Cathedral of the Dormition, Volodymyr

About

The Dormition Cathedral is a cathedral and architectural monument in Volodymyr, Ukraine. It is state property, but in service of the Volodymyr-Volynskyi eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Its oldest parts date back to the 12th century, making it the only building of Kievan Rus' in Volyn Oblast.

The church was built during the reign of the Volyn prince Mstislav II Izyaslavych in 1160. The walls of the church are divided by arches on half columns and had frescoes. It was rebuilt in the 18th century. The general appearance is static and monumental, despite the controversial reconstruction carried out in 1896–1900 by architects Adrian Prakhov and Grigory Kotov.

In 1156, the great-grandson of Vladimir II Monomakh, Mstislav II Izyaslavych, who was a regional prince in Volodymyr, and later the Grand Prince of Kiev, built a new church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The consecration of the church was done after its painting in 1160. After the consecration, the church became a cathedral, continuing the history of the first episcopal see of the Volyn Diocese, founded on these lands in 992. In honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Volyn Diocese, a commemorative cross was erected near the cathedral in 1992. The cathedral was the burial place of princes, boyars and bishops. Under the church there are 6 grand princely, 2 episcopal and many noble persons' tombs. Prince Mstislav II, the builder of the church, is also buried here. It was ravaged by the hordes of Batu Khan and restored again. In the first half of the 15th century, it was looted, and rebuilt again at the end of the century through the efforts of Bishop Vasian of Volodymyr.

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11 May 2010 marked the 850th anniversary of the cathedral's construction. Celebrations were held in the city, led by the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan).

Until October 2025 the cathedral was under the control of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). On 11 October 2025, by a court decision, the building was brought under state ownership. Clerics of the Moscow Patriarchate tried to prevent the entry of government official into the cathedral by barricading the central passage with benches.

The (regional) state administration of Volyn Oblast handed the Dormition Cathedral to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January 2026.

The Dormition Cathedral is an architectural monument of Ukraine and is inscribed on the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine and is owned by the state.

- Ark with a portion of the relics of the Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky), Archbishop of Tver, Bishop of Volodymyr-Volynskyi

The Dormition Cathedral is a large six-columned tri apse church. Its narthex is separated from the main building by a wall. The total external length of the building is 34.7 m, width 20.6 m, azimuth 79°. The size of the under-domed space along the church is 8 m, and across is 7.45 m. The thickness of the walls is 1.5–1.7 m. The height of the church to the top of the central narthex is about 18.5 m. The ancient vaults have not been preserved. On the western and eastern facades, the narthexes are not windows, but blind niches; this indicates that the corner cylindrical vaults were turned. There are lofts in the western part of the church. The vaults that supported the lateral divisions of theloft, judging by the preserved medieval parts, were cruciform. The middle division of the loft may have rested on wooden beams. There was no ladder in the cathedral, and the lofts were accessed through the doors of the second floor of the southern facade, apparently, after entering from the palace. The outer corner lesenes of the temple are flat, and the intermediate ones are with powerful half-columns. Three portals lead into the building, with a two-step profile. The windows are narrow, with a semicircular ending, except in the central narthex, where there are 3 windows each, and this shape is only in the middle, while the side ones end in a quarter of a circle. At the base of the zakomaras on three facades, except for the eastern one, there is an arcature belt with a double porebryk [ uk ].

The walls of the temple are made of bricks in the even-layer masonry technique. The size of the bricks is approximately 4.5×22–23×32.5–35.5; they are well-fired and strong. On some bricks, there are wavy parallel lines on one of the beds, and on several there are large princely signs in the form of a bident. There are trapezoidal bricks and narrow ones with a wedge-shaped end. The thickness of the mortar joints in the masonry is approximately equal to the thickness of the brick. The mortar is made of lime and is pink from the cement. Marks from rotten wood in the walls were located. Acoustic jars used in the masonry of the vaults were also found. The foundations are strip-shaped, 2–3 m deep, made of rubble. Above them is a pavement of several rows of bricks on mortar. The floor of the church was covered with glazed ceramic tiles. The interior is painted with frescoes, some parts of which were still preserved until the time of restoration in the central apse and on the slopes of the windows. The cathedral had arched niches for burials. One of the burials probably contained the remains of Prince Volodymyr Vasylkovych.

The construction of the central church of the Principality of Volodymyr — the Dormition Cathedral — attracted the close attention of chroniclers and is therefore reflected in many chronicles. The entry in the Laurentian Chronicle reports the foundation of the cathedral on April 8, 1158. The Avraamka Chronicle indicates a different day of foundation, May 8. The completion of construction is noted in 1160:

Создана бысть церки святая Богородица в Володимери… князем Андреем; и украси ю дивно… и верх ея позлати... приведе ему бог из всех земель мастеры ("The Church of Saint Theotokos was built in Volodymyr... by prince Andrey; and he decorated it wonderfully... and gilded its roof... God brought him masters from all lands")

The painting of the church was carried out in 1161, and was finished in August.

In 1185 the cathedral was badly damaged by fire. After the fire it was restored, and in 1189 the cathedral was consecrated again.

During the great fire in 1193, the church was likely not damaged, but it was whitewashed next year.

In 13th century, several princes of Volodymyr were buried here, and in 1237, some decoration and painting was carried out. In 1238, during the Mongol Invasion, the cathedral was looted and burned. It was not restored until 1280, when Metropolitan Kyrylo covered the domes in tin.

In 1293, the Mongols destroyed the city once again.

Various repairs and reconstructions were carried out in the cathedral in the 14th century, and in 1408 Andrei Rublev and Danylo Chorny painted the church again. Later, the cathedral suffered from robberies and fires several more times, but each time it was repaired. Major repairs were carried out in 1725–1734 and 1888–1891, and during the latter, the architect K. O. Karabut restored the ancient forms of the building. The study of the monument makes it possible to generally imagine the original appearance of the cathedral, built in 1158–1160.

Carved stones were used in the decoration of the facades, some of which survived on the walls of the cathedral in 1185–1189. The zakomaras of the facades were decorated, judging by the chronicle, with gilded images. Fragments of carved drainage holes with traces of their fittings, gilded with copper, have been found. The massive drum of the original cathedral is decorated with 24 columns with carved capitals. The cornice of the drum consists of serrated triangles, a strip of curbstone and a final belt of small arches. The walls between the windows of the drum were covered with gilded copper. The dome of the cathedral was also covered with the same copper. The foundations of the narthex have been uncovered in front of the northern portal of the original cathedral; it can be assumed that the vestibule was in front of all three portals. The question of the entrance to the choirs remains open. Judging by the remains of the foundation discovered north of the northwestern division of the original church, there were passages near the cathedral that directly connected it to the bishop's palace, and therefore it may not have had a special ladder for climbing to the lofts.