EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
All Saints Church in the town of Begoml, built in 1886 and destroyed in the 20th century, will be restored. The rector of the All Saints Parish, Priest Ioann Sychevich revealed the plans for restoring the architectural monument, BelTA has learned.
Construction of the old church began in 1876; ten years later it welcomed its first parishioners. Until the 1930s, the church had been the place for services, sacraments and religious holidays. When the persecution of the Church began, the church was turned into a distillery. During the Great Patriotic War, the German army used this place to assemble ammunition boxes. According to locals, partisans detonated the altar’s back wall in order to stop these operations at the church. That wall was never rebuilt. The site was returned to the Belarusian Orthodox Church in ruins (only three of its walls and part of its foundation survived).
The initiative to revive the historical and cultural treasure came from the parish rector Ioann Sychevich. “For about seven months I tried to find information about All Saints Church, its construction design. I discovered that our church was almost a complete copy (in size and design) of the church in the village of Turets, Korelichi District, and that the documents for that church were found in St. Petersburg. I sent a request to their archive, received a copy of the original design, and that is what we are now using as a reference,” the priest said.
So far, the team has only surveyed the site, designers are drawing up plans and the approval process with the Culture Ministry is in progress. Ioann Sychevich and a researcher from Minsk have proposed splitting the work into several stages. The first stage will see the reconstruction of the bell tower, which was destroyed in the 1930s, the narthex (where the walls have survived almost completely) and construction of a temporary wall to separate it from the ruined part. A roof is also needed for the church to resume services.
The priest wants to restore the church to its former glory, exactly as it looked a century and a half ago. “From the few pieces of information, I learned that All Saints Church was one of the gems of stone architecture in Vitebsk Oblast. It had a good reputation, was considered very beautiful, with six domes. It even resembled a cathedral, so Orthodox believers came here from different cities,” Father Ioann said.
Almost nothing remains of its former beauty; it can only be glimpsed in the remaining outlines. Even the icons could not be saved: all the church utensils and icons were once burned in the yard. Today, the remaining walls demonstrate the interesting stonework. In addition to large stones, smaller ones are incorporated to create an interesting, contrasting dotted pattern.
"The reconstruction project is very expensive. We rely on God’s mercy, the help of parishioners and kind-hearted people. Even the smallest contribution counts, every ruble matters. Step by step, we will accomplish this good deed. We have ordered special brickswith of extra strength and frost resistance. They are ready, we just need to deliver them. The bell tower will be wooden, made of timber, exactly as the original builders constructed it,” he explained.
Father Ioann shared a local legend connected with All Saints Church. According to old-timers, a bear took part in its construction. The animal arrived at the start of the workday, hauled large stones up the scaffolding and at lunchtime the workers shared their food with him. One day, while lifting a load, the bear stumbled at a height, fell and died. Not long ago, a brown bear came out onto the streets of Begoml, and locals joked: “Probably a descendant of that bear has come to see how the church restoration is going.”
Next to the half-ruined All Saints Church, which attracts much interest, there is a small chapel built several years ago. Services and church rites are held there. When the old church is restored, this building, according to Father Ioann Sychevich, will be converted into a Sunday school, currently attended by about 20 children from the village. Before Easter, the chapel is tidied up: rubbish removed, dust swept from the chandeliers, and candle stands cleaned.
He noted that residents of Begoml help as much as they can, they hold clean-up days, take out rubbish, and offer their services as auxiliary workers. The younger generation is also pitching in, understanding that reviving the former church is easier together. “When people learned that we are planning to restore the old church, they became very inspired. I believe that with God’s help, perhaps slowly but surely, we can give this beautiful church back to the village and the whole Vitebsk Oblast, where everyone can come to pray, talk to God, share their worries and express words of gratitude for spiritual support,” Father Ioann Sychevich believes.