Description of the attraction
The Borisoglebskaya Church, or the Cathedral of the Holy Martyrs-Passion-Bearers of the Blessed Princes Boris and Gleb, is the most ancient temple in the city of Novogrudok. Its original version was built in the 12th century. The church was four-pillar, three-domed, enclosed by a gallery. Its walls were painted with frescoes, and the floor was paved with stone tiles.
In 1317, the temple became a cathedral and a monastery was opened with it. In 1451, this monastery was visited by the Moscow Metropolitan Jonah, who after his death was canonized as Saint Jonah.
In the 16th century, the hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Prince Konstantin Ostozhsky, allocated a large amount of money for the reconstruction of the temple. The work was carried out under the guidance and with the blessing of Metropolitan Joseph Soltan. The new temple was in the shape of a ship.
After the Brest Union in 1569, the temple was transferred to the Uniates. In 1632 the church was rebuilt in the Sarmatian Baroque style. After the reconstruction, the temple acquired the features of a defensive structure. In those turbulent years, most temples had to be able to protect themselves and those who were hiding behind their walls. Turrets with loopholes appeared on the facade. In 1625, a Basilian monastery for men was founded here. Adam Khreptovich provided great assistance in the reconstruction of the church and the construction of the monastery. Under the temple, he founded a family tomb.
In 1839, when Novogrudok became part of the Kingdom of Poland within the Russian Empire, most of the Catholic churches and monasteries were closed. Restoring historical justice, Boris and Gleb Cathedral is returned to the Orthodox Church. It is being rebuilt again in the pseudo-Russian style popular in those years.
In 1924 the temple was reconstructed again. Its architecture has lost the decoration inherent in the pseudo-Russian style. During the Soviet years, the cathedral was closed, the building housed the state archive.
The oldest temple was transferred to the Orthodox Church in 1996. Now it houses Orthodox shrines: the icon of the Mother of God of Novogrudok, the icon of the martyrs Boris and Gleb.
