Orthodox Church of SS Peter and Paul, Siemiatycze

On a rise above the Muchawiec stream, behind a stone wall with an ornate gate, stands a church with seven domes. This is the oldest Orthodox parish in Siemiatycze, dating back to the 15th century, while the present brick church was built in 1866. Around it lies the old churchyard with historic gravestones.

History: four centuries, three confessions

An Orthodox church certainly existed in Siemiatycze in 1456, when Michał Kmita paid for its renovation. It was the centre of the "Ruthenian" quarter, separate from the "Polish" quarter around the Catholic church – a typical pattern in towns of the Podlasie region. After the Union of Brest the parish passed to the Uniate (Greek Catholic) Church, and the town's owner Lew Sapieha funded a new wooden church. In 1839, after the Synod of Polotsk, the parish became Orthodox again.

By the 1860s the old wooden church was close to collapse. The new brick church was built within a year and consecrated on 6 November 1866. The money came partly from the Russian state treasury, parishioners worked without pay, and brickworks owners Ciecierski and Fanshawe donated 25,000 bricks each. Another 10,000 came from demolishing part of the Catholic missionary monastery. In 1915 the Orthodox residents left on bieżeństwo – the forced evacuation into Russia – and the church stood empty. It reopened after the war.

On 1 May 1973 a fire broke out inside, and restoring the interior and icons took several years. In the 1990s the walls were painted by Belarusian iconographers Aleksander Łoś and Wiktor Downar. In 2003 all seven domes were replaced and nine new crosses installed.

What to see

• The iconostasis from 1908 and the Baroque icons of Saints Peter and Paul and St Paraskevi on gold backgrounds. Tradition links them to the first 15th-century church; conservators date them to the first half of the 17th century.
• The gate from 1890, with an icon of the Holy Trinity.
• A memorial stone south of the church, marking the altar of the old wooden church.
• Old gravestones in the churchyard, which is still used for burials of clergy.

Did you know?

• During the January Uprising of 1863 insurgents captured the Orthodox parish priest. He was released thanks to the intervention of the Catholic priest Roch Boguszewski. Out of gratitude, the Orthodox priest later persuaded Russian troops not to destroy the Catholic church in Siemiatycze.
• Since 2004 the church has hosted a Festival of Religious and Para-liturgical Song each November, with Orthodox church choirs.

Tripto tip

The church is on ulica Powstania Styczniowego, a few hundred metres from the market square and the Church of the Assumption. Allow 20–30 minutes for the grounds. The interior is easiest to see during or just before services – the parish publishes its current schedule on its website. During the liturgy keep quiet and do not photograph worshippers.