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| Reconstructed Saint Michael's of Kiev. |
During the first half of the 1930s, various Soviet publications questioned the known historical facts regarding the age of the Cathedral. The publications stressed that the medieval building had undergone major reconstructions and that little of the original Byzantine-style cathedral was preserved. This wave of questioning led to the demolition of the monastery and its replacement with a new administrative centre for the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (previously located in the city of Kharkiv). Before its demolition (June 8–July 9, 1934), the structure was carefully studied by T.M. Movchanivskyi and K. Honcharev from the recently purged and re-organized Institute of Material Culture of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. On the basis of their survey, the cathedral was declared to belong primarily to the Ukrainian Baroque style, rather than to the twelfth century as was previously thought, and thus did not merit preservation due to its lack of historical and artistic value. This conclusion backed up the Soviet authorities' plans to demolish the entire monastery. Local historians, archaeologists, and architects agreed to the monastery's demolition, although reluctantly. Only one professor, Mykola Makarenko, refused to sign the demolition act; he later died in a Soviet prison.
On June 26, 1934, work began on the removal of the twelfth century Byzantine mosaics. It was conducted by the Mosaic Section of the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts. Specialists were forced to work in haste on account of the impending demolition and were thus unable to complete the entire project. Despite the care and attention shown during the removal of the mosaics from the cathedral's walls, the relocated mosaics cannot be relied upon as being absolutely authentic.
The remaining mosaics, covering an area of 45 square metres (485 sq ft), were partitioned between the State Hermitage Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the State Russian Museum. The other remaining mosaics were installed on the second floor of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, where they were not on display for tourists. Those items that remained in Kiev were seized by the Nazis during World War II and taken to Germany. After the war ended, they fell into American hands and were later returned to Moscow.
During the spring of 1935, the golden domes of the monastery were pulled down. The cathedral's silver royal gates, Mazepa's reliquary (weighing two poods of silver) and other valuables were sold abroad or simply destroyed. Master Hryhoryi's five-tier iconostasis was removed (and later destroyed) from the cathedral as well. St. Barbara's relics were transferred to the Church of the Tithes and upon that church's demolition, to the St Volodymyr's Cathedral in 1961.
During the spring-summer period of 1936, the shell of the cathedral and belltower were blown up with dynamite. The monastery's Economic Gate (Ekonomichna Brama) and the monastic walls were also destroyed. After the demolition, a thorough search for valuables was carried out by the NKVD on the site.
The only building completed on the former monastery grounds before World War II currently houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The construction of the second building ("the capital center"), planned to be built on the site where the Cathedral had once stood, was delayed in the spring of 1938 as the authorities were not satisfied with the submitted design. This building failed to materialize. Some time after demolition, the site where the former cathedral used to be located was transformed into a sport complex, including tennis and volleyball courts. The Refectory (Trapezna) of St. John the Divine was used for changing rooms.
UPDATE: What has always amazed me is that liberals, progressives, socialists and communists always feel the need to destroy Christianity to support their obviously weak stance against faith. It really bothers them that Jesus does live today, especially as they try to point out He doesn't.
Kinda weak. Kinda funny. To watch. Somebody gonna be surprised. Others will be pleasantly reassured. Love, life, religion and church will always be under attack, the heathen need to attack, but it is an attack that will hurt them. I really hope they change. I don't think they are capable of changing. Wow, so bad. I feel bad for those that are lost.
Literally, yesterday, I watched a drug addict change his life at the funeral of his mother. His mother, who was a close friend of mine who became an addict, spoke the truth to him about her life, her being born again and her defeat of the evils in her life, changed her life. Her son did the same yesterday.
I am not a "born again", but I do believe. I want to thank God for that I witnessed. Not to make light, but maybe my mother beat the love of God into me early. Whatever, I was blessed to see the changing of a young man and to be part of it.
I will say it has been a few years since I attended a funeral that was also a revival. Kinda rocked me, but in a good way
On June 26, 1934, work began on the removal of the twelfth century Byzantine mosaics. It was conducted by the Mosaic Section of the Leningrad Academy of Fine Arts. Specialists were forced to work in haste on account of the impending demolition and were thus unable to complete the entire project. Despite the care and attention shown during the removal of the mosaics from the cathedral's walls, the relocated mosaics cannot be relied upon as being absolutely authentic.
The remaining mosaics, covering an area of 45 square metres (485 sq ft), were partitioned between the State Hermitage Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the State Russian Museum. The other remaining mosaics were installed on the second floor of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, where they were not on display for tourists. Those items that remained in Kiev were seized by the Nazis during World War II and taken to Germany. After the war ended, they fell into American hands and were later returned to Moscow.
During the spring of 1935, the golden domes of the monastery were pulled down. The cathedral's silver royal gates, Mazepa's reliquary (weighing two poods of silver) and other valuables were sold abroad or simply destroyed. Master Hryhoryi's five-tier iconostasis was removed (and later destroyed) from the cathedral as well. St. Barbara's relics were transferred to the Church of the Tithes and upon that church's demolition, to the St Volodymyr's Cathedral in 1961.
During the spring-summer period of 1936, the shell of the cathedral and belltower were blown up with dynamite. The monastery's Economic Gate (Ekonomichna Brama) and the monastic walls were also destroyed. After the demolition, a thorough search for valuables was carried out by the NKVD on the site.
The only building completed on the former monastery grounds before World War II currently houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The construction of the second building ("the capital center"), planned to be built on the site where the Cathedral had once stood, was delayed in the spring of 1938 as the authorities were not satisfied with the submitted design. This building failed to materialize. Some time after demolition, the site where the former cathedral used to be located was transformed into a sport complex, including tennis and volleyball courts. The Refectory (Trapezna) of St. John the Divine was used for changing rooms.
UPDATE: What has always amazed me is that liberals, progressives, socialists and communists always feel the need to destroy Christianity to support their obviously weak stance against faith. It really bothers them that Jesus does live today, especially as they try to point out He doesn't.
Kinda weak. Kinda funny. To watch. Somebody gonna be surprised. Others will be pleasantly reassured. Love, life, religion and church will always be under attack, the heathen need to attack, but it is an attack that will hurt them. I really hope they change. I don't think they are capable of changing. Wow, so bad. I feel bad for those that are lost.
Literally, yesterday, I watched a drug addict change his life at the funeral of his mother. His mother, who was a close friend of mine who became an addict, spoke the truth to him about her life, her being born again and her defeat of the evils in her life, changed her life. Her son did the same yesterday.
I am not a "born again", but I do believe. I want to thank God for that I witnessed. Not to make light, but maybe my mother beat the love of God into me early. Whatever, I was blessed to see the changing of a young man and to be part of it.
I will say it has been a few years since I attended a funeral that was also a revival. Kinda rocked me, but in a good way
