Zhirovichi Monastery to celebrate its 500th anniversary

It's not just a historical monument, but also a place of spiritual power. There are a lot of such places in Belarus. And they are connected not only with the national memory, but also with the spiritual culture of the Belarusians.

Zhirovichi Monastery is going to celebrate its 500th anniversary. This is a center of attraction for pilgrims fr om different countries. For example, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Zhirovichskaya is known and revered by believers of different confessions. The sanctuary is still in the monastery today. 

Over the course of its history, the monastery has seen various things - it was closed down, handed over to other confessions, ruined and devastated. But it was still reborn. Large-scale reconstruction works in the monastery have begun in independent Belarus. On the initiative of our President, they restored the monastery buildings. Restoration of ancient cult buildings does not stop today.

Next May, the festivities to mark the 500th anniversary of the monastery and the 550th anniversary of the discovery of the miraculous icon will take place. 

Today the monastery has five temples, a fraternal corps, pilgrimage houses, refectory and the Minsk Theological Seminary. In addition to the building wh ere monks lived for centuries, they are restoring the bell tower. It used to have a Gothic look, but it was rebuilt in classicism style in the 19th century. The main monastery church is also waiting for restoration works. Reconstruction and restoration of ancient cult buildings takes place under the strict scientific guidance, because spiritual shrines are also monuments of architecture. According to the legislation of our country on historical and cultural values, all works are accompanied by archaeologists.