Archaeologists in Polotsk plan to search for ancient church utensils in the summer

March 23, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Archaeologists in Polotsk plan to search for ancient church utensils this summer, Denis Duk, Head of the Department of Domestic and World History at Polotsk State University, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, told a BELTA correspondent. In accordance with the comprehensive program for the development of Polotsk until 2012, a permanent archaeological expedition to study the Polotsk land has been operating in the city, involving the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Polotsk National Museum-Reserve, and Polotsk State University. Excavations will continue in the city this summer, and one of the proposed research sites will be the territory of the Epiphany Cathedral. The land near the church will not accidentally become an object of study for scientists. According to the Polotsk Diocese, church utensils were hidden here in the 1920s. However, along with such applied tasks, scientists intend to find burials of respected Polotsk townspeople here, at whose expense this Orthodox cathedral was built. "The point is not to exhume these remains, but to study the history of the church, restore the names of these undoubtedly respected people, and write a new page in the chronicle of Polotsk," emphasized Denis Duk. Among other possible research sites, the interlocutor named the territories of the old town - Zapolotye and the Jesuit Collegium, where construction work will be carried out, which must be preceded by archaeological research. The Epiphany Cathedral was built in 1761-1779 with donations from townspeople. Once, the church was part of the male Epiphany Monastery, the center of Orthodoxy in Polotsk. In the 17th century, a brotherhood school existed at the monastery, where Symeon of Polotsk taught. According to some sources, Catherine the Great donated funds for the interior decoration of the church. The Epiphany Church was restored in 1981 and returned to believers in 1991. -0-