Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was built in 1633-42. Initially, the building of the cathedral was built for the Catholic monastery of the Bernardines. A terrible fire that broke out in 1741 caused serious damage to the monastery. In 1860 the building was transferred to the Orthodox Church. Over the course of nine years, repeated attempts were made to repair and rebuild it, however, there were not enough funds for a complete restoration. The money was allocated by decree of the Metropolitan of Minsk and Bobruisk Alexander. After reconstruction and repairs, the monastery was opened for men of the Holy Spirit.
In the fall of 1870, first the main altar was consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, then the right side altar in honor of Saints Methodius and Cyril. Precious Orthodox relics were transported to the Holy Spirits Monastery from the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery: an icon of Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod, a portrait of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, reliquaries with particles of relics of revered Orthodox saints, the Gospel, personally rewritten by Prince Olutsky Yuri.
After the revolution, in 1918 the monastery was closed and plundered. The crosses were removed from the temple, red flags were hoisted in their place, and the building of the temple was adapted as a prison for dispossessed peasants. Minsk old-timers say that the red flags were immediately blown off by the wind.
The temple was consecrated again in 1943 by Archbishop Philotheus. A new iconostasis was made with the money of a devout Minsker. To collect the required amount, the donor had to sell two of his houses. The Holy Spirit monastery was revived, in which there were only three monks. With the arrival of the Red Army, one of the monks, the well-known and revered Archimandrite Seraphim, was arrested and died in prison. He was later canonized.
Despite the persecution and repression of the Soviet authorities, the revival of the temple continued. In 1945, an ancient icon - the Minsk Icon of the Mother of God - was transferred to the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. In 1947, crosses were erected on the domes again.
In 1990, for the first time since the revolution, a religious procession took place. From the Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit into the newly consecrated Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a particle of the relics of St. Mary Magdalene was transferred in a special reliquary.
Today the Cathedral of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is one of the most revered and beautiful churches in Minsk.
