Каложская царква
Выдавец: Беларусь
Памер: 451с.
Мінск 1991
of 1852 in St. Petersburg describing perfectly this unique temple. One year before someone accurately and in detail made measurements of the whole church, as if he knew about the upcoming tragedy.
The beginning of the XXI century will enter as a new page in the history of the Church. Scientists of the National Academy of Sciences for the first time conducted a unique GPR survey of the hill on which the temple was created. The second similar survey was realized recently by specialists of the Belarusian National Technical University and the University of Polack. The radar ’looked’ through the whole mountain under the temple. As a result, some cavities were revealed, unidentified burial places were found on the territory of the church as well as a building foundation (perhaps of a monastery existed here before and practically unknown to science). New archaeological excavations can bring true discoveries and sensations. The Belarusian architect and scientific director of the temple restoration project Genadz Laiirecki believes that this church is the highest achievement in the whole of ancient Orthodox architecture and the main symbol of the Orthodox faith on our land.
After the Second World War the church building itself was only facelifted in 1950. For many years it was empty. Until 1977 it belonged to the historicalarcheological museum, and then it was transferred to the Museum of the History of Religion. And only in 1991, the Kalozha Church of Sts. Barys and Gleb was returned to fold of the Orthodox Church. From this time all prayers are regularly held, newlyweds are married, guests come here and Grodno residents rush with a special feel, willing to truly perceive the Light of God and Voice of Angels within the ancient walls. No other temple has such effect: the rays of light (they
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are visible even in the daytime) comes from the sky through narrow windows, giving the ascetic interior decoration a particular mystery, and the acoustics created by the resonators add a unique solemn hue to the church singing. The atmosphere is reinforced by the iconostasis of the church, presented to the Grodna shrine by Uladzimir Muljavin, the head of the worldfamous Belarusian vocalinstrumental band ’Pesnyary’. Once having been here, he was fascinated by the Kalozha church and wanted to make a charitable contribution. Uladzimir began to collect money, consult with historians and artists, controlling the entire process of its creation. Now his gift serves the temple.
The city has always been attentive about its shrine. Due to a possible renovation, a question about the prayer place arose. Where to conduct it? The authorities unanimously took a decision: not far from the park, at the place of the priests house, a modern parish church was erected — a home church. It keeps all religious canons and until now is used for services. There is also an active children’s Sunday school, a library, a youth fraternity was established. But though the ancient Kalozha has no heating in winter, the main holiday celebrations in any weather are still held here.
Recently, leading restoration scientists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland gathered for the third time in Grodna. This was preceded by the completion of the longawaited repairing done in accordance with the state of ceilings and other wooden structures of the temple. A major repair under the project of the ’Grodnagrazhdanpraekf Institute involving the best specialists of the homonymous OJSC began in the second half of 2017 with the constant supervision of representatives of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. Further impetus was provided by the conclusion of scientists and experts, who finally asserted that the wooden walls, due to their deterioration, would not be able to withstand the powerful hurricane wind. Geodetic and georadar studies
of the soil, reliability of stone walls and foundations were conducted, the coastline and the retaining wall under the temple were strengthened. As a result, the wooden part of the southern and western exterior walls with pilasters, echoing the architectural contour of the stone part of the church, were repaired. The internal walls, the ceiling and floor were replaced, the balcony for the singers and the leading staircase were restored, the night highlighting was organized. The necessary funds were allocated from the fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus for the support of culture and art, as well as from the regional budget. Parishioners also offered their mite.
The fate of the Kalozha church still attracts attention of the scientific community. In 2015 and 2016 the Parish organized international conferences with inviting acknowledged authorities in the sphere of church renovation. The theme of the 3rd international conference held in December 2018 was the search for joint ways to preserve this unique historical, cultural and religious object. Scientists of five states put a period to the multiannual dispute about necessity to restore the stone walls lost during the 1853 flood. The idea was rejected unanimously. Instead, the question of the conservation of the existing stone walls, the stabilization of the temperature regime inside was seriously examined. These last theses became the task for the near future. ’Today the main thing, and all participants signed up for this at the last conference, is to find the right solution for preserving this unique monument,’ says Archpriest Aljaksandr Balonnikau, rector of the Church of Sts. Barys and Gleb. The parishioners, for whom the temple on the high bank of the Njoman is a shrine and metric of Orthodoxy on the Belarusian land, also hope for this. Together with the complex of buildings of the Castle Hill (the Old and New Royal Castles), the Church of the XII century is a historical and architectural marvel and the pride of all of Belarus.
