Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Anthony is one of the few architectural monuments that remained in Brest after the Poles stayed in Western Belarus. The church was built in 1938 in the style of modern constructivism for the Polish military garrison stationed in Brest. In our minds, the church and the constructivist style are completely incompatible concepts, however, in Catholic Europe in the middle of the 20th century, many Catholic and Lutheran churches were built in this modern style.
The patron saint of the temple - St. Anthony of Padua - was chosen by the Poles for a reason. This saint has come a long and difficult path, becoming a recognized orator, Teacher of the Catholic Church and patron for those who want to regain lost values. The Poles believed that Brest, included in the Russian Empire, had lost its Catholic values. In addition, the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the collapse of spiritual values and a general decline in morality.
During the Second World War, the Church of St. Anthony was taken away by the German fascist invaders and Lutheran services for German soldiers were held within its walls, therefore the temple is sometimes called the Lutheran church.
After the liberation of Brest by Soviet troops, the constructivist church of St. Anthony was closed and this religious building was first transferred for the needs of national cinematography (the House of Cinema was opened here), and then it was bought by some modern advertising company. Unfortunately, the government of the Republic of Belarus is not going to return the church to the Catholic Church.
Description added:
Nikolay Vlasiuk (Art.) 2014-25-10
The Evangelical Augsburg parish of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem was founded in Brest-Litovsk in 1858, with the permission of Emperor Nicholas I. Parishioners were buried at the Trishinsky cemetery. After World War I, the parish was restored as the Neudorf-Neubrow parish of Infant Jesus in Bethlehem of Lublin
Show full text The Evangelical Augsburg parish of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem was founded in Brest-Litovsk in 1858, with the permission of Emperor Nicholas I. Parishioners were buried at the Trishinsky cemetery. After the First World War, the parish was restored as the Neudorf-Neubrow parish of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem of the Lublin Deanery. The parish was located in Brest nad Bug at 32 Kosciuszko Street, later the corner of Stetskevich and Kosciuszko (ground floor, prayer house for 100 people), the parish was located at 36 Kosciuszko, priest Edwald Ludwich. Parishioners as of January 1, 1928 - 108 families (13 families are Germans, the rest are Poles). The stone Garrison Chapel of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem, located on Unia Lubelskaya Street, was consecrated in 1925. The new constructivist church was actually built in 1938 according to the project of the architect Józef Baranski, through the efforts of the pastor Figashevsky. The temple was built on donations from parishioners by the 82nd Sibiryak Infantry Regiment located on Graevka. Indeed, the temple was considered garrison, and even the occupants of the Evangelical-Augsburg confession visited the temple. However, that this is the Temple of Anthony of Padua, especially the Catholic one, there is not a single mention in archival documents. Moreover, it did not even temporarily belong to Catholics!
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