Church of the Holy Spirit (Bialystok)

Church building

Background

Starting in the 70s of the 20th century, the Orthodox Diocese of Belostok tried to get permission to build a new church in Bialystok, indicating that the existing churches did not have enough of the needs of a growing number of believers arriving in the city from the countryside ^[1] . However, the requests of the Archbishop of Belostok Nikanor , as well as the prior of the parish of St. Nicholas, Fr. Serafim Zheleznyakovich , were rejected by the Voivodship Office successively in November 1972, March 1974, December 1976, December 1977 and May 1980. Efforts to build a new temple continued in 1981 with the new bishop of Belostok, Sawa ^[1] . As Vladyka recalled, he demanded that the authorities determine the place for the church, stating that otherwise they would begin to ask for the return of the plot to ul. Senkevich, where the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was earlier (demolished during Revindication ), where the building of the police department was built ^[2] . In February 1981, Bishop Sawa received information that the construction of the church was included in the plan of sacral and church construction for the next year. However, the new church should not have parish status, but should be a branch of the cathedral ^[1] .

Together with about. Zheleznyakovich and architect Jan Kabats, Bishop Savva set about finding the most suitable place for the new church. In December 1981, the land was acquired on the street. Antonyuk-Fabrychny. Since it turned out that people live on its territory, the parish paid for their new housing. At the first stage of the construction, the construction was not well received by the locals. They sent a complaint to the Belostok voivode, stating that the Orthodox Church "would become the cause of excessive noise" and would create unnecessary confusion. Already during construction, the unfinished building was set on fire three times ^[3] .

The cornerstone was consecrated by the Bishop of Bialystok and Gdansk Sava on August 1, 1982 ^[4] . He also entrusted the supervision of the construction of Fr. Seraphim Zheleznyakovich. During construction work, a temporary chapel operated in the immediate vicinity of the future temple ^[3] . Even before the cornerstone, Bishop Sawa received the consent of the local authorities that the new church should become a parish church, and not just a branch. The parish was founded on June 16, 1982 and united the Orthodox residents of the Antonyuk, Bialystok, Dzessentiny, Sady-Antonyukovsk, Pshiyazn, Vysokiy-Stochek, Marchuk and Slonechny-Stok microdistricts. Given the number of believers inhabiting this territory, it was planned to build a large church ^[5] .

Temple Projects

For the builders of the Church of the Holy Spirit, it was important that the temple could accommodate as many believers as possible ^[6] . There were several building projects. The first envisaged restoration at the new site of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, built during the Russian Empire and demolished in the course of the Revolution. Another concept involved the construction of the temple in the spirit of traditional Russian architecture. In the end, Bishop Savva made his choice between the project of the architect Kuzmenko, who recognized him good, but not large enough, and the project of Jan Kabac, in favor of the latter. Kabac designed a monumental building resembling a form of fiery tongues that descended on the apostles during the Descent of the Holy Spirit ^[6] .

Church building

Already after the beginning of the construction of the church, it turned out that the collected funds and construction materials are insufficient. About their acquisition especially cared. Jerzy Borechko, first rector of the parish of the Holy Spirit ^[7] . The head of construction was Alexander Litvinenko ^[8] . Believers personally participated in the construction, voluntarily assuming the execution of various works ^[9] . In the process, the architect Jan Kabac developed projects for a fence, a parish house, a well for holy water, and a church garden ^[8] . At Christmas (on the Julian calendar ) in 1988, services began in the lower church, located in the basement of the temple under construction ^[10] . Before the completion of the work on the main building in the lower church, all the services were held, then it was used for funeral rites, holidays on a weekday, and for Sunday liturgy in Polish ^[10] .

Sanctification

The temple was consecrated on May 16, 1999, on the feast day. The ceremony was attended by Metropolitan of Warsaw and all of Poland Savva , Bishops of Lublin and Chelm Abel , Belostok and Gdansk Iakov , Belsky Gregory and Bishop of Grodno and Volkovysk Artemy ( Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate ) ^[11] .

Further work in the church

Four years after the consecration of the temple in it, work began on the writing of frescoes. O. Jerzy Borechko personally chose a group of icon painters from Donetsk under the leadership of Vladimir Telichko . In 2000, a chandelier was established ^[12] . Ten years later, the overhaul of the lower church was carried out, after which it was consecrated again. The ceremony was headed by Archbishop Jacob of Belostok and Gdansk ^[13] .

