An immaculate prophet and baptizer of Jesus, St. John the Forerunner, is equally venerated in all the world religions. In Islam he is known as Yahya, in Christian churches as Yukhann. It is not surprising that even Soviet scholars acknowledged the fact that this Church and historical character had really existed. His existence is confirmed in countless written sources, which tell about the righteousness, abstinence and honesty of John. John the Baptist went down in religious history as the last herald of the coming of the Messiah and an honourable preacher of the Jews.

Nowadays believers express their worship of the Saint in the construction of countless religious buildings named after him. There are a few shrines in our country. But it is worth noting the Orthodox Chapel of St. John the Baptist in Minsk, which is located at 32, Stakhanovskaya Street. The church complex includes the baptismal house of the prophet Zechariah and righteous Elizabeth and the Church of the Nativity of the Prophet, the Forerunner, and the Baptist of the God, which is not yet complete. The prior of the parish is the priest Theodore Zhelengovsky.

 A newly formed parish got the certificate of state registration on October 10, 1995. Construction of the baptismal sanctuary in the name of the prophet Zechariah and righteous Elizabeth was started in 1998.On July 17, 2001 a land for construction of the main sanctuary has been allocated to the holy parish. A capsule in its base was places by Patriarchal Exarch on July 7, 2003. The baptismal shrine in the name of the prophet Zechariah and righteous Elizabeth was consecrated on July 7, 2010.

An eager activity of the clergy and parishioners is conducted in the parish: public worship was established, a Sunday school works here, a choir practice, art lessons and religious history are also conducted. Also the Church has a library for parishioners.

The senior priest of the Church is the priest Igor Lashuk. At his insistence the Chapel of St. John the Forerunner was built in 2002. This building is situated in a wonderful and picturesque place on a bank of the city canal.  It caught parishioners’ fancy at once. The architectural project of the shrine of St. John the Baptist was confirmed in the late 90s but nevertheless its foundation was laid only in 2007. Today the Chapel is a building with a base of 46 meters high, which accommodates more than four hundred parishioners. In its appearance it can be compared with the Cathedral named after the Blessed Virgin Mary. The common style of the religious buildings has Gothic features with an Old Testament direction in construction.

The author of the project is the right-believing Christian architect Alexei Eryomenko.  In 2008 the Church was visited by the state secretary of Vatican, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Besides that it is worth noting that the Chapel of St. John the Baptist is the first Catholic Church built in Minsk after 1910.