The Church of the Tithes: A Time to Gather Stones
When Prince Volodymyr of Kyiv embraced Christianity and baptized his subjects, he first built a palladium church, a “spiritual stronghold” of the whole country, next to his princely residence. This was the Church of the Tithes, the first stone temple in ancient Rus’ dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was blessed by Metropolitan Leontiy of Kyiv, and according to chronicler Nestor, its first provost was Anastasiy Kosunianyn. The church was finally built in 996, almost 1,010 years ago. Some sources claim that the Church of the Tithes was blessed on May 11 or 12, which became the first local annual Christian holiday in Rus’.
The Holy Virgin’s Church of the Tithes (referring to one-tenth of all princely revenues donated to the church) became a showpiece for succeeding East Slavic architects. It was considered almost a wonder of the world: contemporary Ruthenians and foreign travelers compared it to the sky, for it was large, spacious, tall, and richly adorned with frescoes, incomparable Byzantine mosaics, marble columns, carved tiles, sculpted cornices, etc.
In this world some build temples and others destroy them. The Church of the Tithes was first devastated by the Tatar Mongols in the 13th century. Four hundred years later Metropolitan Petro Mohyla ordered that “the Holy Virgin’s Church of the Tithes next to Kyiv’s gate be dug out of obscurity and opened to the light of day.” So, in memory of the old sanctum, a little church was built onto one of the church’s surviving walls. In 1842 a large Church of the Tithes (smaller than the one built by Prince Volodymyr) was constructed according to plans drawn up by Russian architect V. Stasov, only to be blown up by the Bolsheviks in 1936. Since then the thousand-year-old church almost vanished into thin air, as if there were no more expert masters in this country, as though no one had anything to pray for beneath the majestic dome of the Church of the Tithes.
Archbishop Dymytriy Rudiuk, prior of St. Michael’s Monastery and rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, who is also a historian and theologian, has just published a richly illustrated book entitled The Mother of Rus’ Churches: Time to Revive Kyiv’s Church of the Tithes. This book is another attempt to persuade society, the government, and specialists that the Church of the Tithes must be built. The book, which contains many reproductions, is filled with persuasive historical facts and cites the opinions of chroniclers and outstanding people. The last part of the book features a small but exquisite album entitled “The Mother of Rus’ Churches,” which convincingly substantiates the “genetic” origin of churches in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Novhorod, Smolensk and other places — the “saplings” of the Holy Virgin’s church.
The idea of rebuilding the church has caused another split in Ukrainian society: some academics and politicians (politically-minded academics, to be more exact) fervently object to the Church of the Tithes “rising from the ashes.” One of the pretexts (not reasons) is that it is crucial to study the remains of Volodymyr’s Church of the Tithes — as if 70 years is too short a period for our researchers. I must repeat that we are talking about the first stone Christian church in Kyivan Rus’, which is mentioned in almost every ancient chronicle. But let us turn to the question of the foundations. It is common knowledge that rebuilding a church does not necessarily lead to the destruction of its primary foundations: there are standard techniques not only for preserving but also providing access to the foundations. This is a common practice all over the world.
The other argument against rebuilding the Church of the Tithes is more serious: it is impossible, for lack of information, to reconstruct the ancient church in its precise original shape. This is true. Nevertheless, it is possible to reproduce this church more or less accurately, using 10th-century Byzantine churches as a model (Byzantine architects cannot possibly be “accused” of an excessive stylistic diversity). Contemporary archeologists, historians, and art historians are very well versed in the typical features of Byzantine architecture. It will also be recalled that churches from this period have survived in Constantinople (Istanbul) and other cities of the former Romaic empire, for example, the churches attached to the Hosios Lukas monastery in Phocis.
In any case, a Byzantine-style church would suit Kyiv much better than the endless array of churches built in a pseudo-Byzantine-Russian style once prescribed by Russian emperors or in the “style” of present-day churches, which defy categorization. This obviously does not worry the opponents of the plan to rebuild the Church of the Tithes. What worries them is the fact that “modern materials are used to build copies. We cannot reproduce, say, the plinth, stones, and roof tiles that were used in Kyivan Rus’” (Academician Tolochko). Dr. Aseyev, an architect, agrees: “It will be an ugly, new structure only remotely resembling the original thing. It is far more important to preserve the monument’s authentic foundation.”
If people valued historical ruins the way some Ukrainian scholars do, every city and town today would be “adorned” with nothing but heaps of wreckage. There would be no Old City in Warsaw, no St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, no Amber Room in Saint Petersburg, etc., not to mention the Assumption Cathedral, which was rebuilt with modern equipment and materials.
Archbishop Dymytriy, author of the book The Mother of Rus’ Churches, writes, “It is beyond doubt that all this (the campaign against rebuilding the Church of the Tithes) is being done by those who would deny any continuity and heredity in Ukrainian history, who in their ‘love’ for Ukraine are pursuing their own selfish interests, rather than spiritual ideals.” It is difficult to hold a debate if everyone listens only to himself. In his book Archbishop Dymytriy quotes Cleric Ostrozky of the 16th century, who declared, “It is no good speaking about strength with a weak person, about light with a blind one, about peace and harmony with a robber, and about cleanliness with a tramp.”
There are people who do not like “new” old things, i.e., restored historical monuments. Still, it is sometimes worth looking at the problem from a different angle. Should the Church of the Tithes be rebuilt reliably and skillfully, it will hardly be considered an “ugly new structure” a thousand years from now. Moreover, in Kyiv our descendants will have a very ancient and venerated Byzantine-style Holy Virgin’s Church, and they can be rightfully proud of it before other nations. It is a sin to think only about the here and now, ladies and gentlemen!
