The Holy Spirit Cathedral ( be, Кафедральны сабор Сашэсця Святога Духа) is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. Consecrated in honour of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

, it the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

of the

Belarusian Orthodox Church The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; be, Беларуская праваслаўная царква, russian: Белорусская православная церковь) is the official name of the Belarusian Exarchate ( be, Беларуск� ...

. It was built between 1633 and 1642 as a part Bernardine monastery during the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

in a place of former male Orthodox monasteries. The site became Orthodox again in 1860. The cathedral is listed as a Belarusian Cultural heritage object and is considered one of the main landmarks in .

History

Bernardine monastery

Before 1596 on the site of the Holy Spirit Cathedral was an Orthodox male monastery consecrated in the name of saints

Cosmas and Damian Cosmas and Damian ( ar, قُزما ودميان, translit=Qozma wa Demyaan; grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς καὶ Δαμιανός, translit=Kosmás kai Damianós; la, Cosmas et Damianus; AD) were two Arab physicians in the town Cyrrhus, and were r ...

. The monastery also owned nearby lands on the eastern border of old Minsk and served as a military defense for the city. Its memory was preserved in the name of the nearby street of Cosmas and Damian, which bore this name until 1931 (during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

all the buildings on the street were destroyed and the street disappeared). In the early 17th century the monastery with all lands was given to the

Ruthenian Uniate Church The Ruthenian Uniate Church ( Belarusian: Руская Уніяцкая Царква; Ukrainian: Руська Унійна Церква; la, Ecclesia Ruthena unita; pl, Ruski Kościół Unicki) was a particular church of the Catholic Church i ...

, but Uniates were unpopular among locals and the authorities decided to give the monastery to the Bernardine order. At that time all the buildings in Minsk were wooden, and the city suffered from constant fires. The Bernardines built the stone Holy Spirit Cathedral between 1633 and 1642; by 1652 they had constructed a stone convent. The complex was severely damaged during the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, then restored and reconsecrated in August 1687. The church was damaged by fire in 1741, but the most destructive fire happened on May 30, 1835. Through the monastery it took over the entire city centre and destroyed many historical buildings and houses of common people. The Bernardines could not restore the church in its original form. By 1852 the order decided to close the monastery. The remaining nuns were transferred to

Nesvizh Nesvizh, Niasviž ( be, Нясві́ж ; lt, Nesvyžius; pl, Nieśwież; russian: Не́свиж; yi, ניעסוויז; la, Nesvisium) is a city in Belarus. It is the administrative centre of the Nyasvizh District (''rajon'') of Minsk Region a ...

and the monastery was abandoned until 1860. On May 3, 2022, a monument to Metropolitan Filaret was unveiled near the Holy Spirit Cathedral in

. Attending the ceremony was Belarusian President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

Christian church

In 1860 the monastery was returned to the Orthodox Church. In 1869 the city treasury gave 13,000 roubles for the restoration. In a year the works were finished and the church was consecrated on October 22, 1870. The monastery was given to monks from the . They brought several valuable relics, including .

20th century

In 1918 the church was closed and most of the churchware disappeared. The building was then used as a gym for local firefighters. The church was opened during the Nazi occupation of Belarus in 1942. In the 1950s the building was restored. In 1961 the church became a cathedral of the Minsk diocese, and was then promoted to central cathedral of the

. A new altar was installed in the south part of the church in 1968.

Relics

The

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

holds several important relics, of which the most valuable is from 1500. The incorruptible relics of

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill (Lit. ''Sofija Olelkaitė-Radvilienė'', Saint Sophia of Slutsk, Princess Sophia of Slutsk; 1 May 1585 – 19 March 1612) was a Lithuanian Orthodox Christian saint. She was the last descendant of the family Olelkovic ...

, the granddaughter of Princess Anastasia Slutskaya, are displayed in the side niche on the left side of the altar.

Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1990-013-27, Weißrussland, Minsk, polnische Kirche.jpg, 1941 photo File:Katedralny sabor śv. Ducha - 1.jpg, 2010 photo File:Miensk, Daminikanskaja-Małaja Bernardynskaja. Менск, Дамініканская-Малая Бэрнардынская (1918) (2).jpg, 1918 postcard File:SofiaSlutsk.jpg, Icon of St. Princess Sofia of Slutsk File:Св. Мікола з жыціем.jpg, St. Nicholas with scenes from his life, mid-18th century File:Фрагмент абраза святога Мікалая з Мінску. «Уратаванне бязвінна асуджанага».jpg, Fresco of St Nicholas File:Фрагмент абраза святога Мікалая з Мінску. «Цуд на моры».jpg, Fresco of St Nicholas

References

External links

Sources

* *{{cite book , last=Kulagin , first=A. M. , year=2007 , title=Праваслаўныя храмы Беларусі: энцыклапедычны даведнік , trans-title=Encyclopedia of Orthodox Churches of Belarus , location=Minsk , publisher=Беларуская Энцыклапедыя , isbn=978-985-11-0389-4 , ref=Kulagin

Baroque church buildings in Belarus Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Belarus 17th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 17th-century churches in Belarus