Katerynska Church is one of the best-known landmarks of Chernihiv and a symbol of the city. This 1715 Cossack church stands on a high cape, separated by a ravine from the Val, in the area of the ancient Tretiak, at 1-a Preobrazhenska Street. Today, it is the cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and an architectural monument of national importance.
Memory of Azov
The church was built with funds from the brothers Yakym and Semen Lyzohub in accordance with the will of their father, Chernihiv colonel Yukhym Lyzohub. The temple was dedicated to the memory of their grandfather — colonel and acting hetman Yakym Lyzohub — and the Cossacks of the Chernihiv Regiment who distinguished themselves during the assault on the Turkish fortress of Azov in 1696. In 1715, the church was consecrated in honor of Saint Catherine. It arose on the ruins of a church from the princely era, and thanks to its favorable location, it also served as a fortification near the fortress for some time.
Architecture
Katerynska Church is a striking example of masonry Ukrainian architecture of the Left-Bank Baroque era. In its composition, it replicates a traditional wooden five-domed church: five octagons merge into a single whole, the central cupola rises above the side ones, and those rise above the arms of the cross. Each branch is pentagonal and crowned with a dome. The walls have no horizontal divisions, the corners are emphasized by pilasters, the windows are elongated upward, and some have the shape of a cross. The ornamentation — gables, architraves, cornices — is made of shaped brick, without stucco molding. The church has three entrances and looks beautiful from all sides.
Fires, Museum, and Restoration
In 1837, the church suffered from a fire, and it burned again during the Second World War. The last service took place in 1933, after which the temple was closed. In 1947–1955 and 1975–1980, it was restored, the domes were gilded, and in 1962 it was included in the "Ancient Chernihiv" reserve. From 1979 to 2006, the Museum of Folk Decorative Art of the Chernihiv Region operated here.
In 2006, the temple was transferred to the Cossack Orthodox community. After several years of confrontation with supporters of the Moscow Patriarchate, the court confirmed the legality of the transfer, and on July 19, 2008, 75 years after the ban, services were resumed here.
How to Get There
The church stands in the center of Chernihiv, next to the Val. It is convenient to visit it during the walk "Val and Tretiak".
