In just one day, Ukrainian 23 businesses pledged over Hr 23.3 million or about $860,000 to restore the St. Nicholas Cathedral damaged in a fire on Sept. 3.
It’s part of an ongoing donation campaign to repair Kyiv’s second-oldest Roman Catholic church and install a new organ there, which itself may cost up to $1.7 million.
Vladyslav Chechotkin, CEO of Ukraine’s largest online store Rozetka, was first to pledge Hr 1 million on behalf of his company on Sept. 4 to restore the cathedral and called on other Ukrainian businesses to do the same. The next day Chechotkin reported that 21 companies and two business persons joined the effort, and most of them contributed Hr 1 million ($37,100).
“What happened in the last 24 hours can’t be called anything but unity,” Chechotkin said on Facebook. “I’m sure this list will have new brands and names in the coming days.”
The effort resembles the fundraising campaign for the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris that was severely damaged by fire in April 2019, prompting French businesses to pledge nearly $1 billion for restoration.
Chechotkin reported that dozens of smaller businesses and individuals also donated. Oleksandr Tkachenko, minister of culture and information, said that the ministry receives offers to help rebuild the cathedral from all over the country.
According to Tkachenko, the complete restoration of the cathedral and the organ will cost “tens of millions of hryvnias.” The Hr 23.3 million raised by Rozetka and other businesses will partly cover the emergency works, Tkachenko said.
Tkachenko also shared the bank details of the National House of Organ and Chamber Music for donations.
A firefighter works inside the St. Nicholas Cathedral on Sept. 3, 2021. (The State Emergency Service of Ukraine)
The cathedral caught fire on the night of Sept. 3, destroying the interior of the church and its famous organ, commissioned from a Czech firm Rieger-Kloss. A new instrument like that can cost 1.2-1.5 million euros, RFE/RL reported. The cathedral has been shared between the Roman Catholic Church of Ukraine and the National House of Organ and Chamber Music, which hosted organ concerts.
According to the Ministry of Culture and Information, the fire broke out during an organ music rehearsal. The police are still investigating the causes of the fire, but Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said that the preliminary version is that the fire started because of a short circuit in the wiring of the organ.
