Extension of the altar section of the Church of the Savior on Berestovе at the beginning of the 17th century

The article examines problematic issues related to the time and circumstances of the extension of the altar section of the Church of the Savior on Berestovе in Kyiv, which has the status of an architectural monument of national significance and is also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Built in the late 11th – early 12th centuries, the church suffered many destructions during the 13th – 15th centuries. It was rebuilt in the early 17th century through the efforts of Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych and all of Rus' Petro Mohyla. At the same time, the nature of the architectural forms of the altar part of the church does not fully correspond to the canons of Orthodox church building. This article questions the widespread opinion regarding the construction of this part of the church in the 1640s during the time of Metropolitan P. Mohyla. It has been suggested that the altar apses of the church were added during the time when it belonged to the Uniate Church (1596-1631), namely: around 1610-1620. The newly proclaimed Uniate Church had particularly close relations with the Catholic Dominican Order. This influential and powerful order built an imposing stone building of the monastery church of St. Nicholas, designed in the Gothic style, in the center of Kyiv on Podil around 1610. This article suggests that the Dominican Order may have been involved in the extension of the altar section of the Church of the Savior on Berestove, since its design also uses Gothic (post-Gothic) architectural motifs. It was Gothic that was a certain marker in the early 17th century, indicating that a church building belonged to the Catholic Church. Taking into account historical iconographic materials, the author's reconstruction of the external appearance of the Church of the Savior on Berestove after the reconstructions and additions carried out in the early 17th century is proposed. The conducted full-scale chemical and technological studies of the building of the Church of the Savior also confirm the hypothesis about the addition of altar apses at the very beginning of the 17th century. The information obtained as a result of this study may be of great importance in conducting further research regarding the study, restoration, conservation and exhibition of this prominent monument, which contains numerous architectural and stylistic layers of different periods from the 11th to 19th centuries.