The ensemble of the Ilyinsk Church is part of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve "Ancient Kyiv".
History
The first mention of the church dates back to the year 945 - by Reverend Nestor the Chronicler in "The Tale of Timeless Years". It follows from the story that by the middle of the 10th century, the Illina Church was already very famous and can be considered one of the first Christian buildings in Russia. According to tradition, the Kiev princes Askold and Dir built the church of the prophet Ilya. - During one of the Byzantine campaigns, they saw a Divine miracle that amazed them and immediately after their return, they accepted baptism and built this temple. There is a version that the baptism of Kyivans in 988 took place near the Illina Church. After the invasion of the Mongols, the Upper City was almost completely destroyed and the decline of Kyiv began, the life of which was centered on Podil. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the church was not damaged or was rebuilt. Unfortunately, there is no accurate information about the chronicled Illyrian Church in Kyiv, and it is the subject of discussions and research. In the list of churches of Podol in 1613, the church of the Prophet Elijah is missing, and it is first mentioned again in 1632, but there are no concrete grounds to connect it with the chronicle church - perhaps, on the contrary, the chronicle mention gave it its name and origin. Modern history begins in 1692, when the old wooden church was dismantled and a new stone church was built, which exists to this day, with the donations of the burgher Peter Hudyma. In 1718, it suffered quite a lot from a fire, and only in 1755, at the expense of the regimental esaul Pavel Gudyma, the church was reconstructed, during which the Ioanno-Predtechensky chapel was completed. A two-story belfry and a temple gate and fence in the Ukrainian Baroque style were also built, designed by the outstanding Ukrainian architect I.H. Hryhorovych-Barsky. In 1811, the great Podil fire again seriously damaged the church, but it was repaired quite quickly, and in 1818 the iconostasis was replaced. In the 19th century, the condition of the church was not the best. Only 16 yards belonged to the church, and the number of parishioners was 130-140 people. In 1904, the temple complex was overhauled, during which new icons were also painted. And in 1909, the last renovation of the church took place before the Bolshevik coup — the image of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted over the main entrance to the church and 43 images on the walls. In the 30s of the 20th century, the church of St. Ilya was closed and handed over to the Kyiv elevator, and the building was turned into a grain warehouse. During the Second World War, church services were resumed. After gaining independence of Ukraine in 1991, a new push for the development of the temple took place, during which the interior and decoration changed dramatically. It now also houses a Sunday school for children and adults.
Architecture
The architectural ensemble of the church consists of:
- Illina Church (1692)
- Belfry (1755)
- Gate and fence (1755)
- Little Bursa (second half of the 18th century)
- Proskurnya (second half of the 18th century)