Christus’ Geboortekerk

Christus’ Geboortekerk in Antwerp occupies the former Sint-Jozefkerk, a Roman Catholic building later used by a Russian Orthodox parish. Eugeen Gife designed the brick church in neo-Romanesque style.

Its three-aisled cruciform plan faces southeast and includes a seven-sided choir with ochre natural-stone details. Two matching towers frame the church’s west façade. Each tower has four sections, an octagonal bell chamber and a slender spire, while a rose window marks the façade.

The church gained a side portal in 1899. A wrought-iron fence followed in 1901, and Jules Bilmeyer designed the rectangular sacristy added between 1912 and 1913. The interior preserves a largely neo-Romanesque character. Jos Hendrickx created replacement stained-glass windows in the mid-1960s, depicting the sacraments and fifteen mysteries.

Russian immigrants established parishes in Antwerp during the 1920s. Those communities merged into the present parish in October 1999. The Belgian government officially recognised the parish in 2004. Since 2000, the Russian Orthodox community has used the building for worship and community activities. Concerts have brought Russian sacred music into the church. The Gnessin Academy Choir has performed works by Glinka, Schnittke, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff there. The building connects Antwerp’s Catholic origins with Russian Orthodox life in Belgium.