Brest. Cathedral of Simeon Stylites.

In the heart of Brest, at the intersection of Masherov Avenue and Karl Marx Street, stands the majestic St. Simeon Cathedral. Russian Orthodox Church, which is the main Orthodox church in the city and an architectural monument of the retrospective Russian (Russian-Byzantine) style, is rightfully considered one of the architectural dominants and spiritual shrines of Brest.

Construction history: from tragedy to greatness

The history of the temple goes back to the distant past. At the beginning of the 19th century, the only Orthodox church of the St. Simeon Monastery, built of wood, existed in Brest-Litovsk. It repeatedly suffered from fires: the tragedy of 1815 destroyed the church of St. Simeon Stylites, and the fire of 1819 finally destroyed the monastery, which led to its closure in 1824.

After these events, divine services were held for more than two decades in the house refectory of the church, however, due to the construction of the fortress in the 1830s and 1840s, the monastery buildings were demolished, and the city was moved three kilometers to the east.

The first draft of the stone temple was approved back in 1846, but due to the lack of contractors at the auction, it had to be significantly simplified. The new project was approved only on April 15, 1854. The final design was developed by Brest city architect V. Polikarpov. The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid in April 1862 with the participation of about ten thousand people. The construction was carried out from bricks by different craftsmen: masons of the Chernigov province carried out masonry, Brest craftsmen were engaged in carpentry, roofing and plastering. The iconostasis was made by a local carver, the icons were painted by the artist Titov, and a bell weighing 100 pounds and liturgical utensils were delivered from Moscow.

The solemn consecration of the cathedral took place on November 7-8, 1865, when the relics of St. Athanasius of Brest were transferred from the fortress to the new church in a procession.

Architectural appearance

St. Simeon's Cathedral is a centric five-domed composition. The powerful cube-shaped building is elevated on a high base of pink granite and ends with five domes, dominated by a large octagonal light drum. The four corner drums are crowned with tents, and the central one is crowned with an onion head.

The architectural design harmoniously combines elements of classicism (order system, triangular pediments, profiled cornice) and forms of Moscow architecture of the mid-17th century (keeled kokoshniks, tents, bulbous domes). The main entrance is decorated with a keeled perspective portal, above which there is a niche with the image of Simeon Stylites. The facades are pierced by narrow arched windows and surrounded by a profiled cornice with a parapet.

The interior of the temple is divided by columns into three naves with cylindrical and cross vaults, painted with polychrome ornaments. A wide arched opening connects the nave with the choir gallery.

Shrines and the modern life of the cathedral

The main shrine of the cathedral is the relics of St. Athanasius of Brest (Filippovich), abbot of the Simeon monastery, who was martyred for his faith in 1648. After the revolution, the ark with the relics ended up in the Anti-Religious Museum of Art, and then in the State Historical Museum, but now the shrine has been returned to the cathedral. In 1995, when Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia visited the church, a fragment of the saint's relics, brought from the Lesninsky Monastery in France, was placed in a special shrine.

In addition to the relics of Athanasius of Brest, the cathedral contains fragments of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Innocent of Moscow and other saints of God.

In 1988, a large-scale restoration was carried out in the cathedral, and in 1997 the domes were renewed and gilded. In 2010, accent lighting was carried out, thanks to which the temple received the informal name "floating temple".

The cathedral has a Sunday school, a library, the brotherhood of St. Athanasius the Martyr, and the newspapers "Spiritual Bulletin" and "Brest Diocesan Gazette" are published. In 2005, a monument to St. Athanasius was erected next to the temple. Since its opening, the cathedral has never closed its doors to believers, remaining the spiritual center of Brest for a century and a half.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the city of Brest-Litovsk had the only Orthodox church of the Simeonovsky Monastery. Built of wood, it suffered from fires several times. On November 8, 1815, the monastery was once again engulfed in flames, which, in addition to various outbuildings, also destroyed the Church of St. Simeon the Stylite. The fire of 1819 finally destroyed the monastery, which led to its closure in 1824. After these tragic events, for two decades, services were held in the house refectory of the Annunciation Church, founded on the third floor of the building of the former Basilian monastery. However, due to the construction of the fortress in the 1830-1840s, the monastery buildings were demolished, and the city was moved three kilometers to the east.

The construction of the stone church began only in 1862. It was erected according to the design of the Brest city architect V. Polikarpov. The construction work was carried out by various craftsmen. The brickwork was done by masons from the Chernigov province, and the carpentry, roofing, plastering and painting works were done by craftsmen from the city of Brest. The iconostasis was also made by a local carver. The icons painted by the artist Titov, the liturgical utensils and the bell weighing 100 poods were delivered from Moscow. The cast-iron gratings for the solea, choir and porches were cast at the Evans plant in Warsaw. On November 7, 1865, the relics of the holy martyr Afanasy were transferred from the fortress to the new church in a religious procession, and the next day it was consecrated.

The cathedral is an architectural monument of the Russian-Byzantine style . The building has a centric composition. Square in plan, cuboid in volume, the temple is placed on a high paneled base, faced with pink granite. It has a semicircular apse and a narrow narthex. The octagonal drum in the center and 4 corner towers with hipped roofs dominate. The tops are crowned with onion-shaped domes on faceted necks. The openings of the central light drum are decorated with kokoshniks. This decorative motif is also used in the design of the main and side entrances, high arched window openings. Along the perimeter, the building is encircled by a cornice with a thrust, above which there is a paneled parapet with different-sized triangular pediments. The interior space is divided by columns into 3 naves with cross and cylindrical vaults, decorated together with the walls with polychrome ornamental painting. The interior is dominated by a high light drum with a high tent. The altar volume is separated by a wide arched opening and a wooden iconostasis. The choir gallery is connected to the central nave by a wide arched opening. The famous composer, artist, writer Napoleon Orda, who visited Brest-Litovsk in 1869, made the first known sketch of the cathedral, from which its original appearance is known.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the cathedral underwent a large-scale restoration, 10 new bells were purchased, the domes were replaced with gilded ones with six-pointed crosses, and the roof was painted. In 2007, the cathedral was included in the list of historical and cultural values of the Republic of Belarus. A Sunday school and an Orthodox library were organized at the temple, and a sisterhood in honor of Afanasy of Brest, the martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia operates.

The church contains particles of the relics of the following: the venerable martyr Athanasius of Brest, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk, and Saint Innocent of Radonezh.