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Pictures of Kiev's Churches and Monasteries

Kiev is a city of many churches. The oldest, Sofiyivskyy Sobor, is on a par with the churches of Chernihiv in terms of age — 1000 years old. These are the oldest churches in all of the eastern Slavic nations (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus). Today churches are being restored and built anew as religion slowly assumes its former role after the fall of the Soviet Union. Monasteries are common around Ukraine and are an interesting sight for visitors from predominantly Protestant countries who have never seen such a thing. Here is a collection of many of the most famous churches in Kiev.

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Mykhailivskyy Cathedral Orthodox church complex above Maidan Nezalezhnosti	The square in front of the cathedral is a favorite spot for wedding photos.	Golden domes and mural of Mykhailivskyy Cathedral	Mykhailivskyy Cathedral Mykhailivskyy sobor at night. The church and monastery were destroyed in 1937 and completely rebuilt in the 1990s.
Mykhailivskyy was famous for its priceless mosaics. Some have been preserved in nearby Sofiyivskyy Sobor.	Church of St. Volodymyr Volodymyrskyy Orthodox cathedral. The outside is a jaunty yellow, while the interior is dark and filled with incense.	St. Andrew's cathedral Andriyivska church — now a museum — is at the top of Andriyivskyy Uzviz (where the souvenir market is).	Andriyivska church was drafted by Rastrelli, a famous architect who built many of St. Petersburg's palaces and churches.
Here's what the church interior looks like.	View of St. Andrew's cathedral from a different direction	Kievo-Pechersk Lavra This monastery complex is where Orthodoxy first developed in Kievan Rus 1000 years ago.	In addition to numerous churches and shrines, there are two sets of caves where monks worshiped.
Bogoroditsa Pirogoscha was built several years ago in the late Byzantine style of the 13th century.	Since other churches in Kiev were rebuilt in the 17th century in the baroque style, this is the only one that preserves the original Byzantine look.	From the other side	Podil has quite a few well-known churches.
Here is the front of one of them.	Here is another. Too bad I don't know the name.	Here is a women's monastery in Podil.	This nun appears to be feeding pigeons.
The sign reads, "no washing clothes or feet at the spring"	Ukraine is full of active monasteries for both men and women.	The side door into the church	Feofaniya Church in Feofaniya, just south of Kiev. Next to the church is a women's monastery.
Feofaniya church was built in the modernistic style of the early 20th century.

All photos are the original work of Rick DeLong. To learn about purchasing originals, go here. Please contact me at before using my pictures for any purpose.