St. Nicholas Brotherhood Church in Brest. St. Nicholas Church of Brest Temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Brest
St. Nicholas Fraternal Church, included in the list of historical and cultural values of the Republic of Belarus, was built in 1904-06. Construction was carried out with donations from townspeople, as well as sailors and officers of the Pacific Fleet, who considered St. Nicholas their patron.
Some sources erroneously claim that this church was built on the site of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, in which the Brest Church Union was adopted in 1596. The misconception is explained by the fact that medieval Brest was located on the site of the current Brest Fortress and was almost completely lost due to its construction. And the temple in which the union was accepted was located approximately in the middle between the White Palace (former Basilian monastery) and the current Kholm Gate.
The church is an architectural monument of the retrospective Russian style with elements of Moscow church architecture of the 17th century. The cross-domed church is richly decorated with friezes and kokoshniks, and the vaults are covered with paintings. Among the church relics are the relics of the Great Martyr A. Brest, part of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, parts of the relics of St. Theodosius of Chernigov, an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Holy Crucifix with a piece of stone from Golgotha.
During Soviet times, the church housed an archive.
History of St. Nicholas Church in Brest
The temple survived two wars. He lost the bells during the Great Patriotic War - the occupiers requisitioned them to be melted down for the needs of their army, but he remained to serve the Orthodox faith.
The church survived the atheistic hard times. The crosses were removed from the domes and facades by militant atheists, the building was taken away from the church and transferred to the state for storing archives. But the temple survived and was revived in its former capacity in the 1980s. The crosses are back. Services resumed in 1996. The temple is still beautiful, shining with colors, pleasing with its sublime architecture.
In 2005, parishioners honored their fellow countrymen - participants in the Battle of Tsushima. There were about 90 of them, more than half died. In honor of the centennial anniversary of the famous naval battle, a monument to the heroic sailors was unveiled near the temple; two memorial plaques were mounted in the narthex of the temple in their honor - remembrance and gratitude.
Come on a tour to see the churches of Brest
At all times, the Church of St. Nicholas has supported and instructed believers and helped the suffering. Now under her wing there is a Sunday school, a church library, a sisterhood of mercy, and a newspaper is published. The church also has its own especially revered images with particles of holy relics, a cross with a stone from Jerusalem’s Mount Golgotha.
St. Nicholas Church in Brest- one of the most interesting. Despite the fact that most tourists come here to visit places of military glory -
In 2016, the St. Nicholas Fraternal Church of Brest marks 110 years since its consecration. The temple building, built in 1909 and consecrated December 6(19), 1906 , included in the List of historical and cultural values of Belarus.
Author of the church project Grodno architect I.K. Plotnikov. St. Nicholas Brotherhood Church building resembles a ship and is an architectural monument of the Russian-Byzantine style with elements of Moscow religious architecture of the 17th century.
Solemn events in honor of the 110th anniversary in the temple took place on May 22, the day when the Church honors the Transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bar (1087).The Divine Liturgy was led by His Eminence John, Bishop of Brest and Kobrin.
After the service, a religious procession took place around the temple. And then Vladyka John performed the rite of consecration of the restored Sunday School building on the street. Kubyshev, where the Brest Evening School was once located. Previously, the building belonged toOrthodox Church and was recently again transferred to the ownership of the Brest Diocese of the BOC.
History of St. Nicholas Church of Brest
The history of St. Nicholas Church begins in 1885. At this time, the St. Nicholas wooden church was erected on the site of the future stone cathedral building. However, during a strong fire that occurred in Brest on May 4-5, 1895, the wooden building burned down.
The construction of a new church began only in 1903 on the site of the fire, on the initiative and with donations from the brotherhoods in honor of the Venerable Martyr Athanasius of Brest and Nicholas of Myra.
Having learned that a shrine was being built in the city in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, sailors of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Empire, natives of the city and the district, donated money for the construction of the temple. The Tsar's treasury later allocated the missing amount to the Brest Brotherhood.