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The government has long proposed it to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Kalozhsky Blagavest International Festival of Orthodox chants, which is organized annually and held in February 2019 for the eighteenth time, serves to promote the church.
And the shrine never ceases to amaze and reveal its secrets. ’This is the sign from God and His gratitude for people’s care and endeavor’ considers Father Aljaksandr Balonnikau. During the end of the renovation, some information appeared unexpectedly about the revealing of the previously lost Our Lady of Kalozha at one of the auctions in Germany (a detailed description of the icon and colour lithographs were made and published by the priest I. Kulcinski in 1867). The rector of the church went for Oder. The mystery was partially revealed only during a personal examination. He found a previously unknown to anyone copy of the icon, made at the very beginning of the XX century. It is assumed that it was created in one of the Laurels of the Russian Empire as a gift to Tsar Mikalaj II. But how the icon turned out to be in Germany is another mystery without an answer. Now this relic has returned home. We hope for returning of the original miraculous icon, which, before the advance of the Kaiser troops in Grodna in the First World War was evacuated to Moscow. In the late 30s of the XX century we had the last reference: the icon was exhibited in the Rumjancau Museum. And then, there was a new war, the evacuation of cultural property from Moscow itself and uncertainty... There were eyewitness testimonies that the prayer service with the icon of the Our Lady of Kalozha in the city center turned away
the German enemy hordes to the West. In 1914 during the inspection of fortifications in Grodna Emperor Mikalaj II with his wife and two daughters prayed before the icon.
In the beginning of the XXI century another important event took place: a delegation of Khimki authorities, a city in Moscow region being a twin city of Grodna, after the excursion to the Kalozha church, heartily desired to make a donation to the temple. With the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Aleksij II, in one of the iconographic workshops in Moscow a new fullsize copy of the icon was ordered and made from the remaining descriptions and lithographs, consecrated by the Patriarch himself and solemnly brought into the church in 2006. However a group of Moscow art experts and historians still continues the search for the original, carefully examining vaults of famous museums of the Russian capital and does not lose hope of finding the shrine of Grodna in the original form. The Russian Orthodox Church honours this image: the holiday of May 1 is set as the Day of the Our Lady of Kalozha.
The Kalozha church was and remains the main tourist site of the city of Grodna. It includes a unique ancient temple, a memorial sign to David of Grodna, a new parish church with a large mosaic of the holy face of Our Lady, inspiring people by her kind look as if from a depth of centuries to good and spirituality. Every year, thousands of tourists from different countries enjoying the introduced visafree regime come to experience the grace of this unique temple, the immortal creation of our ancestors. This is the pride of the entire Belarusian land.
Aljaksandr Lasminski, the Honoured journalist of the Belarusian Union of journalist
Каложская царква.
Малюнак Н. Орды.
Пасля 1853
Коложская церковь.
Рисунок Н. Орды.
После 1853
The Kalozha church.
Drawing of N. Orda.
After 1853
Царква на гравюры
M. Цюнта. 1568
Церковь на гравюре
М. Цюндта. 1568
The church on the engraving of M. Zundt. 1568
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Варыянт рэканструкцыі Каложскай царквы М. Вароніна. 1954
Вариант реконструкции Коложской церкви Н. Воронина. 1954 The variant of the Kalozha church reconstruction by M. Varonin. 1954
Абмерны чарцёж перыметра храма
Обмерный чертеж йериметра храма The dimension drawing of the temple perimeter
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Каложа пасля рамонту. Фота пач. XX ст.
Коложа после ремонта. Фото нач. XX в.
The Kalozha after the renovation. Photo, beginning of the XX c.
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