The First Baptist Church in Polotsk, Belarus is growing, and the construction of a new building adjacent to the House of Prayer began just a few years ago. Boris Valshonok, the pastor of the church and SMS missionary, has seen God work in miraculous ways within the building program.

The 85 members of the church have sacrificed considerably to continue the construction of this new structure, and unexpected donations also have been received to further the progress. Recently, the concrete floor was poured for the auditorium and insulation was put in the ceiling. Soon, the leadership and congregation hope to officially conduct worship services in this new building. Boris has been serving as pastor of the church in Polotsk for 17 years and has been laboring with Slavic Missionary service for eight years.

The city of Polotsk was founded in 862 AD and is considered the oldest town in the country of Belarus. It is located in the Vitebsk oblast (region) with a population of 80,000 people. Polotsk is known as the cradle of Belarusian statehood, and some consider the city to be the center of Europe geographically. The Belarusian printer, Francisk Skorina, who printed the first Bible in the Belarusian (East Slavic) language, was born in Polotsk.

St. Sophia's Cathedral is also located in Polotsk, Belarus. Interestingly, cathedrals named St. Sophia were also constructed in Kiev, Ukraine and in Novgorod, Russia. All three cathedrals were built in the eleventh century and are named after the Holy Wisdom of God rather than a specific saint named Sophia.
After the proclamation of Christianity as the official state religion, Constantine the Great undertook the construction of colossal churches everywhere in Byzantium. Socrates, the chronicler of church history during that period, states that the first building of Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophia) was erected by Constantine in Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantinople is now called Istanbul, located in Turkey.