St. Andrew’s Church is an Orthodox church in honor of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. It was built in the Baroque style according to the design of the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754 on St. Andrew’s Hill. Down from the church goes Andreevskiy Spusk. In our time, it is an active church of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church: daily morning liturgies and evening services, blessing of water, baptisms, weddings and ceremonies are held.
St. Andrew’s Church was built by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1749-1754 by local architects under the leadership of the Moscow architect Ivan Michurin on the site where, according to legend, a cross was erected by the Apostle Andrew the First-Called during his journey to the north (according to the Tale of Bygone Years and others). The original drawings of St. Andrew’s Church are kept in the Vienna Albertina (art museum).
That’s interesting!
1. The heroes of the movie “Chasing Two Hares” Svirid Petrovich and Pronya Prokopovna went to St. Andrew’s Church to get married.
2. Next to St. Andrew’s Church there is a monument to the film “Chasing Two Hares” in the form of its two main characters: Svirid Petrovich and Pronya Prokopovna.
Since 1949, the stylobate of the temple housed the Kiev Theological Seminary (closed in 1960), and the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara were kept in the temple itself. Soon after the closure of the seminary, under the pretext of an “emergency condition,” St. Andrew’s Church was also closed (at the same time, the relics of St. Barbara were transferred to the Kiev Vladimir Cathedral on Shevchenko Boulevard). In 1968, the church was opened to visitors as a museum. In May 2008, the secretariat of President Viktor Yushchenko decided to transfer St. Andrew’s Church from the balance of the Sophia of Kiev National Reserve to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The church is part of the Sophia of Kiev National Reserve.
The condition of St. Andrew’s Church has noticeably improved as a result of capital work to strengthen the slope on which the building is located and a major reconstruction of the St. Andrew’s Descent road. These and other works were completed on the eve of Euro 2012. The slope under St. Andrew’s Church was strengthened according to a special design with numerous anchors, and the soil was reinforced with polymer materials. Trees and bushes were completely removed. Thus, the slope was given its original appearance and the view of St. Andrew’s Church from the northern and eastern sides was improved.
Where is St. Andrew’s Church?
Andreevsky Descent, 23
(044) 599 00 05