This Orthodox church belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It is a historical and architectural monument, as well as one of the few churches in Kyiv that have never been closed in their entire history. The church was erected in 1882-1883 for the needs of residents of the village of Demeevka near the borders of what was then Kyiv. A significant part of the funds for the construction of the church was donated by Mr. Rauser, director of the Kyiv sugar refinery on Demeevka. The ceremonial consecration took place on February 18, 1883. On July 25, 1907, Lesya Ukrainka and Kliment Kvitka were married in the Church of the Ascension.
Around 1905-1910, a parochial school was erected at the church, the building of which has survived to this day. As of 1915, the church already owned, in addition to the school, a library, which numbered about 1,200 copies, a priest’s house and a clergy house, and a small cemetery. In 1917, the church owned 1 dessiatine 600 square fathoms of land, the parish numbered more than 4,000 people.
In July 1920, when Soviet power had already been established in Kyiv, a parish community was registered at the Church of the Ascension of the Lord. In 1922, the church was partially transferred to the UAOC and to some extent reconstructed. In 1933, the Soviet government dissolved the Ukrainian parish; before that, the church’s bell tower was dismantled in the 1920s (a new one was erected in the 1990s). However, the temple continued to remain active after that and was never closed even during the Nazi occupation.
Where is the Holy Ascension Church?
Goloseevsky Avenue, 54
044 259 94 14
Mon: 09:00-14:00, Tue: 07:45-20:00, Wed-Fri: 08:30-20:00, Sat: 08:30-20:30, Sun: 06:30-19: 30