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{{Short description|Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine}}
{{Infobox monastery
| name = Vydubychi Monastery
| image = Видубицький монастир-3.JPG
| alt = 
| caption = 
| full = 
| order = 
| established = 1070
| disestablished = 
| mother = 
| dedication = 
| diocese = [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate]]
| churches = Collegiate Church of Saint Michael<br>St. George Cathedral<br>Saviour Church and refectory
| founder = [[Vsevolod Yaroslavich]]
| abbot = 
| prior = 
| people = 
| location = [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]]
| map_type = Ukraine
| coord = {{coord|50.4168|N|30.5674|E|region:UA_type:landmark|display=inline title}}
| oscoor = 
| remains = 
| public_access = 
| other_info = Ownership: [[Orthodox Church of Ukraine]]
}}
The '''Vydubychi Monastery''' ({{langx|uk|Видубицький монастир|Vydubytskyi monastyr}}) is a historic [[monastery]] in the [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] capital [[Kyiv]]. During the [[Soviet period]] it housed the [[National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine|NANU]] Institute of Archaeology.

== History ==

The monastery was established between 1070 and 1077 by [[Vsevolod Yaroslavich|Vsevolod]], son of [[Yaroslav the Wise]]. It was a family cloister of Vsevolod's son [[Vladimir Monomakh]] and his descendants.

The monastery, and [[Vydubychi|the neighbourhood in present-day Kyiv where it is located]], was named after an [[Early East Slavs|old Slavic]] legend about the [[paganism|pagan]] god [[Perun]] and the [[Grand Prince]] [[Vladimir the Great]] of Kyiv. The word "Vydubychi" comes from the word ''Vydobychi'' → ''Vydobych'' → ''Vydobech'' ({{langx|uk|Видобичі → Видобич → Видобеч}}) which means "to swim up", "emerge from water".

The legend has it that Vladimir ordered the wooden figures of Perun (the Thunder God) and other pagan gods dumped into the [[Dnieper River]] during the mass [[Baptism of Kyiv]]. The disheartened Kyivans, though accepting the baptism, ran along the Dnieper River calling for the old gods to emerge from water ({{Lang|ru|Перуне выдуби!|italic=yes}}). Accordingly, the area down the river stream where Perun emerged was named ''Vydubichu'' or ''Vydubychi'' in modern Ukrainian.

The monastery operated the [[ferry]] across the [[Dnieper River]] and many of the best scholars of that time lived and worked there. Among them, chroniclers [[Sylvestr of Kiev]] and Moisey made a great contribution to writing the ''[[Russian Primary Chronicle|Tale of Bygone Years]]''.

From the 1596 [[Union of Brest]] the Monastery was an official seat of the first three metropolitans of the [[Greek Catholic Church]] in Ukraine — [[Mykhajlo Rohoza]], [[Ipatii Potii]] and [[Josyf Veliamyn Rutsky|Yosyf Rutskyi]]. In 1635. it was returned to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.<ref name="ukrw">''The Vydubytskyi Monastery: A Kyiv landmark worthy of attention, Ukraine Weekly''</ref>

[[File:1996-08-11 Vydubychi at Pokrova Church 1.jpg|thumb|Vydubychi Church Choir in 1996]]

The monastery was continuously protected by Ukraine's [[hetman]]s and aristocratic families. Hetman [[Ivan Mazepa]] in 1695 forbade the Vydubytskyi Monastery's neighbors to "do injustice to the monastery" and placed it under the guard of Starodub Regiment Col. Mykhailo Myklashevskyi, who established the [[Baroque]]-style Church of St. George and new [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]] Refectory. Hetman [[Danylo Apostol]] subsidised construction of the monastery's bell tower. In the 18th century the help of Hetman [[Kyrylo Rozumovsky]]'s ensured the new properties for the Vydubychi.<ref name="ukrw"/>

