St. Michael and Fyodor Church is located on the banks of the river Stryzhen on the territory of the former estate of Ukrainian hetman and Chernihiv Cossack Colonel Pavel Polubotok.
Historical sources tell us the martyrdom of of Chernihiv prince Michael Vsevolodovich and his boyar, Fyodor who refused to accept the demand and fulfill Khan Baty's humiliating ritual of worshiping the fire and Mongol idols. After the refusal both of them were brutally tortured and executed in 1246. The remains of Prince Michael and Boyar Fyodor were buried in the Chernihiv Savior Transfiguration Cathedral. Soon the martyrs were canonized, and in 1572 the relics of the holy comforters were moved to Moscow where they are today.
The construction of the only temple in Ukraine to honor the holy martyrs Michael and Fyodor was started in 1801. Due to financial difficulties it lasted for five years and the consecration of the temple took place only in 1808. From that period the church had changed its appearance: from classical with elements of baroque to Byzantine style.
Until 1918 a seminary was located near the church, one of the oldest educational institutions of Chernihiv at that time. Now there are military hospital buildings. In Soviet times, the temple did not operate. Only in the early 90's of the twentieth century the building was returned to the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate.
In 2008, the Nizhyn master Koshel created a new iconostasis in golden white colors for the temple. Nizhyn wood carving experts embarked on his plan for more than four years. The iconostasis was made of linden and painted in gold and white. Instead of traditional images of bread spikelets and grapes, this iconostasis reproduces a young branch of oak and viburnum. It is also adorned with voluminous, almost sculptural images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels and the Savior on the Cross.
Today, St. Michael and Fyodor Church is a single-domed stone temple painted in yellow and white colors.
