Epiphany convent in Polock

Epiphany convent in Polock was founded in 1582 and many years to become a major center of Orthodoxy in Polock. Training and Education here were not only religious. The children of the Orthodox gentry, churchmen, artisans and merchants were studied Slavic, Greek, Latin languages, singing, rhetoric, arithmetic. At school there was a brotherly way called the school theater. Brotherhood of anything not want to give Jesuit College, trying to compete with him in the education and formation of Polock young people. In the second half of XVII century in the sister school of the monastery was a teacher Simeon Polockij.

At the beginning of the XVII century a fire destroyed the wooden structure monastery, and in 1633 Oginski Dukes set aside funds for the construction of a new monastery and a wooden church which was dedicated in honor of Epiphany has also been built, ”a school for children of Christian Science.” New fire in 1757 destroyed all over the monastery buildings. In 1761 was also a new stone church, the cathedral was consecrated on August 5, 1777.

Epiphany Church today is a cross-domed church. Church completed a high light reel with a spherical dome. In the western part of the temple at the entrance - with the choirs of forged decorative fence. Preserved frescoes, wall paintings in tempera of the second half of XVIII century, scenic three-meter figures of three saints.

Residential building L-shaped in plan. In the east wing of his monks” cells were located, the room for the abbot, at the corner of the case were two warm church - St.Evfrosinya and St. Catherina. The monastery complex is monument of baroque architecture to elements of classicism. It is believed that the construction of the monastery was used in the XVIII century project is the famous St. Petersburg architect Giacomo Quarenghi.

In the years of Soviet power in the building of the temple was a gym. After restoration in 1981 in the Church of the Epiphany almost 10 years has been an art gallery. In 1991 the church passed the Orthodox diocese and is now the Cathedral of Polock diocese. As a former fraternal body is now a museum of Belarusian book printing and Museum and Library Simeon Polockij. In the museum of printing readers conferences are held, and meetings with Belarusian writers.

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