The legend goes, that, when Prince Vladimir set out to choose a faith for Kievan Rus, he sent emissaries to collect information about various existing religions. When the emissaries returned from Constantinople, they were so awed by the Byzantine architecture and design of the Hagia Sophia that they did not know if they were "in Heavan or on Earth."

Yaroslav the Wise, who continued the Orthodox tradition by setting up centers of learning and law in Kievan Rus, also founded St. Sophia Cathedral in response to Rus's adoption of Orthodoxy. This cathedral, which has been many times rebuilt and added to, retains little of the original structure. However, St. Sophia Cathedral remains an important historical, cultural, and religious symbol for Kiev, Ukraine, and Orthodoxy.

Photo by Ron Mertens

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