Zhirovichi

In this place the murmur of a virgin forest used to be heard and small settlements around the manor belonging to grandee Alexander Soltan were placed. According to church records, a mystical phenomenon occurred there in 1470 – the wonder-work image of the Blessed Virgin evinced on a wild pear tree. Specially for the icon a wooden church was built, which was soon destroyed by fire in 1520. The icon that was considered as lost once again evinced to children in the hands of the Blessed Virgin sitting in heavenly aureole by the site of fire. The relic was transferred to a newly built church and the monastery subsequently emerged around it.

 

In 1609 the monastery passed to Uniats for 220 years. The stone shape of the cloister finally formed in the XVIIth – XVIIIth centuries. The Assumption Cathedral, the Yavlenskaya Church, the Exaltation of the Cross Church, residential and household constructions of the cloister and   the Saint George Church on a cemetery hill outside the cloister were built. The expressive silhouette of the constructions of the monastery ensemble is an organically part of today’s natural environment of the place.

 

In 1730 Zhirovichi Sacred Image of the Blessed Virgin and Infant Jesus was crowned with two crowns consecrated by the Pope Benedict XIII and that meant the official recognition of the icon’s miraculous power by the Sacred Altar. Monarchs and influential aristocrats started their pilgrimage and presented the monastery with expensive gifts, donations and contributions. In 1644 the borough of Zhirovichi became a town which after eight years received the Magdebourg Rights.