Doors to open for first Mormon temple in former USSR

Open house for stately edifice begins Aug. 7

5 Aug 2010, 12:00 a.m. MDT

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple, as seen in the setting sun, has become the joy of local members and a symbol of significance in Kyiv. Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

By Church News Archives

The First Presidency has announced a public open house of the newly completed Kyiv Ukraine Temple, with tours beginning Saturday, Aug. 7, and continuing through Saturday, Aug. 21, excluding Sundays. Public tours are available on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The temple is the first built in nation of the former Soviet Union. (The Freiberg Germany Temple, the first temple in what was then Eastern Europe, was dedicated in 1985.)

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple is located on Yabluneva Street in Sofiivska Borshagivka Village. Tours consisting of a 12-minute video presentation and a 25-minute walking tour will begin at the meetinghouse adjacent to the temple. Free parking is available at the temple site.

Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 29. Three dedicatory sessions will be held to accommodate Church members in the area who will be served by the new temple.

This stone staircase gives patrons a sense of ascension. | Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple is the Church's 134th operating temple worldwide and the 11th on the European continent. Other European temples of the Church are located in Bern Switzerland (dedicated 1955), London England (1958), Freiberg Germany (1985), Stockholm Sweden (1985), Frankfurt Germany (1987), Preston England (1998), Madrid Spain (1999), The Hague Netherlands (2002), Copenhagen Denmark (2004) and Helsinki Finland (2006). A temple to be built in Rome, Italy, was announced in October 2008.

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple was announced on July 20, 1998. Ground was broken for the temple's construction on June 23, 2007. The temple's exterior is covered in Amarelo Macieira granite, which is light in color and has quartzite crystals designed to reflect sunlight. The spire of the temple is 42 meters tall and is crowned with a gilded Angel Moroni statue.

Though only recently introduced in 1991, the Church has grown steadily in Ukraine. At the end of 2009, there were 10,722 Church members organized into 64 congregations. Overall, the temple will serve approximately 31,000 members of the Church living in nine European nations.

Formal temple work will commence at the Kyiv Ukraine Temple on Monday, Aug. 30.