Cross-domed temples appeared in Byzantium, as the features of Greek worship required the presence of three rooms in the altar, located behind the iconostasis and connected to each other. It is also necessary that the pulpit from which the gospel is read is located under the dome in the center of the temple.

Thus, cross-domed churches first became widespread in Byzantium, and then began to be built in Kievan Rus, which adopted Christianity from Byzantium. There are several examples of this architecture in Western Europe, for example, St. Mark`s Cathedral in Venice.