Mizhevichi village council consists of 11 villages. The population on the territory of the village council is a little more than one thousand three hundred people. Its center and one of the largest villages – Mizhevichi – are located only 20 kilometers from the district center of Slonim in Grodno region. An Orthodox Church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in that village in 1867.  

A legend of appearing of the temple in Mizhevichi

There have been preserved written sources telling that in 1867 through the village in Grodno region passed the eightieth infantry regiment of the tsarist Russian army. Soldiers had a copy of Smolensk icon of the Mother of God. The warriors, according to legend, stayed in Mizhevichi to spend the night. They said a prayer in the morning, intended to continue their journey, but the oxen who were supposed to carry the image of the Virgin Mary after the regiment, unable to move, and left to stand in one place. The reason for such a mysterious circumstance was unknown.

Then the soldiers, who were deep believers in God and were astonished by that  occurrence, thought that the occasion was a special sign of God and decided to build a temple in the village in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God.

The work in the hands of young people and the villagers went easily and quickly. A wooden church in the form of a ship was erected quickly. But the zeal of the Russian soldiers did not end there. Thanks to the soldiers, a copy of the same Smolensk icon of the Mother of God was made after some time, it was made of metal. Soon the image was brought into the temple, where it is still kept and is revered by local residents of Mizhevichi. 

The facade of the wooden church looks very simple

A hipped gate-belfry is visually divided into two parts: boards are laid horizontally on the lower part, and vertically on the upper one. The facade does not have any decorations, except a wide door which is laid out in the shape of a rhombus. An onion dome with a cross stretches up. There is only one window in the belfry and it is in the upper tier. The belfry of the church, perhaps, is the highest building in the village.

The building of the temple with a three-sided apse is made in the form of an oval. Small windows are scattered on each side, as if going round the wall, behind which there is the altar. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is covered with a metal roof, a small dome also made of metal rises above it.  

The territory of the Orthodox Church is fenced with a metal gate. In summer, flower beds are planted in the yard. There is another building behind the church. The building appeared there not so long ago. In the 90-ies behind the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected another temple – in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Live-Bearing Spring”. The new building looks faceless against the background of the old wooden church, painted in the yellow color.

The doors of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mizhevichi village are open to parishioners. Casual guests-tourists, who are interested in the history of Orthodox temples in such small Belarusian villages, are also welcomed here.