User:DDima/Sandbox/Intercession Church



Church of the Intercession of the Theotokos (Церква Покрову Пресвятої Богородиці) is a historic church located in the village of Sutkivtsi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western Ukraine's Podolia region. It is a unique structure in and of itself; it is as much a church as it is a fortification building.

The church is currently an active building of worship and museum, attracting both Ukrainian and foreign tourists. Services are currently held in the church since a couple years after the start of the 21st century. It is one of the country's oldest fortification buildings and one of the only medieval churches of the тетраконхового type.

The Church of the Intercession of the Theotokos is an example of architecture dating back to the 14th-18th centuries, one that isn't replicated anywhere else throughout the world.

History


The territory that the church was built on belonged to the Szlachta Fedor Sutkovetsky. At the time, Podolia was consistantly attacked by invading Tatars, thus the church was constructed in the form of a fortification.

A model for the church were Gothic castles in Western Europe, particularly the Château de Chaumont in France. It is significant that the church borrows designs from Eastern Orthodox church construction, while incorporating Gothic designs from Western Christianity as well.

In 1476 the building was rebuilt in to a church, with vaulted ceilings on the first floor and Gothic щипців above the second floor in the center of the building. One of the church's bells bears the inscription "ГОДА Божья АУОS" corresponding to the year 1476.

In the 16th century, the first floor of the church was painted with frescos, while the oil paintings were added in 1909. In 1859, the church's roof was covered with new shingles.

In the second half of the 17th century, a two-tiered wooden bell tower was added with a Baroque главкою was built atop the porch. In 1894, the church was reconstructed, loosing its original Gothic and Baroque mixed tower structures, and instead acquiring characteristics common to churches throughout the Russian Empire.

Due to amateur reconstruction work done in the mid 1990's, the church's interior was covered with cement, resulting in the loss of a large portion of the church's frescos. In 2006, experts placed the church on the State Emergency List of Architectural Structures.



The church was professionally reconstructed from 2007-2009 by famed Ukrainian architects Yevhenia and Olha Plamenytska. During the restoration, the cement plaster was fully removed, eliminating the urgent need of reconstruction of the building. The building regained its original medieval roof, which relied on a central support pillar that was partially preserved. Also restored were the defensive loopholes on the second tier, and a defensive gallery in the interior of the church.

It is planned that the restoration project will continue to ensue, with the full removal of the cement plaster that would reveal the original frescoes. The grounds surrounding the church are also due to be redone. All of this work was carried out by funds allocated by the Ministry of Regional Development at the request of the Yarmolyntsi Raion administration and the Sutkivtsi church community.