Description of the attraction
The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Old Orthodox Pomor Church is an Old Believer church built in 1998 by the architect E. Kuznetsov.
The Old Believers are a persecuted Christian denomination that broke away from the Orthodox Church during the time of Patriarch Nikon. The strict forefather's faith forbade serving the authorities, fighting for power, therefore the Old Believer communities fled from the tsarist authorities as far as possible. The Old Believers settled in Polotsk back in the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Here they built their villages, temples, began to work peacefully.
For bespopovtsy clergymen are not appointed, they are elected from among the most respected elders who know the Holy Scriptures and live according to the ancient covenant of their ancestors, observing all the strict unwritten rules.
The Old Believers suffered more than other believers during the godless Soviet regime. Working on an equal footing with everyone, defending their homeland in the Great Patriotic War, the non-popovtsy saw only humiliation and persecution from the authorities. During the war, a shell hit the Old Believer church, but the church was quickly restored and people continued to pray in it. After the war, the temple was demolished, and a typical nine-story building and a comprehensive school were built in its place.
Only in 1994 was it possible to buy out a plot of land and start construction. They built, as is customary, by the whole community, whoever could. Only 4 years later, the church was completed and consecrated.
Now this unusual red brick temple attracts the attention of townspeople and tourists. Those who were lucky enough to be inside were amazed by the beautiful icons and the unusual interior of the church.
