A giant bell and a small tinkling bell were raised to the bell tower of the Holy Resurrection Church in Vitebsk

May 5, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Orthodox Holy Resurrection Church in Vitebsk is getting its bells today. The first giant bell weighing 1.2 tons has been lifted to a height of 20 meters, a BELTA correspondent reports. In total, there will be 11 bells on the temple's belfries. As the rector of the church, Archpriest Father Konstantin (Izofatov), said, such a set of bells is considered large. It includes heavy bells – blagovests, medium-sized – altovye or podzvonnnye, and small ones – trelnye or, as bell ringers call them, tinkers, weighing only 8 kg. Among these bells, there is also a historical value – an altovyy bell of the 19th century, cast in Holland. Its fate is amazing. It arrived in Belarus immediately after the Great Patriotic War, probably as a trophy, and was kept in a military unit for a long time. In the late 1990s, smugglers tried to steal it and take it abroad, but law enforcement agencies thwarted this attempt. In 2003, the valuable bell was transferred to the Vitebsk Diocese. As Father Konstantin noted, the other bells were donated to the church by Vitebsk patrons – the companies "Marko" and "Polymer-Konstruktsii". The acquisition of bells, an integral attribute of an Orthodox church, is one of the final stages of the church's reconstruction. The Resurrection Church was built in 1772 in the traditions of late Baroque. The sophistication of the forms and lines, the rich decor of the building's facades made an indelible impression on parishioners. Moreover, the architect, whose name remained unknown, managed to place the church in such a way that it organically fit into a small plot of land at the corner of the intersection of two streets. The Resurrection Church was one of the main decorations of the historical part of Vitebsk, but in 1936 it was destroyed. The reconstruction of the church began in 2000 based on preserved drawings and photographs. Its opening is planned for July this year, and then the red ringing of the 11 bells of the Holy Resurrection Church will float over the Western Dvina. -0-