Krichev. St. Nicholas Church.

St. Nicholas Church in Krichev is not just an active Orthodox church, but a living chronicle of Belarusian history, comfortably located on the ancient Castle Hill settlement above the Sozh River. According to archaeologists, the first Orthodox church in Krichev was built simultaneously with the castle fortifications at the end of the XII – XIII centuries, according to legend, on the site of a pagan temple. There is even a beautiful legend linking the name of the city with a voice from the sky, which commanded to stop pagan sacrifices: "shouted" - in Belarusian "krychau".

The first documentary evidence of the temple on Castle Hill dates back to 1682. At that time, the church of St. Nicholas was located inside the castle, to the left of the entrance tower, and the inventory of 1694 mentions a belfry with a military bell. During the Northern War (1700-1721), the Krichev castle was destroyed, but the church survived. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it switched from Orthodox to Uniates and back several times. At the end of the 18th century, St. Nicholas Church was one of seven operating in the city.

The recent history of the temple is full of tragedy and wonder. The church continued to operate after the 1917 Revolution and during the Great Patriotic War. However, in the fall of 1943, the old temple burned down (according to some reports, in 1944, after the liberation of the city, it was burned by an atheist fanatic). But the Krichevlyans did not let their faith fade away: in the village of Labkovichi they bought a wooden house, dismantled it and floated it down the Sozh River to Castle Hill. In 1945, the church was consecrated and opened its doors to the faithful. Later, the building was expanded by adding an altar apse and a baptistery. Since 1962, when the Holy Intercession Church was closed, St. Nicholas Church remained the only one operating in the city until the early 90s.

The building is a rectangular log cabin with a gable roof, above the ridge of which rises a two-tiered turret with an onion dome. Adjacent to the main volume are a rectangular vestibule and a pentagonal apse. The facades are decorated with carved lishtva (platbands) and horizontal shawl. It is a striking monument of wooden architecture, included in the list of historical and cultural values of the Republic of Belarus.

Today, the church has a Sunday school. The main patronal feast is celebrated on May 22, the day of the transfer of the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker to Bari (popularly known as "Nikola Veshny"), when the Archbishop of Mogilev and Mstislavl celebrates a solemn liturgy in the church. For many Christians, this temple is associated with important family events, and today, as many years ago, it remains the spiritual heart of the city.