Transfiguration Cathedral, Chernihiv, Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Chernihiv, Ukraine
The Transfiguration Cathedral is an Orthodox church in Chernihiv, Ukraine, with three naves, three apses and five domes rising above the masonry structure. Two tall towers stand on either side of the main facade, giving the building a symmetrical front that is visible from the street.
Prince Mstislav of Chernigov ordered construction to begin in 1036, and the building reached the height of a horseman when he died during that period. Later renovations in the late 18th century altered parts of the interior, but the foundations and the five-dome structure date back to Kievan Rus.
The iconostasis bears the work of T. Myzko and Oleksander Murashko, who completed it in the late 18th century. Standing before the screen, visitors see 62 icons that divide the interior into liturgical zones and frame the Orthodox service.
Visitors can see carved slate parapets, 11th-century frescoes, oil paintings and marble columns inside the structure. Access is often available during services, but the building can also be visited outside those times when no religious ceremony is taking place.
Prince Mstislav rests beneath the arches, and other members of the Chernihiv dynasty found their final resting place here as well. The crypt makes the building not only a church but also a mausoleum, with centuries-old graves still visible today.
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