Belarus - Church of Saints Simon and Helena

Watercolor painting of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena, also known as Red Church, located in Minsk, Belarus.

Sent by Ira from Bal’shavik in Belarus.

The Church of Saints Simon and Helena (Belarusian: Касьцёл сьвятых Сымона і Алены; Russian: Костёл Святого Симеона и Святой Елены, romanized: Kostel Svyatogo Simeona i Svyatoy Eleny); Polish: Kościół św. Szymona i św. Heleny w Mińsku), also known as the Red Church (Belarusian: Чырвоны касьцёл; Russian: Красная церковь, romanized: Krasnaya tserkov; Polish: Czerwony Kościół), is a Roman Catholic church on Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus.

This neo-Romanesque church was designed by Polish architects Tomasz Pajzderski and Władysław Marconi. The cornerstone was laid in 1905 and the church was completed in 1910. The bricks for its walls were sourced from Częstochowa, while the roof tiles came from Włocławek. Its construction was financed by Edward Woyniłłowicz (1847–1928), a prominent Belarusian-Polish landowner, businessman and civic activist. The church was named and consecrated in memory of Woyniłłowicz's two deceased children, Szymon and Helena.

After a small fire in part of the church in September 2022, officials banned the parish from continuing to use the church. Officials have rejected all attempts to have it reopened for worship (read more).