Church of the Tithes

Tithe Church was the first church in Kievan Rus, which was made ​​of stone. It was erected in honor of the Nativity in 989-996 years. This church was built on the initiative of Prince Vladimir, who singled to its construction a tenth of their income, that is, tithes, hence the name of the shrine.

This temple is long and, like the majority of Ukrainian churches, not an easy story. According to legend, built the Church of the Tithes on the spot death of the first John and Theodore, who was sacrificed to the god Perun. A few years before the baptism of Rus was a house here Varyag Theodore and his son John. Somehow Kiev pagans wanted to bring a sacrifice to their gods, fate pointed at John. However, Fedor not only gave his son, but at the same time condemned the Gentiles. Angry crowd destroyed the house of Fedor, debris which buried the father and son.

Numerous archaeological excavations found out that the Tithe church became the last refuge of St. Vladimir, and some of his descendants. Here were found the tomb of Princess Olga, a Greek princess Anna and the other members of the grand-ducal family. Currently this church no longer exists. However, we know that he was close to St. Andrew`s descent .