The first brick Trioh-Anastasiivska church  was built in 1717 in the southeastern part of the city fortress of Hlukhiv at the expense of Hetman’s wife, Anastasia Markivna Skoropadska. According to legend, not knowing which of the three saints named Anastasia she was named after, she decided to dedicate the church to all three.

By the mid-19th century, the parish of the church had become one of the poorest in the city and was annexed to the Trinity Cathedral, after which services were discontinued.

In 1884, brothers Mykola and Fedor Tereshchenko received permission from the Chernihiv Spiritual Consistory to construct a new Trioh-Anastasiivska Church-Tomb. The project, authored by the St. Petersburg architect and academician Andrey Hun, was approved by the Chernihiv Provincial Government. The construction was supervised by architect Wilhelm-Heinrich Hanke, while the economic part was managed by P. V. Beck, the Tereshchenko family’s steward. The foundation was laid on May 2, 1884, and the church was completed and richly decorated over the next nine years at a cost of 387,221 rubles.

The church, built of local brick on a lime-sand mortar, is an outstanding example of neo-Byzantine architecture. Its cubic five-domed composition features three naves, four columns, three apses, and a spacious basement once used for heating. The facades are distinguished by vertical pilasters, narrow elongated windows, and perspective portals of the Romanesque-Byzantine type.

The interior decoration, executed in 1892–1893 under the direction of prominent artists — the Svedomsky brothers, V. Vereshchagin, and F. Zhuravlev — impresses with its monumental paintings featuring golden backgrounds and geometric ornamentation, similar to those in St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kyiv. Notable works include the mural “Holy Trinity” by Mykola Pymonenko and an iconostasis of polished gray marble designed by painter Oleksandr Murashko.

After its consecration in 1893, the church became the Tereshchenko family tomb. The remains of the patrons’ parents, Artemii Yakovych and Yefrosyniia Hryhorivna Tereshchenko, as well as several descendants, were interred there. In 2003, researchers discovered the sarcophagus of Mykola Artemiiovych Tereshchenko, disproving earlier claims that the family burials had been destroyed after the revolution.

During World War II, the central dome was damaged, and later a wooden ceiling was added. Despite wartime losses, the church has preserved its remarkable artistic value. Among its treasures is a mosaic “Crucifixion of Christ”, possibly a gift from Bohdan Khanenko, a renowned collector and son-in-law of the Tereshchenkos.

Today, Trioh-Anastasiivska Tserkva stands as one of Ukraine’s finest monuments of late 19th-century architecture and monumental art. With a total area of 836.9 m², it remains the dominant landmark of Hlukhiv’s historical center and a key site of the National Reserve “Hlukhiv.”

The church is listed in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine under protection number 180033-N as a monument of national significance.

References

1. Zhukova S. P. On the issue of charitable activities of the Tereshchenkos in Glukhiv. Preservation of historical and cultural heritage of Glukhiv region (Materials of the second scientific and practical conference of April 17, 2003). Glukhiv, 2003. pp. 55–58.
2. The Temple of the Three Holy Anastasii in Glukhiv. Photobook. / V. D. Ermakov. Kyiv: Master’s Book, 2005. 100 p.
3. State Archives of Chernihiv Region, f. 127, op. 9, spr.672, 33 p.
4. Vechersky V. V. Monuments of architecture and urban planning of Left-Bank Ukraine: discovery, research, fixation. Kyiv, 2005. 588 p.
5. Kovalenko Yu. O. Burial of M. A. Tereshchenko in the Three-Anastasiev Church in the city of Glukhov. Preservation of historical and cultural heritage of the Siver region (Materials of the third scientific and practical conference of April 16, 2004). – Glukhov, 2004. P. 108-111.
6. Putsko V. G. Anastasiev Church in Glukhov. Historical and cultural heritage of the Siver region in the context of the history of Ukraine (Materials of the fifth scientific and practical conference of May 18-19, 2006). Glukhov, 2006. P. 135-137.
7. Zhukova S. P., Maslyuk O. I. Restoration of the mosaic image of the “Crucifixion of Christ” of the Three-Anastasiev Church in Glukhov against the background of its history. Severshchina in the history of Ukraine. Scientific publication. Issue 16. Nizhyn, 2023. pp. 205–210.
8. Scientific archive of the National Reserve “Glukhov”. Passport of the monument of architecture, urban planning and monumental art of national importance “Three-Anastasiev Church”.