St. Anthony Church in Podgornaya
St. Anthony church (or the Church of the Right Reverend Anthony) is one of the oldest Orthodox temples in Baranovichi district, which is nearly 200 years old. The church was built as far back as the 18th century and originally was Catholic. After the divisions of Rzeczpospolita and after the Belarusian lands became part of the Russian Empire, the Catholic church was reconsecrated into Orthodox. The church building was repeatedly re-built; the last reconstruction is dated 1817.
It was one of the transitional periods in the history of Belarus. Joining Russia had a great influence on our country’s cultural life, including architectural traditions. At that time, many churches were being built in austere and moderate classical style, which is distinguished by sharp geometry of architectural forms, logical planning and moderate decor. So the local church also belongs to monuments of classicisim.
The church building is of rectangular shape, its walls being about 1 meter thick. The walls are plastered and are broken with rectangular window openings. The entrance to the church is through the vestibule which is not tall. The church was built of rubble stone, which gives the church special colouring. As back as the century before last, builders were attracted by the colour spectrum and great expressiveness of this seemingly common material. Moreover, structures built of this stone harminized with the environment, different kinds of agricultural work and symbolized longevity and reliability. On the southern side, separately from the building, a bell-tower was also erected. Originally, it sat on 4 columns, but the gaps between the columns were filled up already during the postwar time.
In the church interior decoration, the thing that one is immediately attracted by is the wooden iconastasis – a parclose with a row of icons (tires) separating the altar from the main part of an Orthodox church. Many generations of the villagers said their prayers in front of the old icons. The icons “Last Supper” and “Christ in the Dungeon” made in the 19th century and “Virgin Mary with Child” dated the 18th century, are real monuments of art.
Indirect evidence of the fact that originally the church in Podgornaya was Catholic is the old Catholic cemetry and the ruins of a chapel in the west end of the village. And near the temple there are tombstones of the priests who used to run the church.
St. Anthony church was founded by the owners of the local estate (the estate belonged to the Polish noble family of Widuchowsky).
Geographic coordinates: N 52° 59' 00,66" E 25° 33' 17,16"
Foto: Андрея ПОНОМАРЕВА, Анастасии ТАРАСЮК, Татьяны ГРИНКЕВИЧ
