The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Minsk is the main temple of the exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus. Previously it was the church of a Polish Catholic monastery, but today it is the main cultural attraction of the historic part of the Belarusian capital.
History of the Holy Spirit Cathedral
This church was erected in the 30s-40s of the 17th century as a Polish Catholic church. One hundred years later, in the 18th century, it was destroyed by a major fire and later rebuilt. In the sixties of the 19th century, the church was restored and became an Orthodox church.
Then a monastery was organized at the temple, where a new iconostasis was installed with money donated to the church from the royal treasury, and monks were brought in from another Orthodox monastery.
In the year 70 of the 19th century, the Synod ordered that the church and the new monastery be named after the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Then for decades regular church services were held here.
During the Soviet Union in the 1920s, the Holy Spirit Cathedral ceased to work, it was closed for lack of use by the new authorities, who preached atheism.
Worship began again here during Hitler’s occupation of Belarus. After liberation from the invaders, the church became a functioning cathedral and has never been closed.
The miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Kazan was brought to the cathedral from the old Peter and Paul Church in Minsk, and after the war Orthodox crosses were erected over it again.
Shortly after the war, the temple was overhauled and a throne in honor of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God was organized. And in the 1960s it became the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
of the Holy Spirit Cathedral today
In the local diocese in the eighties of the last century, very enlightened people served, in particular the priest Grushetsky. He is still one of the most revered ministers of the Minsk Cathedral.
Grushetsky took part in the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia and began to conduct the first cross walks after a long time of neglect. The relics of St. John the Baptist were transferred from the Holy Ghost Church to the new church. Mary Magdalene.
The shrines of the Holy Spirit Cathedral
Today in Belarus, Orthodoxy continues to recover and grow. In the cathedral on its iconostasis many new icons in the academic style from Moscow have appeared, and the old Minsk icon is also revered, still working wonders today.
The relics of St. John the Baptist are kept in the Cathedral of the Holy Ghost. The first of these was the famous St. Sophia, who performed many miracles during her lifetime. There are often Christian festivals and celebrations, as well as processions of the cross.
Schedule of services at the Cathedral of the Holy Ghost
Divine services are held daily in the Holy Spirit Cathedral. On weekdays and Saturdays the service begins at 8:40. At 9:00 a.m. the beginning of Mass.
All schedule changes can be tracked on the official website of the cathedral – sabor.by.
There are two Divine Liturgies, an early and a late Divine Liturgy, on Sundays, as well as on the days of temple, great and bicentennial feasts. Services begin at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively. Those wishing to confess need to come half an hour before the start of the liturgy. Akathists are sung daily, except Sundays, at 5 p.m. Evening services begin at 6 p.m.
Cathedral on the map of Minsk
