St. Michael's Cathedral (Lida)

Originally a church of St. Joseph at the monastery of publicists , the church was built in 1797 (1794?) - 1825 (1820?) ^{[1] [5] [Comm 1]} of brick ^[6] . Five thousand rubles for the construction of the church was donated by Emperor Paul I ^{[2] [3]} . The building was the development of a special line of church architecture, consisting in the construction of centric, rotundal domed churches, which conditionally referred to antiquity and the Pantheon in Rome ^[7] . In 1863 ^{[5] [Comm 2] the} church, burned down in 1842, was converted into the Orthodox Church of Michael the Archangel ^{[6] [1] [5] [Comm 3]} .

In 1866-1919, the rector of the cathedral was a native of the Grodno province Joseph Iosifovich Koyalovich, who also bore obedience for a long time and taught the Law of God in three schools ^{[8] [4]} .

According to 1893 , the church, sufficient in utensils and belonging to the Lida deanery, had at its disposal 65 acres of land and a mill with an income of 600 rubles. 6.5 acres of land were allocated for the railway, for which money was paid to the clergy in the amount of 1965 rubles converted into interest-bearing securities, and 723 rubles 78 kopecks of interest, which were divided between the clergy members. The ordained clergy of the church, for two members of which there were clerical premises, consisted of 1 priest , 1 deacon and 1 psalm-reader . 1100 rubles were assigned to the clergy, as well as 229 rubles for the estates that had been transferred to the treasury and 15 rubles for the annuities. The Treasury also issued 200 rubles for the rental of premises, heating and lighting. There were 209 courtyards in the church. There were 845 male parishioners and 796 female parishioners ^[9] .

On the third day of Easter in 1919, vandals shouting “It was your right, and now ours!” Burst into the temple during the service and began to break the iconostasis and throw out the icons . Priest I.I. Koyalovich was found dead with signs of beatings in the church premises the next day. In 1957, the church, which was transferred to the Catholics in 1919, was closed by the authorities ^{[8] [4]} .

Since the 1960s ^{[Comm 4],} the temple building began to be used as a planetarium, and the brick gate was demolished in 1971. The brick one-story ^{[Komm 5]} building of the monastery, closed in 1832 ^{[2] [3]} , and the single-story ^{[ 2] [3] [10]} belfry , located next to the cathedral ^{[1], have survived} .

The Orthodox Church Cathedral was returned in 1996 ^{[4] [8]} . On November 21, 2013, the archbishop of Novogrudok and Lida Guriy (Apalko) consecrated a memorial plaque in bas-relief with a portrait of I. Koyalovich, the first rector of the cathedral ^[8] .

Currently, the rector of the cathedral is Bishop Porfiry; the key man is Archpriest Maxim Tsigel ^[4] .

The cathedral, related to centric buildings ^[5] , is an architectural monument of mature ^[6] classicism using a Doric order. The overlapping of the classical temple-rotunda is a hemispherical dome with an octagonal lantern . In architectural terms, the addition of the round volume of the cathedral along the east-west axis is a lower rectangular narthex with a four- column portico and two-story sacristy ^{[Comm 6]} . From the north and south, small risalits adjoin the volume. The completion of the portico and risalits are triangular pediments ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]} . To illuminate the walls of the cathedral were cut high rectangular window openings ^[1] . In the decor of the facades, a Doric order is traced ^{[2] [3] [6]} .

The simplified internal entablature surrounding the walls carries eight pairs of columns of the Doric order located around the perimeter of the hall. The side entrance portals of the cathedral are located on its transverse axis. For painting the ceiling, the grisaille technique with imitation of caissons ^{[Comm 7]} and sockets ^{[6] [1] was used} . The memorial plate, located at the entrance to the temple, is decorated with a portrait medallion and the inscription ^[1] .

In Russian

• Izvekov N. D. Statistical description of the Orthodox parishes of the Lithuanian diocese. - Vilna: Printing house of I. Blumovich, 1893. - S. 26.
• Slyunkova I. N. Temples and monasteries of Belarus of the XIX century as part of the Russian Empire. Recreating Heritage. - M .: Progress-Tradition, 2009.

In Belarusian

• Aliseychyk U. V. Іосіфаўскі казцёл піяраў // Zbor memorial ў history and culture of Belarus. Grodzenskaya oblast. - Mn. : BelSE, 1986. - S. 231-232. - 371 p. - 7500 copies.
• Gistoryya Belarusskaga mastastva / Redkal: S.V. Martseleў (Gal. Red.) І інш .; Red volumes L. M. Droba, P.A. Karnach. - Mn. : Navuka i tehnika, 1989. - T. 3: Kanets XVIII - pack. XX century .. - 448 p. - ISBN 5-343-00319-2 .
• Kulagin A. M. Legal churches in Belarus: encyclopedic davendnik. - Mn. : BelEn, 2001 .-- S. 114. - 328 p. - ISBN 985-11-0190-7 .
• Yarashevich A. A. Lіdskі Іосіфаўскі казцёл піяраў // Archіtektura Belarusі. - Mn. : BelEn, 1993 .-- S. 263-264. - 620 s. - ISBN 5-85700-078-5 .
• Yarashevich A. A. Lіdskі Іосіфаўскі казцёл піяўў // Belarus Entsiklapedyya . - Mn. : BelEn, 1999. - T. 9: Kulibin - Malaita. - S. 250 .-- 560 s. - ISBN 985-11-0155-9 .

• Lida Cathedral of St. Michael's Cathedral - 150 years old (Russian) . The official portal of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Date of treatment May 21, 2015.
• Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (rus.) . Diocese of Lida. Date of treatment May 21, 2015.