Bobruisk. St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Wooden church

The first known church in the name of St. Nicholas was built in Bobruisk in 1600 on the highest point of the city. In 1798, the parish returned from the union to Orthodoxy, and the church was established as a cathedral.

According to the "Description of Churches and Parishes of the Minsk Diocese" published in 1879:

" ... the oldest city church in the name of St. Nicholas until 1812 was located near the Berezina River, on the site of what is now the Rogachev Gate of the fortress... With the resettlement of city residents from the fortress to the Parichi suburb, the church was also moved there, and after the abolition of this suburb in 1829 and the resettlement of residents to Minsk, as well as due to the dilapidation of this church in 1835, a new one with an almshouse was built in the very center of the city... The building is wooden, its appearance in the base and walls is the shape of an oblong cross, with one bell tower in the front part and one open dome in the middle part of the temple... in the church there is an ancient temple icon of St. Nicholas, Greek painting, painted on a pine board, on a silver background... This icon was in the hands of the Uniates until 1795, and with the return of the parishioners The conversion of the Babruisk Nikolaevsky parish to Orthodoxy became the property of the entire church. When this icon was painted, who donated it, and in general a complete story about it has not been preserved... There is only one altar in this church in the name of Saint and Miracle Worker Nicholas ."

Stone Cathedral

In 1892, using funds from the treasury and church donations, a new stone cathedral was laid in the city center to replace the old church. It was built in two years and consecrated in 1894. The material from the dismantled old church was used to build the Holy Spirit Church in the Berezinsky suburb. In the new Nikolsky Cathedral, a side chapel was built in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The city itself and 11 villages in the surrounding area belonged to the cathedral parish at the end of the 19th century. The parish had four church parish schools. In the pre-revolutionary period, the following Bobruisk churches were assigned to the cathedral: St. Sophia Church in the city cemetery, wooden, built in 1829; St. Nicholas Church on the Luki farmstead, wooden, built in 1826; St. Spiritual Church on the Berezinsky suburb.

During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral remained operational. German troops established a military cemetery on the territory adjacent to the temple building. The cathedral was closed in 1964. All religious items were given to the community, and the building itself was converted into a swimming pool. The community moved to the Nikolay-Sophia Church.

Since 2003, prayer has been heard in the cathedral building again. At that time, the administration of the city of Bobruisk transferred the premises of the former "sacred room" to the left of the altar to the Orthodox Church, where services and sacraments began to be held. On August 1 of the same year, the entire cathedral building was transferred to the ownership of the Church. Restoration work began to recreate the temple in its former appearance. On May 22, 2007, the cathedral of the Bobruisk diocese was consecrated by Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk. A Sunday school and a library began working at the cathedral, and the Sisterhood of St. Nina, Equal to the Apostles, was created, providing assistance to the disabled and lonely elderly people.