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Mezhyhirya Monastery

Coordinates:50°37′7″N30°27′55″E/ 50.61861°N 30.46528°E/50.61861; 30.46528
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(Redirected fromMezhyhirskyi Monastery)
This article is about the Ukrainian monastery demolished in the 1930s. For a former official residence of Ukraine, seeMezhyhirya Residence.
Mezhyhirya Savior-Transfiguration Monastery
The Mezhyhirya Monastery, located on the right bank of theDnieper.Fyodor Solntsev, 1843.
Monastery information
Other namesMezhyhiria Monastery
DenominationOrthodox
Establishedunknown[1]
Disestablished1935
Controlled churchesGate Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Transfiguration Cathedral
People
Founder(s)unknown[1]
Site
LocationNovi Petrivtsi,Vyshhorod Raion,Kyiv Oblast
Coordinates50°37′7″N30°27′55″E/ 50.61861°N 30.46528°E/50.61861; 30.46528
Visible remainsWater well
Public accessRestricted
Map

TheMezhyhirya Savior-Transfiguration Monastery[nb 1](Ukrainian:Межигірський Спасо-Преображенський монастир,romanized:Mezhyhirskyi Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Monastyr) was anEastern Orthodoxfemale monastery that was located in the neighborhood of Mezhyhiria outside of theVyshhorodcity limits.

The monastery was located just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the north ofVyshhorod.Today, the territory is part of theVyshhorod Raion,Kyiv Oblast(province) in northernUkraine.The location is situated in theMezhyhirya ravine,on the right bank of theDnieper Riverin close proximity to theKyiv Reservoir.

It is unknown when the monastery was founded, although several different legends and stories about its founding exist.[1]Throughout its existence, it was destroyed, and then restored numerous times, yet it was not spared destruction bySoviet authoritiesin 1935. At the time of its height, the Mezhyhirya Monastery was considered a spiritual center of Rus royalRurikid houseand laterCossacks.[2][3]Currently, the area of the former monastery is located on a fenced-in woodland territory next to Novi Petrivtsi village and is now a museum.

As an important monastery of theZaporozhian Host,the Mezhyhirya Monastery left a rich legacy behind it. The monastery was mentioned in one ofTaras Shevchenko's poems, "Chernets," written in 1847,[4]and was the subject of a drawing by him.Nikolai Gogol's novel, "Taras Bulba,"published in 1835, also mentions the monastery.[5]

History

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Foundation and early history

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Although it is unknown when the monastery was founded, there are several different legends and stories about its founding.[1]Some Rus' chronicles mention that there was a nun in Mezhyhirya in the 12th century, which might indicate that the Mezhyhirya Monastery existed at the time, although this is uncertain.[1]A 19th-century Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia,Yevgeniy Bolkhovitinov,claimed[6]that it had been founded by the firstMetropolitanofKiev,Michael,along withGreekmonks arriving fromByzantiumin 988AD.[1]The claim is likely spurious, since Mezhyhirya is not listed by modern authors among the monasteries of Kievan Rus'.[7]

In 1154, the Prince of SuzdalYuri Dolgorukiydivided the territory surrounding the monastery's grounds amongst his sons.[8]His sonAndrey Bogolyubskyreceived the lands nearest to the monastery, now the city ofVyshhorod.[8]Not too long afterwards, he is alleged to have moved the monastery to its current location in the hills of the Dnieper,[citation needed]giving the monastery its name, "Mezhyhirya."[nb 2]

In 1482, the Mezhyhirya Monastery was attacked by theCrimean TatarsunderMeñli I Giray.[1]In 1520, the monastery was restored.[1]In 1523, the monastery was transferred to the King ofPolandand Grand Duke ofLithuaniaSigismund I.[1]In addition, the monastery was given a full reign over its territory.[1]In 1555, the complex consisted of four churches, including one cave church on Pekarnitsky Hill.[1]

Cossack monastery

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The Mezhyhirya Monastery as drawn by Abraham van Westerveld during the 1650s.
A drawing of the monastery by Ukrainian poet and artistTaras Shevchenko,1843.

During the 16th century, the monastery frequently lost and regained its ownership rights.[1]On the funds of the monastery's newhegumenAfanasiy (aprotégéof princeKonstanty Wasyl Ostrogski), the monastery's old buildings were demolished, and new ones were built in their place.[1]In 1604, the Gate Church ofSs. PeterandPaulwas constructed, in 1609 - the Mykilska Refectory, and the Transfiguration Cathedral in 1609-1611. Under his rule, the monastery was considered as the secondlavra(cave monastery) in Ukraine.[8][nb 3]

