Brest. Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in 1856 from brick according to the design of the Grodno provincial architect Yakov Fardon. Initially, the design was entrusted to the Brest architect Vladimir Polikarpov, but he was unable to meet the Emperor's requirements, and the task was given to Fardon. In 1849, the project was approved by the Emperor.

The church, a striking example of late classicism, was built in the basilica style: a rectangular building with three naves and a semicircular apse, completing the central nave, and a side extension (sacristia). The main façade is divided into three parts by pilasters and decorated with two towers with a triangular pediment between them. The central entrance is highlighted by pilasters and a triangular pediment, and a high staircase leads to it. The side façades have rectangular window openings on two levels, decorated with window sills with rosettes and pilasters. The apse is highlighted by a high semicircular niche, where the altar was organized, and an organ was installed in the choir.

During the Great Patriotic War, the church was heavily damaged and closed after the war. From 1950 to 1990, the building was used as the Brest Regional Museum of Local History, the interior was changed, and the side towers of the central facade were removed. In the 1990s, the church was transferred to the Roman Catholic Church and restored to its original appearance as much as possible. Now it is an active church and an architectural monument of Brest, where organ music concerts are also held.

The church houses a great Christian relic with a rich historical destiny – the Brest Icon of the Mother of God. This miraculous icon, dating back to the 16th century, is 120x80 cm in size and is decorated with a silver frame. The icon depicts Mary in a prayerful pose, her head bowed over the baby, and to her right is the grieving Saint John the Baptist, whose gaze is fixed on the Savior. The icon is a copy from the Roman basilica Sancta Maria Maggiori. Brought from Rome at the end of the 16th century by Ipatiy Potey, the Kyiv Metropolitan and one of the organizers and ideological founders of the Brest Church Union, the icon was kept in the Brest Dominican Monastery for a long time. During the Cossack wars, it was stolen by the Tatars, recaptured by Nikolai Potocki, who at the time held the position of Field Crown Hetman (deputy commander of the army in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), and placed in his chapel. After Potocki's death in 1676, his wife gave the wooden image, decorated with a metal frame, to the Brest Dominican Monastery. The miraculous icon survived numerous foreign invasions, two world wars, and atheistic vandalism. After the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was returned to the Catholics, the icon was solemnly transferred to it again. This image turned out to be the only one to survive out of the 37 icons that adorned the church before the war. In 1996, the icon was solemnly crowned as miraculous by Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek and Apostolic Nuncio Dominik Gruszowski. From earlier times, wonderful stained glass windows depicting the Virgin Mary, apostles and saints have also been preserved.

In 1993, a memorial plaque was installed in the center of the church in honor of the Polish soldiers who defended the Brest Fortress from the Nazis in September 1939. Today, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross remains the main church of the Catholics of Brest. Masses are held regularly in the church. As in previous years, the church management kindly provides everyone who wants to enjoy organ music concerts from time to time. Both sacred and classical and even modern organ music is performed here.