Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral () is the cathedral church of the

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

diocese of the

Belarusian Orthodox Church The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; , ) is the official name of the exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus. It represents the union of Eparchies and Metropolitanates of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox eparchies in the ...

. It is located in

Central Park, part of the Gomel Palace and Park Complex.

History

The cathedral was founded by Archpriest John Grigorovich on October 18, 1809, in the possession of Nikolai Rumyantsev. Built in the years 1809–1819 in a classical style (architect: J. Clark), it is located on a high cape above the

Sozh The Sozh (, ; ; ) is a river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus. The river is crossed by the Sozh Floating Bridge at Karma and ...

and is visible from afar. Its construction was completed in 1824. After the

revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the closure and demolition of churches began, along with their conversion to serve new purposes. In 1935, St. Peter and Paul Cathedral was closed. Divine worship in the cathedral resumed in the 1940s, during the period of German occupation. In the 1960s, the cathedral was closed again and later reconfigured into a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

. In the late 1980s, the cathedral was restored, after which it regularly hosted religious services. On July 11, 2008, the cathedral held a solemn rite of presenting the icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov which holds a relic.

References

{{coord, 52.4241, 31.0174, type:landmark_region:BY, display=title Buildings and structures in Gomel region Cathedrals in Belarus Buildings and structures completed in 1824