Churches and Relics

Nestled within and around the walls of the Saint Elisabeth Convent — Minsk’s one living monastery — stand a constellation of sacred spaces and revered relics, each bearing witness to God’s mercy, consolation, and the prayers of the faithful.

The Convent’s very first temple, the Crypt Church in honour of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, was consecrated on January 10, 1999. Dedicated to the beloved patron of mercy and intercession, this church remains a center of continuous prayer. Here, services are celebrated several times a week, and the uninterrupted reading of the “Sleepless Psalter” fills the crypt with ceaseless supplication before God.

Another center of continuous prayer is the Church in honour of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Romanov, consecrated on January 2, 2005. Named after the heavenly protectress of the Convent, this church is used for daily services and additional Sunday Liturgies. Within it are treasured icons containing relics of numerous saints, making it a true reliquary of grace and a place of prayerful encounter with the holiness of the martyrs.

At the heart of the Convent stands the main church of the monastery — the Church of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God, consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II on October 18, 2008. The most important feasts and Sunday services are celebrated here. Its dedication to the Reigning Icon of the Theotokos reminds the faithful of the Queen of Heaven’s unceasing protection and sovereign care for her children.

Here the Church in honour of the Resurrection of the Righteous Lazarus, consecrated May 10, 2005 at the Northern Cemetery, rises as a haven for families and souls in grief: a place where memorial services and the Divine Liturgy unite the living with departed loved ones in the sure promise of Resurrection.

On our humble farmstead in Lysaya Gora, the Church in honour of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” Icon of the Mother of God, consecrated January 3, 2010, offers ceaseless prayer — divine intercession flowing through continuous Psalter readings, weekly Liturgies, and Akathist services before the weeping icon of our Heavenly Mother.

The Church of the Holy Royal Martyrs, solemnly consecrated on October 13, 2012, offers weekly worship plus the great mystery of Baptism through its central baptistery, under the loving gaze of the Passion‑Bearers.

In the gentle quiet of the House Church of the Holy Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg (consecrated February 6, 1998), housed within a care facility for the elderly and infirm, the faithful receive the grace of healing and memory restored through weekly Liturgies and Akathist prayer.

Likewise, the Church of St. Nektarios of Aegina stands in a boarding school for children with special needs — celebrating Liturgy and Akathist weekly, nurturing hearts with the gentle compassion of its patron saint.

On the grounds of our Sunday school, the House Church of the Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love, and Their Mother Sophia gathers children and educators in shared prayer at least twice a week, reminding us that virtue may be learned as well as inherited.

The Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh at the Women's Farmstead, consecrated and in active use once weekly, invites pilgrims to witness spiritual labor made manifest, dedicated to the humble monk who taught that every task is sacred when offered in prayer.

Together, these churches and relics compose a living mosaic of prayer, healing, and remembrance — welcoming every pilgrim to find solace, hope, and the touch of divine presence in each stone, icon, and beat of ancient chant.