Epiphany Church (Ostrog)

The stone church was probably built on the site of the old wooden church by Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky to commemorate the victory in the battle of Orsha . The construction of the temple began in the 1520s.

The tombstone of Prince Alexander Ostrozhsky could be seen at the beginning of the XIX century . In 1636 it was closed by order of Anna-Aloiza Khodkevich (Ostrog) as a result of a conflict with the inhabitants of Ostrog.

An unattended building began to collapse. The revision of 1690 describes the condition of the church as follows:

In the middle of the castle is a church of old-world architecture, but good, stone in the western style, empty. The vaults in it already sag, a significant part of them fell, because without a roof. It requires urgent salvation so that everything does not collapse. Especially the tombstone of Prince Alexander of Ostrog is marble, well ... made. It is almost not damaged, it would be necessary to quickly remove it from the church ... Therefore, the arches that fall will turn it into nothing ...

Original text (in Ukrainian)

In the middle of the castle is the church of the old architects, ale garn, mutated behind the curtain, empty. The crypt in it is already sagging, a significant part of it has fallen, without dahu. I need a thermic new pig, but the whisker does not fail. Especially the tombstones of Prince Oleksandr Ostrozky Marmurov, kind ... zrobilov. Win may not be a misunderstanding, it’s almost a blast of a bi shy to blame it from the church ... Bo crypts, to wallow, schtogo yogo nishcho ...

- Ostrog antiquity: research and materials. — Lviv, 1995. — T. 1.— P. 156.

Throughout the XVII century, the church inexorably continued to collapse.

In 1886, the authorities took up the “restoration” of the shrine according to the project of the architect V. Tokarev. "The restoration was carried out by soldiers ... the remains of the ruins of the cathedral were dismantled to the ground ... ^[1] ." As of 1889, the main work was completed. The only elevated element left from the former Church of the Epiphany of the Lord was the lower part of the northern wall with loopholes .

The New Church of the Epiphany completely inherited the space-planning structure of the lost temple - a rectangular main part with four pillars , to which three apses adjoined from the east. The number of towers and buttresses was also preserved. The reconstruction project was significantly different in the individual, quite characteristic, architectural components of the temple.

... all three apses were noticeably elongated eastward, a far-fetched porch with a "Byzantine" style was attached to the main entrance, the proportions of the tricks were slightly changed. And most importantly, the new church lost its characteristic Gothic details, which gave it a peculiar artistic flavor - portals of both entrances, framing and filling of window openings with lintel lintels and unusual profiling of basement and cornice rods. The three-petal outline of the original pediments that covered the ends of the arches of the central nave and transept has been replaced by a simplified semicircular.

Original text (in Ukrainian)

... boules were constantly revived at a straight forward all three apsids, up to the main entrance there were thought-ups from the channel with the "stylized" style, of course the proportional pidbannik. But the smut, the new church, characteristic characteristically gothic detail, yawned the third kind of artist’s fingerprint - portals of both entrances, framed and recollected open doors with frequent jumpers and unavailable profiles. The triple mandrel outline of the front gables, which closed the buttresses of the central crypt of the transept, is replaced by the rivals of the pivots.

- Rychkov P., Lutz V. The architectural and artistic heritage of the princes of Ostrog. - Kiev, 2002 .-- S. 82.

After such a "restoration", this monument of religious architecture of Volhynia actually ceased to exist.

Tomb

There is evidence that Prince Vasily of Ostrog was buried in the Epiphany Church.

In 1582, Princess Elzbieta of Ostrog was buried in the church.

On February 3, 1604, in the Epiphany Cathedral, the funeral of Prince Alexander Ostrozhsky took place, a marble tombstone was installed over his grave ^[2] .

After his son, after his death († 1608), Prince Vasily-Konstantin of Ostrog was buried.

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• Godovanyuk O. Memories of the weekly dances of the princes of Ostrozky in Ostrozi // Ostrozka davnina: doslіdzhennya і materіali. - Lviv, 1995. - T. 1. - S. 40-58. (Ukrainian)
• Richkov P., Lutz V. Arch-architectural and mystical recession of princes Ostrozky. - Kyiv, 2002. - ISBN 966-575-035-6 . (Ukrainian)
• Łuszczkiewicz Wł. Ruina Bohojawleńskiej cerkwi w zamku ostrogskim na Wołyniu // Sprawozdania Komisyi do Badania Historyi Sztuki w Polsce. - 3. - Kraków, 1886. - T. 3. - S. 67-92. (polish)

• Epiphany Church - Ostrog
• Richkov P. Ostroh (architec tural and planual rose garden) // Ostrozka Academy XVI — XVII Art. Ostrog 1997.S. 116-121. (Ukrainian)
• Vikhovanets T. Ostrozky churches XVI - mid XVII century. / T. Vikhovanets // Science notes. Historical sciences / Nat. University "Ostrozka Academy"; Ukr. historical. Comrade. - Ostrog, 2008. - VIP. 13. - S. 160-204. (Ukrainian)
• Yaroslav Bondarchuk. Ostrozky’s decorative painting in the middle of the fourteenth-half century. XVII century (Ukrainian)
• Kulakovsky P. Ostrozky Temples Yak Mіstsya Pokhovannya princes and nobles at the first half of the 17th table (Ukrainian)