Bastenovichi. Church of the Intercession.

If you drive along the old Vilna highway, which has been known since the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from Mogilev to Mstislavl through Ryasno, then after the town of Ryasno in a few kilometers there will be a left turn sign on Bastenovichi.

The Bastenovichi have been known since the 17th century, and above all were famous throughout the area for their Orthodox Church, which at first, apparently, was Uniate. The first church mentioned in the documents was called the Assumption Church. And in the 1890s and 1904s, a new Orthodox church was built, it is possible that the old Uniate church was rebuilt. After all, ancient Uniate altars have been preserved in the interior of the new church.

In Soviet times, the temple was closed and adapted for storage. The building eventually fell into complete disrepair and began to collapse. In recent years, restoration has been carried out, and the church was consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The church has features of pseudo-Russian style and neoclassicism and consists of three main parts: a vestibule, a prayer hall and an apse.

But the church in Bastenovichi is known in Belarus primarily not for its architecture, but for the unique icons of the 17th and 18th centuries, which are now in the National Art Museum in Minsk. There are 6 icons made on the boards: "Our Lady of Odigitria", "Christ the Almighty", "the kissing of Joachim and Anna", "The Adoration of the Magi", "Abraham and Mercury of Smolensk", "Candlemas". These unique icons were made by a local craftsman and were described by Belarusian art historians during the period of Belarusization in the 1920s.