Catholic Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord description and photos - Belarus: Novogrudok (Topic)

Catholic Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord description and photos - Belarus: Novogrudok. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, also called the Farny Church or White Fara, is one of the most ancient Catholic churches in Belarus. It was founded in 1395 shortly after the baptism of Lithuania by Prince Vitovt and was named the Church of All Saints.

In 1422, the Polish king Vladislav Yagailo was married to the young princess Sophia Golshanskaya in this temple. A memorial plaque in Polish about this event was installed on the wall of the church: "In this shrine in 1422, Vladislav Jagiello, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, married Sophia Princess Golshanskaya, the future mother of Polish kings Vladislav Varnenchik and Kazimir Jagiellonchik." p>

In 1624, a stone church was built on the initiative and at the expense of Christopher Chodkiewicz. In 1631 two chapels of Saint Expedite and Guardian Angels were added. In 1662, the church was almost completely destroyed during the Russian-Polish war. In 1714, the construction of a new stone church began, the first stone of which was consecrated by the coadjutor of the Vilna bishop Maciej Jozef Antsuta. In 1723, the construction was completed and the church was consecrated in honor of the Body of God.

On February 12, 1799, the future great Belarusian poet Adam Mitskevich was baptized in this church.

In 1857, after the transition of Western Belarus to the Russian Empire, the church was closed by the tsarist authorities, who did not even allow repairing the shrine. In 1921, after the entry of Novogrudok into Poland, the temple was restored and re-consecrated.

Until 1991, in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, there were the bodies of 11 Nazarene sisters who were buried, shot by the Gestapo on August 1, 1943 and canonized.

From 1948 to 1992 the church was closed by the Soviet authorities. In 1992, the temple was returned to the believers. In 1997 the church was opened after restoration.

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Topic: Catholic Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord description and photos - Belarus: Novogrudok.