs of the upper gallery, just opposite the main altar, there is a round hole a little more than 20 cm in diameter. According to legend, a mirror was placed in it, which gave visual answers to the questions asked - like the magic mirror from Pushkin's fairy tale about the dead tsarevna and the seven bogatyrs. One of the Kiev princesses thus daily "controlled" the stay of her husband in the war. But, having once seen the prince's love relations with a captive pagan, she broke the mirror in fury. The credibility of the legend is not confirmed by anything. But the round-shaped hole from the allegedly broken mirror can be seen in the cathedral even today. Esotericists claim that the magic mirror had something to do with the lost technologies of the past.
More recently, a tomb with the relics of Metropolitan Raphael Zborovsky of Kiev, who did much to create and preserve the Christian architecture of Kiev, was found within the walls of the cathedral. It was believed that the remains were destroyed in 1937, when the tomb of the metropolitan was discovered by archaeologists. However, one of them, a former priest, managed to return the relics to the crypt after all the research. He walled up the tomb, which was opened only in 2022. Thus another secret of the cathedral was discovered.
The legendary library of Yaroslav the Wise is another mystery of the cathedral. It is mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years". The approximate volume of the collection is about 1000 volumes, but what volumes! Allegedly it was destroyed by Batu. But there are several versions of saving the library. Only where to look for it? Taking into account that at the Grand Duke Sofia Cathedral was the largest centre of book publishing, it is logical to assume that the books are stored in numerous dungeons of a cathedral and are waiting for the discoverer.
An "eternal calendar" was discovered on the wall of St Sophia Cathedral. On this matrix you can easily find out how the calendar for absolutely any year, both past and future, can look like. The famous scientist-mathematician V.Pakhomov claims that this calendar with encoded secret message was left to us by representatives of alien civilisation. It is coded so that to understand the message would be able to people who have reached a certain stage of development.
What age is the cathedral?
Another mystery. The age of Sophia of Kiev for many years was the subject of discussions and conflicts in the scholarly environment. It would seem that the "Tale of Bygone Years" clearly indicates that the cathedral was laid by Yaroslav the Wise in 1037.
The new date has already been recognised by the country's government, and the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Sophia of Kiev took place in 2011. Although discussions continue. Yes, and in the textbooks is the former year of foundation.
