Church of St. Bartholomew the Apostle

The Church of St. Bartholomew the Apostle is a Roman Catholic church built in the 17th century and rebuilt in 1824. During the invasion of the troops of Aleksey Mikhaylovich in 1655, the old wooden buildings of the monastery and the church were burnt down. In 1664, Yan Rayski built a stone chapel in their place. The chapel was rebuilt in 1778 according to the classicist project of Martynas Knakfusas (Martin Knackfuss). Unfortunately, the building was damaged during the uprising of 1794. Later, in 1823–1824, with the efforts of Father Augustin Stadolnik, the church was rebuilt following Karol Podczaszyński’s project. In 1881, a belfry was built. The church has not changed its appearance since then and stands to this day. Monks settled in Vilnius before World War II and temporarily used the Church of St. Bartholomew the Apostle for their prayer services. In 1949, the temple was closed by the Soviet authorities, and its three wooden baroque altars were moved to the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Nemenčinė, the fate of the other two altars is unknown. In 1997, the church was handed over to the Vilnius community of Belarusian Catholics. Since 2016, masses have been held only in Belarusian.

On the outside, the church looks austere , which is characteristic of classicist constructions. The building has an elongated shape. In front of it, a single tower with a dark brown, almost black, the square dome rises as if a continuation of the triangular pediment above the main entrance. The facade is decorated only with statues located in the niches of the front facade, on either side of the rectangular window above the entrance. There is also a statue of the crucified Jesus, located on the triangular pediment, in the opening of a horizontal arched window.