After its reconstruction, the Mezhyhirya Monastery became a regional center of theZaporozhian Host,serving the host as a military monastery. In 1610, the monastery received the status of astauropegicmonastery (orthodox church autonomy), under thePatriarch of Constantinople.Theuniversal(act) ofHetmanBohdan Khmelnytskyissued on May 21, 1656 transferred the neighboring settlements ofVyshhorod,Novi Petrivtsi,andMoshchununder control of the Mezhyhirya Monastery. In effect, the universal made Khmelnytsky the monastery'sktitor.[8][nb 4]After the destruction of theTrakhtemyrivskyi Monasteryby a Polishszlachtaarmy, the Mezhyhirya Monastery replaced it as the main cossack military monastery.[1]As a military monastery, retired and elderlycossacksfrom the Zaporozhian Host would now come to the monastery to retire and live in until the end of their lives.[1][9]

In 1676, the area was burned down after a fire started in the wooden Transfiguration Cathedral. With the help ofIvan Savelov,a monk who lived in the monastery and later became aPatriarch of Moscow,[10]the complex was reconstructed. Two years later, with the help of the cossack community, the Annunciation Church was constructed near the monastery's hospital.[citation needed]

In 1683, theSich Radavoted that the ministers in theSich's Pokrovskyi Cathedral (the main cathedral of the sich) should be only from the Mezhyhirya Monastery.[1]In 1691, monasteries located near the Sich were placed under the Mezhyhirya Monastery's authority. Under hegumen Feodosiy at the end of the 17th century, considered as a period of prosperity,[8]the Mezhyhirya Monastery became one of the largest monastery's in Ukraine.[1]TheMezhyhirya Chronicle,covering the period of 1608 to 1700, was completed around the turn of the century.

At the request ofPeter I of Russia,the stauropegic status of the monastery was revoked; it was later reinstated in 1710.[1]In 1717, a large fire destroyed a large portion of the monastery's buildings. The monastery's "military" status was reconfirmed by cossacks in 1735. In 1774, with the funds of the lastKoshovyi OtamanPetro Kalnyshevsky,the Ss. Peter and Paul Church was reconstructed. Ukrainian architectIvan Hryhorovych-Barskyidesigned some of the buildings, including the monk's residence.[11]

The monastery as seen on an early 20th-century postcard.

Decline and Soviet demolition

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A period of decline began with the abolition of theZaporozhian HostbyCatherine II of Russia.In 1786 the Russian Imperial government closed the monastery and confiscated its valuable treasures. The remaining Zaporozhian Cossacks soon afterwards leftZaporizhia,and moved to theKubanregion. There they founded theKuban Cossack Host,which still exists to this day. The cossacks were able to leave with some of the monastery's manuscripts,[12]some of which are now kept in theKrasnodar KraiArchive.[13]

In 1787,Catherine II of Russiacame toKyivfor a visit and wished to see the Mezhyhirya Monastery. She never got to see it, because the monastery mysteriously burned down the night before her arrival.[1]

The Transfiguration Cathedral seen shortly before its demolition, 1934.

In 1796, aGermanengineer found that the area had suitable clay for the making offaience,and two years later, founded the Mezhyhirya Faience Factory, the first one in Ukraine, at the site of the unused monastery.[8]By 1852, the faience factory had become the largest industrial complex in Kyiv.[14]During its existence, the factory produced a variety of crockery and ornamental vases and figurines.[15]In 1884, the faience factory was closed down after it failed to bring any profit.[16]

In 1894, the Mezhyhirya Monastery was rebuilt and transformed into a women's monastery. After its reconstruction, the monastery was transferred to the authority of the Intercession of the Saints Monastery in Kyiv.[17]

After the Russian Revolution, theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's capital moved fromKharkivto Kyiv in 1934, and the city was in need of a suburban residence for government officials. Mezhyhirya was chosen as the site of the new government residence.[13][18]The decision of thePolitburoin April 1935 ordered thedemolitionof the whole complex. Before the scheduled demolition in 1936, the architecture and buildings of the monastic complex were photographed.[13]During the demolition, an underground library was supposedly discovered, full of handwrittenmanuscripts.[19]There were speculations that the discovered books belonged to the lost library ofYaroslav the Wise,[20][21]or perhaps of a later period, during the times of the Zaporozhian Host.[22]But during archaeological excavations from 1990 to 1994, neither the alleged basement nor the purported manuscripts were found.[20]The only thing that remains now of the monastic complex is awater well.[23]

DuringSoviet times,the area served as a residence forLeonid BrezhnevandVolodymyr Shcherbytsky,who worked in theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's government at the time.[24]During this period, its location was concealed from the public.[citation needed]

