NEWS AND VIEWS: Community seeks to rebuild Poltava's Dormition Cathedral (07/18/04)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Community seeks to rebuild Poltava's Dormition Cathedral

by Volodymyr Bakum

The church community of Poltava and its pastor, Father Mykola Khrapach, are urging all Ukrainians who come from the region of Poltava, whether they currently reside in Ukraine or outside of its borders, and all people of good will to help them rebuild the city's historic Dormition Cathedral.

The origins of this holy shrine are lost in the twilight of Poltava's history. We know that it existed in 1695 because that year one of its bells was cast from cannons seized by the Poltava Kozak Regiment in the battle for the Turkish fortress of Kazikermen (which was the name given to that bell).

In the middle of the 18th century the city of Poltava experienced enormous growth, and its wooden cathedral no longer satisfied the needs of its inhabitants. The Kozak leadership decided to build a stone church. The construction began in 1751 and, ultimately, thanks to the all-out efforts of the entire Kozak military and civilian communities, it was completed in 1770. The cathedral stood in all its Ukrainian Baroque splendor until 1934, when it was dynamited by the Communist regime.

The belltower of the cathedral, built later and at a distance, survived to this day. In 1991 the square where the cathedral once stood and the belltower were turned over to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Today it is being used by a parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate.

Holy Dormition Cathedral has touched the lives of a number of prominent Ukrainian literary figures: the 17th century poet Ivan Velychkovsky; the father of Ukrainian literature, Ivan Kotliaretsky, whose residence/museum stands next to it; and Taras Shevchenko, who sketched and painted it. The body of Panas Myrny has lain in state in it; Paissiy Velychkovsky and Theophan Zatvornyk were its parishioners; in 1992 the first patriarch of the reborn Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Mstyslav, celebrated liturgy in its belltower.

In 1995 President Leonid Kuchma issued a decree "On the rebuilding of well-known historical and architectural treasures." Its list included the Poltava cathedral.

Unfortunately, in the five years that followed, nothing was done by the Poltava City Administration to implement the presidential decree. The rebuilding of the shrine was finally started in June 2000, but it had to be interrupted a year later due to lack of funds.

Since then, the building process of the Dormition Cathedral has been proceeding on and off, at a slower pace, depending on the availability of money provided by businesspeople, the city administration and the general public.

As of this date, the walls of the church have been brought up to two-thirds of their required height. The rest of the structure must be completed, but will the needed resources be available?

Faced with this dilemma, the parishioners have turned to all Ukrainians, especially those originating from the Poltava region, with an urgent appeal to help them rebuild their beloved Holy Dormition Cathedral - considered by many to be a gem of Ukrainian church architecture.

The names of all contributors will be entered into the commemorative register of the cathedral and will be known for generations to come as benefactors. The names of those who contribute $500 or more will be carved on marble slabs attached to the facade of the holy shrine.

All contributions are tax-deductible. Please make checks out to St. Andrew's Society/Poltava Fund and mail to: St. Andrew's Society, 1023 Yorkshire Drive, Los Altos, CA 94024.

Volodymyr Bakum is secretary of St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Society Inc.

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