Saint Sophia Cathedral is a cathedral temple of Kiev Metropolis (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) in 1037-1299 and second one after the Church of the Tithes. Today, it is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus' and a multi-structural complex-museum. The cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first patrimony on territory of Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex. Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower, the House of Metropolitan, and others. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reasons for that move was the fact that both "Sofia Kyivska" and Kiev Pechersk Lavra are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex, while in Ukraine the two were governed by different government entities.

In Ukrainian the cathedral is known as Sobor Sviatoyi Sofiyi (Собор Святої Софії) or Sofiyskyi sobor (Софійський собор). In Russian it is known as Sobor Svyatoi Sofii (Собор Святой Софии) or Sofiyskiy sobor (Софийский собор).