Orthodox churches of the village of Divin of Kobrin district

Kobrin → Creativity of fellow countrymen → Marchuk Nina Grigoryevna

I Saint Church Paraskev Fridays

Patronal feast day on November 10.

At entry into the village of Divin on the main street bearing a name of Lenin (once Kobrin) the temple towers. It one of the few Orthodox churches located an altar on the northwest. Though for the long century it was not once reconstructed. 

Spravochno. In Orthodox churches the altar is always turned to the East as rescue came from the East, light and life-giving heat comes from the East together with the sun. Somewhere in 1682 there is a mention that this temple was uniatsky. Spravochno. 1. Uniats are supporters of Greco-catholic church, with submission to the Pope. They recognize dogmas of Catholic church at preservation of orthodox ceremonies. 2. When in 1750 the main Orthodox church of Belarus – the Polotsk Sofia was built as the uniatsky temple, specially reoriented an altar on the North. Though nevertheless kept east apse from the remains of frescos of the 11th century.

So, the church which we behold and today was constructed in 1728 (on other sources in 1740) by Jan Anthony Voyevodsky's efforts. Church wooden. Wooden and separate belltower. The walls which are vertically sheathed by a board. Temple interior screen. Two stands at an entrance support choruses. There are interesting data. On March 5, 1876 Pyatnitsky arrival was closed by the decree of the Synod behind No. 588, also the church is closed, and attributed it to Divinsky Church of the Assumption.

But in eight years, the same Synod the decree of May 26, 1884 for No. 1724 Pyatnitsky arrival and church were restored and recognized as independent. The reason of such acts is unknown. In eight years the building decayed. Therefore in 1886 the church was capitally repaired (repairs of the temple will be in 1892-1895 and 1899).

In World War I the church was damaged by the fire, but is insignificant. Kayzerovsky soldiers for three years arranged in the temple of barracks. In 1917 the church was restored again. And the service in the temple was conducted till 1962 when "Khruschev's thaw" hung up on church for the whole thirty years the lock. Sometimes the local general store stored vodka and macaroni in the temple. Anew repaired the temple in the 90th years of the twentieth century. Opened church at a big congestion of the people in 1991. Two legends of this temple are interesting. The first. During the last section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1794) the prayer for insurgents in this temple was served by Tadeush Kosciusko.

The second. In September, 1794 in the same temple Alexander Suvorov prayed, going to smash the same insurgents. Fight was under Krupchitsami (Zhabinkovsky district) on September 17, 1794.

II Sacred and Prechistenskaya, or Virgin's Christmas church

Patronal feast day on September 21.

The temple is located in the center of the village of Divin. The first mention of the temple belongs to 1580. In archives there is a petition for construction of new Prechistensky church dated 1879. The reason – decay of a structure.

There passed more than twenty years and in 1902 the updated wooden Nativity Church anew began to shine the domes. As well as all divinsky temples it are wooden. With a three-storied belltower, coming to the end with a tent with a poppy-head. Temple roof chetyryokhskatny. An entrance to church through a low antechurch with a duo-pitch roof. The church is sheathed by a horizontal board, with carved friezes and cornices. Iconostasis wooden. The church endured all wars and hard times. It was not closed. It was not plundered. Capital repairs were in 1927, cosmetic pass often.

The temple was not plundered therefore ancient icons in it remained. These are icons of 18-19 centuries: "Reverend Onufriya", "Odigitriya Mother of God", "Nicholas The Wonderworker", "Virgin's Christmas" and others.

III Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos

Patronal feast day on August 28.

"The church was under construction of a tree, with a wooden belltower, in a wooden fencing in 1870 local guardianship at a grant of the Government" is a record in "The Grodno orthodox and church calendar" for 1899. It is the third Orthodox church of the village of Divin. In the document it is noted that in 1899 in the temple 2343 parishioners. And to the temple two churches – divinsky Christmas (or Prechistenskaya, it is possible because of decay) and the Sacred Cover of the village of Ossa are attributed.

In 1889 the archpriest Foma Kotovich (1841-1919) becomes the prior of this temple. And in 1901 on the project of the nephew of the young architect from St. Petersburg Nikolay Kotovich it anew builds up Church of the Assumption. The architecture of the temple is repeated in many respects by church of the settlement of Vyritsa (near St. Petersburg) the same author.

Reference. The very first temple of Vyritsa it was fated to become the temple of the St. apostle Pyotr and Pavel. The temple was under construction on the project of the graduate of Institute of civil engineers, equipment C. - the St. Petersburg gradonachalstvo, the architect Nikolay Ivanovich Kotovich, generally on donations of local population.

It is decided to build the temple was in honor of St. pervoverkhovny apostles Pyotr and Pavel, in memory of wonderful rescue of the Imperial Family during train wreck in Borkakh (1888). Laying of the temple was made on September 10, 1906, consecration followed less than in two years, on June 22, 1908.

Also there was an Uspensky shrine somewhere around present divinsky bus station. New, beautiful with gilded domes. The church burned down to the basis in World War I. It was not restored any more.

February, 2014

P.S. The author will be grateful if somebody has interesting and demonstrable additions to this material.

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