The Church of the Tithes or Church of the Dormition of the Virgin (, ; , ) was the first stone church in Kyiv. Originally it was built by the order of Grand Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr) the Great between 989 and 996 by Byzantine and local workers at the site of death of martyrs Theodor the Varangian and his son Johann. It was originally named the "Church of Our Lady", in honor of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The church was ruined in 1240 during the siege of Kyiv by Mongol armies of Batu Khan. Vladimir set aside a tithe of his income and property to finance the church's construction and maintenance, which gave the church its popular name. On an initiative of the Metropolitan of Kyiv Eugene Bolkhovitinov, the church was rebuilt in the mid-19th century, but in 1928 it was once again destroyed by the Soviet regime. Medieval church By Vladimir's order, the remains of his grandmother Princess Olga, the first Christian ruler of Rus', were reburied in this church. Vladimir and his wife, Princess Anna, the sister of Byzantine Emperor Basil II, were also buried in the Church of the Tithes. The church was seriously damaged in the fire of 1017 and was rebuilt by Yaroslav and rededicated in 1039. In 1044, Yaroslav would make the church a mausoleum for Kyivan princes, having the remains of Yaropolk and Oleg baptised and interred. In 1171 and 1203, the church was sacked and in 1240 it was used by Kyivans as the last refuge while the city was being ravaged by the hordes of Batu Khan, when it finally collapsed from fire. Chernihiv's Saviour Cathedral (1036) is an extant structure supposed to reproduce the dimensions and exterior appearance of the original Church of the Tithes. Replacement buildings In the early 19th century, another metropolitan bishop, Eugene Bolkhovitinov, had the site excavated. Under his administration, a new church of the Tithes was built in stone (between 1828 and 1842). Its Russian Revival design by Vasily Stasov had some deviations from the medieval original. In 1935, Stasov's church was barbarically destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Plans for reconstruction A plan to rebuild the church is under consideration in Kyiv. Proponents of reconstruction point out the historical and political importance of rebuilding a church so significant in Eastern Slavic history. Opponents refer to the lack of any documentary descriptions or depictions of