Red church in Minsk - the memory of the deceased children

Red church in Minsk is considered, perhaps, the most famous Catholic church in the city. Without exaggeration, it can be called a visiting card of the capital of Belarus. Firstly, it is located directly in the center of the city, right on Independence Square, near the Government House, and secondly, it is really very beautiful, and therefore included in all sightseeing tours for tourists coming to Minsk.

History of creation

The construction of this Catholic church began in 1905. The history of the Red Church in Minsk is quite interesting. It was built on the donations of a local nobleman E. Voynilovich. The latter just so wanted to perpetuate the memory of his very early dead children. His son Simon died at twelve, and daughter Alain at eighteen. Edward Voinilovich was a famous politician. He and his wife, Olympia, were grieving and dreamed of perpetuating the memory of children. Voynilovich, knowing about the acute shortage of another church in Minsk, decided to build it. City authorities with great joy agreed, since the patron took full responsibility for all the costs of building the building, in addition, he flatly refused to accept any private donations.

The appearance of the church of St. Simeon and Helen, built in honor of the patrons of his children, was rather unusual for Minsk at that time. There is a beautiful legend that the original outward appearance of this church appeared in the dream of his dying daughter Alena shortly before her death.

Building

The only condition for Vojlovic, who spent a fairly large amount, was that he would come up with the project and the name for the temple himself. He directed the work personally. And the author of the project was the Polish architect Tomas Paizdersky.

The red church in Minsk is entirely built of bricks. It was named after the saints Simeon and Helen. The red color of the brick, symbolizing the inconsolable grief of unfortunate parents, became the reason for such an unusual name for the church. Three years after the construction began, all major works were completed, and already in 1909 the bell was raised to the tower. On September 20, 1910, Archbishop Kliuchinsky consecrated the Church of St. Simeon and Elena.

Soviet years

In 1923 almost all expensive temple values were expropriated. The Red Church itself in Minsk since 1932 was finally closed. Initially, it housed the Polish theater, and then it was converted to a film studio. During the occupation of Minsk by the Germans the church again began to receive believers, but immediately after the war it was closed for a long time. The authorities developed plans for the complete destruction of the building, but they were not realized. The services of the film studio moved to the church, and then (alternately) the House of Cinema and the Museum of Film History.

Architecture

Red church in Minsk (address - Sovetskaya street, building 15) is a three-tower five-aisled basilica, which has an asymmetric volumetric-spatial composition and a powerful transept. The ends of the latter have the same solution as the main facade: a triangular pediment with a large window in the form of a rose.

Originally the church of Sts. Simeon and Helen had as many as three apses, located at the end of each nave. But in the Soviet era, his building was rebuilt: as a result, on the left side facade, extensions were made, and three apses were joined in one half-cylinder. All the painting in the interior was painted, however, despite this, the Red Church in Minsk was declared an architectural monument. In the 1970s, stained glass was made, embodying the allegory of the five arts. Their author is a monumental artist G. Vashchenko. There were also new chandeliers made of copper.

The core of the composition, as was originally decided by the architect, is today a fifty-meter rectangular tower in four tiers. It is located in the south-eastern part of the building. Unusual in the architecture of the church is the fact that its two small hipped towers are not set on the main facade.

Dimensions and interior decoration

The hall for divine services is 14.83 meters high, the tower-bell tower is 50 meters. The width of the main facade is 45 meters. The sculptures were ordered by Zygmund Otto, his works are the pulpit, fences and bronze details. Painting on the vaults and walls, as well as the original window stained glass windows Voynilovich ordered the artist Francis Brusdovich. Today the most famous and popular Catholic church in Belarus is the Red Church in Minsk.

Services

After gaining independence, the building was returned to the Roman Catholic Church. Near the church today there is a bell of Nagasaki and a statue of Archangel Michael. It is here primarily bring tourists who come to Minsk.

Today in the Red Church, services are conducted in Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish, the church has a publishing house and several charitable organizations. It is here that the books of many local authors are published.

Visitors can often attend organ concerts. On weekdays, the services are held at seven and nine in the morning, at noon, and then at three, five and seven in the evening. On Sundays, services are held in Polish, Lithuanian, and also specifically for people with hearing impairment.