The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Church of Mykola Prytiska) was built at the end of the 17th century. on the site of the old wooden church. For some time it was considered the oldest building in Podol (the building dates back to 1631).
History
One of the versions of the origin of the name "Prytyska" delves into the history of the temple all the way back to princely times, when one of the first churches dedicated to St. Nicholas was built on the territory of Russia at the mouth of the Pochaina River near Prytyka, that is, the port on the way from the Varangians to the Greeks. According to another version, during an attempt to rob the temple, the Saint (or his icon) pinned the thief and held him until the faithful appeared.
The temple suffered significant damage during the fires of 1718 and 1811, after which the building was restored (in particular, in the 1820s - according to the project of A. Melenskyi). Work on the development of the church (expansion of the warm Streeten church on the first floor of the bell tower, addition of the chapel, insulation of the main room of the church) was carried out in the 30s, 60s and 80s of the 19th century. In addition, in the second half of the 19th century. the second tier of the belfry was erected.
In the first years of the XX century. in the interior of the temple there are story paintings, similar in style to the paintings of the Volodymyr Cathedral. They supplemented the earlier paintings of 1830.
The monument was destroyed during the Second World War: the roof of the building was damaged, the top of the bathhouse was destroyed, cracks appeared in the walls and vaults. In 1956-1958 pp. scientific and restoration production workshops of the State Building of the Ukrainian SSR carried out major repair and restoration works. According to the project of the architect M. Aleksandrova, the completion of the temple acquired the form it had in the 19th century.
On January 1, 1960, by decision of the Kyiv City Executive Committee, the church was closed for services. From then until the mid-1970s pp. it housed the warehouse of Ukrknygotorg.
From the beginning of the 1980s, a new stage of restoration work took place, it was planned to open a Poetry Theater here.
In 1983, the south-eastern part of the building collapsed due to groundwater flooding, as a result of which the bathhouse and the ceiling of the under-dome space were destroyed.
In 1990, the church was returned to the believers and handed over to the UAOC. Later - it came under the jurisdiction of the UOC KP. Since 2019, it belongs to OCU. During the restoration works, Mykola Storozhenko (1997 — 2000) painted the space under the dome and the nave. For this work, the artist was awarded the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine.
Today it is a cruciform building, its appearance combines elements of Ukrainian baroque and classicism.
The interior is decorated with paintings, the carved gilded iconostasis is made in the Baroque style.
The spatial orientation of the church does not coincide with the neighboring buildings, not only because of the Orthodox tradition of placing the church with the altar to the east, but also reminds of the former layout of the city's streets, before the fire of 1811. Compare: Peter I's House, Mazepa's House, Mykola Naberezhnoy Church also stand "sideways" to the grid of modern streets.
Near the church is Prytysko-Mykilska Street, named after the name of the church.
On the southern facade of the church, there is a memorial plaque in honor of the last Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Ivan Pavlovsky, who had a chair here in 1934-1935 pp.
Confessional paintings, metric books and clerical information of the church (from 1737 to 1920) are stored in the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Kyiv.
The service of God in the church is currently conducted by the priesthood of the OCU.
History
One of the versions of the origin of the name "Prytyska" delves into the history of the temple all the way back to princely times, when one of the first churches dedicated to St. Nicholas was built on the territory of Russia at the mouth of the Pochaina River near Prytyka, that is, the port on the way from the Varangians to the Greeks. According to another version, during an attempt to rob the temple, the Saint (or his icon) pinned the thief and held him until the faithful appeared.
The temple suffered significant damage during the fires of 1718 and 1811, after which the building was restored (in particular, in the 1820s - according to the project of A. Melenskyi). Work on the development of the church (expansion of the warm Streeten church on the first floor of the bell tower, addition of the chapel, insulation of the main room of the church) was carried out in the 30s, 60s and 80s of the 19th century. In addition, in the second half of the 19th century. the second tier of the belfry was erected.
In the first years of the XX century. in the interior of the temple there are story paintings, similar in style to the paintings of the Volodymyr Cathedral. They supplemented the earlier paintings of 1830.
The monument was destroyed during the Second World War: the roof of the building was damaged, the top of the bathhouse was destroyed, cracks appeared in the walls and vaults. In 1956-1958 pp. scientific and restoration production workshops of the State Building of the Ukrainian SSR carried out major repair and restoration works. According to the project of the architect M. Aleksandrova, the completion of the temple acquired the form it had in the 19th century.
On January 1, 1960, by decision of the Kyiv City Executive Committee, the church was closed for services. From then until the mid-1970s pp. it housed the warehouse of Ukrknygotorg.
From the beginning of the 1980s, a new stage of restoration work took place, it was planned to open a Poetry Theater here.
In 1983, the south-eastern part of the building collapsed due to groundwater flooding, as a result of which the bathhouse and the ceiling of the under-dome space were destroyed.
In 1990, the church was returned to the believers and handed over to the UAOC. Later - it came under the jurisdiction of the UOC KP. Since 2019, it belongs to OCU. During the restoration works, Mykola Storozhenko (1997 — 2000) painted the space under the dome and the nave. For this work, the artist was awarded the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine.
Today it is a cruciform building, its appearance combines elements of Ukrainian baroque and classicism.
The interior is decorated with paintings, the carved gilded iconostasis is made in the Baroque style.
The spatial orientation of the church does not coincide with the neighboring buildings, not only because of the Orthodox tradition of placing the church with the altar to the east, but also reminds of the former layout of the city's streets, before the fire of 1811. Compare: Peter I's House, Mazepa's House, Mykola Naberezhnoy Church also stand "sideways" to the grid of modern streets.
Near the church is Prytysko-Mykilska Street, named after the name of the church.
On the southern facade of the church, there is a memorial plaque in honor of the last Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Ivan Pavlovsky, who had a chair here in 1934-1935 pp.
Confessional paintings, metric books and clerical information of the church (from 1737 to 1920) are stored in the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Kyiv.
The service of God in the church is currently conducted by the priesthood of the OCU.