The Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv: A Monument of Provincial Byzantine Architecture

The Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv (Ukraine) was commissioned by Prince Mstislav. In 1036, the prince was buried there while it was still unfinished and the construction of the cathedral was completed in a few decades. The walls of the cathedral are built using the “opus mixtum” technique from blocks of stone and plinths. Foundation lines were laid of the pit from blocks of stone on cement mortar using beams as ties. At the base of the cathedral apses, the foundation strips transform into a solid stone platform. Historically, two opinions exist on the origin of the masters who built the cathedral. It was associated with the "Caucasian-Asia Minor school" of Byzantine architecture or attributed to the capital's Constantinople school. The studies of 2012–2014 allow us to consider this from a new perspective. The construction of foundations and the stone platform under the apse of the cathedral is an atypical technique for Rus architecture. The only known analogy is the church in Tmutarakan (the Rus Black Sea enclave). They resemble provincial Byzantine architecture "Caucasian-Asia Minor school". The masonry of the upper sections of the Chernihiv Cathedral changes significantly compared to lower sections, and is more akin to the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. This suggests that the cathedral in Chernihiv could have been completed by craftsmen who were involved in the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.