The Church of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God in Ivatsevichi, Brest Region

Birth of a Legend

The Orthodox church in Ivatsevichi was built of brick in the 90s of the XX century. It was consecrated in 2006. The church was built in accordance with the project created in the Patriarchate of Moscow. The previous stone building was erected in 1870 at the state's expense. The most beautiful architectural object belongs to an unusual for the end of the XX century style called "Old Russian church architecture." It is decorated with stylised forms:  there is a vertically elongated dome in the center of the composition, which is completed with five domes, windows are narrow and arched. A bell tower stands separately from the church. The church is two-story; it can accommodate about a thousand people. It is 35 meters high and its area covers 560 square meters. The main altar occupies the upper church, also consecrated in honor of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God. The lower church was consecrated in honor of famous theologian, church figure, writer, bishop Kirill of Turov. In the XII century, it was one of the most famous preachers in the Old Russian state, whom the Russian Orthodox Church canonized.

At the church of Ivatsevichi, there are three priests and one deacon. Father Grigory (Pilipchuk) was appointed as a senior priest of the parish. The parishioners are happy to attend Sunday school, various courses, listen to sermons of clergymen.

Belarusian Tsar Bell

The bell tower of the church is 33 meters high and decorated with nine bells. One of them is the biggest Tsar Bell in the republic. It was produced by one of the capital enterprises. The enterprise is engaged in casting bells according to old technologies but from modern materials. The bell weighs two tons and it is very beautiful. One side is decorated with the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God while the other - cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk.

The Reigning Icon of the Mother of God

According to legends, an image of this icon appeared to people on the day of Emperor Nicholay II abdication in March 1917. The Orthodox people took it as a sign that the tsarist autocracy had ended. Allegedly the patroness herself became to reign the Russian land. Later, the icon was found in the Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye and began to be revered as wonder-working. It travelled to churches in Moscow, factories and organizations. Many copies were made. The image of the Mother of God on the icon is following: the queen of heaven wears a red robe and sits on a throne, she holds a sceptre in her right hand and a ball (a symbol of the universe) in the left hand.