Two regime religious affairs officials have refused absolutely to say if the iconic Catholic Church of Saints Simon and Helena (known locally due to its brickwork as the Red Church) in central Minsk will be handed back for worship once renovations are complete. "I won't give comments," Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Sergei Gerasimenya told Forum 18. "I can't comment," the Head of the Ideology, Religion, and Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department of Minsk City Executive Committee Tatyana Shevchik told Forum 18.

The Church regained use of the building in 1990, but the state has always refused to hand it back into the Church's ownership despite petitions from parishioners (see below).

Minsk Heritage – the building agency founded by the city authorities that has control of the Church – ordered the parish to leave the building after a suspicious minor fire in September 2022. It claimed a full renovation was needed, just three years after it had completed a full renovation. The state-owned Minskpromstroi company began the new renovation only in June 2025 and has fenced off the Church (see below).

Natalya Volkova of Minsk Heritage, who is overseeing the technical side of the reconstruction, told Forum 18 that the deadline of the end of January 2027 given for completing the renovation will be met. She insists that the Red Church will be returned to religious use. "Of course, the faithful will have access to this religious site to pray and participate in divine services," she claimed (see below).

The former priest of the Red Church, Fr Vladislav Zavalnyuk, requested access from Minsk Heritage to hold a commemoration and prayers on 10 April at the tomb on the outside wall of the Church of Edvard Vainilovich. A lay Catholic, he financed the building of the Church at the beginning of the 20th century in memory of his deceased son and daughter. The commemoration was to mark the tenth anniversary of the Church declaring Vainilovich a Servant of God, the first step on the path to beatification (see below).

"Now, in the second stage of the restoration process of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena," Fr Zavalnyuk wrote to Minsk Heritage on 22 February, "the clergy and believers are unable to hold appropriate services in the church or by the tomb of Servant of God Edvard Vainilovich." Fr Zavalnyuk asked on behalf of the beatification commission for church members to be allowed to "visit and venerate the relics of Servant of God Edvard, lay flowers and burn incense" (see below).

"Christian believers pray daily for the speedy and honest restoration of the Red Church," Fr Zavalnyuk added in his letter (see below).

Fr Zavalnyuk met the director of Minsk Heritage Aleksandr Yatsko on 4 March. "He gave a negative response," Fr Zavalnyuk told Forum 18. "We're still praying for a positive response" (see below).

The repressive new Religion Law, which came into force on 5 July 2024, mandated compulsory re-registration for Belarus' more than 3,500 registered religious communities. Officials have not released full nationwide statistics of how many of these gained re-registration. For the 5 out of 7 regions for which statistics are known, reductions in the number of individual registered communities range from about 3 to 13 percent. The largest known reduction was in the northern Vitebsk Region (see below).

Re-registration under new restrictions

Against Belarus' international human rights commitments, any exercise of freedom of religion or belief without state permission is illegal. Individuals and communities can be punished. Criminal Code Article 193-1 punishes "organisation of or participation in activity by an unregistered political party, foundation, civil or religious organisation" with a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.

The regime adopted a repressive new Religion Law, signed on 30 December 2023 and which came into force on 5 July 2024. The new Law mandated a one-year timeframe for Belarus' more than 3,500 registered religious communities to submit documentation for compulsory re-registration by 5 July 2025. Any community that had not submitted a re-registration application by the deadline – or whose application was rejected - was to be liquidated through the courts.

Concern and secrecy surrounded the re-registration process. Many religious communities declined to discuss how it went and why some of their communities did not regain state registration.

The office in Minsk of the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs – which handled national or monastic re-registration applications – and Regional Executive Committees – which handled local or regional re-registration applications – appear to have re-registered fewer communities than had registration before the adoption of the new Law. Officials have not released full nationwide statistics.

For the 5 out of Belarus' 7 regions for which statistics are known, reductions in the number of individual registered communities range from about 3 to 13 percent:
Gomel Region: 419 in January 2024, 380 in 2026;
Grodno Region: 491 in January 2024, 455 in 2026;
Minsk City: 159 in January 2024, 153 in 2026;
Mogilev Region: 299 in January 2024, 237 in 2026;
Vitebsk Region: 565 in January 2024, 492 in 2026;
Brest Region: 772 in January 2024, unknown in 2026;
Minsk Region: 714 in January 2024, unknown in 2026.

When the Plenipotentiary's Office in Minsk on 18 February 2026 registered (for the first time) the Capuchin monastic order as part of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, it gave it registration certificate No. 159. While 173 organisations had registration at the national level in January 2024, this means that at most 158 gained re-registration at the national level.

The Christian Vision group (which documents violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human rights, and whose social media sites and logo the regime has declared to be "extremist") points out that in some cases, the liquidation of communities occurred for "natural reasons".

"For example, some Roman Catholic parishes in Mogilev Region existed 'only on paper', but in reality, they were not functioning due to insufficient numbers of parishioners," Christian Vision noted on 5 February. "Some parishes experienced a decline in membership due to death and migration, while others were initially registered with a minimum number of parishioners - in the hope that their numbers would increase in the future, but this did not happen."

