Kyiv - a short, pleasant sounding word which refers to a city with a history that goes back 1,500 years. The city is old and yet still breaking in its teeth. It has been growing in treasures for ages between the left and right banks of the Dnieper river and is described in numerous chronicles, legends and tales. Uniquely, the story of its past is preserved in its streets, churches, buildings, palaces and monuments.
Anyone coming to Kyiv will find something to his liking in it. Those who are fond of sports will discover stadiums, tennis courts, swimming pools and gymnasiums. A fan of the local Dynamo soccer team will feel right at home. Gourmets will hardly miss the chance to taste delicious Ukrainian dishes in a multitude of restaurants throughout the city. Connoisseurs of folk culture will visit concert halls to delight in Ukrainian song and dance, while a tour of local museums will prove to be a fascinating journey into the past. Indeed, there is much to see in Kyiv - both the old and new are equally engaging in their own right.
There is also a lot to tell both visitors and locals about the capital’s main square: Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square. Of late, a statue of Archangel Michael has stood on the square opposite the main post-office. The monument was erected in the geographic center of Kyiv in 2001. Its pedestal is covered with inscriptions showing the distances of to the world's largest cities from Kyiv.
Like people, each monument has its own life story. Some can be told in a single sentence, others are long enough for a novel with several volumes. Those faded and ravaged by time can be restored and those annihilated by totalitarian regimes can be recreated.
There are no irreplaceable monuments. The bronze statue of Archangel Michael, the guardian angel of Kyiv that used to embellish Independence Square, has been replaced by his younger brother with the kind of speed that only modern technology affords. Michael the first is rumored to have been disliked precisely because of his ascetic looks. His statue was erected in Donetsk in comemorationcommemoration of the seventieth anniversary of Donetsk region. Michael the younger’s athletic figure now towers over the Liadski Gates as a welcome addition to other monuments crowded in the heart of the Ukrainian capital.
Unfortunately, monuments are erected and replaced in this country not because the people want this. Most of them have nothing to do with the people and everything to do with the elite. By putting up and taking down monuments our elite often pursue purely political goals. However, here I won’t go into the details of the creative chaos of Independence Square any more. Instead I want to dwell on the story of Archangel Michael’s patronage of Kyiv.
If we take a peak at a church calendar we can see that in addition to holidays for saints and martyrs there are holidays glorifying angels who are considered God’s assistants. The Bible tells us that angels are invisible, immortal and innocent. Michael the Archangel is the commander of the myriad angels that inhabit heaven.
His name in translation from Hebrew means "he who is liked by God?" - which refers to his response to the presumption of Lucifer (the Angel of Light), who imagined that he could be equal to God. Michael defeated the proud Lucifier and cast him and his followers out of heaven.
In the Orthodox Church, Michael and all angels are hightly venerated, following in order of precedence immediately after the Virgin Mary. On November 8 (according to some calendars), the Orthodox church celebrates the holiday of Archangel Michael.
That date was selected for numerous symbolic reasons. November refers to what was formerly the ninth month of the old Roman calendar (Novem), when the first month of the year was considered to be March. The number nine refers to the nine choirs of Angels or - as the Orthodox Church calls them - the "bodiless forces", which St. Michael leads. The number eight stands for the symbolic eighth day, or second coming of Christ, which will be heralded by Michael the Archangel at the head of the bodiless forces.
According to historical sources, our ancestors borrowed the cult of Archangel Michael from Constantinople. They chose Michael not only as the patron saint of ancient Rus, but of its capital Kyiv as well. Many churches have been built in his honor, including the gilded-domed St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. Archangel Michael was considered to be the protector of fighting men and connected with the cult of the warrior angel.
Volodymyr the Great, who Christianized Kyivan Rus in the 10th century, proclaimed St. Michael the patron of his empire and the City of Kyiv. Ukrainian coats of arms have always depicted
St. Michael, as does the coat of arms of Kyiv. For about 400 years, the icon of St. Michael the Archangel eclipsed even the Ukrainian Trident as the national symbol of Ukraine prior to the 17th century!
The image of Archangel Michael was also used on the national coat-of-arms of the Muscovite princely line of Monomakh. In 1569, when the territories of Kyiv came under control of Poland, Archangel Michael was retained on the crest of the Kyiv military caste. Archangel Michael was also honored as a heavenly guardian in battles against the enemies of Christianity - the Mongols and Tartars. The use of Archangel Michael's image was also prevalent during the Cossack era. He was depicted on the flags of Cossack regiments during the war of 1648-1654 piercing a dragon with a spear.
It is no surprise that the appearance of Archangel Michael on military standards continued into the 20th century: for example, on the flag of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (YCC) in 1914. This tradition continued with its use during the revolutionary years of 1917-1923 by the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic, by the Ukrainian Galician Army (UHA) and during World War II by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Archangel Michael also appeared on postage stamps issued by the Western Ukrainian National Republic in the city of L’viv in 1918. Finally, in May 1995, a city council session confirmed the design of the flag of Kyiv: a rectangular cloth of dark blue with Michael in the center.
According to a legend, God divided the earth into countries and every angel chose a country to patronize. All the angels chose warm countries with green and blossoming gardens or mountainous countries and even deserts. Only Archangel Michael did not choose a land to patronize. All of a sudden, he pointed to a country covered with leaves shining with gold like his sharp sword and with quick bubbling rivers as blue as like his flag: He thus became the protector of Kyivan Rus. Hopefully, the holy protector of Kyiv has really come to this land to stay.
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