The Church of Saint Mary in

Myadzyel Myadzyel ( be, Мядзел, ''Miadzieł'' ; russian: Мядель, ''Mjadelj''; pl, Miadzioł; lt, Medilas) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus. It is the centre of Myadzyel District. Myadzyel is located on the eastern shore of lake Miast ...

, Belarus, is a Catholic church, listed as a Cultural Heritage object. The church was constructed in 1754 for the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

' monastery.

History

15th–19th centuries

According to the , or , a collection of medieval manuscripts in the Latin language, in 1457 the

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

donated provisions to the church, established by him and consecrated by bishop Nikolaj. The document was signed by several high-ranked priests and noblemen. The stone church for the

was built in 1754 by Miadziel's owner Antoniy Koshitz. An

Octagon on cube Octagon on cube (also octagon on the quadrangle) is a type of architectural composition in which a building is designed so as the upper octagon-shaped part is placed on the lower cube-shaped part. This composition has been mainly used to design Ru ...

type, it was topped with a faceted dome, frescoes covered the inner walls. The church was consecrated on August 15, 1754. By 1830, the local parish had more than 865 members. In the aftermath of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

all Carmelite monasteries within the borders of modern Belarus were closed. The monastery in Miadziel was disbanded in 1832, in 1863 all its buildings and the church of St Mary were given to the Orthodox church.

20th century

In 1921 Miadziel became a part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, in 1927 the monastery was returned to the Carmelites. They began the restoration that lasted up to 1941. During the Second World War, the monastery supported the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. Its buildings were burned down in 1943 by the

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

, after the war the church was used as a warehouse for agricultural machinery. In 1982 archaeologists

Zianon Pazniak Zianon Stanislavavič Pazniak ( be, Зянон Станіслававіч Пазняк, born 24 April 1944) is a Belarusian nationalism, Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Co ...

and began excavations near the church and discovered a massive stone foundation and a fragment of a brick wall, that presumably was the Uniate church of the XVII century. The church was consecrated again in 1990.

21st century

In 2016 the church was restored. In January 2019 Belarusian media published the news about sensational discoveries in the church. In one of the walls the researchers found hallows of

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

and

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

Gallery

File:Miadzieł Stary, Karmelicki. Мядзел Стары, Кармэліцкі (J. Kłos, 1930).jpg, The church before 1930 File:Miadzieł Stary, Karmelicki. Мядзел Стары, Кармэліцкі (1920-39).jpg, Church before 1939 File:Мядзел. Касцёл Маці Божай Шкаплернай.jpg, The church in 2015

References

Sources

* * * {{coord missing, Belarus Churches in Belarus Landmarks in Belarus