The All Saints Church is one of the two Greek temples of Nizhyn, a monument to the wealthy community of Greek merchants who traded here for centuries under the protection of the hetmans. It was built in 1782 on the site of a wooden Greek church that had stood here since 1696. Today, it is the second cathedral of the Chernihiv Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Temple of the Greek Brotherhood
The Nizhyn Greek Brotherhood was the customer and organizer of the construction. The wooden church itself appeared with the assistance of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, who patronized the Greeks of Nizhyn. The masonry temple was erected according to the same plan as the city's other Greek church, the St. Michael's Church, but is larger in size. It is a Balkan archaic type of hall church with side apses-cantors.
What to See
The church is cross-shaped, with a gilded dome on a high drum with elongated windows. The vaults in the center rest on a stone pillar. The last reconstruction was carried out in 1805: back then, the church was decorated with classical Doric porticos with paired columns and triangular pediments, and the corners of the central volume with three-quarter columns. Thanks to this, the temple has clear features of classicism, while inside one can feel space and even, calm light.
Once upon a time, the church had a silver iconostasis with icons by Greek masters, and a four-tiered bell tower stood nearby—the tallest in Nizhyn at the time, but it has not survived. Large cellars still remain under the church: Greek merchants stored their goods in them.
How to Get There
The church stands in the center of Nizhyn, not far from Sobornyi Square and the Annunciation Monastery. Read about the history of the Greek community and the city in the article "Nizhyn: A Greek Merchant City and Gogol's Gymnasium".
