I n January 2009, just on Christmas Eve, the temple of Transfiguration of the Lord in Kyiv held its first church office. The Word of God started to be preached in one more corner of the ancient Kyiv. It said that despite all the atheist obstacles, the age-old desire of people to seek truth, peace of mind, love, life in harmony with the Creator was reviving.
Kyiv has many beautiful churches, including the St. Sophia Cathedral, whose mosaic is a gem of the world art. Erected in times of Yaroslav the Wise, the Cathedral, along with the Kiev- Pechersk Lavra, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are majestic churches built in 16-18 centuries and many places of worship built already in the independent Ukraine. Their architecture and interior decorations impress with their elegance, exceptional skill, wealth and perfection of forms.
The Transfiguration of the Lord temple, a snow-white building crowned with a blue-gold glass dome, though modest, but still is a rare creation of the XXI century. Why is it so unique? Why is it so precious for hundreds of human hearts?
The temple is unique as it was erected not by professional constructors on order. It was erected by ordinary people, at the call of their hearts. Perhaps, it may seem strange in our pragmatic era. But this is not an anomaly, it’s a very natural desire - seek God and build churches – his dwellings on earth. Piety is one of the most prominent traits of Ukrainian character. When lack of spirituality ruthlessly invades the entire living space - one must resist this!
Hence the idea arose to build the temple for own money. The temple was meant to be the place for collective prayer, the center for good initiatives in the name of Ukraine and the shelter for souls, who have lost in life, who need good advice.
Like-minded people are a great power, and when they are guided by the Holy Spirit - they can work wonders. It took just three year to build this beauty. It’s not so easy to believe that this solid and perfect building was erected not by constructors, but the faithful - people of different professions. They eagerly came to construction works, investing their money, their time, their strength, warmth of their hearts, to master construction specialties and become real specialists in this field. Specialized firms perform only cladding works, installation of the roof and dome.
While the Transfiguration of the Lord temple was growing up, architects themselves were transfigured spiritually. Each in its own way: some learned to share with neighbors, some – to be sensitive and considerate, some managed to step on the throat of his own pride, and some overcame fear of heights, working under the very dome. The most important thing is that all gained invaluable experience and realized a longstanding truth: there is no bigger pleasure than pleasure to create in harmony, to serve God in unity and peace. It is immense happiness to forget earthly vanity and to find an hour to pray to the Lord in the temple, where each brick is warmed by your hands and filled with love for the world.
The Transfiguration of the Lord temple was raised on a solid foundation of faith with pure thoughts of people, faithful to God and not on mercenary considerations or fraudulent intentions. So let light, sincere prayer for peace and harmony in our native land is sung here. Let the hearts unite in God’s love for a long and happy married life to strengthen state with strong families. And may God bless the founders of the church and inspire them with new deeds, pleasing to God.