The 390th anniversary of the Kuteinskaya Lavra will be celebrated in Orsha

The celebrations of the 390th anniversary of the Holy Epiphany Kuteinsky Monastery will be held in Orsha on September 18-20, the district executive committee informed a BELTA correspondent.

The celebrations of the 390th anniversary of the Holy Epiphany Kuteinsky Monastery will be held in Orsha on September 18-20, the district executive committee informed a BELTA correspondent.

The festivities will begin with a divine liturgy in the St. Elijah Church with the participation of Archbishop Dmitry of Vitebsk and Orsha. After the service, a procession with the icon of the Orsha Mother of God will start from the church walls. Clergy, city residents, guests, and pilgrims will head to the Kuteinsky Monastery. A prayer service in honor of the Orsha Mother of God icon and a bell consecration ceremony will take place here.

A concert "Orthodox Chants" will be held on the stage of the Kuteinsky Lavra, a theatrical performance "Spiridon Sobol" will be shown, and the children's art exhibition "Orthodox Orsha" and the exhibition "History of the Primer" will be organized.

A scientific and practical conference "Kuteinsky Readings-3" will be held at the monastery. Its participants will include historians, museum workers, and local historians. Among them are representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the National Historical Museum. Meetings with students will also be organized in libraries and educational institutions of the city.

The celebrations will conclude with a festive evening service in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Holy Trinity Epiphany Men's Monastery in Orsha was founded in the 17th century. A printing house, the largest in White Rus' at that time, was established there. In 1631, the printer Spiridon Sobol published the first "Primer" in the Belarusian language here. The monastery became a center of cultural life, and skilled craftsmen worked there: woodcarvers, engravers, tile masters, chasers, icon painters, and book printers. Thanks to their craftsmanship, in the 19th century, Orsha was called the "Belarusian Suzdal." It is believed that it was from here, from the Kuteinsky Lavra, that the beginning of coenobitic monasticism spread throughout White Rus'.