Tolochin. Intercession Church and Convent

The Intercession Orthodox Church stands in the very center of Tolochin. If you drive up to the building, you will immediately see that the architecture of the temple does not correspond to the Orthodox canons at all. Originally it was a Catholic church and a Uniate church.

The church was built in the early 17th century with the money of Chancellor Lev Sapieha. Then in 1769, the Sangushki magnates built a new church building. The Uniate Basilian school and the Basilian monastery building were built at the temple in 1779. At the end of the 18th century, the church was transferred to the Uniate church. At the beginning of the 19th century, the temple was already transferred to the Orthodox church, which was called Pokrovskaya. In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in the monastery building.

The church is a monument of late Baroque architecture, the so-called Vilna Baroque. The building consists of a three-nave two-towered basilica with two sacristy located on the sides of the apse. The main facade of the church has a wavy outline. Two multi-tiered towers rise above the facade. There is a figured pediment between the towers. The interior is divided into 3 naves by 4 pillars – pylons. The main stone altar of the 18th century was covered with a wooden iconostasis in the 19th century, when the temple was handed over to the Orthodox. The interior of the temple is decorated with polychrome paintings. There are ancient icons of the 17th – 18th centuries in the temple.

In Soviet times, the monastery building housed the local military enlistment office. The building was returned to believers in the 1990s. Now the Holy Intercession Convent is working here.