A celebration for the anniversary of the coronation of the icon of the Mother of God "Our Lady of the Lakes" will be held in Braslav
Celebrations dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the coronation of the icon of the Mother of God "Our Lady of the Lakes" and the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Vitebsk Diocese will be held on August 16-17 in Braslav.
The event will bring together pilgrims from different parts of Belarus and other countries. On the first day, a service will be held for them. In the evening, there will be an organ music concert, a prayer, and a candlelight procession. On the night before Saturday, a liturgy before the icon of the Mother of God will begin, and a film screening will be held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Vitebsk Diocese. The main solemn liturgy will take place on August 17 near the Braslav church. Here is a ship-shaped altar over 30 m long. Foreign Catholic priests, as well as representatives of the Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, will take part in the service. The holiday annually gathers hundreds of believers.
In addition, from August 12 to 16, a summer school of church singing is being held at the Braslav Sanctuary of the Mother of God. The icon of the Mother of God "Our Lady of the Lakes" is considered miraculous. Until the 19th century, it was kept in a Uniate monastery on an island in Lake Nespish. In 1832, a strong fire occurred there, which destroyed all the buildings; only the icon survived. It was found on the neighboring island of Svyatoy in the same lake. The icon of the Mother of God "Our Lady of the Lakes" is among the most revered Catholic icons in Belarus. It is currently located in the church in Braslav. Since 2000, the church has become a sanctuary - a place of pilgrimage for believers.