Dear Friends!

Take a trip to our virtual museum during your coffee or tea break and make your #quarantinediscoveries!

Admire unique cultural assets of the Museum Fund of Ukraine!

The Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the main church of the monastery, has long been playing the role of the main “preserver” of the unique art treasures of the Ukrainian people. Created by talented craftsmen, they impress with their sophistication and excellence. Unfortunately, we do not know the names of the majority of goldsmiths, carvers, icon painters, etc. However, some objects have carved inscriptions of donators, which allows setting the time and place of manufacture of the artifact.

One of the gems of the Preserve's collection is a blessing cross, donated by the hieromonk Vitaly Filipovych, the father confessor of the Pechersk Monastery, to the Dormition Cathedral in 1721.

A rare wooden carved cross in a silver gilded frame is an example of a Ukrainian decorative carving of the 18th century. The front side of the cross features the Crucifixion with side figures. The God of Sabaoth is on the top bar. Sts. Joseph and Nicodemus are placed on the middle bar and the Apostle Peter is on the lower bar. The Our Lady of Pechersk is carved on the back of the cross (Mother and Child and figures of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius), together with Sts. Nicholas, Eustachius Plakida, and Paraskeva. A dedicatory inscription, carved on the handle of the cross, reads: «This cross was donated by the Honorable Hieromonk Vitaliy Filipovych, the father confessor of Pechersk Lavra...».

In 2010, the blessing cross was displayed at the exhibition «The Glory of Ukraine: Sacred Images from the 11th to the 19th centuries» in the USA. Since 2019 it has been displaying for the first time in Ukraine at the exhibition «Revived Ukrainian Treasures (Rarities of the Dormition Cathedral from the Collection of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve)».

The presented cross is only a fraction of the art treasures stored in the Preserve’s collection.

Let’s #stayathome and discover the beauties of the Preserve’s collection together!

#museumfromhome, #museumcoffeebreak, #museumteabreak