Minsk. The Church of Saints Simeon and Elena.

The Catholic Church of Simeon and Elena is one of the symbols of modern Minsk. The temple was built with the money of a large landowner and public figure Eduard Voynilovich. The Voynilovich family suffered great grief – their children Simeon and Elena died in their youth, so it was decided to name the temple in honor of their children.

Voynilovich chose the Neo-Romanesque style because the Neo-Gothic style that prevailed in Catholic architecture at that time was very different from Orthodox architecture, and the Romanesque style prevailed in Europe at a time when Christianity was not divided into Catholics and Orthodox. And that is why it was decided to emphasize the unity of Christians in this style. There is a legend that shortly before her death, her daughter Elena painted a red church, which served as the prototype of the temple.

The architect of the church was the famous Polish artist Tomasz Payzderski. In Soviet times, in the 1930s, the church was closed and even planned to be demolished. But the large building and its excellent acoustics became home first to the Polish Theater of the BSSR, then a film studio was opened here, and since 1975 – the Cinema House. In the 1970s, the famous Belarusian artist Gavrila Vashchenko made new beautiful stained glass windows. In 1990, the church was returned to the faithful. The remains of Edward Voynilovich and the British researcher of Belarusian culture Guy Picard are buried in the church.