St Andrew's Church, Kyiv

's prophecy of Kyiv depicted in the Radziwiłł Chronicle Andrew the Apostle is recognized as the Apostle of Rus′. According to the early medieval chronicle The Tale of Bygone Years, he came to the slopes of the Dnipro River and erected a cross at the current location of the church. He prophesied that the sparsely-inhabited area would one day become a great city. In 1086, Vsevolod I of Kyiv constructed a church within a monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew. It was replaced by a succession of wooden churches. ==Early history==

The construction of a new church was conceived when Elizabeth of Russia decided to construct a summer residence for herself in Kyiv that would include a place of worship nearby. The palace was to be located in the Pechersk neighborhood, while the church was to be on the Andriyivska Hill. On 9 September 1744 the Empress laid the first three founding stones herself The construction itself was conducted by a team of Russian and foreign masters under the direction of architect Ivan Michurin, who was previously successful in replacing the older Church of the Resurrection, on the Women's Market Square (Babiy torzhok) in Moscow. Michurin was responsible for carrying out all of the engineering and geological researches of the site and found out that a hard subsoil ground lies at a depth of 13–14 meters and above — made grounds penetrated by subterranean waters. With this information, Michurin developed the construction of a stone foundation and connected it with the two-storied building of the Priest's apartments, planned by Rastrelli. I. Vlasiev and the Governor-General of Kiev, Mikhail Ivanovich Leontyev, were placed in charge of hiring masons, carpenters, and carvers from territories now located in Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine. White and red bricks for the church were made at the brick fields of the Sophia, Pechersk, and Cyril cloisters. The foundation stone was delivered by the Kyiv garrison soldiers from the neighboring towns of Rzhyshchiv and Bucha. The wood came from the nearby Pushcha-Vodytsia forests. Also, infantry regiments from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Starodub, and Poltava were involved in the church's construction. Apart from workers from the neighbouring villages, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra sent 50 of its best masons to work on the church. The iconostasis' icons were carried out by Petersburg artists. For gilding, 1,028 slabs of gold were used in the interior. who lived in a house close by. ==Later restoration work==

In 1815, a storm tore off the church's cupolas, which resulted in the need for a full restoration. The following year, the Moscow architect Andrey Melensky made plans of the building's façade and sent them for consideration to Saint Petersburg. A team led by the architect V. Korneyeva used Rastrelli's drawings to restore the church's domes in 1978. In 1987, the church was included into the National Conservation area "Saint Sophia of Kyiv." In 2015 St Andrew's was closed in order for major restoration work to take place. the During the restoration, the interior was redecorated, and icons and the iconostasis were repaired. In addition, repairmen replaced engineering networks, implemented new lighting, heating, and air supply systems, and replaced the windows. ==Other uses during the 20th century==

In 1935, the St. Andrew's Church was included into the Historical and Cultural Conservation "All-Ukraine Museum Area." For some time after 1939, Saint Sophia Anti-religious Museum was located within the premises of the church. During World War II, regular church services were restored, only to be closed down again in 1961. Since then, the church's stylobate was rented to different organizations up until 1992, when the stylobate was occupied by the Seminary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate. On January 10, 1968, the church was included into the State Architectural and Historical Conservation area "Saint Sophia Museum." On September 10 of the same year, the church was opened as a historical and architectural museum. ==Return to use as a church==

In 2008, the church was handed over to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. In October 2018, the church was by law gifted to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as a stauropegion. On 21 August 2021, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on a visit to Ukraine by the invitation of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, presided at the Vespers in the Stavropegion. ==Architecture and preservation==

The church was constructed on a foundation-stylobate, which from the eastern side faces downhill and from the western—has a two-story construction. Cracks have already appeared in the church's foundation, resulting with the fact that a special committee was set up by the Minister of Emergency Situations Nestor Shufrich. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, they will conduct research on the building's foundation and its construction with the help of Ministry of Construction, Kyiv City Administration, and the division of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kyiv City. ==Notes==