St. Nicholas Church in Kiev finally handed over to the Roman Catholic parish

Vladyslav Horodetskyi’s outstanding architectural structure – St. Nicholas Church in Kiev, which suffered from a fire back in September 2021 and from recent Russian attacks – was officially transferred to the Roman Catholic parish for free use for a period of 50 years. At the same time, the building remains in state ownership and on the balance sheet of the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine. The transfer took place on January 6, on the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, and a month later the parish reported on the first steps to restore and ensure the safety of the historical monument.

As “UM Moloda” reports , the first and fundamentally important decision was to insure the church. The parish explained that this was a long-awaited step, emphasizing that the current insurance is a guarantee of responsibility and real protection of the monument. “The parish community remembers the fire that occurred when the building was functioning as the National House of Organ and Chamber Music (NBOCM), and there is still no clear information both regarding insurance payments for the restoration after that tragedy, and how much and on what the funds raised by patrons of the arts to save the church after the fire were spent,” they wrote on the Facebook page “Roman Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas in Kiev.”

In addition to insurance, the community has also started formalizing a protection agreement for the church as a cultural heritage monument. Parishioners are convinced that such an agreement is a mandatory tool for the proper preservation of the church building, but for all the time the shrine has been in the use of the House of Music it has never been concluded. The beginning of this process is another step towards a legally responsible attitude towards the church and the creation of clear obligations for its protection, maintenance and restoration.

At the same time, the reissuance of utility contracts has begun. The goal is to conclude direct contracts for the church, so that the community’s funds would be used for its restoration and rehabilitation, and not to pay for utilities at the rates for the house of music, where the difference in the amount can be 2 or even 3 times. This also opens up the possibility of providing full heating for the temple in the future, which is critical to preserving the building and conducting services.

The parish reports that the commission of DTEK, which worked at the site, recorded in the protocol that at the time of the transfer of the church to the community the expiration date of electricity meters was overdue by three years, and the general condition of the electrical network, as well as many other elements of the infrastructure of the temple, is in extremely poor condition.

We will remind, earlier we reported that in Ternopil region the historical complex of the Bernardine monastery of XVII-XVIII centuries was transferred for use to the local community of the UGCC. The decision on the gratuitous transfer for a period of 10 years was made by the Ternopil Regional Military Administration after coordination with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.