Back
The history of the creation of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi
The Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi is a truly iconic place in the history of Orthodoxy in Belarus. The temple was built on the iconic place where the Zhirovitskaya icon of the Mother of God appeared. Initially, it was a wooden building, which burned down in the 17th century, and after which it was restored and a new stone church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared. An Orthodox monastery for men arose at this temple. In 161, the temple passed into the possession of the Uniates, and was returned to the Orthodox Church only in 1839. Until the 19th century, a shrine ‒ the Zhirovichi Gospel was kept in the Assumption Cathedral. In the 20th century, the monastery came under the possession of the Polish authorities, who decided to open an agricultural school there. The school lasted until 1939, although the monks simultaneously lived in the same building during this period. During the war, the services in the temple did not stop for a minute. In 1947, the Minsk Theological Seminary was opened here, from 63 to 89 there was no recruitment of new students.
The architecture of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi
The monastery complex includes four churches and adjacent buildings ‒ the Evlenskaya Church, the Holy Cross Church and the Assumption Cathedral, a belfry, a winter church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious (located in the cemetery), a seminary building, a residential monastery complex, a refectory, outbuildings , vegetable garden. The temple itself was founded as the main temple of the monastery; this stone building consists of three domed-cross basilicas with a semicircular altar apse with a stepped outline. The building is 55 meters long and about 44 meters high. The architectural style of the building can be characterized as a building in the style of classicism in the external appearance, and in the interior decoration the Baroque style can be traced. There are facades decorated with columns and pilasters, triangular pediments, decor, the shape of a light drum and a dome.
Church shop of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi
Opposite the entrance gates of the monastery there is a church shop, which is open daily, seven days a week, at 8:30 am to 6:30 pm. The assortment of the store includes church vestments, christening gowns, wedding sets, baptism sets, shirts for dipping into the font, icons, literature, audio and video discs. Here you can order services and commemorations, buy candles. There is also an icon shop at the entrance to the monastery (working hours: 8: 30-18: 00). Opposite the Assumption Cathedral (in the courtyard of the monastery) there are two icon shops (working hours: 8: 30-18: 00).
How to get to the Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi
The exact address of the monastery: Grodno region, Slonim district, agricultural town Zhirovichi, Soborna street 57. You can get by car using GPS coordinates: 53.015, 25.345277778. From Minsk this distance is 214 km, from the Miska ring road 43 km to the city of Dzerzhinsk, then turn to Stolbtsy (38 km to Stolbtsy), turn to Baranovichi (75 km), turn to Slonim (52 km to Stolbtsy). Slonim), turn to the village of Zhirovichi.