At the beginning of the 20th century, early Divine liturgies were regularly celebrated here for the personnel of the Brest garrison.
In 1909, an orphanage was opened at the temple brotherhood, and in 1911 - 1912 A parochial school was established. There was a canteen for the poor and a lodging house.
On November 4, 1961, the last Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the St. Nicholas Brotherhood Church. On May 31, 1962, the church was deregistered, the crosses were removed from the domes and facade, the iconostasis was dismantled and the icons were thrown away. For many years there was an archive in the temple building.
Services in the church resumed only on January 7, 1990, and on February 18, the throne was consecrated by Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Grodno, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.
The restored church was visited twice by Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II - in 1995 and in 2001.During his second visit to the temple, the Patriarch presented the church with an icon of the enlighteners of the Slavic peoples, Saints Methodius and Cyril, Equal-to-the-Apostles.
In 1992, a Sunday school for children was opened at the St. Nicholas Brethren Church.
Since October 2001, a sisterhood of mercy in the name of St. Nicholas has been operating at the church.
In 2005, behind the church fence, as if to complete the architectural ensemble, a monument to sailors in the form of an anchor was erected.
In the vestibule of the temple there are two memorial plaques in memory of people from the Brest region who died in the Battle of Tsushima on May 14-15, 1905.
Initially, there were three thrones in the temple: St. Nicholas, the Apostle James (on the right) and the Great Martyr Barbara (on the left). Today there is only one left, in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Address of St. Nicholas Brethren Church in Brest
Many Brest residents still remember well the times when a museum was located in the St. Nicholas Fraternal Church of Brest. The garrison church in the fortress was almost ruins, and on the site of the majestic Holy Resurrection Cathedral there was a wasteland where dogs were walked. Today, there is an Orthodox church in almost every microdistrict of the city. Fifteen years ago it would have been hard to believe this...
Brest arose on an island between the Western Bug and the Mukhavets branches. There it was located until the construction of the Brest Fortress. In the 18th century, there were more than two dozen churches - Orthodox and Catholic - in the old city. Almost all the shrines went, as they would say now, under the bulldozer for the sake of the fortress. And the city itself was evicted by the military in the Kobrin direction for the sake of the citadel. St. Nicholas Church, where the Brest Church Union was signed in 1596, also disappeared from the face of the earth. Scientists and historians have only been able to approximately determine the place where the temple stood - near the modern Ceremonial Square of the memorial complex...
However, Nicholas the Wonderworker did not leave the unique corner where the city arose almost a thousand years ago without his patronage. In 1851 - 1876, in the Brest Fortress, on the site that was once occupied by the Augustinian Church, according to the design of the architect D. Grimm, the garrison St. Nicholas Church was erected at the expense of the garrison officers and clergy. This temple, like the whole of Brest, has gone through a lot. When in 1921, under the terms of the Treaty of Riga, the city was transferred to Poland, the church was converted into the Roman Catholic Church of St. Casimir, changing the appearance of the temple according to the design of the Polish architect Yu. Lisetsky. In 1939, Brest became a Soviet border city and the church, as unnecessary, turned into a garrison club. During the war the club was seriously damaged. During the construction of the Brest Hero Fortress memorial, the ruins were preserved. So they stood in the shadow of the main sculpture of the memorial until the building was handed over to believers in 1994. In 2001, a bronze bell weighing a ton, received as a gift from the Belarusian Railway, ascended to the belfry. We can safely say that this is one of the largest bells cast over the last century in Belarus. And in 2003, 7 smaller bells were added to it - from the government of Ukraine.
