Tolochin. St. Anthony's Church

In the very center of the small regional town of Tolochin, two ancient temples are located on the same street: the Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the 18th century and the Catholic Church of the 19th century.

The Church of St. Anthony is located on an elevation and, together with the Intercession Church, dominates the surrounding area. The first Catholic church in Tolochin was funded by tycoon Lev Sapieha back in the early 17th century. The temple was made of wood, and the stone one was built in the middle of the 18th century. Then the church was transferred to the Uniates, and then to the Orthodox believers under the Intercession Church, which still exists today. The church is located a few hundred meters from the Church of St. Anthony.

After the war of 1812, when Tolochin was severely damaged and devastated, the local Slavinsky lords financed the construction of a new Catholic church with building materials in the amount of 100 thousand bricks. The tsarist government also spent some funds on the construction of the church. Materials from the former customs building were transferred to the construction of the temple. After all, after the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, the state border with the Russian Empire passed through Tolochin and there was a customs office. 

A small wooden chapel was preserved in the center of the village after the war, and construction of a church began next to it in 1818. The construction was very slow and was completed only in 1853. The church was consecrated in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. The church worked until the 1930s, and then a warehouse was equipped here, then a weaving workshop, a cafe and a club. During this time, many details of the decor, some of the paintings and wooden sculptures were lost. In 1993, the church was returned to the Catholic faithful and restoration was carried out.