The Belarusian Orthodox Church has a longand full of dramatic history. Her centuries-old path of service to the Lord is marked by an unceasing struggle with religious opponents and periods of persecution. Having begun its formation in an atmosphere of persistent opposition to Catholicism, which tried to establish itself on the Belarusian land, in the twentieth century it found itself in the very heart of the Bolshevik anti-religious terror that destroyed most of its best representatives.
Attempts to plant Catholicism
В одной из ранних летописей, упоминающих г.Bobruisk, who was in those years under the Lithuanian rule, there is evidence of attempts to actively influence the representatives of the Roman church on its inhabitants. This process is typical for most of the lands of the western part of Russia, but here it was designated most acutely.
Наибольший драматизм события приобретают в in the middle of the 17th century, when in the course of an irreconcilable religious war the city was virtually destroyed by Lithuanian forces, which tried to turn its inhabitants away from the faith of the fathers. The Orthodox Cossacks, together with the militia formed from the city's residents, tried to resist, but they could not resist regular troops for a long time.
Исторические документы той эпохи свидетельствуют that as a result of the massacre to which the city of Bobruisk was subjected by the Lithuanians who seized it, out of six thousand inhabitants only two hundred people remained alive, and most of the buildings were destroyed.
Under the Russian scepter
As the city was rebuilt from the ruinsrevived in him and Orthodoxy, for one and a half centuries, neighboring with the Catholicism planted in these parts. The real flourishing of the spiritual life of the city came at the end of the 18th century, when the city's historic annexation to the Russian Empire took place. During this period, the Bobruisk Diocese is formed, which included a significant number of parishes that existed by that time.
The leadership of the diocese paid great attention not toonly increase the number of their parishioners, but also their religious education. With this purpose in the city the first regional school for those times was opened, students were taught such disciplines as rhetoric, general and sacred history, as well as the foundations of the Orthodox faith - the catechism.
The heyday of the diocese in the XIX century
The creation of new churches is also actively carried out.It is known that in 1812, at the time of the completion of the construction of the Bobruisk fortress, only within its limits were seven churches, among which the most significant were St. Peter's Cathedral, built in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky.
A real masterpiece of church architecture has becomeappeared in the city cemetery in 1829, a temple in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Sophia. It was built on the initiative and on the donations of a resident of the city of the recent war with Napoleon, Colonel Rosenmark.
The religious life of Bobruisk in the early 20th century
Impressive statistics thatat the beginning of the 20th century, the Diocese of Bobruisk. According to her reports, at that time in this relatively small city there were ten Orthodox churches and five church-parochial schools. There is also an abundance of house churches in the diocese.
Evidence of that awe has been preserved, withwhich celebrated the citizens of the Orthodox holidays, a special place among which was the day of memory of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker of Myra. These, held twice a year, celebrations were accompanied by nationwide religious processions and conciliar prayer services.
Period of atheistic insanity
The church church that has developed over the last centuriesthe splendor was quickly destroyed by the Bolsheviks who committed a coup in 1917. According to the testimony of many researchers, it was the diocese of Bobruisk that suffered a special loss in those years. The new authorities ruthlessly destroyed what had long been erected for folk donations. By 1925 in the city, once famous for its church buildings, there were only three churches. It became extremely dangerous not only to serve, but also to openly confess the faith. However, nothing could extinguish the spiritual life of the city.
Особый накал атеистического террора, которому the entire Belarusian Orthodox Church was subjected, came in 1937, marked by a general surge in punitive measures conducted by the government. During this period, many representatives of the clergy and ordinary parishioners were arrested and subsequently shot. Bishop Filaret of Bobruisk (Ramensky) completed his earthly martyrdom.
The period of the war and subsequent years
Certain Reliefs Bobruisk Diocesereceived during the war, when it became clear to the government that a powerful consolidating and unifying force was needed to defeat the enemy. It could only be the Orthodox faith, which for centuries was the spiritual core of the people. During this period, many of the remaining clerics returned from prison. During the services they performed in the dilapidated church buildings, they blessed the congregation to fight a common enemy.
The attitude of the authorities towards the church has changed dramatically inthe postwar years, when, in their opinion, there was no practical necessity for it. This was especially vivid during the period of the so-called Khrushchev persecutions. It was publicly announced that Belarus should become the first of the Union republics, which put an end to the “religious dope”. This marked the beginning of a new period of persecution of the church. In 1963, the last Orthodox church was closed in Bobruisk, which was later rebuilt into a sports and recreation complex.
The beginning of the revival of the church
Как и во всей стране, возрождение духовной жизни in Belarus is associated with democratic reforms carried out during the period of perestroika. The Bobruisk Diocese was also involved in this process. St. Nicholas Cathedral, previously selected from believers and used for purely mundane purposes for many years, reopened its parishioners. Since the end of the nineties, an active process has begun of handing over to the believers church buildings previously taken from them and building new ones.
In 2009, resumes its activitiessocial department of the Bobruisk diocese. He is in charge of establishing cooperation with public authorities, raising funds for the poor and a wide range of activities aimed at drawing public attention to the problems of the socially vulnerable groups of society.
К 2012 году в Бобруйске насчитывалось семь active temples, one of which was opened spiritual and educational center. According to residents, the decision of the Holy Synod of October 25, 2004, in accordance with which a new Bobruisk and Bykhov diocese was formed, was of great importance in strengthening the religious life of the city. This made it possible to substantially streamline the administration of the fifty-five parishes in its territory.
