Chernavchitsy. Trinity Church.

The first church on this site was built during the time when Chernavchitsy was owned by the Ilinich family – in the 15th century. The last of the family, Yuri Ilinich, had no heirs and bequeathed all his property, along with Chernavchitsy, to his cousin, Nikolai Krzysztof Radziwill “the Orphan”. The latter ordered the construction of a fortress church in Chernavchitsy in 1583 on the site of a dilapidated old church, apparently wanting to provide additional protection to the population. It was a turbulent time, and an enemy could be expected from any side. The church has distinct defensive features: massive walls, narrow loopholes, a high bell tower from which one can survey the surrounding area.

In 1661, by order of Bishop of Smolensk Jerzy Belazor, the ancient church was restored. After the repairs were completed, the church was re-consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity.

After the Polish national liberation uprising, the Russian authorities decided to close Catholic churches. The Trinity Church in Chernavchitsy was transferred to the Orthodox Church in 1867 and acquired Byzantine features. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Trinity Church was returned to the Catholics. During the Nazi occupation, mass shootings took place near the church, as evidenced by the obelisk erected near its walls. During the Soviet era, the church was closed. Today, it is an active Catholic church. In 2010, it was reconstructed.

In architectural terms, the church has a single nave with a small transept and no dome. The nave, transept and semicircular apse are covered with a high gable roof. Buttresses on the sides of the church, characteristic patterned Gothic vaults, powerful walls made in the Gothic masonry technique, and a number of other elements emphasize the obvious presence of signs of the most famous architectural style of the Middle Ages in this temple. In this series, we can also add the presence of details of defensive architecture, in particular, a cylindrical turret with a spiral staircase inside attached to the apse part of the church, outwardly very typical of Belarusian architecture of that time. At the same time, some techniques for decorating the facade and interior are already characteristic of Renaissance buildings.

The three-tiered bell tower standing near the church is an almost exact copy of the bell tower standing at the famous Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, the first Baroque monument in Eastern Europe. This is not surprising, since both churches had the same customer and were built at about the same time.