There is another St. Nicholas Church in Brest - the brotherly one, built in 1904 - 1906, the same one where the museum was located during the Soviet years. The sailors of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Empire, natives of the Brest region, were most directly involved in its construction. Having learned that a shrine was being built in the city in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, revered by sailors as their patron saint, participants in the Russian-Japanese War donated money for construction. Later, the royal treasury allocated the missing amount to the Brest brotherhood of St. Nicholas, which initiated the construction of the temple. And no matter how you look at the church, the appearance of the building really resembles a ship. In 2005, behind the church fence, as if to complete the architectural ensemble, a monument to sailors in the form of an anchor appeared. In the vestibule of the temple there are two memorial plaques in memory of people from the Brest region who died in the Battle of Tsushima on May 14 - 15, 1905.
Another beautiful Brest temple, included in the list of historical and cultural values of the country, is the Cathedral in the name of St. Simeon the Stylite, founded in 1862. This is perhaps the only temple in the city where services were held under all the authorities. No one dared to move a museum here or give the premises to a warehouse. In 1980 - 1990, a large-scale restoration took place, including updating the interior painting. And in 1995, when His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' visited the cathedral, a particle of the relics of the Venerable Martyr Athanasius, Abbot of Brest, was placed in a special shrine. The relic was brought from the Lesnyansky Monastery, which is not far from Paris and where the relics have been kept since the 19th century. In 1996, a carved and gilded shrine appeared in the church for particles of the relics of other saints of God, which were brought to the cathedral from different places. In 1997, all five domes of the temple were replaced with gold plated ones. And 5 years ago, a bronze monument to Athanasius of Brest was erected next to the St. Simeon Cathedral, marking the 360th anniversary of his death.
If of the three churches described it is difficult to single out the most beautiful and grandeur, then the largest Orthodox church in Brest - and this is beyond competition - is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral, erected for the 50th anniversary of the Victory. The history of the cathedral is inseparable from the name of the already deceased father Evgeniy Parfenyuk, who built this church. Archpriest Evgeny Parfenyuk was well known, respected and loved in Brest. The priest’s long ascetic spiritual activity was marked by church awards and the state prize “For Spiritual Revival.” Father Evgeniy was an honorary citizen of Brest...
After Belarus gained independence, not only the Holy Resurrection Cathedral appeared in Brest. 15 years ago, during a visit to the Brest diocese, Alexy II blessed the foundation of the holy monastery on the site of the martyrdom of Athanasius of Brest. A monastery has already been built in the suburban village of Arcadia. And on Hospital Island, in one of the former military barracks, a convent in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary settled. In the Vulka microdistrict, almost in an open field, the Holy Nativity Church appeared. And even on the territory of the 38th Mobile Brigade, the military created a temple-chapel in honor of St. Dmitry Donskoy.
Photo from the collection of the winner of the prize “For Spiritual Revival” Vladimir LIKHODEDOV.
The emergence and formation of the Fraternal St. Nicholas Parish in the city of Brest is associated with the activities of the Orthodox Nicholas Brotherhood, revived in 1867 through the efforts of the rector of the Brest Simeon Cathedral, Archpriest Vasily Serno-Solovyevich.
The charter of the revived Brotherhood was approved on October 30, 1867 by the first vicar of the Lithuanian diocese, Bishop Alexander (Dobrynin) of Koven. From the very beginning of its existence, the Brotherhood was engaged in active educational and social charitable activities. In the third year of their existence, in 1870, the brothers began to bother about building their own fraternal church.
In 1871, at the request of the Nicholas Brotherhood, Archbishop Macarius (Bulgakov) of Vilna and Lithuania petitioned the Holy Synod to allocate money for the construction of a fraternal stone church in Brest-Litovsk. But, unfortunately, the efforts of the ruling bishop were not crowned with success. However, in 1872, Brest tradesman and brother Nikolai Ivanovich Ligorovich donated his own house for 10 years to adapt it to a temporary church. This proposal was received with joy and enthusiasm, and the Brotherhood Council began to build a temporary temple in the provided house. On the day of remembrance of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, December 19, 1873, the temporary temple was consecrated. But the brothers did not stop there, continuing their efforts to build a full-fledged church. After much work and effort, on December 21, 1885, the wooden Fraternal Church of St. Nicholas was consecrated.
