The history of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God is closely connected with the history of the Obolon massif. The Tereshchuk family, the head of which is Father Nikolai, can be called indigenous Obolonians, since they settled here from the very foundation of the massif. An Orthodox community of neighbors, acquaintances, people who knew and respected Father Nicholas gradually began to gather around the priest. The priest had a worthy successor in his sons, the recently ordained father Alexander and seminarian Vladimir. There was often talk in the family that the area was being developed, turning into a residential area, but there was no Orthodox church.
At the first meeting of priest Alexander with the chairman of the district executive committee, Viktor Kirichenko, a conversation took place about the need to build a church. And when Father Alexander said that there was already an Orthodox community and a great desire to build a church in Obolon, Viktor Andreevich supported this idea. On October 22, 1993, having collected signatures from Orthodox residents of Obolon, they officially registered the Orthodox community and began collecting documents for the construction of the temple. With the blessing of His Beatitude Vladimir, Father Nikolai undertook the construction of the temple.
Very quickly the district administration allocated land for construction. The place turned out to be fertile, which was confirmed more than once by spiritual people. There is a belief that a hermit monk lived at this place. According to the preliminary master plan, an entertainment complex was planned for this place, but this place was still given for the temple. Geographically, if you look at the map, the temple is located in the center of the cross, at the intersection of two lines. On the right side is Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, on the left is the Boris and Gleb Church in Vyshgorod. On the other side of the cross is the Troieschinsky Holy Trinity Church and the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God on Priorka.
The district administration actively supported the idea of building a church and helped as much as it could. They quickly brought a stone for consecration, erected a cross, and laid asphalt paths. On May 25, 1994, the consecration of the site for the temple took place very solemnly and festively. The heads of district enterprises, the administration, and representatives of all departments of the district gathered. Immediately after the consecration, they began to pray at this place, to serve mass, as if warming this place, calling on the grace of God. People began to become interested, the community grew and filled with believers.
Father Nikolai immediately got down to business and began importing materials. The documents were drawn up in parallel, and Father Nikolai never left them for signature, but personally came to the reception at the city authorities. When winter came and it was impossible to serve outside, they took permission to build a temporary chapel where they could pray. Father Nikolai, with his broad nature and experience, decided that if we build, then it should be so that there is a place for everything. And when it was built, many were surprised to see that it was not a small chapel, but a beautiful small church. Construction began on our own. Builders who lived at Nikolai’s father’s house worked selflessly at the construction site. Women from the community helped prepare meals; in the morning before work, they cooked food, brought it to the builders and went to work. By the spring of next year, the walls were erected, but there was nothing inside yet.
The first liturgy took place in 1995 on the feast of the Holy Trinity, then the temple was simply whitewashed, icons with embroidered towels were placed along the walls. The concrete floors were covered with greenery. The air was filled with the smell of freshness and incense, and instead of the royal doors there were curtains. The temple looked like a rural house church and all the more warmed the hearts of the city people who came to it. From that time on, the full-fledged liturgical life of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in Obolon.
Where is the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin?
Prierechnaya street, 5A
+380 (44) 411-20-00, 411-00-25
services: morning 07:30 (Sun: 07:00 and 09:30), evening 17:00