Borok. The Church of St. Simeon Stylites.
Church
Belarus, Minsk region, Slutsky district, Borok village, Tsentralnaya str.,54
Description
The village of Borok (also known as Baslovichi) was owned by the Olelkovich princes until the 17th century. The church in the name of St. Simeon Stylites has existed in the village for a long time, and the first mention of the temple is a letter from Prince Semyon Yurievich of Slutsk dated July 19, 1556. Over the course of several centuries, the temple was rebuilt and renovated, but it never disappeared from these places.
Categories

Historical

Architectural monument
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Reviews to the Place
1Ольга Ерёменко
05.06.2025
The Church of St. Simeon Stylites.
The church of Simeon Stylites began its existence in 1799, when the wooden Simeon Church was moved from Slutsk to the site of the church that burned down in 1797. The temple was a three-frame longitudinal-axial composition typical of the wooden church architecture of the Belarusian Polesie of the XVIII century. This church stood in Borka until 1931, and then it was dismantled. However, parishioners and villagers have been dreaming of a new brick and large church since 1868. Their dreams came true only at the beginning of the 20th century.
On July 7, 1912, according to the project of architect Struyev, the new Simeonovskaya church of red brick was laid. The church was built by Archpriest John Sevruk. The bricks used for the construction of the new church were made at a local brick factory owned by Saveli Borisovets. The project according to which the temple was built was typical, since exactly the same church was founded at the same time in one of the villages of the Borisovsky district.
The church is located in the center of the village and is a monument of architecture of the neo-Russian style. The four-part three-dimensional composition consists of a vestibule, a belfry, a refectory, a prayer hall with side walls, and an apse with side sacristy. The complex silhouette of the temple is formed by roofs of various shapes and sizes.: The two-pitched ones are above the vestibule, side chapels and refectory, the four-pitched ones are above the prayer hall, and the hip one is above the apse. The vertical dominant feature is an octagonal tiered belfry with arched openings, the risalites of the main facade and the limit are highlighted by portals of arched entrance openings.
However, the construction work has not been fully completed. While adjustments were being made to the project, the First World War broke out, and then the revolution. After 1917, construction stopped. Finally, a belfry, a tent over the belfry and an onion with a cross were built. The central part was not finished, it was brought to the vault. While the new church was being completed, services were held in the old wooden church, which was dismantled in 1931.
5 years before the start of the Great Patriotic War, a cross was thrown down from the bell tower of the new church and a tent was destroyed, but in September 1941, the priests arrived, gathered the people, put things in order, people brought icons, and since that time services have been held in the church.
In Khrushchev's time, they wanted to dismantle the church again, but nevertheless decided to leave it as an architectural monument. It was an architectural monument until 2003.
In 2011, the Church of St. Simeon Stylites was consecrated, and in 2012, St. Simeon's Church in the village of Borok celebrated its centenary.
No matter how the fate of Orthodox churches in Belarus turns out, however, the people defend their shrines, honor their Orthodox faith and preserve the memory of their ancestors and religious traditions.