Since the late 1990s, the monastery is administered by the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate|Ukrainian Orthodox Church — Kyiv Patriarchate]]. The Vydubychi Church Choir was among the first choirs in newly independent Ukraine to reinstate singing of the Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian language.<ref name="vydb">{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130209004849/http://www.vydubychi.com/choir.html Vydubychi Church Choir]}}</ref>

== Buildings and structures ==

[[File:Shevchenko1844.jpg|thumb|200px|right|St Michael Church in Vydubychi, as depicted by [[Taras Shevchenko]]]]
Only a few churches of this monastery have survived over the centuries. One of these is the Collegiate Church of Saint Michael, which was built on behest of [[Vsevolod I]] and partly reconstructed between 1766 and 1769 by Russian architect M. I. Yurasov. The [[Ukrainian baroque]] structures include the magnificent 5-domed St. George Cathedral, Transfiguration of the Saviour Church and refectory, all dating from 1696-1701. A belltower, commissioned by the [[Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks|Hetman]] [[Danylo Apostol]], was erected in 1727-33 and built up in 1827-31.

* Saint Michael Church
* Saint George Cathedral
* Refectory with Savior-Transfiguraton Church
* Chapel of the Saint Michael Church
* Fraternity building
* Building of the abbot
* Necropolis

=== Necropolis ===

Many distinguished individuals are buried there, including:

* Y. Handzyuk — Commander of the First Ukrainian Corps (1918), executed by the [[Bolsheviks]].
* [[Bogdan Khanenko]] (1848–1917) collector and patron of the arts, his collection was moved to the Kyiv Museum of Art and Industry after his death.
* [[Konstantin Ushinsky]] (1823–1871) — pedagogue, advocate of teaching in Ukrainian (which was prohibited in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century according to the [[Ems Ukase]]).
* [[Vladimir Alekseyevich Betz]] (1834–1896) — anatomist famous for his discovery of giant pyramidal motoneurons which are now called [[Betz cell]]s.
* [[Lev Mikhailovich Yashvil]] (1768–1836) — artillery general during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

<gallery>
File:80-382-9007 Видубицький монастир.jpg|Vydubychi Monastery
File:Георгиевский Выдубицкого.jpg|St. George's Cathedral
File:Выдубицкий монастырь 1.JPG|The Bell Tower (left) and the Abbot's House (right)
File:Михайловский Выдубицкого.jpg|St. Michael's Church
File:Видубицький монастир а.jpg|The Refectory (left) and the Fraternity Building (right)
File:Дзвіниця Видубицького монастиря, Київ.jpg|The Bell Tower
</gallery>

== Vydubychi Monastery in art and literature ==
* Drawing, ''Vydubytskyi Monastery in Kyiv'' (1844) by [[Taras Shevchenko]]. The work is located in [[National Art Museum of Ukraine|the National Art Museum of Ukraine]], Kyiv.
* Drawing, ''Vydubytskyi Monastery'' (1840s) by Mykhailo Sazhyn. The work is located in [[National Art Museum of Ukraine|the National Art Museum of Ukraine]], Kyiv.

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Vydubychi Monastery}}

* [[Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas|Trinity Monastery, Kyiv]], a former filial monastery of Vydubychi

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}

* [http://www.sobory.ru/article/index.html?object=00352 Vydubitskiy Monastery] {{in lang|ru}}
* [http://www.vgd.ru/CEMETRY/vydubits.htm Necropolis of the monastery] {{in lang|ru}}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.tour2kiev.com/en/Vudubickiy.html Vydubychi Monastery]
* [http://www.vydubychi.com/ Official site of the Vydubychi Church Choir]{{dead link|date=February 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Kyiv churches}}
{{Seven Wonders of Ukraine}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vydubychi Monastery| ]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Monasteries of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1070s]]
[[Category:Churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Church buildings with domes]]
[[Category:Baroque architecture in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Pecherskyi District]]
[[Category:Architectural monuments of Ukraine of national importance in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Ukrainian Baroque church buildings]]