Rakov. The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

In the Volozhinsky district in the town of Rakov, which is located on the Minsk – Vilnius highway, there is a stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. When you drive up to Rakov, you will see from afar that the architectural dominant in this small town are Christian shrines, and in the center stands the dome of the Orthodox church of the 18th century and two towers of the Neo-Gothic church of the early 20th century.

Arriving in the center of the town and starting to inspect the Orthodox shrine, you will notice some features in the architecture of the temple that are characteristic of Catholic churches. The fact is that it was originally a Catholic church, which was handed over to Orthodox believers in the 19th century.

In 1686, Constance Sangushka founded the Dominican Catholic Monastery and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Rakov. In 1730-1793, a stone building of the church and monastery was built with the money of the princes of the Sangushki and the brotherhood of St. Anna. After the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Rakov became part of the Russian Empire. And after the anti–Russian uprising of 1830-1831, the Dominican monastery was liquidated. After the uprising of 1863-1864, in 1866 the church was transferred to an Orthodox church. At that time, a stone two–tiered bell tower was built in front of the church.

At the beginning of the 20th century, during the time of the Polish state, the church continued to work. The church operated after the war in Soviet times.

The church is single-nave. The building has a rectangle in the plan. Initially, there were 2 towers on the main facade, which were dismantled after the temple was transferred to the Orthodox church.

There was a crypt in the former church, where parishioners and landowners were buried.