The Church of St.Anthony is a Catholic church located in Kamenka village, Grodno region.  It was built in 1908 in neo-Gothic style. Red brick and the design of the external appearance of the building say about it. Like most temples located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, the Church of St. Anthony is included in the list of historical values of Belarus.

The origins of Catholic life in Kamenka

The first mention of the village refers to the 16^th century. At that time the estate was on the border of two large districts: Lida and Grodno. The Catholic parish was formed in Kamenka in 1580. In the 80-s of the 16^th century the construction of a wooden church began under the guidance of K.Kolodzinsky.  

Several centuries later, during the transition to stone construction, the wooden Church was demolished and there stood in beauty a magnificent Church. It was closed many times and the parish was opened for residents of a nearby neighborhood.

In 1904 the temple was demolished and a modern church was built in its place. The project was based on the design of the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, located in Olkovich. The construction of the Church of St. Anthony used a great number of means of church people, and it was completed in 1908.

The architecture of the Church

The temple has a rectangular form with a saddle roof. The central nave is decorated with a five-sided apse that has a separate roof.  On each side from the apse there are faceted sacristies.  

On the main façade there is a quadrangle two-tiered tower completed with a window opening. The upper part of the tower is adorned with ternate arched windows. Above the main entrance there is the main symbol of neo-Gothic, a rosette window. Here you can see a niche with a sculpture. Wooden doors are decorated with artistic forging. The whole façade is divided by corbels and window openings.

The interior space is divided into three naves that cover cross vaults.  Under the entrance there is a choral with an organ. The vaults and walls inside the interior are plastered and whitewashed, and all the rest elements of the décor are highlighted with red bricks.

Modern heritage of the Church of St.Anthony

The Church is open for church people, services take place here on Sundays and holidays.  The temple is included in the list of the shrines that are visited by tourists as a part of tour programs.

The interior of the Church will attract tourists by its beauty. Here altars with images of saints, a neatly decorated place to pray, and the walls are decorated with icons with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. On the territory of the Church there is situated a pedestal with sculptures of Saints.

Another memorable place located on the territory of the Church is an old Jewish cemetery. Here you can see gravestones and grave signs inscribed with Hebrew.  The Shield of David, the symbol of Judaism, adorns each wall. The cemetery hasn’t worked for a long time, it became overgrown with grass, but nevertheless it is included in the list of historical and cultural values of Kamenka.