Public in Ukraine to decide fate of historic Church of the Tithes (03/27/05)

Public in Ukraine to decide fate of historic Church of the Tithes

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

KYIV - Whether or not the historic Church of the Tithes (Desiatynna Tserkva) in Kyiv will be reconstructed will be decided by a civic council created specifically for that purpose. So said Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Issues Mykola Tomenko at a press conference on March 4.

Mr. Tomenko noted that the government is planning to create a civic council to work on the church's restoration. This council is to decide by the end of the year whether and to what extent the church will be restored, and what to do with the site of the old foundation.

Mr. Tomenko also stated the government's readiness to conduct social polling, and possibly a referendum, if the council fails to make a final decision. At the same time, archaeologists are to start working at the site of the foundation. It is hoped that they will confirm or deny countless historical assumptions, such as, for instance, the presence of burial sites for old Kyivan princes at the Tithe Church.

According to Mr. Tomenko, President Viktor Yushchenko does not support the idea of funding the project, or the construction of any other religious buildings, from the state budget.

"I have forbidden anyone to grant permission for state financing of church construction. If a community wants a new church to appear in their village, they should raise the funds themselves." Mr. Tomenko said. He said at least one-third of required funds should be collected by members of the community, and another third procured from sponsors. The part that remains, in the event of a special lack of funding, can be provided by the state.

The Church of the Tithes was the first stone church in the medieval East Slavic state of Kyivan Rus'. The church was built by Rus' and Byzantine architects in the late 10th century, in the time of Grand Prince Volodymyr, who baptized Kyivan Rus'. The church is mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years," a medieval Rus' chronicle.

Prince Volodymyr donated one-tenth, or a tithe, of his income for construction of the church, which gave the church its name. The Church was destroyed by the troops of Batu Khan in 1240. By decree of Russian Tsar Nicholas I, a new building was constructed in 1842, ruining the last remains of the old church. The new building was taken apart in 1935 because of the reconstruction of Kyiv. Today the foundation of the ancient church has been preserved where the Church of the Tithes once stood.

On February 3, ukranews.com had quoted Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko as saying that the Kyiv City Administration of Kyiv plans to build a new Church of the Tithes on the site of the original structure.

Anatolii Antoniuk, head of the Ukrainian Restoration Project Institute, told Mr. Omelchenko that the Institute's experts are studing the possibility of building a new Byzantine-style building in the place of the old church.

The experts also consider it necessary to use building materials and technology used for the original construction in building the new church. The project's estimated cost is 90 million hrv (about $17 million U.S.).

The Ukrainian Restoration Project Institute had considered the possibility of reconstructing the church as it was but was forced to give up the idea for lack of credible witnesses to the church's original appearance.

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