In 1881, Princess Alexandra Petrovna left St. Petersburg and settled in Kyiv, where she began to realize her dream of creating a monastic community. She conceived the latter not only as a convent, but also as a medical institution for the poor, in which the role of junior medical staff would be performed by nuns and novices of the monastery. She managed to realize her plan by donating all her money to the new monastery (her family also donated part of the funds). Over the course of about 20 years (1889-1911), about 30 buildings were built on the territory of the monastery – churches, a parochial school with a dormitory, buildings for sisters, gold-embroidery and icon-painting workshops, and a hotel. Among them, medical institutions were built – a free hospital with therapeutic and surgical departments, a shelter for the blind and infirm, an outpatient clinic, and a pharmacy with free dispensing of medications. During the first decade of operation (1893-1903), more than 5,000 patients used the hospital, about 5,000,000 medications were provided free of charge, and 2,300 operations were performed in the surgical department. The princess died in the monastery on April 13, 1900, but the implementation of her plans continued after her death.
The design and construction of the monastery was carried out by Vladimir Nikolaev (Ascension Church on Baikov cemetery, mansions Tereshchenko, Galperina and Lieberman, National Philharmonic, monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky). The foundation stone of St. Nicholas Cathedral took place on August 21, 1896. The first stone in the foundation of the cathedral was laid by Emperor Nicholas II, the second by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and the third by Princess Alexandra Petrovna. Construction of the cathedral lasted 15 years. Currently, St. Nicholas Cathedral has 2 floors and 6 altars.
In 1925, the monastery was closed by order of the Soviet government and reopened after the occupation of Kyiv by German troops in the fall of 1941. In 1943, as the front approached Kiev, the sisters of the monastery refused to evacuate and spent 40 days in a state of siege in the lower church of St. Nicholas Cathedral. In 1943-1945, a hospital operated on the territory of the monastery, and an infirmary in 1945-1948. After the end of the war, internal renovation of the cathedral began, which was completed in May 1949. Unfortunately, the authorities did not allow the domes, which were dismantled when the church was closed, to be restored. In 1981, St. Nicholas Cathedral suffered from a fire caused by a lightning strike on the roof of the cathedral. The fire did not penetrate inside the temple, but when it was extinguished, the water severely damaged the wall plaster. During the renovation, the walls and vaults of the temple were painted for the first time. In the 1990s, according to drawings stored in the city archive, the wooden Intercession Church was rebuilt in stone and painted inside, and its domes were restored. The consecration of the temple took place in May 1999.
Where is the Intercession Convent?
Bekhterevsky Lane, 15
Divine services: evening: 16:45, midnight: 05:00, liturgy: 07:00 (2 Liturgies on Sundays and holidays: 07:00 and 10:00)
(044) 486-71-68