The church bell tower was built in 2006–2012 ^[14] . Her project was developed by Jan Kabac and Nikolai Malesha, and the work was done by Włodzimierz Trots and Mikhail Khomchik ^[14] .

Building Form

The whole architectural concept of the church is based on the symbolism of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The walls and domes are shaped like flames. The temple has five domes that symbolize Jesus Christ and the four evangelists. The nave area of ​​more than 800 square meters has an octagon in plan. On the east side there is an altar room, divided into a part with the main altar and a part with a side altar (its patron saint is Saint Sava ^[15] ). The main nave also connects to the room intended for baptisms, the sacristy and choirs ^[16] .

Bell Tower

The bell tower is located in the vicinity of the temple and simultaneously serves as the entrance gate to the churchyard ^[6] . Built on the plan of a square with a side of 12 meters ^[2] . The height of the tower is 70 meters. There are ten bells in the belfry - four are cast in the Netherlands , six in Wengrove . Four melodies were created, which are automatically played ^[14] ; the author is Vladimir Petrovsky from Arkhangelsk ^[17] . Bells are significantly different in weight - the largest weighs 800 kg, the lightest - 18 kg ^[2] . The antenna is installed on the bell tower of Radio Orthodoxia ^[2] .

The building is decorated with motifs of Greek crosses and mosaics . In the top row - this is a composition with the image of Christ with the open and closed Gospel, the Mother of God and the protection of the Mother of God . Below are the mosaic icons of the Evangelicals and the images of the Savior , the Hand of God , St. George, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God . The authors of the mosaics are icon painters from Donetsk, and their total area is 60 square meters ^[2] .

Interior

Upper Church

Iconostasis

The author of the iconostasis project is also Jan Kabac ^[8] ; The primary project of Victor Shepet was rejected ^[18] . The appearance of the iconostasis resembles the shape of church domes ^[18] .

The iconostasis was created for ten years - for 4-5 years the aging and drying of the oak tree lasted. Four artists from Minsk and four from Pochayev worked while carving. The space between the images of the saints was filled with motifs of plants, vines, as well as crosses and roses. Icons for the iconostasis - a total of 260 - were written by Victor Dovnar and Alexander Los ^[18] .

Murals

The walls of the church are covered with frescoes with a total area of ​​6500 square meters ^[19] . In the main dome, in the upper part, the inscription is written: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, fulfill heaven and the land of thy glory." Below are a number of cherubs and seraphims . Below the windows in the dome are the figures of the archangels, and under them is a quotation from 148 Psalm: “Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his strength. ” ^[20] . In the altar room is the fresco of the Eucharist ^[21] , as well as the scene of the resurrection of Lazarus ^[22] . In the lower row of the frescoes, the figure of Christ in priestly robes and a miter stands out, surrounded by evangelists and apostles standing in the clouds. In the western part of the dome is another image of Christ - the Judge, arriving on the Day of Judgment ^[22] . In the choirs there are icons of the prophets, to which, like for the apostles, tongues of fire flowing down from the dome ^[22] .

The chandelier

In the church there is a chandelier with a total span of six meters, weighing 1200 kg, consisting of two parts, of which the upper one is in the dome itself, and the lower one - at a height of 9 meters from the floor. The chandelier is supported by 24 ropes, symbolizing the Holy Spirit descending on the ground. Between the candles there are rectangular stained glass windows with images of apostles and saints ^[12] . The chandelier was created in a workshop in Minsk ^[23] .

Lower Church

In the basement of the Church of the Holy Spirit is located the lower church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy . " It houses a two-row iconostasis, with six icons in the bottom row and four holiday icons in the top row; above the royal gates is the image of the Last Supper and the inscription: “Receive, eat: this is My Body.” The walls of the lower church are decorated with frescoes; on the ceiling is an image of the Mother of God, based on the icon "Sign" ^[10] .

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• Bołtryk M. Wspaniały dziś dzień (Polish) // Przegląd Prawosławny. - 2012b. - Październik ( nr 10 (328) ).
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