St Elias Church in Chernihiv

3D Model

St. Elias Church is one of the oldest stone buildings in Ukraine and is a unique example of a single-nave church from the times of Ukraine-Rus that has survived to this day.

This church is known for its underground passages leading to the Anthony Caves. These caves were created by St Anthony in 1069, the founder of monasticism in Ukraine-Rus, whom we know from the story of the Near and Far Caves of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. In the same year, Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavovych of Chernihiv built a wooden church in honour of the holy prophet Elias over the caves of Anthony. Around the middle of the twelfth century, the wooden church was replaced by a small stone church, the walls of which have survived to this day.

The scanning was funded by the Aliph Foundation.