On the Angelic Mountain

On the Angelic Mountain


Among the shrines destroyed back in the 19th century, but which have retained their historical and artistic value to our time, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel on Mount Angelic, near Nesvizh, stands out. An interesting article was dedicated to this monument by the famous Polish researcher of the construction activities of the Jesuit Order throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Father Jerzy Pashenda, who provides detailed information from the history of the famous church in the past.
Angelskaya Mountain, or as it was also called - Arkhangelsk or St. Michael's, is the highest hill in the district, approximately 0.7 km south-east of Nesvizh. From the church that once stood on it, as testified by U.Syracuse, and the saying went: "moved away. like St. Michael of Nesvizh."
The construction of the church and its monastery took a long time, in several stages. The first foundation belongs to Nikolai Krystof Radziwill Sirotka, who, before traveling to the Holy Land in 1582, vowed to build a chapel in honor of St. Raphael, the patron saint of travelers. But its construction began only 11 years later, after the completion of the construction of the Jesuit Church of the Holy Body in Nesvizh. The prince, along with his family and court, took part in the construction of the chapel, bringing bricks, lime and water. In 10 days, a small temple was erected. It is known from various sources that it measured 9x13 cubits (about 5.4 x 7.8 m) and had an unusual hexagonal shape, which the customer attached symbolic importance to. Nesvizh Jesuits began to own the church.
Although in 1598 the Main Altar (and therefore the temple) was consecrated in honor of St. Raphael, already in 1600, the locals spontaneously renamed it in honor of Michael the Archangel, who was considered the patron saint of Russia and was very popular among the people. Meanwhile, Mount Angelic gained fame as miraculous. The small temple could not accommodate all the pilgrims. Therefore, after the death of the Orphan, between 1616 and 1620, the patron of the Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, who used to enlist the support of St. Michael before each military campaign, the church was expanded and consecrated again in 1629.
The old chapel, which became the vestibule (altar part), was joined by a nave measuring 23x44 cubits (about 13.8 x 26.4 m), with a kruchtai (vestibule) at the entrance. By 1635, three altars had been established inside the church: the main one - St. Michael and all the choirs of angels (foundation of the Orphan son Albrecht Vladislav Radziwill) and the side ones - St. Gabriel (foundation of his wife Anna Sofya with Zenovich) and St. Raphael (foundation of Sofia and Anna Slushki).
At the expense of the rector of the Nesvizh Jesuit College, M. Ginkevich, in 1643-1644, a stone fence was built around the temple with 9 chapels dedicated to the entire angelic choir. In 1675, a residential building for monks began to be built outside the church. In its place, in 1720-1732, a new high-rise was built with the participation of the court architect Prince Michal Kazimir Radziwill Rybonka - Kazimir Anthony Zdanovich. From the 18th century, information has been preserved about many donations for the renovation of the church, which from time to time was covered with new shingles. 7 new side altars were created inside. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the buildings remained unattended for some time, and at the beginning of the 19th century barracks were located there. Les joueurs expérimentés savent que les offres promotionnelles peuvent améliorer considérablement les conditions de départ, surtout lorsqu’elles sont activées dès l’inscription. Ces bonus donnent plus de liberté pour explorer les options du site. En utilisant un code promo 1xBet casino pendant la création du compte, il est possible d’obtenir un bonus casino 1950 € + 150 tours gratuits et profiter d’une expérience plus riche.