Hegumen

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See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^The monastery's inhabitants referred to the monastery as the "Place of the Mezhyhorod Saviour" (Russian:Обитель «Межигорского спаса»). See:"Malorossiya, Podoliya, and Volyn".Kiev, its sacred places and attractions.5th volume (in Russian). Nostalgiya. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-06-30.Retrieved2008-01-03.
  2. ^In this sense,"Mizh"(or"Mezh") translates as"between",while"hora"(or"hir") is equivalent to"hills"as in"between-the-hills".
  3. ^It was referred to as the "Sviato-Mezhyhirska Lavra" (Ukrainian:Свято-Межигірська Лавра).
  4. ^A"ktitor"is someone who provides funds for the construction and decoration of a monastery.
Footnotes
  1. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrs"Kyievo-Mezhyhirya Monastery (did not survive) (ХІІ-ХІХ c.)".OKO-architectural and local interest site(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-11-12.Retrieved2007-12-26.
  2. ^Redko, Dmytro (August 2, 2007)."American dream. In Ukrainian".Lvivska Hazeta(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon January 14, 2013.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  3. ^"Ivan Mazepa: Hetman, which let the world honour Ukraine".Prosvita(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-10-13.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  4. ^Shevchenko, Taras(1847)."Chernets".Poetyka(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon February 26, 2001.Retrieved2007-12-26.
  5. ^"Successor of the Hetmans".Krymska Svitlytsia(in Ukrainian). June 28, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-05-22.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  6. ^Lysenko, Valeriy (2007)."Legends and treasures of the Mezhyhorod place".1000years.uazone.net(in Ukrainian). The Ukrainian Information Project. Archived fromthe original(Word document)on 2006-06-15.Retrieved2007-01-05.
  7. ^"Л.Х. Азкунбю. Лнмюяршпх Мю Псях Xi - Яепедхмш Xiv Бейю".Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-24.Retrieved2014-03-08.
  8. ^abcdef"Kyievo-Mezhyhirksyi Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Monastyr".Government historical-cultural reserve in the city ofVyshhorod(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-02.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  9. ^Vikovan, I. (November 12, 2007)."What is hidden behind the walls of the presidential residence?".UAКлув(in Russian).Archivedfrom the original on 2011-07-24.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  10. ^"Mezhygorskiy Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy, men's, 1st class monastery".Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary(in Russian).Archivedfrom the original on 2011-07-19.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  11. ^"Hryhorovych-Barksyi Ivan Hryhorovych".National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-11-03.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  12. ^"Section I. Slavic books with Cyrillic alphabet XVI-1st half of the XIX century".Krasnodar Krai Scientific Library of A.S. Pushkin(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon November 11, 2007.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  13. ^abcVikovan, I. (May 20, 2006)."Kyievo-Mezhyhirskyi Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Monastyr"(in Ukrainian). Nova Sich. Archived fromthe originalon July 27, 2011.RetrievedDecember 26,2007.
  14. ^Makarov 2002,p. 277
  15. ^"Exhibit of items from porcelain and faience factories of Ukraine from museum collections (July 6-August 31, 2005)".Museum of the National Ukrainian Decorative Art(in Ukrainian).Archivedfrom the original on 2008-03-20.Retrieved2008-01-05.
  16. ^"Mezhigorye - Mezhigorskiy monastyr".oldkyiv.org.ua(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-11-08.Retrieved2007-12-28.
  17. ^"Sviato-Pokrovskyi Monastery. Second continuation".Nice-Places.com(in Russian).Archivedfrom the original on 2007-12-21.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  18. ^Oleksandr, Kutsyi (August 3, 2007)."On the residence of Viktor Yanukovych an underground passage is being built".Gazeta po-ukrayinski(in Ukrainian). Archived fromthe originalon November 9, 2007.RetrievedDecember 26,2007.
  19. ^Tsalyk, Stanislav."Tale of the library of Yaroslav the Wise".Biblioteka Sovremennika(in Russian).Archivedfrom the original on 2013-07-09.Retrieved2007-12-26.
  20. ^abSverbyhuz, Volodymyr (September 14, 2001)."Secrets of the Mezhyhirya Saviour".Den(in Ukrainian).Archivedfrom the original on 2011-08-07.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  21. ^Pavlov, Mikhail (July 9, 2007)."Life of Yaroslav".uatoday.net(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon December 12, 2007.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  22. ^Slutskiy, A."This book is of the Mezhigorskiy monastery".cossackdom.com(in Russian).Archivedfrom the original on 2012-08-10.Retrieved2007-12-26.
  23. ^"Yanukovych is living in a medieval monastery".Obozrevatel(in Russian). August 3, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 2011-05-25.Retrieved2007-12-27.
  24. ^Stakhovsky, Dmytro; Tetyana Chornovil (August 13, 2007)."Residence of Yanukovych".UNIAN(in Ukrainian).Archivedfrom the original on 2007-12-13.Retrieved2007-12-26.
Bibliography
  • Makarov, A.N. (2002),Little Encyclopedia of Kiev's Antiquities(in Ukrainian),Kyiv:Dovira,ISBN966-507-128-9
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