For ten years the city was decorated with a beautiful temple. But during a terrible fire that raged in the city, on May 4, 1895, the wooden Brethren Church burned down. Through the efforts of the city residents, almost all of the church’s property was saved, with the exception of most of the liturgical books and two bells, which merged into a shapeless mass. But during the fire, it could not have happened without God’s mercy: miraculously, the icon of St. Nicholas of Myra-Lycia, the heavenly patron of the temple, survived the flames. The destruction of the church was a great loss for the brothers and parishioners, who put so much effort into its construction.
In the same year, the brothers decided to begin the construction of a new stone church, for which they began collecting the necessary funds. A small temporary church was built for worship after the fire. In 1902, by decree of the Holy Synod, an independent St. Nicholas parish was opened, the first rector of which, from December 1902, was priest Sergius Tovarov, chairman of the St. Nicholas Brotherhood, who headed the Construction Committee overseeing the construction of the temple. Only on May 22, 1903, Bishop Joachim (Levitsky) of Grodno and Brest laid the foundation stone for a new fraternal church. Soon after this, in 1904, a stone chapel was built in the churchyard, which also accepted donations.
The construction of a new stone church began in 1903 and was completed in 1906. On December 23, 1906, the temple was solemnly consecrated by Bishop Mikhail (Ermakov) of Grodno and Brest. An amount of 72,000 rubles was spent on construction work, of which 25,000 rubles were donated by the Holy Synod. The rest of the money was raised by the Brotherhood, parishioners, benefactors and unknown donors. Sailors - immigrants from the Brest region, participants in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 - made a strong contribution to the construction of the temple. According to legend, the missing amount was contributed by Emperor Nicholas II himself, who also handed over a list of names of dead sailors for permanent commemoration. The construction of the temple was also facilitated by the former Governor of Grodno, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin.
Bird's eye view of the city. It feels like the temple is floating above the city like a sailboat
The temple is made in the Russian-Byzantine architectural style with elements of Moscow church architecture of the 17th century. In addition to the main altar in the name of St. Nicholas, it had two chapels: in honor of the holy Apostle James Alpheus and in the name of the holy Great Martyr Barbara. The iconostases for them were donated by a well-known generous benefactor in the Vistula region, Moscow Archpriest Nikolai Kopyev.
St. Nicholas parish and the St. Nicholas Brotherhood were engaged in active charitable activities. Through their efforts, in Brest-Litovsk in 1909, the Sofia Children's Shelter was opened, a canteen for the poor and a shelter for the needy, where homeless people with disabilities were also looked after and assistance was provided to the poor. The fraternity's charity department organized medical care for the poor.
The normal course of church and public life was disrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. The social and charitable activities of the Fraternal Parish were also oriented towards military needs. Refugees were given free lunches in the fraternal canteen, and the Sofia shelter began to accept children of soldiers called up for war. In connection with the approach of German troops to Brest-Litovsk, a mass evacuation of the population to the central provinces of the Russian Empire was announced, and “scorched earth” tactics were used in the city. The result of this is the almost complete destruction of a prosperous county town. By God's grace, the Brotherhood St. Nicholas Church and the surrounding buildings were not damaged by the fire. During the evacuation, all parish clergy left Brest-Litovsk, and shrines, the most valuable items, icons, church utensils and metric books were taken out of the churches. The iconostasis of the Brotherhood Church remained untouched.
The German troops who occupied the city in August 1915 did not desecrate the church or turn it, as was observed in other places, into a stable, warehouse or barracks. After minor internal rearrangements, it was adapted to serve as a garrison temple for German infantry soldiers, and was called “BlaueKirche” or “RussischeKirche”. Benches and chairs were placed in the temple, a throne was installed on the table in front of the royal doors, and between the central and right side iconostasis an image of the “Sistine Madonna” by Raphael was placed in an icon case. The German command especially liked the fraternal temple, which is confirmed by the large number of postcards and photographs issued.
