Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Pruzhany)

In connection with the events of the Polish uprising of 1863, the authorities of the Russian Empire assigned a large role in the further Russification of the country of the Orthodox Church . A tenth of the value of all the confiscated property of the participants in the uprising was directed to support these efforts. In all provincial and district cities, committees for the construction of Orthodox churches were created. In Pruzhany, it was organized in 1865 under the leadership of the head of the city and the county of Captain Ellis.

It was decided to build a church in honor of the heavenly defender of Russia, St. Alexander Nevsky, in gratitude to the Russian Emperor Alexander II for the abolition of serfdom and corvee . The project was created by the Grodno provincial architect Mikhailovsky, who used the synod's project album. In 1864, the Brest bishop, vicar of the Lithuanian diocese, Ignatius (Zhelezovsky) laid the first brick in the foundation of the church on the day of Saints Peter and Paul .

Brick for construction came free of charge from the brick factory seized from Valenty Shvykovsky in Palyanov, as well as from an unfinished church. Funds for the construction were collected throughout the Russian Empire, and each peasant's yard of Pruzhany district had to donate 50 kopecks for the construction and allocate a man for help for one day.

The iconostasis was created by the best masters of St. Petersburg Kozerov and Srebryakov according to the project of the architect Sychev. He also developed the esque side cases. Icons for him were painted in the St. Petersburg Voskresensky Novodevichy Convent .

The bells for the cathedral were brought from the factory of the St. Petersburg merchant Pikiev, sacristy , dishes, books and other church utensils granted by Moscow merchants.

The opening of the temple was scheduled for September 1866 to commemorate Alexander Nevsky, but unforeseen circumstances forced the celebration to be postponed for a month: during transportation, the iconostasis made in St. Petersburg was damaged and water fell through the cracks, so it had to be re-glued and covered with gilding ^{[ 1]} .

October 22 ( November 3 ) 1866 Bishop of Brest Ignatius (Zhelezovsky) consecrated the church ^[2] .

History

Pruzhany Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has been operating continuously throughout its history. Archpriest Andrei Chervyakovsky became the first rector of the cathedral, followed by the mitrophic archpriest Nikolai Zhukovich ^[3] . In 1891, the cathedral received an icon from the city council as an icon with saints of the same name as members of the royal family. On April 9, 1934, tears began to flow with the icon of the Mother of God at Calvary. Since then, on April 9 and on Good Friday, believers celebrate the holiday of the considered miraculous “Pruzhany Golgotha” (or “Pruzhany (Crying) Icon of the Mother of God”) ^[1] . In addition, the “Fireproof Icon of the Mother of God” was moved here, which survived the fires in the Prechistenskaya Church and ended up in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral after the destruction of the former church ^[4] . Other revered relics of the cathedral are the icons of the 17th-19th centuries: the Mother of God “Vladimirskaya” and “Iverskaya Gorodnyanskaya”, “The Assumption of the Virgin”, “Archangel Michael”, “Introduction to the Church of the Virgin”, “George the Victorious”, as well as the altar cross with enamels ^{[1] [3]} . After World War II , the Pruzhany development plan was developed, according to which a five-story residential building was planned to be erected directly at the cathedral. In this case, the faithful would be deprived of the church cemetery, and the temple would be covered by a building. Obstruction of believers in construction lasted a month: a parishioner Maria Mardan was on duty at the bell tower of the cathedral, who started ringing as soon as she saw the approach of construction equipment. People came to the call from all over the city, preventing them from starting work and even substituting under the excavator bucket. In the end, the construction site was moved outside the churchyard ^[1] . In the 1990s, the life of the parish intensified, a large-scale restoration of the church was carried out, a Sunday school was built, and a new cast-iron fence was installed. Since January 2006, a part of the relics of the Right Prince Alexander Nevsky has been in the cathedral ^[2] .

Modern activities

The cathedral has two chapels : the left - in the name of the Icon of the Mother of God "Life-giving Spring" (consecrated on August 30, 1934), the right - in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky and services are held on Fridays, Sundays and holidays. There is a Sunday school, catechetical conversations with adults are held, an Orthodox sisterhood is formed in the “Crying Icon of the Mother of God” ^[1] .

Rectors

• Andrey Chervyakovsky ^[1]
• Nikolay Zhukovich ^[1]
• Flavian (Feodop Dmitriyuk) ^[1]
• Nikolay Voskresensky
• Vladimir Pilinkevich ^[5]
• Joseph Morozov ^[5]
• Anthony Belyavets ^[5]
• Joseph Balyuk (until 2007) ^[1]
• Mikhail Nosko (since 2007) ^[1]

From 1923 to 1925, the regent of the cathedral was Grigory Shirma . The street on which the cathedral is located ^[6] is named after him.

An architectural monument of late classicism with elements of a retrospective-Russian style .

Built in the center of Pruzhany in an elevated location. It has the shape of a ship, rectangular in plan, a three-nave basilica covered with a gable roof . The altar part is 14 m 60 cm high with a semi-oval three-tier apse , the second and third tiers are solved as a rotunda. The upper tier is a light drum with round windows and a dome .

The walls are surrounded by a wide simplified entablature and uncovered with pilasters . High arched window and doorways are framed by keeled skirting boards . The entrances to the building are underlined by gables from three sides.

The hall is divided by six square pillars in plan into three naves . The central nave is covered by a cylindrical vault and extended by a semicircular apse with an iconostasis designed in 1880 by architect Zolotarev. The side naves are covered with cross vaults.

The bell tower has nine bells, cast at the factory of the St. Petersburg merchant Pikiev, and ends with a dome with finials. In the XXI century, the temple was a high-rise dominant of the old part of the city ^[1] .

• Natalya Prakapovich. Letapis spirituality: the legal architecture of Pruzhanshchyna // Reha Berasteyshchyny. - 2010. - No. 1 (4) . - S. 4-5 .
• The set of monuments of history and culture of Belarus. Brest region / Editorial board: S.V. Martselev (Ch. Ed.) And others. - Mn. : BelSE, 1990 .-- 424 p. - ISBN 5-85700-017-3 .

• Photos on the Globe of Belarus
• Orthodox Encyclopedia "Tree"