Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the village of Synkovichi is one of the oldest medieval Gothic Orthodox churches in Belarus. Scientists, historians, theologians, archaeologists argue about the time of the construction of the St. Michael's Church and cannot come to a common opinion.
There is a beautiful legend among the people that the church was built in the XIV century by Prince Vytautas in memory and gratitude about how he escaped in the forests near Synkovichi from the pursuit that Prince Jagailo set after him.
Some scholars believe that the temple was built in the first half of the 16th century during the reign of Queen Bona. There is a mention of this in the historical document “Act of visitation”.
Perhaps the church was founded on the initiative of the great hetman of Lithuania Konstantin Ostrog, who also founded the Trinity and Prechistenskaya churches in Vilna.
Considering the intricacies of medieval history for which the land of modern Belarus is famous, it can be assumed that there is some truth in every assumption, because the churches here have been destroyed and restored many times, the ruins of more ancient buildings were used to build them. By its appearance, the church looks more like a small medieval castle, once rebuilt into a temple.
In 1926 the church was a branch of the Jesuit mission novitiate in Slonim. In 1990, the temple was transferred to the Orthodox Church. In 2007, a thorough reconstruction of the church and the bell tower standing next to it was carried out. Now it is a functioning Orthodox Church. It contains the icon of the Mother of God "The Tsaritsa".
