Vitebsk. Holy Dormition Cathedral.

The first mention of the Orthodox Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Bald (Prechistenskaya) Mountain, at the confluence of the Vitba and the Western Dvina, dates back to 1406. At the beginning of the XV century, a new church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built, and the hill became known as Assumption Mountain. By that time, the church was made of stone.

According to the decision of the Polish court for the murder of Uniate Bishop Josaphat Kuntsevich, the Assumption Church was dismantled, and 20 people were executed. The city was deprived of Magdeburg rights and privileges. A few years later, the Vitebsk residents restored the wooden church with the money they raised, but in 1629 it burned down. In 1636, a new Assumption Church was built, which fell into disrepair after half a century.

In 1743, construction began on a brick church and monastery building designed by the Italian architect Joseph Fontana. The construction of the temple continued after the partition of Poland thanks to the efforts of the Russian Governor-General Chernyshev and the civil governor Krechetov and was completed in 1777. In 1799, by order of Paul I, the Assumption Cathedral was handed over to the Orthodox. On August 30, 1799, the cathedral was consecrated by the Belarusian Bishop Anastasy. In 1804, a dome was installed at the cathedral, and in 1839, a solemn divine service was held in the church on the occasion of the Uniates' return to Orthodoxy. In 1864, a chapel in the name of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk was built in one of the towers of the cathedral.

The cathedral complex included the buildings of the Vitebsk Theological Seminary. After the October Revolution of 1917, the seminary and the cathedral were closed. In 1926, the Assumption Cathedral was declared state property, but in 1936 the church was blown up. In 1949, a workshop of a grinding machine factory was built on the site of the cathedral. The factory fell into disrepair and ceased to exist in the 1980s. In the summer of 1998, the factory building was demolished.

The Assumption Cathedral has gone through many trials. It burned, collapsed, and was reborn again. On September 26, 1998, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow laid a capsule with a commemorative certificate and consecrated the first stone for the restoration of the cathedral. The idea of reviving the Holy Dormition Cathedral in the 1990s was supported by President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

Construction work began in June 2000. By the winter of 2004, the builders had covered the ground floor to avoid the effects of winter conditions and maintain the quality of work. The headquarters of the construction site for the revival of the Holy Dormition Cathedral operated from the very beginning. Vladimir Polovtsev considered the revival of the temple his duty. The Board of Trustees was headed by Alexander Atyasov, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies.

The Cathedral was revived by the efforts of the Church and the state. On May 4, 2003, the first Divine Liturgy was held on the site of the church under construction since 1936. On August 28, 2005, the day of the patronal feast, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the lower church of the cathedral under construction. By the end of 2009, bell towers were erected, domes and bells were installed. On September 28, 2009, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the church. The finishing work and painting of the temple were completed by March 2011. The church was consecrated by Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk with the concelebration of all the hierarchs of the Belarusian Orthodox Church on September 30, 2011.

The Assumption Cathedral dominates the city of Vitebsk, as if hovering over the historical center of the city. It offers a unique panorama with landscapes. The first wooden church was built here in the 15th century. And already in 1682, a new Uniate church was built on the site of the Assumption wooden church.

The previous Orthodox church was demolished after the assassination of Uniate Archbishop Joseph Kuntsevich in Vitebsk in 1623. The founder of the new church was Vitebsk sub-mayor I. Kissel. In 1682, the Basilian Uniate monastery was also founded at the church.

In 1708, during the Northern War, the city was burned down by order of Tsar Peter I of Moscow. The wooden Assumption Church and monastery also burned down. With the help of new sponsors, the construction of a brick church and a three-story monastery by the Italian architect Joseph Fontana III began in 1743. It is believed that the temple of San Carlo al Corso in Rome was taken as an example of a brick church. When the Minister of Public Education of the Russian Empire, Count D. Tolstoy, saw the church, he said to the architect who was in his entourage: "Learn how to build churches as reliably, easily, majestically and beautifully as this church is made!"

The church is considered one of the largest in Belarus: a five-relief cruciform basilica with two multi-tiered towers on the main facade facing the Western Dvina. By order of Emperor Paul I, the monastery and the church were transferred to the Orthodox and rebuilt into an architectural complex with features of the then–dominant architectural style - classicism. An Orthodox theological seminary was opened in the former Uniate monastery.

The majestic shrine was demolished in Soviet times in 1936. And already in 1998, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia consecrated the site of the future temple and laid the foundation stone. The temple was renovated in 2011. Today, the largest bell in Belarus, weighing 5,200 kilograms, is installed here. In addition, when visiting the shrine, you can go down to the basement, where the church is also located.