Far Church in Grodno is unofficially called the Catholic Cathedral dedicated to St. Francis Xavier. A service is held daily in the temple, and its doors are open from early morning until late in the evening for both believers and numerous tourists. The church in the city center is famous for its baroque architecture, extraordinary clock tower, ancient carved altars and especially the unique multi-figure complex of the central altar. Miraculously, the interior and the entire structure of the cathedral remained unscathed, having survived the world wars of the 20th century and the mass destruction of religious buildings during the years of Soviet power.
Why "farny"?
Where did this name come from? In Belarus, this is the name of some Catholic churches that are parish. The word "farny" comes from "parafial", that is, parish, and means that the temple is the main one in the city, it belongs not to the monastic order, but to the churchparish (parish). The church in Grodno began to be called farny unofficially after 1783. Until that time, the temple belonged to the most influential and we althy Jesuit order in Poland, which built an extensive monastic complex with a church.
Jesuit Temple History
After in 1569 the lands where Grodno is located were transferred from the Principality of Lithuania to the possession of the Commonwe alth, Stefan Batory, King of Poland, in 1584 decided to establish a Jesuit Collegium in the city - an educational institution of the monastic order. By August decree, 10,000 zlotys were allocated from the treasury for the construction of a monastery and a Catholic church in Grodno, the construction of which was postponed due to the sudden death of the monarch.
Since 1622, the Order founded a missionary station in Grodno, a year later opened a “grammar school”, by 1630 formed a musical bursa, which, with the addition of a class of poetics and rhetoric, became a school that rose in 1664 to the level of a full collegium. In the period from 1677 to 1744, the Jesuit order erected a large monastic complex with stone buildings of the collegium, where in 1687 the Jesuit Grodno pharmacy was opened. By 1764, the collegium's income was about PLN 8,062, and the institution could support up to 38 trained monks.
Grodno Jesuits laid the foundation of their own church in 1678. Services began in the unfinished church in 1700. After the completion of construction in 1705, the cathedral was solemnlydedicated to the Catholic Saint Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuit missionaries in Japan, Goa, India. The consecration ceremony was attended by August II, King of the Commonwe alth and Tsar Peter I of Russia. A year later, a chapel was added to the temple, where the monks transferred the miraculous image of the Congregational Mother of God, presented to the church by the Pope.
By 1772, the teaching staff of the collegium consisted of 42 people, including eight professors. At the institution there was a library with about 2300 titles of books, and also had its own printing house. Theology, philosophy, mathematics, foreign languages, and other subjects were taught in a closed educational institution, and a student theater worked.
For the Jesuits, 1773 became fatal when Pope Clement XIV issued a bull on the final and complete prohibition of the order. In the same year, the Grodno Collegium came under the leadership of the Commission on National Education, and the flourishing educational institution was transformed into a district school. Since 1783, the cathedral became a parish one and informally began to be called the far church in Grodno. Since the 19th century, the city prison has been located in the former building of the monastery and collegium.
Years of Socialism
Under the Soviet regime, like most churches, the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier was subject to demolition. Such a fate repeatedly threatened the church. The parishioners defended their shrine. On duty around the clock in groups at the building, they did not allow the church to be blown up. For over twenty years there was no rector in the cathedral. Having resisted the oppression of the authorities, the believers maintained order in the temple, preserved its property and themselves held services in the farny church of Grodno until 1988, when the Catholic priest Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz was assigned to the cathedral.
During the war, the temple miraculously survived. It was hit by the only fascist shell that did not explode. However, the explosion that took place near the church shattered the glass, the fragments of which, together with metal particles, penetrated deep into some of the wooden altars and damaged the carving. During the recent restoration of the 300-year-old altar of Our Lady of the Rosary, specialists discovered many such pieces, which made the work of the craftsmen very difficult.
Modernity
Now the Cathedral belongs to the Grodno Catholic diocese (diocese). In December 1990, the Farny Church was given the honorary position of a Minor Basilica by the Pope. When, in April 1991, the diocese of Grodno, separated from the Vilnius archdiocese, was established by the bull of Pope John Paul II, the cathedral received the status of a cathedral. Service in Farny Church Grodno is held daily.
In the building where the Jesuit pharmacy functioned since the 17th century, today there is a pharmacy-museum, which has become the only one in Belarus. And the cathedral is on the list of historical and cultural state values.
Architectural features
The cathedral was built with a slight elegance of the Baroque style, in which its architectural and interior appearance is sustained. Columns, porticoes, arches, ornatestucco elements - everything corresponds to the best examples of baroque architecture. The three-tier facade is crowned with bell towers, which together form two 65-meter towers, completed in 1752.
On the parapet of the two-flight staircase in front of the main entrance to the farny church in Grodno, there is a figure of Christ carrying the cross. A similar composition is located in front of the Warsaw Basilica of the Holy Cross. The Latin inscription under the sculpture SURSUM CORDA means "Let's lift up the hearts". The sandstone figure was placed at the entrance to the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in 1900 thanks to the efforts of Aoiza Elerte, then Dean. He persistently sought permission to install it before the Grodno governor, who constantly refused under the pretext that "the population of the city and its environs is not entirely Catholic." It took coordination with Vilnius for the statue to finally be installed. During the turbulent years of the 20th century, the figure suffered significantly. In addition to numerous minor damages hidden under a layer of paint, the right hand of the figure of Christ, which was extended forward, was broken off and lost, which was skillfully replaced by a wooden detail. The paint hides the difference in materials, and in this form the sculpture appears in front of the entrance to the church today.
Clock
One of the temple towers, the northern one, has been decorated with a pendulum clock since 1725. They have survived from the dilapidated tower of the Jesuit Collegium. Considered perhaps the oldest working clock in Europe. Mentioned as early as 1496 in the acts of the "Grodno privileges" as"antediluvian", that is, very old. During restoration work in 1995, a two-wedge connection was discovered in the clock, a 12th-century adaptation that is not seen anywhere else. It turned out that the Grodno clock mechanism is much older than the famous Prague chimes.
Altars
In the interior of the church there are 12 delightful side altars made of wood with openwork carving and gilding. But the real masterpiece of Baroque art is the central altar (1736-1738) with a three-tiered multi-figured composition.
The best photos of the Farny Church in Grodno convey the beauty of this amazing creation, but do not display its grandiose grandeur. The intricate carved structure reaches a height of 21 meters, which is comparable to a seven-story building. All elements, columns and more than forty figures of the ensemble are made of solid wood tables, mostly linden. The altar was created according to the project of K. Pauker, a Prussian sculptor, and J. Schmit supervised the work of the carvers. The complex composition of supporting pillars, pilasters and supporting columns of the Corinthian order is masterfully painted with imitation marble and gilding.
Schedule
In the Farny Church of Grodno, priest Jan Kuchinsky is currently serving as rector. In addition to him, three more Catholic priests perform divine services, the schedule of which is given below. Holy masses are held in Russian, Belarusian and Polish.
Some changes are possible in the schedule of services of the far church in Grodno.
The cathedral is one of three Catholic churches, which are considered the most valuable historical and architectural monuments in Belarus. In 2015, parishioners and guests solemnly celebrated the 315th anniversary of the consecration of the church.
