Church of the Tithes

Church of the Dormition of the Virgin
The ruined Church of the Tithes in the 1650s, drawn by Abraham van Westerveld.
Basic information
Location	Kiev, Ukraine
Affiliation	Eastern Orthodox Church
Rite	Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Province	Kiev Metropolis
Country	Ukraine
Status	Non-existing
Architectural description
Architectural type	cathedral
Completed	996
Materials	Stone

The Church of the Tithes or Church of the Dormition of the Virgin (Ukrainian: Десятинна Церква, Desiatynna Tserkva; Russian: Десятинная Церковь, Desyatinnaya Tserkov') was the first stone church in Kiev. Originally it was built by the order of Grand Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr) the Great between 989 and 996 by Byzantine and local workers at the site of death of martyrs Theodor the Varangian and his son Johann. It was originally named the "Church of Our Lady", in honor of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The church was ruined in 1240 during the siege of Kiev by Mongol armies of Batu Khan.

Vladimir set aside a tithe of his income and property to finance the church's construction and maintenance, which gave the church its popular name.

On an initiative of the Metropolitan of Kiev Eugene Bolkhovitinov, the church was rebuilt in the mid 19th century, but in 1928 it was once again destroyed by the Soviet regime.

By Vladimir's order, the remains of his grandmother Princess Olga, the first Christian ruler of Rus', were reburied in this church. Vladimir and his wife, Princess Anna, the sister of Byzantine Emperor Basil II, were also buried in the Church of the Tithes.

The church was seriously damaged in the fire of 1017 and was rebuilt by Yaroslav and rededicated in 1039. In 1044, Yaroslav would make the church a mausoleum for Kievan princes, having the remains of Yaropolk and Oleg baptised and interred.