On Saturday, 15 March 2025, employees of the Media Centre Directorate took diplomats on a tour of the St Sophia Cathedral, during which the participants learned about the hidden signs found in the old temple.

The exclusive tour’s group of participants included Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania Alexandru Victor Micula and his wife, employees of the Embassies of Denmark and Mexico, and representatives of international organisations: the United Nations, European Union, International Organisation for Migration, and Mercy Corps.

In the beginning, the foreign guests met with Viacheslav Korniienko — Deputy Director General of the National Conservation Area ‘St. Sophia of Kyiv’ — who has spent over 20 years studying graffiti carved in the walls of Kyiv’s medieval monuments. During his original tour entitled ‘Secret Signs of the Sophia of Kyiv’, Mr Korniienko shared the secrets of the majestic temple with the participants. Those looking closely can find many images and writings carved amidst the frescoes. Currently, more than 7,000 pieces of graffiti have been identified in the Sophia Cathedral. Some of those were left almost 1000 years ago, while the ‘brand new’ ones are merely… 350 years of age.

The participants learned what people would write on the cathedral walls and why. The diplomats viewed graffiti mentioning names of rulers, metropolitans and bishops, ordinary locals, and guests of the capital. They saw written prayers, love messages, exposures of lies, appeals to contemporaries and future generations, etc.

The tour’s highlight was the visit to the heart of the Sophia Cathedral: the temple’s central depiction of the Virgin Orans, which has shone for more than a millennium. The six-metre-high mosaic illuminated by golden light is the grandest creation of ancient Rus art. Above the Virgin Orans, the inscription cites the Bible verse which speaks of the invincible Heavenly Jerusalem, with which Kyiv was associated: ‘God is in its midst, it will not be shaken, God will help it when the morning comes’. For centuries, the people of Kyiv believed that as long as Orans stands, so will Kyiv. It was called the Immovable Wall that survived the test of time and historical turmoil. Today, at a time of harsh challenges, its image encourages Ukrainian people to fight for their freedom and independence.