The Belarusian church in London was included in the official list of the 100 most significant British buildings of the first quarter of the twenty-first century.
The ranking was compiled by the prestigious Twentieth Century Society, one of six national amenity societies officially recognised to advise the British Government on matters relating to the country’s architectural heritage. Among these organisations, the Twentieth Century Society is responsible for buildings constructed after 1914.
The list of the 100 outstanding buildings of the twenty-first century has been published as a separate volume.
The Belarusian Church appears alongside iconic landmarks such as Tate Modern, 30 St Mary Axe (the “Gherkin” skyscraper in the City of London), Wembley Stadium, and the buildings of the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (the Welsh Parliament).
The Church of St Cyril of Turau and All the Patron Saints of the Belarusian People was built in 2016 at the request of the Vatican for the Belarusian diaspora in Great Britain to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Charnobyl disaster.
The church is situated in North London, alongside other important Belarusian landmarks — Marian House, the Belarusian Christian Community Centre, and the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum. It became the first timber church to be built in London since the Great Fire of 1666, and the first Belarusian church abroad, purpose-built for Belarusian worshippers.
The church’s unique design is the result of extensive field research carried out in Belarus. The British architect Tszwai So also drew on photographs of wooden churches from the album compiled during Vacłaŭ Łastoŭski’s expedition, the original of which is preserved in the Skaryna Library. The author sought to capture the spirit of Belarusian architectural heritage, much of which was devastated during the twentieth century.
The church harmoniously brings together different historical periods. It preserves traditional features — a pitched roof, timber-clad façades, and a distinctive cupola in Baroque style with a sun-cross — while introducing contemporary architectural solutions. One of its most distinctive features is its gently undulating vertical timber walls. At night, concealed clerestory windows allow a soft glow to shine through, creating a subtle radiance in memory of those who perished in the wooden churches burned down by the Nazis during the Second World War.
The inclusion of this remarkable church, directly inspired by the Belarusian architectural tradition, further reinforces its status as an internationally recognised symbol of Belarusian culture and highlights its contribution to the architectural heritage of Great Britain.