With the end of the war and the withdrawal of German troops from Brest in February 1919, church life began to revive, and refugees began to return to the city. Hieroschemamonk Theophilus (Nesteruk), who had been a resident of the monastery of the Yablochinsky St. Onuphrius Monastery on White Lake before the war, was appointed acting rector of the Brotherhood of St. Nicholas Church. Reviving church life, he performed his duties with zeal and left behind a good memory. According to a brief description given by the Brest Dean Archpriest Stefan Zhukovsky at the beginning of 1921: “Scheme-Hieromonk Theophilus is of excellent conduct and very zealous for divine services. With his pious disposition and hard work, he only brings benefit to the parish business.” The labors of the hieroschemamonk laid the foundation for the revival of parish life. After him, from June 22, 1921, Archpriest Leonid Romansky was appointed acting rector.
From the clergy records you can find out which buildings were preserved in the churchyard and existed in 1923:
a) a wooden building that housed a temporary Brethren Church from 1895 to 1905. Built in 1895 with funds from the Brotherhood;
b) a stone two-story building in which the Russian gymnasium and elementary school are located. Built by the Brotherhood in 1899;
c) a wooden gatehouse, built with church funds in 1909;
d) a wooden building, which until 1915 housed the Sofia Children's Orphanage. After the war, the rector of the church, the director of the Fraternal Choir, the psalm-reader and watchman, private families lived in it, and also housed the Prosvita association, 1st grade and the gymnasium library. The building was built in 1910 specifically with funds from the Brotherhood;
e) a stone chapel, built with funds from the Brotherhood in 1904.
Through the joint efforts of the rector of the Fraternal Church and the Russian Charitable Society in Brest-nad-Bug, the Russian gymnasium and the Russian elementary school operated, officially approved by the school district in 1921, for the placement of which church land and parish buildings were provided, including the building of the former fraternal two-grade school parochial girls' school. In these educational institutions, which were a cultural center for the local Orthodox population, raising their students in the spirit of love and devotion to Orthodoxy and their people, Archpriest Konstantin Znosko and Priest Mitrofan Znosko taught the Law of God.
In the Fraternal Church of St. Nicholas there was a wonderful amateur choir, whose regent was the Brest lawyer Vasily Dmitrievich Pantelevich, an excellent organizer with a tenor of rare beauty and strength. An expert in church singing, strict and demanding of singers, he was especially loved by choristers. In addition to this choir, in the Brethren Church at the early Sunday liturgy, liturgical chants were performed by the gymnasium choir, organized by the teacher of the Russian gymnasium, Yakov Nikolaevich Klochko. All students were required to attend the early Sunday liturgy to the sounds of the gymnasium orchestra, and Orthodox soldiers of the 35th and 82nd infantry regiments were also brought in formation.
In 1933, through the care of the rector of the Fraternal St. Nicholas Church, Archpriest Konstantin Znosko, and the church warden, Georgy Nikolaevich Aleksandrovsky, a lover of church beauty and an ideal warden, a stone fence was erected around the parish territory using voluntary donations from parishioners.
After the annexation of Western Belarus to the BSSR in 1939, the rector of the Fraternal Church, priest Mitrofan Znosko, was repeatedly summoned for interrogation by the NKVD and offered to cooperate, but he firmly stood his ground, not succumbing to various threats. The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War became a time of testing. During the German occupation, Father Mitrofan helped the sick, prisoners of war, and orphans. By decree of Archbishop Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky) dated June 23, 1941, priest Mitrofan was elevated to the rank of archpriest “for steadfastness in Orthodoxy in the days of persecution of the faith and for zealous labors in the Church of Christ,” and at the end of the year he was appointed dean of the Brest district and chairman of the diocesan administration of the Brest diocese.
