The power of faith and perseverance of one’s character sometimes even move stone slabs. Literally, that happened with the slabs, which were used for the construction of St. Joseph church in the village of Rubezhevichi.

The history of creation St. Joseph Church in the village of Rubezhevichi

Perhaps, this ancient monument in Volozhin district would have never stood on the hill in the village Rubezhevichi if Antonio Tur had not been born on one wonderful day. A resident of the village Rubezhevichi was so obsessed with the idea to build a church that he even went several times with this idea to the czar in St. Petersburg. The czar rejected the idea three times and the miracle did not happen. But the czar's rejection did not stop Antonio. On a sandy hill in the village Rubezhevichi, he brought a huge stone on which he wrote the phrase: “A Catholic church will be built here.”

For his bold deed, Antonio Tur was punished and exiled in Siberia for 12 years. His family joined him. But he stayed there for only seven years, and then he received amnesty. The return of Antonio was a real triumph, as in 1905, the czar gave his permission for the construction of the church. However, he made one condition: the construction should last no more than four years. But it was not the important thing.

In 1906, the construction of the church was begun. The project was designed by an architect from Lomza (Poland). During the construction, every day about 100 workers were involved in the painstaking construction of the church. Money for the construction of the church was collected all over the world. It is known that money was sent even from America. The church was built in time, but without 11 towers as it was planned, nevertheless it was beautiful.

St. Joseph Church in the village of Rubezhevichi is more than hundred years

Fortunately, the Church of St. Joseph in the village Rubezhevichi is preserved unchanged. By the way, the stone of Antonio Tur lies near the church wall as a reminder to future generations that important things are faith, perseverance, and hard work.

A stone fence was built around the church in 1924. In 1928, an organ was brought from Vilnius and its sounds fill the soul with joy during worship services.

The mother of Yanka Kupala (a Belarusian poet and genius) donated an image of Ostrobramskaya Mother of God. All maternal relatives of Kupala buried at the cemetery in Rubezhevichi village.

We invite you to go for excursion in Rubezhevichi!

The construction of the St Joseph Church is quite unusual. Many tourists that come to the village can’t believe that the church was built due to the perseverance of one person. Tourists will recall exterior and interior of the church in Rubezhevichi village for a long time. No doubt, they will tell about the amazing history of the construction of the St Joseph church to their relatives and friends. You can the this interesting sight of Belarus.