The Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia forms part of the architectural complex of the Hamaliivskoho (Kharlampiivskoho) monastyria, situated on the elevated left bank of the Shostka River in the village of Hamaliivka, Shostka District.

Historical Background of the Monastery

The monastery traces its origins to the second half of the 17th century, when Anton Hamaliya, General Osavul in the government of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, purchased this land from the Cossack Stepan Buhai. In 1702, Hamaliya built a wooden church dedicated to the Holy Hieromartyr Kharalampius (from the Greek Charalampios — “radiant with joy”). A monastic hermitage gradually formed around it.

In 1713, the hermitage was transformed into a women’s monastery. The following year, Hetman Ivan Skoropadsky became its titular patron and initiated extensive stone construction at his own expense, including:

• the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos,
• the warm Charalampius Church,
• the monastic cells,
• defensive walls with four corner and three intermediate gate towers.

Later, a Hetman’s residence was constructed on the grounds. Hetman Skoropadsky occasionally stayed there with his family; after his death, his widow Anastasia Skoropadska resided in the monastery, even hosting social gatherings for the Ukrainian nobility. Despite being enclosed by defensive walls, the monastery’s fortifications were largely symbolic.

Refectory Church and Skoropadsky Family Burials

The refectory church, built in 1721 in the northwestern part of the monastic courtyard, became the burial place of two branches of the Skoropadsky family.

On July 6, 1722, Hetman Ivan Illiich Skoropadsky was buried here. A carved stone slab bore the inscription:

“Here rests the body of the servant of God Ivan Skoropadsky, Hetman of the Zaporozhian Host, founder of this monastery, who died in Hlukhiv on July 3, 1722.”

He was buried beside his wife Anastasia, who died on January 13, 1730. In her will, she instructed that the women’s monastery be converted into a men’s monastery; this was carried out in 1733, when monks from the Mutyn Monastery were transferred here.

Their daughter Ulyana Ivanivna Tolsta (wife of Nizhyn Colonel Pyotr Petrovich Tolstoy), who died on March 13, 1733 near Moscow, was buried beside them.

More than 150 years later, additional members of the Skoropadsky family were interred here:

• Petro Ivanovych Skoropadsky ‒ father of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky,
• Hetman Pavlo’s mother Maria Andriivna Myklashevska,
• his sister Yelyzaveta,
• and his brother Mykhailo Petrovych.

As Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky later wrote: “All of them are buried side by side, in the same place where Hetman Ivan and Hetmaness Anastasia rest.”

Monastery Structures and Life

The Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia had two refectories:

• a large summer refectory,
• and a small heated winter refectory.

Attached to it was a two-storey abbot’s residence, built in 1826 on the site of earlier wooden abbot’s chambers destroyed in the fire of 1795. Until that year, the south side of the refectory church was adjoined by a large single-storey wooden building containing 13 monastic cells.

Closure and Destruction in the Soviet Era

With the establishment of Soviet power, the peaceful existence of the monastery came to an end. On May 1, 1924, the Hamaliivka Monastery was closed. Its residential buildings were converted first into a home for the elderly, then into a children’s shelter.

During the confiscation of church valuables, Bolshevik authorities looted the Skoropadsky tomb, removed and sawed apart the large bell, and dismantled the iconostasis, stripping it of gilded elements.

During World War II, restrictions on religious life temporarily eased. In 1941, the Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia was reopened as the parish church of Hamaliivka. In 1956, during the so-called Khrushchev Thaw, the monastery was declared an architectural monument of republican significance.

Researcher of Left-Bank Ukrainian architecture Mykhailo Tsapenko, who visited in the late 1950s, wrote: “The monastery buildings are neglected, but at least they have survived… The beautifully carved white stone tomb slabs of the Skoropadskys are a true rarity.”

Conversion into a Soviet Prison

A dramatic change occurred in 1961, when the Sumy Regional Executive Committee transferred the monastery to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR. Authorities were attracted by its infrastructure:

• brick enclosure walls,
• monastic cells suitable for conversion into prison barracks,
• churches easily adapted into industrial spaces.

Thus the site became a strict-regime correctional colony No. 66. Only the Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia continued to function for worship.

Before prisoners were placed in the former monastic premises, all buildings were inspected to locate underground passages. According to the testimony of Oleksii Borysenko, a resident of Hamaliivka and colony employee, the commission discovered the Skoropadsky crypts. The clergy refused to rebury the remains, arguing that the deceased were not canonized. As a result, the crypts were filled with concrete—three truckloads—burying the remains of the Skoropadsky family and several abbots and abbesses of the monastery beneath concrete, rubble, and sand.

Condition in the 21st Century and Restoration Efforts

In 2008, the Institute of History and Theory of Architecture and Urban Planning (IHTAUP) inspected the Skoropadsky crypt. The commission found severe structural deterioration. Director Alla Vynogradna reported:

“The walls are covered with fungus; fragments of ancient stucco fall before one’s eyes. Some monastic cells have been turned into prison workshops. Machinery stands directly on the gravestones of those serving sentences… Christian burial canons are violated, especially concerning the tomb of Hetman Ivan Skoropadsky and his family—figures of great importance to Ukrainian national memory.”

On January 6, 2010, Presidential Decree No. 4/2010 mandated the relocation of the correctional colony to ensure preservation, use, and development of the former monastery as an object of cultural heritage and to restore the rights of religious communities.

Progress began only in spring 2011, when ‒ through the efforts of the ruling hierarch of the Konotop and Hlukhiv Eparchy ‒ the Ministry of Justice agreed to separate the Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia, the building of the former summer refectory, and the remains of the northwestern tower and defensive walls from the prison grounds.

The church was transferred to the Konotop Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and monastic life was revived. Restoration began, funded by the religious community and donors.

Architecture of the Church

The Kharlampii Refectory Church adjoins the western part of the northern monastery wall. It is a rectangular, three-part, single-domed, hall-type structure with a faceted altar apse and a large southern summer refectory.

Architectural features include:

• a spherical dome on a light octagonal drum above the altar;
• interiors covered with closed vaults;
• facades facing the courtyard with civic-style decoration;
• numerous loopholes in the northern wall;
• a corner defensive tower attached to the northwestern corner.

Status Today

According to Resolution No. 1079 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (October 13, 2023), the Tserkva Sviashchennomuchenyka Kharlampiia Hamaliivskoho monastyria has been granted the status of architectural monument of national importance (Protection No. 180065/2).

It is included in the tourist route “The Capital City of Prince Ihor ‒ Novhorod-Siverskyi”, developed by the Hlukhiv National Reserve.

References

1. Vecherskyi V. V. Orthodox Shrines of Sumy Region. Kyiv: Tekhnika, 2009, pp. 174–183.
2. Chukhno V. “Hamaliivka Kharalampii Monastery: History and Present.” Local History, 2011, no. 2, pp. 156–170.
3. Cherniakova Ya. V. “Hamaliivka Charalampius Monastery: Architectural Monument or Prison?”