Ukraine: Kiev – St Volodymyr’s Cathedral

The St Volodymyr’s Cathedral was built relatively recently in 1882, originally to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of the Kievan Rus by Vladimir I (Vladimir the I (or Volodymyr) brought Christianity to Kievan Rus in 952). The funds were raised from all over the sprawling Russian Empire and an enormous fund allowed for construction and decoration of this religious masterpiece. The seven-domed cathedral was constructed in the neo-Byzantine style by some of the best architects of the times, and the interior frescos were painted by even more famous artists that included Vrubel and Vasnetsov, while all the mosaics were laid by Venetian masters. The interior is atmospheric but very dark and somewhat depressing, with lots of golds, blacks, and browns. This cathedrals is the home cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which, interestingly, just a month ago was recognized by Constantinople as fully independent from the Russian Orthodox Church. The latter of course didn’t recognize it and a new religious schism was born. Hopefully, this doesn’t evolve to the Shiite vs Sunni degree of animosity.
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