When exploring the old town (Upper Town) of Kyiv, Ukraine, these three beauties will be hard not to spot. Turquoise St. Andrew’s Church, pale blue St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, and white and green St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Not sitting far apart they are easily done in one go, and they all deserve a look, at least from the outside.
St. Andrew’s Church
St. Andrew’s Church was the first on the list. Located next to Andrew’s Decent you get a great view of the Podil neighbourhood, and beyond, from the platform it stands on. Inside I was struck by how small the space for the congregation is. My local friend told me there is no sitting during service, standing only, so apparently there are room for all. Though the church is nice inside, what catches my eye is the exterior – the colours, the details, the domes.
Website: andriyivska-tserkva.kiev.ua
St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery
When we approached St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, my friend realised there was a service going on, so before I knew it, I was in the middle of an Eastern Orthodox Church service. Very interesting, and now I got to see how the small congregation area works in practice. It quickly filled up, but wasn’t too crammed. I then was told service lasts for two hours. Standing for two hours. Maybe parishioners come and go, and therefore not much space is needed… To an untrained eye, the interior looked like that at St. Andrew’s Church. Maybe a little less impressive exterior, but I am loving the pale blue and golden combo.
Website: archangel.kiev.ua
St. Sophia’s Cathedral
St. Sophia’s Cathedral we only got to see from the outside, as when we got around to it, it was closing time. It has the same kind of gate tower as St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, but with a lot more details, more appealing in my mind. Climbing it probably provides great views of the old town. The church itself ends up appearing a bit bleak exterior wise, because the other two are breaking the scales.
Website: st-sophia.org.ua
