During the presentation, visitors were allowed to look through the volumes and view the results of 15 years of research work, and talk directly with the authors and other project members. Historian Vyacheslav Kornienko then conducted a tour of the shrine’s nooks and crannies where he showed his awed guests the secret inscriptions on the walls of the millennial church.
Some of the inscriptions are inscribed in the official written Church Slavonic language of that time. However, it is interesting to note that the inhabitants of Kyivan Rus spoke a colloquial language close to modern Ukrainian and used many common and recognizable words to carve out their graffiti. More details here.
Key events in Ukrainian religious, political, and cultural life have taken place in and around the cathedral. The first library in Ukraine was founded here by Yaroslav the Wise. The Grand Prince was buried in the cathedral (his sarchopagus remains), as were other grand princes and metropolitans. The cathedral also witnessed coronations, receptions of foreign ambassadors, royal and city council meetings, and the proclamation or signing of of many treaties, agreements and universals.
This inscription was read by other people, who later added “Oy” above the words “sinner” and “Yakiv”. If we draw an analogy with the present, the term “Oy” could be translated as today’s frowning smiley. Photo: Serhii Nuzhnenko, Radio Svoboda.org (RFE/RL)
