Six restored crosses are being returned to St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The city of Lisbon donated funds for the central cross. This was announced by Vadym Kyrylenko, first deputy chief of the Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve.
“Today, after carrying out restoration and renovation works and consecration, work has begun to return the crosses of St. Sophia Cathedral to their historical locations,” he wrote on December 20, Tvoye misto reports.
Six crosses for the cathedral, restored with philanthropic funds (approximately UAH 3.5 million), are made of stainless metal with gilding. The renovation of fasteners and work on their installation is financed by the state.
After Christmas, the plan is to dismantle the central cross. Specialists will do restoration work paid for by the capital of Portugal.
“On December 27, we plan to remove the central cross of St. Sophia’s Cathedral for repair and restoration. This has already been agreed with all relevant institutions, all possible and impossible permits and blessings from the church have been obtained. This will be a very exciting work because archival documents stated that during the restoration in 1970, the main cross of St Sophia was replaced with a new one, but this information is false. When we examined the cross, it turned out that its frame dates back to the 1970s, but there is an old hammered surface around it. That is, the restorers did not radically change the main cross of St. Sophia Cathedral. Why they did so remains a mystery. We will dismantle the cross, hold a restoration council, and draw a restoration project. All works on the central cross will be financed exclusively by patrons,” Vadym Kyrylenko said.
Earlier, the Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve administration said “the extremely unsatisfactory condition of the roof, structures, and domes of the cathedral has become not only a problem for the museum, but also a threat to the preservation of the integrity of the unique monument, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.”
Crosses have been removed from the domes of St. Sophia Cathedral and sent for restoration, money for which was allocated from the budget and donated by patrons. There was hope that the crosses would be reinstalled by Christmas, December 25.