Red Church reopened in 1990, but not handed back to parish

Lay Catholic Edvard Vainilovich (1847-1928) financed the building of the iconic Catholic Church of Saints Simon and Helena (known locally due to its brickwork as the Red Church) in central Minsk in memory of his deceased son and daughter. The church was completed in 1910.

The communist regime forcibly closed the church in 1932. Apart from during the Nazi occupation, Catholics were not allowed to worship there again until 1990. The Catholic diocese was given free use of the building, but was not given back ownership of it. The building remains state property and the parish earlier paid monthly rent to use it.

In June 2006, Vainilovich's body was brought from Poland to Minsk in accordance with his will. It was reburied in a tomb on the outside wall of the Church.

In September 2007, responding to a request from parishioners, Minsk City Executive Committee renamed the street behind the Church after Edvard Vainilovich. Following protests by the Communist Party, that December the Justice Ministry overturned the decision and the street name was changed back in honour of a Bolshevik, Stanislav Berson.

By a Presidential decree of 13 September 2013, the Church was handed over to Minsk Executive Committee with the understanding that Catholics would continue to use the Church free of charge. The Executive Committee designated its own building agency Minsk Heritage to be responsible for maintenance of the Church.

The parish had disputes with Minsk Heritage over large financial demands for rent and compensation for building work expenses between 2017 and 2019 which were not agreed with the church council.

In July 2020, parishioners launched a petition asking the Presidential Administration to return ownership of the Red Church to the parish. More than 5,000 people had signed within the first week.

Closed in September 2022 after suspicious minor fire

Officials closed the Church of Saints Simon and Helena for worship or any other activity after a suspicious minor fire in a side room in September 2022. The last Mass was held in the church on Sunday 25 September 2022.

Minsk Heritage, the building agency founded by the city authorities that has control of the Church, claimed that after the fire the electricity, heating and water supply were not functioning, and therefore it "cannot fulfil the lessor's obligations" and sealed the building.

In October 2022, the authorities cut off electricity, heating and water supply in the priest's house also, trying to force the then head priest Fr Vladislav Zavalnyuk to vacate the building. However, Fr Zavalnyuk chose to stay in his home, working as a caretaker.

In the wake of the 2022 fire, officials insisted that after repair works were finished the Church would be re-opened.

Following the report of a group of priests who were allowed to come inside the Church in December 2022, the damaged area was insignificant, the building had heating and electricity but there were no signs of repair works.

Praying for the Church's reopening

The then spokesperson for Minsk-Mogilev Catholic Diocese Fr Yuri Sanko told Forum 18 from Minsk in October 2023 that "The owner is conducting repairs." Asked when the alleged repairs were due to end and the Church handed back for worship, he responded: "We don't have access to the Church, we don't know."

However, a source who wished to stay anonymous visited the closed Red Church and confirmed to Forum 18 in October 2023 that they saw no works going on inside. Asked if praying on the grounds outside the church is allowed, the individual remarked that a couple of people were praying but the individual had not heard of any disturbance from the authorities. The individual also noted that Fr Zavalnyuk processes with the Cross around the Church every day, praying for its re-opening.

Fr Zavalnyuk remained in the priest's house, which was still cut off from utilities, maintaining a shelter for those who wanted to pray.

Parishioners say they are given only the "formal" reasons as to why the Church remains closed and no information on its condition. "Probably, the superior clergy have been privately informed of some demands, but neither the parishioners, nor the priest have any information," the Katolik.life website quoted parishioners in September 2023. They said officials had taken Fr Zavalnyuk's computer, but "found nothing" on it. "No political statements were preached from the pulpit."

The parishioners added: "There's a feeling that the incident was prepared in advance, and everything was agreed ahead of time. It is only because a group of church members and priests did not give up that the priest's house was saved. The believers stay strong and pray."

After a year of the church closure, parishioners tried to arrange a meeting with officials of Presidential Administration, but were told that the meeting is "not expedient".

The authorities absolutely refused in 2023 to give any comments on why the church is closed and when it will be re-opened for Mass and other activities.

The secretary of Minsk Heritage's then Director Aleksandr Kokhan declined to discuss anything. "I cannot comment, please send us an official letter with your questions," she told Forum 18 in September 2023.

The Deputy Plenipotentiary Sergei Gerasimenya refused to answer when the Red Church will be returned to the parish or comment on the progress of repair works. "If you are not officially accredited in Belarus, I am unable to give any comments to your questions," he told Forum 18 in October 2023.

Vatican concern over Church

Only in June 2025, nearly three years after the Church's enforced closure, did Minsk Heritage begin repair work. The work was assigned to the state-owned Minskpromstroi company, which had conducted the earlier renovation work in 2017-9.

A notice on the fence around the building says the reconstruction and restoration commissioned by Minsk Heritage began on 9 June 2025 and is due for completion on 31 January 2027. Oleg Pilat of Minsk Heritage is designated as the overseer of the project.

