As in the past, the Karaites still pray in the house of worship, known as Kenesa. The altar in the Kenesa is located to the south, and the deceased Karaites are buried facing south. It is claimed that the Karaite faith was formed in the south.
The walls and ceilings of the Kenesa are usually decorated with geometric and floral ornaments, as religious dogma does not allow the representation of anthropomorphic images, just as God has not and cannot take any human form.
Like in other Eastern religious shrines, men and women pray separately. Men pray in the main hall of the Kenesa, and women pray in a separate room on the balcony, which is accessed by a side staircase. Everyone is required to wear a head covering at the Kenesa. To enter the Kenesa you had to be clean - if people were coming from far away, they had to find a place to wash their hands. In earlier centuries, people used to walk to the Kenesa barefoot or wearing plain shoes, and when entering it they put on clean, festive shoes.
The altar in the Trakai Kenesa, which according to the tradition of the Karaite worship houses should face south, was on a raised platform, decorated with columns and inscribed with quotations from the Bible.
The blue-painted octagonal domed ceiling of the Kenesa is impressive.
The wooden Trakai Kenesa, which was built at the end of the 14th century, has been damaged several times. There are only three windows when normally there should be ten of them. The Karaites have a separate lunar calendar for annual festivals. The festivals are celebrated on the best day of the week, on Saturday, the day of the new moon.
During the Soviet era, there were no services at the Trakai Kenesa, as people were afraid to show their faces there. Then the senior clergyman of the Trakai Kenesa, Simon Firkovich, moved the Karaite service to his home. However, it was no longer held every week. People used to gather here only at the major festivals. The Trakai Kenesa was the only Kenesa in Europe, and Simon Firkovich was the only official Karaite clergyman who accompanied the deceased to the cemetery, wed young couples and gave a name to the newborn. All Karaite wedding ceremonies were held secretly in his house.
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