St. Theodosius of Uglych, Wonderworker of Chernyhiv

(in commemoration of the 970th anniversary of the first Chronicle of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra)

Dear friends!

We continue to acquaint you with the wall paintings of the Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. Today, we would like to talk about the image of St. Theodosius of Uglych, Wonderworker of Chernyhiv.

St. Theodosius was born in the Right-Bank Ukraine in the 1630s. He studied at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and took vows in Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery.
St. Theodosius followed strict monastic rules and became known as a true ascetic champion.

The canonization of Theodosius of Uglych, the Wonderworker of Chernyhiv, happened in 1896 when he was declared an officially recognized saint. That act was the first of such kind in the era of Nicholas II. However, the miracles that St. Theodosius performed, started being recorded much earlier, in 1835.

The image of the saint was painted by Ivan Izhakevych. The canvas is located in Lavra’s Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. The face of Theodosius clearly embodies the Ukrainian character. It looks ascetic and emaciated. The gaze is stern. However, shiny and slightly slanted eyes attract the viewer’s attention by their energy and vitality. Hair, mustache and thin eyebrows, which go in different directions, are as black as ink. His beard, in contrast, looks noticeably grayish and faded. Saint’s hand fingers are painted long and gracefully aristocratic.

Picturesque interpretation of the medallion with the image of St. Theodosius of Chernyhiv is enhanced by delicate rhythmics of lines and textural variety of colors. For example, crosses on the Saint’s omophorion, which were painted with pasty strokes, attract the viewer’s attention by  their almost illusory, and, therefore, extremely expressive relief.

It is of interest to know that the first church in the world, built in honour of St. Theodosius of Chernyhiv in 1905, is located in the village of Mykhailivka (Chernyhiv region).

Caption to the illustration:

1. Ivan Izhakevych. St. Theodosius of Uglych. Early 20th c. Wall painting in the Church of Sts. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk

The text was prepared by Olena Pitateleva, the senior research worker

Research Division for the study of the artistic heritage of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve

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