monastery's cemetery, only two 18th century graves remained. In 1965, the Church became a branch of the National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kyiv", allowing for major restorations as well as historical documentation to begin. Since the late 1990s, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been allowed to conduct regular services inside the structure. Buildings St. Cyril's Church St. Cyril's Church (, translit. Kyrylivs’ka tserkva) is a rectangular-shaped structure with three apses jutting out on the eastern side. The church's dome and vaults rest upon six cruciform piers. A staircase built into the north wall leads up to the gallery in the western section. On this side there is also a chapel - a rare feature of ancient Kyivan Rus churches. The baptistery and the niches of the narthex are other uncommon features. Originally, each of the vaults was roofed with plates of sheet steel. Throughout the centuries, the church suffered more than once from devastating enemy raids and a devastating fire in 1734. The church was restored and reconstructed many times, altering its original appearance. As St. Cyril's Church is located within the contemporary limits of Kyiv, the church is the only medieval church structure that survived until the 20th century without any major additions. The current exterior of the church was shaped during restoration works carried out during 1750–1760, by the Ukrainian architect Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi. Although containing elements of Ukrainian Baroque on the exterior, the interior remains largely unchanged from its original style. Belfry Of the monastic buildings Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi constructed within the monastery, his most important construction was a free standing belfry, built in 1760. The belfry combined the idea of a tall campanile with a gate on the ground level and a chapel on the belfry's second tier. The two lower levels of the belfry had some elements of a Ukrainian tripartite church, consisting with the belltower placed over the central part of the nave. This architectural combination in a belfry with two apse-like lower elements on each side. The original roof above the belfry's chapel was a stepped-hipped roof, which was popular at the time. After the fire of 1849, the roofs over the chapel and the cupola were modified from the original. After the Ukrainian SSR's decision on the demolition of the belfry in 1936, the belfry was destroyed a year later, to be used as bricks in construction projects. References External links Official Web-site of Holy