Kyiv-Zhytomyr Niskup Vitaly Krivitskyi SDB thanked everyone who tried to collect signatures and noted that this is not the end of the matter. He urged them to do their best to return to the parish of the temple. He noted that many of the petition's signatories are not Catholics, but they voted to defend justice.
– The signed petition, of course, does not exhaust the topic yet. Therefore, I appeal to all people of good will and living faith to do everything by prayer and action to ensure St. Nicholas finally accepted a church that serves God and people, said the bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr.
Church of St. Nicholas in Kyiv
Church of St. Nicholas Church in Kiev was built in 1899-1909. It stands in the center of the capital of Ukraine, on Velka Vasilkovskaya street. The authors of the architectural design of the beautiful temple are Poles – Władysław Horodetski and Stanisław Walowski. Its main founder was Count Vladislav Michal Branitsky. All the Poles living in Kyiv contributed greatly to the construction of the church. In 1936, the Bolshevik government closed the temple and turned it into a warehouse. Part of the space inside was occupied by systems to jam “hostile” Western radio stations, and the system's antennae were suspended outside on church towers. In 1978, according to the decree of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, the church building was transferred to the Kyiv House of Organ and Chamber Music. For this purpose, a Rieger-Kloss organ was ordered from Czechoslovakia. In 1981, the renovation was completed and in the same year a concert hall was opened in the church.
After Ukraine gained independence, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine as a concert venue and St. Nicholas. The authorities refused to fully transfer the building to the Roman Catholic Church until the question of the new location of the organ hall was resolved.
The rooms were dilapidated. By the end of 2023, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine planned to implement the project of building the House of Music in Kyiv and transferring the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine.
The priests of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate also started serving in the church.
On the evening of September 3, 2021, a fire broke out in the church, covering an area of 80 m². 80 rescuers and 16 equipment were working on the spot and the fire was extinguished in an hour and a half. As a result, the roof of the building was seriously damaged, and the unique organ made of metal and expensive black and mahogany wood was completely burned. No one was injured in the fire.
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(tags translate)Ukraine