After the liberation of Brest from the Nazi invaders, Archpriest Mikhail Tarima was appointed rector of the Fraternal St. Nicholas Church by decree of Bishop Paisius (Obraztsov) of Brest and Kobrin on October 13, 1944. Father Mikhail, who began to restore parish life after the war, also faced many trials. He paid special attention to church-patriotic activities, within the framework of which a circle collection was carried out in the temple in favor of orphans and widows of soldiers of the Soviet army, as well as for the restoration of the national economy.
The Soviet leadership, dissatisfied with the active position of the Fraternal Rector, could not forgive the tireless worker for his active work in organizing church life, selfless parish service, and refusal to cooperate. The result of this was the subsequent arrest on September 28, 1948 by the MGB of Archpriest Mikhail Tarima, rector of the Brotherhood of St. Nicholas Church and secretary of Bishop Paisius. A false accusation was made up against him, a case was drawn up, and false witnesses were found. The priest was accused of anti-state activities, anti-Soviet sermons and agitation, as well as poisoning parishioners during Communion. Among the “witnesses” were also parishioners, including a doctor, who confirmed the absurd accusations. Under Article 72 “b” of the Criminal Code of the BSSR, Archpriest Mikhail Tarima was sentenced to 25 years and sent to a camp. By January 1955, among many innocently convicted, he was released early.
Local authorities, having removed the objectionable rector, tried to interfere in parish affairs. Among the church people were agents of the authorities and informers of the Commissioner for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, who were engaged in activities that contributed to intra-church conflicts. In addition, in a short period of time, four rectors changed in the Brotherhood Church: Archpriest Georgy Revinsky, Archpriest John Davidovich, Archpriest Macarius Sakovich and Archpriest Vladimir Runkevich.
During the so-called “Khrushchev Thaw,” which was marked by new persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church, the atheistic government decided to close the Brethren Church and liquidate the parish. Referring to the demands of workers of the carpet factory, the Gazoapparat plant and the pedagogical institute, as well as residents of the surrounding houses, the city executive committee decided to close the temple. But initially it was not possible to implement this decision.
The parishioners did not accept the closure of the temple. On Sundays and church holidays they gathered in front of the closed Fraternal St. Nicholas Church to sing and read akathists. According to eyewitnesses, at such moments the singing of a church choir could even be heard from the windows of the closed church. Everyone hoped that the conversions of believers would work and the church would be returned and opened. Everything stopped when crosses were cut down from the domes of the Brotherhood Church, which foreign tourists photographed as a city landmark, which did not give peace to the city authorities. The authorities, ignoring the resistance of believers, eventually implemented the decision taken after the official closure in 1962 to remove the crosses that adorned the domes and façade of the church.
On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' in 1988, the matter of opening the Fraternal Church of St. Nicholas was taken under the patronage of the Minsk Metropolitan. While in the Brest region, Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus Filaret (Vakhromeev) at a reception with the chairman of the regional executive committee raised the question of opening the Brotherhood Church. In addition, the archpastor raised this issue with the government of the republic. The group of believers seeking the return of the Brotherhood Church was also supported by the famous Soviet and Russian cultural and art critic, Chairman of the Soviet Cultural Foundation, Academician Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, who on October 31, 1988 sent a corresponding letter to the Brest Regional Executive Committee.
The fraternal St. Nicholas Church was returned to the believers and on December 13, 1988 the parish community was registered, and on December 28, 1988, priest Mikhail Satsyuk was appointed rector. After this, in the spring of 1989, external restoration of the temple began. In the summer of 1989, crosses began to shine on the domes of St. Nicholas Church again thanks to the efforts of the rector and the initiative of the believers. At the same time, until the beginning of January 1990, the church still temporarily housed an archive storage facility, which prevented internal restoration work and the performance of divine services.
On January 7, 1990, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the first Divine Liturgy was served in the church, and on February 18 of the same year, Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Grodno, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Bishop of Brest and Kobrin Konstantin and Bishop of Lublin and Kholm Abel consecrated the temple and throne.
Oleg Polishchuk for the social portal “Real Brest”
Based on an article by Evgeniy Mshar, first-year master's student at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
