Zhirovichi Monastery to turn 500 this year

This year Zhirovichi Monastery will mark a milestone date, 500 years since the monastery foundation. This is the only monastery in our country that has never been closed. It stayed open even in wartime. 

The restoration work is underway now. The historical building of the largest monastery complex in Belarus, the bell tower of Zhirovichi Monastery, is now in scaffolds. Once a Gothic structure, in the XIX century it was rebuilt in the style of Classicism. That's what modern masters will preserve. 

The reconstruction and restoration of ancient cult buildings is carried out under a clear scientific guidance, because spiritual sanctuaries are also monuments of architecture. According to our country's legislation on historical and cultural values, all restoration works are accompanied by archaeologists. Many finds are exhibited today in the Church and Archaeological Museum. 

Painting "Appearance of Zhirovichi Icon of the Mother of God" was discovered quite accidentally during a study of various buildings of the monastery: attics, walls, cellars. After conducting scientific research, it became known that the sacral canvas was created in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries, and was hidden, most likely, during the First World War, in 1915, during the evacuation of church property, library and archive of the monastery.

The collection of book monuments shows the history of sacral editions, which were used in divine services in Belarus. Until now, there is no fundamental research on the history of Zhirovichi Monastery. This is a kind of scientific detective, where there are many versions and it is unknown how long it will take to solve the riddle.