The Orthodox Transfiguration Church in the village of Novaya Mysh near Baranovichi inspires by its appearance with a feeling of peace and comfort. Surrounded with old lindens, this, at first glance, modest Church has an important place in the life of the settlement that has a glorious past.  

The Church of Novaya Mysh is located not far from the picturesque river Myshanka. It was it about which wrote a ballad the famous Belarusian folklorist and poet Jan Chechot who had spent his childhood on its banks. The plot is based on the local legend. We briefly recall you the contents in order you can feel the poetry of local sceneries, which can be seen from the Church yard. 

The legend about the Myshanka

They say that in ancient times here lived a poor Lithuanian Myshka, which had an incredibly beautiful daughter. And one day the Prince’s knight, who met the girl in the woods, became attracted by her beauty. To protect her honour, the beauty jumped into the saddle and galloped to the bank of an unnamed river.

The pursuer was close, and the Lithuanian girl jumped into the water. Unfortunately, she did not manage to swim across the river. She drowned. Since then the river has been called the Myshanka. They say that on the eve of St. George's day the drowned girl comes ashore. But only people with a crystal clear mind can see her.  

By the way, in 1996 a monument to Jan Chechot was established in Novaya Mysh. 

Built on public money

The history of a wooden Transfiguration Church in Novaya Mysh is reckoned from 1859. Historical documents report that the temple was built on governmental means as well as on donations of the locals. Unfortunately, history is silent about the name of the architect. At that time the Orthodox parish in the settlement included about 3.5 thousand believers.

The forerunner of the Orthodox church in Novaya Mysh can be considered an uniate temple which was first mentioned in historical documents in 1680. The uniate church in the settlement was built on the initiative of the Khodkeviches who had owned Novaya Mysh since 1563. A new temple united at that time about 1 thousand parishioners.

The architectural features of the Holy Transfiguration Church

• A wooden building is in the style of the Old Russian religious architecture (the retrospective-Russian style). It is a central cross-domed temple.
• The hipped roof is completed with five octahedral two-tiered drums with tented tops, crowned with bulbous domes.
• A belfry with four bells is located in one of the cupola domes.
• Double window openings are decorated with colourful stained-glass windows.
• The main interior space is a prayer hall with a single-tiered iconostasis with a central keel gable.
• On the iconostasis you can see the icons “Christ Pantocrator”, “Madonna and Child” (the end of the 18^th century), “St. Alexander Nevsky” (the 19^th century) and others.

In total harmony 

The temple in honor of the Transfiguration of Christ is situated in the very center of the village of Novaya Mysh (Sadovaya Street, 1) and coexists peacefully with the Catholic Transfiguration Church (1825). Though the Church is younger than the Catholic Church, but it very organically has fitted into the historical and cultural space of the settlement, which was once owned by King Sigismund August.  

Today the Church belongs to Baranovichi deanery of Pinsk Orthodox diocese of the ROC.