Intercession Cathedral is an Orthodox church in Viciebsk, a monument of cult architecture of the 19th century. It is located at the intersection of vulica Lienina (former Vialikaja) and vulica Šubina.

The Intercession Cathedral in Viciebsk was built on the site of a wooden Catholic church erected in 1758. The initiator of the construction was the Catholic Order of the Trinitarians. The cathedral was built in 1806–1821 in the classical style. A monastic building was built next to the Catholic church. After the uprising of 1830–1831, the Catholic church was closed, and a shelter for orphans was opened in the monastic building. Then for a while it was a women's prison.

Only in 1858, the building of the former Catholic church was transferred to the Orthodox department. The funds for the reconstruction of the Catholic church into an Orthodox church were spent by the Viciebsk merchant and industrialist Ryhor Valkovič. Until 1865, the work was completed, while no major architectural changes were made. The church was consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. In 1913, the anniversary of the Romanov House was celebrated, and in this regard, a project to rebuild the church was developed. This time, the building was supplemented by a drum with a dome crowning the central part of the church. The shape of the pediment was also changed: the triangular was replaced by a semicircular.

In the 1930s, the Intercession Church, like most religious institutions, was closed by the Soviet government. The church was reopened only in 1941 during the German occupation. In August 1941, the relics of St. Jeŭfrasinnia Polackaja were transferred from the city museum of atheism to the Intercession Church, they remained in the church until October 1943. During the war, the church building was badly damaged. The roof and dome were destroyed, and the towers were damaged.

After the war, the building stood dilapidated for a long time. In the 1980s, it was going to be completely demolished, but these plans were not realized. In 1986, it was decided to restore the church, and in 1987, restoration began. On October 14, 1990, the first service was held in the church, and its final restoration was completed in 1992.

The Intercession Cathedral is a monument of classical architecture. Its three-nave white-stone ark is flanked on the front side by two single-tiered four-sided bell towers with gilded faceted tops at the end of the hemispherical domes. In the center it is decorated with a superimposed four-column portico with a bow-shaped pediment. In the middle the gable roof of the сentral high nave is completed by a cylindrical light drum under a spherical dome with a head on a high neck. The main rectangular entrance portal is distinguished by an arched pediment with a fresco "Mother of God", above it there is a square panel-fresco "Trinity". On the sides of the entrance there are arched niches with icons "Saint Seraphim of Sarov" and "Saint Jeŭfrasinnia Polackaja". The side facades are rhythmically divided by high rectangular window openings. Triangular pediments on the sides of the towers, thinly profiled perimeter cornice, ionic capitals on the pilasters of the bell towers are used from classical architecture.

Publication date: 16.02.2021.

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