Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church in Bialystok

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker’s Orthodox Church is on Lipowa Street. It was built in 1843 – 1846 and replaced the previous orthodox church. The building features classical architecture was erected on a Greek Cross plan in Byzantine style with a centrally situated cupola. The church bears are similarity to the Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in St. Petersburg. It is crowned with a cupola surpassed only by a bell tower with seven bells, erected over the vestibule. 

The iconostasis dates back to 1844. The interior was decorated with polychrome inspired by the St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral. Since 1959 the Bialystok church has been serving as the Cathedral for the bishop of Gdansk – Bialystok diocese. From 1994 to 1998 it also served as Polish Armed Forces’ orthodox church. The church prides itself on its reliquary with relics of saint martyr Gabriel Zabludowski and the holy icon of St. Mary. Beneath the main church there is a “lower church” of St. Seraph of Sarow. The offices and administrative units of the diocese are located in the nearby buildings which also house the Orthodox Culture Centre and the Department of Orthodox Theology in Bialystok.