Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The church was built in 1765-1770. The author of the project, Johann Christopher Glaubitz, died on March 30, 1767 and didn’t see his creation. He left many architectural structures, both in Belarus and Lithuania. The Church in Lida was his last project. Unfortunately, the founder of the church, Mikhail Zenkovich, the bishop of Vilnius in 1730-1762, didn’t see his creation either.
The church has a lucky fate. It has never closed, survived two world wars and almost hasn’t changed its appearance over the past years. Only the tower with a cross and a small bell tower disappeared.
At the entrance to the church, there were wide two-wing baroque gates. There was a small cemetery to the south of the church fence, and a bell tower and a garden. to the north.
The history of the church is associated with the icon of the Virgin Mary, brought by the first Franciscan missionaries from Vizna in 1376.
The building of the Church preserved its original T-shape with the central nave and two square sacristies. The building is completed by a high gable roof with hips above the altar. There used to be two domes in the church, but they were removed after the fire of 1921, when the entire roof burned down.
The Church in Lida is an organic part of urban development. Amazing harmony with nature gives it unusual mysterious beauty. The features of the church reflect the ideas about the mystic power of God.
Near the church is the grave of the monk-piar Stanislav Kalasanta Roek, who was a priest and dean in Lida for 57 years.