Minskpromstroi appears to have used both local workers and migrant workers from Turkmenistan for the renovation work. Parishioners expressed concern when photos appeared of Bibles and other religious books and pictures ready to be thrown into the rubbish, Katolik.life noted on 21 August 2025.

(In July 2024, the Information Ministry listed Katolik.life as "extremist". In August 2024, a court in Minsk Region declared Katolik.life's Telegram channel "extremist". One month later, the Inspectorate for Supervision of Telecommunications blocked access in Belarus to the Telegram channel on the basis of the Information Ministry's decision. In August 2025, by decision of Grodno's Lenin District Court, the Information Ministry added all Katolik.life and Gomel Catholic's social media pages to the list of "extremist materials".)

The parish's current priest, Fr Frants Rud, denied in the following days that books and pictures in the church were being disposed of during the renovation work.

The head of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, indicated in a Vatican Radio interview in Rome on 21 November 2025 that he had raised the issue of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena when he met Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 27 October 2025. He did not indicate what response Lukashenko had given.

Request to hold commemoration at church founder's tomb rejected

On 10 April 2016, the Vatican named lay Catholic Edvard Vainilovich, who financed the building of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena, a Servant of God. This is the first step on the path to becoming a saint. On that day, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz approved a prayer for Vainilovich to be beatified (recognised as Blessed, the next stage to sainthood).

The then priest of the Red Church, Fr Vladislav Zavalnyuk, was named the postulator, preparing material on Vainilovich for the beatification process.

The enforced closure of the Red Church in September 2022 and later fencing-off of the site has made it impossible for people to pray at Vainilovich's tomb at the outside walls of the church.

On 22 February 2026, Fr Zavalnyuk sent an open letter to the director of Minsk Heritage, Aleksandr Yatsko, and the head of Minsk City Executive Committee, Vladimir Kukharev. He pointed to the ten-year anniversary on 10 April 2026 of the naming of Vainilovich a Servant of God. He asked to be able to meet Yatsko.

"Now, in the second stage of the restoration process of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena," Fr Zavalnyuk told them, "the clergy and believers are unable to hold appropriate services in the church or by the tomb of Servant of God Edvard Vainilovich."

Fr Zavalnyuk asked on behalf of the beatification commission for church members to be allowed to "visit and venerate the relics of Servant of God Edvard, lay flowers and burn incense".

Fr Zavalnyuk added that "Christian believers pray daily for the speedy and honest restoration of the Red Church". He pointed out that celebrations are planned in 2027 for the 180th anniversary of Vainilovich's birth.

Fr Zavalnyuk spoke about and posted the text of his open letter on his YouTube channel Voice of the Soul on 23 February.

Fr Zavalnyuk met Yatsko, the director of Minsk Heritage, on 4 March to ask about access to Vainilovich's tomb. "He gave a negative response," Fr Zavalnyuk told Forum 18 on 5 March. "We're still praying for a positive response."

Natalya Volkova of Minsk Heritage is overseeing the technical side of the reconstruction. She said she is not authorised to take the decision as to whether parishioners and others will be able to have access to Vainilovich's tomb to pray on 10 April. "Now it is a reconstruction facility and outsiders are not allowed to enter," she told Forum 18 from Minsk on 4 March.

Asked if that meant no, Volkova responded: "This is my opinion, but there are many Catholic churches in Minsk where you can perform the desired ritual."

Will Red Church be reopened for worship after restoration?

Catholics have long expressed concerns about whether the regime will allow the Church of Saints Simon and Helena to be handed back for worship.

"The repairs are due to be completed in January 2027, but there is no certainty so far that the parish will be allowed to return to the church," independent Catholic news outlet Katolik.life noted on 24 February 2026.

Forum 18 asked Deputy Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Sergei Gerasimenya if the Red Church will be allowed to reopen for worship once the renovations are complete. "I won't give comments," he told Forum 18 from Minsk on 5 March 2026. Forum 18 asked several more times, but each time he repeated his response and then put the phone down.

Forum 18 asked the Head of the Ideology, Religion, and Ethnic Affairs Coordination Department of Minsk City Executive Committee Tatyana Shevchik if the Red Church will be allowed to reopen for worship once the renovations are complete. "I can't comment," she told Forum 18 from Minsk on 4 March. "It's not within my competence." Asked whose competence this was in, she said she didn't know. She then put the phone down.

Natalya Volkova of Minsk Heritage, who is overseeing the technical side of the reconstruction, says that the deadline of the end of January 2027 given for completing the renovation will be met. "Of course, the renovation will be completed," she told Forum 18 on 4 March.

Volkova insists that the Red Church will be returned to religious use. "Of course, the faithful will have access to this religious site to pray and participate in divine services," she told Forum 18. (END)

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Belarus

For background information, see Forum 18's Belarus religious freedom survey

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

Follow us on Bluesky @Forum18

Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService

Follow us on Telegram @Forum18NewsService

Follow us on WhatsApp Forum 18

Follow us on X/Twitter @Forum_18

All Forum 18 material may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the source.

All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen.

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.