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Exhibition to celebrate 500th anniversary of Zhirovichi monastery opens in Minsk

Holy Dormition Monastery. An archive photo

MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) - The  Belarusian National Library has put up an exhibition dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God and the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Dormition Stavropegic Monastery, BelTA learned from the National Library. 

The exhibition features about 60 exhibits: encyclopaedias, books, articles from magazines and visual materials. They tell about the history of the Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovichi and the Holy Dormition Monastery which was built on the site of the appearance of this miraculous icon.

The central place in the exhibition is given to books of the 19th century. Among them, there are the "Zhirovichi Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God and the Zhirovichi Monastery" published in 1867 in Vilna, "The Ancient Tradition of the Zhirovichi and the Miraculous Image of the Zhirovichi Mother of God" published in 1897.

“The exhibition cater to a wide range of readers. It is meant to promote the interest in Orthodox local studies and the history of Orthodoxy in Belarus,” the library said.

The majestic Orthodox Holy Dormition Monastery, a unique architectural ensemble, is located in a small village of Zhirovichi in Grodno Oblast, 10 kilometers away from the town of Slonim.  The Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichi became one of the main spiritual centers of Orthodoxy on the Belarusian land, and one of the largest architectural ensembles of the 17th and 18th centuries in the country. It has never closed and maintained a continuity of traditions for the past five centuries.

The Zhirovichi Icon is known not only as a wonderworking icon but also as a unique piece of art, historical and cultural phenomenon. It is respected both by Orthodox and Catholic believers and is on the list of the 100 most valued Orthodox icons in the world. This is the smallest of the most respected icons of the Mother of God.  It is closely connected with the history of the Holy Dormition Monastery.

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