Another couple days, another couple dozen pictures. This day in Kiev — the 4th or 12th or 182nd, I’m not sure at this point — was another big picture day, so I’ve split it into two galleries. First up is a visit to St. Michael’s Church, followed by a little bit of wandering around the Maidan Square part of town.
St. Michael’s is probably the third most prominent church in Kiev, tourist-wise, behind the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and St. Sophia Cathedral. St. Michael’s didn’t feel quite as much of a tourist location as those others, though; there definitely weren’t as many people wandering around when we were there. It is also a school/seminary and there were several art students on the grounds when we were there, so it really had a different feel. If you’re in Kiev, want to see a very traditional Ukrainian church and don’t feel like fighting the crowds, you should definitely check out St. Michaels. (And it was only about 10 minutes walk from the apartment — really easy to get to.)
After that, it was a little stroll through a nearby park, a circle around the Monument to Prince Volodymyr (I couldn’t remember the name of this when I was writing the photo captions), and then down to Maidan Square. Along the way we happened on to a Polish Catholic church — not that Polish Catholic is different from Roman Catholic; it just happened to be a Polish speaking parish. (Historically, Poland had a huge influence on Ukraine, including control of some of the territory in the past. There remains a bit of lingering antagonism between the two countries.) This church turned out to be a kind of important church — Pope John Paul II said Mass there when he visited Ukraine. A Polish pope saying Mass at a Polish parish? — oh yeah, that’s a big deal! (There was a display in the church with the altar used by the pope.) I don’t have any photos of the inside — no picture-taking was allowed — but some of the interior architecture was interesting, and there was a definite Ukrainian or Slavic influence in the art that adored the sanctuary.
After some lunch/dinner at the apartment, it was time for “My Fair Lady” at the Operetta Theater; that will be the subject of my next post and set of photos.
St. Michael’s and environs