Gate Church of the Trinity (Pechersk Lavra)

Gate Church of the Trinity
Троїцька Надбрамна церква
The Gate Church of the Trinity sits atop the Holy Gates, an entrance to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Coordinates: 50°26′05″N 30°33′19″E / 50.434715°N 30.555237°E / 50.434715; 30.555237
Location	Kiev, Ukraine. Part of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Denomination	Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Architecture
Architect(s)	Mykola Svyatosha
Style	Ukrainian Baroque
Groundbreaking	1106
Completed	1108
Specifications
Number of domes	1

The Gate Church of the Trinity (Ukrainian: Троїцька Надбрамна церква, Troits’ka Nadbramna tserkva; Russian: Троицкая Надвратная церковь, Troitskaya Nadvratnaya tserkov’) is a historic church of the ancient cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Originally being built as a Kievan Rus' style church, the Gate Church of the Trinity is now decorated in the Ukrainian Baroque style, having been reconstructed many times through its history.

The Gate Church of the Trinity was built in 1106-1108, as part of the Pechersk Lavra fortification, atop the main entrance to the monastery. The church was founded by the grandson of the Prince of Chernigov, Sviatoslav II, who renounced his princely status and became a Pechersk monk on November 17, 1106 under the name of Mykola Sviatosha. Mykola spent 36 years as a monk, and founded the Monastery Hospital of the Trinity within the Lavra.

After destruction of the Dormition Cathedral during the Mongol invasion of 1240, it became the main church of the monastery. In 1462, the most complete edition of the Kiev Pechersk Paterikcon was written here. In 1631, Petro Mohyla founded a school at the monastery's hospital. The school was later merged with the Kievan Brotherhood School. Since 1701, the combined schools became a Kievan Academy.

The church was studied by P. Lashkarev, I. Morgilevsky, Y. Aseev, F. Umantsev and S. Kilesso. In 1957-1958, their restoration efforts included replacing lost decorations, gilding the dome, and retouching external oil paintings.

The church is located atop the Holy Gates (Ukrainian: Святі ворота, Russian: Святые ворота), the main entrance to the monastery. Near the entrance are rooms for the gate's guards. The church is wedged between monastery walls, helping to protect the gates. The monastery walls, covered in frescoes, were renewed in 1900-1901 by D. Sonin and others.