Epiphany Cathedral and Printing Museum, Polotsk

Tickets and opening hours

The cathedral is a working church and costs nothing to enter. The Museum of Belarusian Book Printing costs 8 BYN, or 4 BYN for school pupils and students; the small Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library in the same building is 3 BYN. The best deal is the 15 BYN audio-guided tour, which already includes entry to both museums.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, and the ticket desk stops selling at 17:30. It is closed on Mondays and on some public holidays. A live guide costs 30 BYN for a group of up to 20 and 45 BYN for a larger group — book through the tour office on +375 214 46-53-40 and ask which languages are available, as most tours are in Russian.

Everything is paid in Belarusian rubles (BYN). Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do work in Belarus, but not at every terminal, and outages happen — this is unofficial, so carry some BYN in cash from a bank ATM and choose BYN when a machine offers a currency conversion.

What is the Epiphany Cathedral?

It is what remains of the Epiphany Monastery, founded on the bank of the Western Dvina in the very centre of Polotsk. Two buildings survive: the white cathedral with its twin towers and gilded domes, and the long two-storey monastery wing beside it. The cathedral has been the seat of the local Orthodox bishop since 1991.

The wing now belongs to the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. Its main tenant is the Museum of Belarusian Book Printing, opened in 1990 for the 500th anniversary of Francysk Skaryna — the Polotsk-born scholar who printed the first books in a Belarusian version of Church Slavonic in the early 16th century. Since 1994 the same wing has also held a museum-library for Simeon of Polotsk, the 17th-century monk and poet who started out in this monastery.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if it fits your walk — and it almost certainly does, because it sits between St Sophia and Freedom Square. The cathedral takes 15 minutes: a whitewashed interior, a new three-tier gilded iconostasis and a few surviving scraps of 18th-century painting. It is pleasant rather than spectacular.

The printing museum is the stronger reason to stop. A reconstructed 16th–17th-century print shop, a scribe’s workshop with a monk at his desk and early printed books make the story of the book easy to follow, even without Russian — and children usually like the press. Don’t expect original Skaryna editions: in 2012 Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that no Polotsk museum held one, so ask at the desk what is on show now. If museums aren’t your thing and your day is short, see the cathedral and move on.

What to see

• The façade — two towers in the Vilnius baroque manner, gilded domes and a central drum above the crossing.
• The carved entrance door with archangels in relief.
• The interior — a new three-tier iconostasis and three surviving fragments of late-18th-century wall painting.
• The scriptorium in the museum, with a monk copying a manuscript.
• The print shop — a reconstructed press with a typesetter and printer, showing how an early book was made.
• Early printed books, among them the 1595 Teaching Gospel from Vilnius, plus a scholar’s study and a book artist’s workshop.
• The Simeon of Polotsk Museum-Library — a small room recreating the setting of his time; photo shoots are allowed here for a fee.

A short history

In 1582 King Stephen Báthory of Poland-Lithuania gave an Orthodox brotherhood land in central Polotsk, free of town taxes, for a monastery. After the Union of Brest in 1596 it became the stronghold of Orthodox townspeople, as nearly every other monastery in Polotsk passed to the Uniate church. In the mid-17th century Simeon of Polotsk took his vows and taught at its brotherhood school before moving to Moscow.

The wooden church burned — in 1757 or 1761, depending on the source. The stone cathedral was begun in 1761 and consecrated on 5 August 1777, although some sources date its completion to 1779. In the 1780s, after Catherine the Great’s visit, the monastery was enlarged with state funds to a plan by Giacomo Quarenghi.

The Soviets closed it and turned the cathedral into a sports hall; from 1981 it was an art gallery. In 1991 it was handed back to the Orthodox Church, and the monastery wing became home to the two museums.

Services and visiting the church

Services are held regularly and the all-night vigil is sung before church feasts; the patronal feast is Epiphany on 19 January, when the cathedral is crowded. The schedule changes weekly, so we don’t print it — the Polotsk diocese publishes it. For sightseeing, come between the morning and evening services, when the church is quiet and you can look at the iconostasis properly.

Epiphany Cathedral vs St Sophia and the Euphrosyne Convent

Polotsk’s two essentials are St Sophia and the Euphrosyne Convent. The Epiphany Cathedral lies on the walk between St Sophia and Freedom Square, so add it on the way — it costs you almost no detour.

Churches of Polotsk compared

Every church and monastery in Polotsk rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Nearby — add to your day

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Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street

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Monument to the Letter Ў

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Skaryna Avenue

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1812 War Memorial on Freedom Square

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How to do it right

• Take the 15 BYN audio guide: it is cheaper than a guided tour and covers entry to both museums.
• Visit the cathedral between services, when it is quiet.
• Walk on along Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street to St Sophia — it is the same street.
• With children, start at the printing press and the scribe’s workshop.
• Carry some BYN in cash — the museum desk takes only Belarusian rubles.

Questions