The faces of the saints of the Belarusian land will look out from the walls of the restored Holy Assumption Church in Vitebsk

September 28, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The largest church in Vitebsk, the Holy Assumption Cathedral, is preparing for consecration, its rector, Father Mikhail (Martynovich), told a BELTA correspondent. The restoration of the 18th-century architectural monument began in 1998. At that time, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia laid a capsule with a commemorative charter at the foundation of the church and consecrated the first stone for the construction of the cathedral. Currently, finishing works are underway in the church, gilded chandeliers are being hung, and the walls are being painted. It should be noted that, in addition to traditional biblical scenes, the frescoes will depict the faces of saints of the Belarusian land. Along with the interior work, landscaping of the territory adjacent to the church, including the embankments of the Western Dvina and the Vitba River flowing into it, is being completed. According to Father Mikhail, the consecration of the lower Transfiguration Church will take place in early October, and after the completion of the interior finishing works, in early November, the cathedral itself will be consecrated. The Holy Assumption Cathedral is built on a high bank at the confluence of the Vitba and Western Dvina rivers. Until the mid-1930s, it was the calling card of Vitebsk and was among the most magnificent churches of the Russian Empire. In 1911, a color photograph of its interior decoration was even taken – the cathedral of provincial Vitebsk was so beautiful. The construction of the church began in 1743. The author of the project and the head of construction work was architect Joseph Fontana. According to some sources, the Vitebsk cathedral was a reduced copy of one of the churches in Rome, built by the famous architect Anorio Longhi. In 1936, the Holy Assumption Cathedral was destroyed by sappers under the command of Pyotr Grigorenko, who later became one of the famous dissidents and human rights activists. The restoration project of the Holy Assumption Cathedral is based on archival materials and is an exact replica of the destroyed one. The size of the church is 55x33 m. The height of the main dome is about 50 m, and the two bell towers soar up to almost 40 m. One belfry is equipped with 10 bells, including two weighing 2 tons and 1.5 tons, the rest are less than 100 kg. A giant bell weighing 6 tons will be lifted to the second belfry a little later. According to the architects' design, wide stairs lead from the embankment to the foot of the church. -0-