The Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Pruzhany

The Cathedral in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky is located in Pruzhany in the very plain view. It looks like a light ship, sailing over the Mukhavets River, town streets and the whole world. The temple is famous not only for its architecture but also for miracles which happen under its domes.

The construction of the Cathedral: 6 facts 

The decision about its construction was made in 1864 at a general meeting of the district. It was decided to build on the market square. The project was designed by the architect Mikhajlovsky.

The foundation stone of the future Church was laid on the Day of Sts. Peter and Paul. It was done by the Bishop of Brest Ignatius Zhelezovsky.

Free bricks for the construction were brought from Shvykovsky’s factory (the factory had been confiscated), as well as they were taken from an unfinished Catholic church.

Money for the construction of the Cathedral was donated in many Russian cities and towns. In Pruzhany district every homestead must have given 50 kopecks for the construction, and also they must have sent a man for one day to help the builders.

The architect Sychev made a sketch of the iconostasis. It was gilt in St. Petersburg. Also here were painted icons for it (in the Convent of the Maidens). The iconostasis cost about 2.5 thousand silver rubles. 9 bells were placed on the belfry.

The Right Reverend Ignatius, the Bishop of Brest, consecrated the temple on October 22, 1866. The Cathedral accommodated 700 people.

And the miracle has happened…

In April of 1934 on one of the icons (the Mother of God at Golgotha), located in the temple, tears ran down from the eyes of the Mother of God. The clergy voted this fact as a miracle (a miraculous sign).  The miracle happened on April 9.

In two weeks the archbishop Alexander Inozemtsev bowed before “The crying Mother of God of Pruzhany”. Today thousands of believers bow before the life-giving and wonder-working icon of the Mother of God of Pruzhany. The icon continues to work miracles. 

The temple that has never been closed

A miracle can be called the fact that for its 150-year history the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky in Pruzhany has never been closed – either during the years of German occupation, or during the times of militant atheism in the USSR. Though there were attempts.

So, for example, after the war, the local authorities wanted to build close to the Cathedral, on the place of the churchyard, a 5-storey house. But the parishioners defended the churchyard and the temple. As soon as excavators drove up to the Cathedral, believers began to ring all the nine Church bells, gathering people.  The people literally lay under the bulldozers. Therefore, the authorities had to abandon the project of the construction of the five-storey building in the Holy place.

Architectural features

The temple was erected in the shape of a ship in the style of late classicism with features of the retrospective Russian style. It consists of 3 parts. A three-naved volume is under the gable roof.

Six square columns divide the room into three naves. The entrances are emphasized with pediments on three sides.

The altar part is semicircular. Its upper tier is a light drum under the dome. The second and third tiers are made in the form of a rotunda.

Walls are with pilaster sides. The arched openings of windows are framed with plinths.  

The Cathedral in modern history 

The Cathedral in the name of the most Orthodox Prince St. Alexander Nevsky is located in the center of Pruzhany on the street named after the famous Belarusian composer and conductor Gregory Shirma, who served two years (1923-1925) as a precentor in Pruzhany Cathedral.

In 1990 the building of the Cathedral was restored. Sunday school and a sisterhood of “The crying icon” work in the temple.  A particle of the holy relics of St. Alexander Nevsky has been in the Cathedral since 2006.

The Dean of St. Alexander Nevsky’s Cathedral is the Priest Michael Nosko.