The Belarusian Orthodox Church has a long and dramatic history. Her centuries-old path of service to the Lord is marked by an ongoing struggle with religious opponents and periods of persecution. Having begun its formation in an environment of stubborn opposition to Catholicism, which was trying to establish itself on Belarusian soil, in the 20th century it found itself in the very crucible of Bolshevik anti-religious terror, which destroyed most of its best representatives.
Attempts to plant Catholicism
In one of the earliest chronicles mentioning the town of Bobruisk, which was under Lithuanian rule in those years, there is evidence of attempts by the representatives of the Roman Church to actively influence its inhabitants. This process is characteristic of most lands in the western part of Russia, but here it is indicated most acutely.
The events became most dramatic in the middle of the 17th century, when during the irreconcilable religious war the city was actually destroyed by Lithuanian troops, who tried to force its inhabitants to be distracted from the faith of their fathers. The Orthodox Cossacks, together with a militia formed of city residents, tried to resist, but for a long time they could not resist the regular troops.
Historical documents of that era indicate that as a result of the massacre that the Lithuanians seized in Bobruisk, of the six thousand inhabitants, only two hundred people survived, and most of the buildings were destroyed.
Under the Russian Scepter
As the city was restored from ruins, Orthodoxy revived in it, for one and a half centuries, adjacent to the Catholicism planted in these parts. The heyday of the spiritual life of the city came at the end of the 18th century, when the city was a historic annexation of the Russian Empire. During this period, the Bobruisk diocese was also formed, which included a significant number of parishes that existed at that time.
The leadership of the diocese paid great attention not only to increasing the number of their parishioners, but also to their religious education. For this purpose, the first regional school of the time was opened in the city, students of which were taught such disciplines as rhetoric, general and sacred history, as well as the foundations of the Orthodox faith - the catechism.
The heyday of the diocese in the 19th century
The creation of new churches is also actively underway. It is known that in 1812, by the time the construction of the Bobruisk fortress was completed, only within it there were seven churches, among which the most significant were St. Peter's Cathedral, erected in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
A real masterpiece of church architecture was the temple appeared in the city cemetery in 1829 in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Sofia. It was built on the initiative and on the donations of Colonel Rosenmark, a participant in the recent war with Napoleon, who lived in the city.
Religious life of Bobruisk at the beginning of the 20th century
The statistics provided by the Bobruisk diocese at the beginning of the 20th century are impressive. According to her reports, at that time in this relatively small city there were ten Orthodox churches and five parish schools worked. There is also an abundance in the diocese of house churches.
Evidence of the reverence with which the townspeople celebrated Orthodox holidays was preserved, a special place among which was occupied by the memory day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra. These celebrations, held twice a year, were accompanied by nationwide processions and cathedral prayers.
The period of atheistic insanity
The church splendor that has developed over the past centuries was destroyed in a short time by the Bolsheviks who carried out a coup in 1917. According to many researchers, it was the Bobruisk diocese that suffered special damage in those years. The new authorities ruthlessly destroyed what was for a long time built on public donations. By 1925, only three churches remained in the city, once famous for its church buildings. It became extremely dangerous not only service, but also an open confession of faith. However, nothing could quench the spiritual life of the city.
The particular intensity of the atheistic terror that the entire Belarusian Orthodox Church suffered was in 1937, marked by a general surge in punitive measures taken by the government. During this period, many representatives of the clergy and ordinary parishioners were arrested and subsequently shot. Martyrly completed his earthly journey and Bishop of Bobruisk Filaret (Ramensky).
The period of the war and subsequent years
The Bobruisk diocese received certain concessions during the war years, when it became clear to the government that a powerful consolidating and unifying force was needed to defeat the enemy. It could become only the Orthodox faith, which for centuries has been the spiritual core of the people. During this period, many clergymen who remained alive were returned from places of detention. During the services they performed in the dilapidated church buildings, they blessed the parishioners to fight the common enemy.
The attitude of the authorities towards the church changed dramatically in the post-war years, when, in their opinion, there was no longer any practical need for it. This was especially pronounced during the period of the so-called Khrushchev persecution. It was publicly announced that Belarus should become the first of the Union republics to end the "religious dope". This marked the beginning of a new period of persecution of the church. In 1963, the last Orthodox church was closed in Bobruisk, later converted into a sports and fitness complex.
Beginning of Church Revival
As in the whole country, the revival of spiritual life in Belarus is associated with democratic reforms carried out during the period of perestroika. The Bobruisk diocese was also involved in this process. St. Nicholas Cathedral, previously selected from believers and used for purely secular purposes for many years, again opened the doors to its parishioners. Since the late nineties, an active process has begun of transferring to the faithful previously taken away church buildings and building new ones.
In 2009, the social department of the Bobruisk diocese resumes its activities. He is in charge of establishing cooperation with public authorities, raising funds for the poor and a wide range of activities aimed at attracting public attention to the problems of socially vulnerable layers of society.
By 2012, there were seven active churches in Bobruisk, one of which opened a spiritual and educational center. According to residents, the decision of the Holy Synod of October 25, 2004, in accordance with which a new Bobruisk and Bykhov diocese was formed, was of great importance in strengthening the religious life of the city. This made it possible to significantly streamline the administrative leadership of fifty-five parishes located on its territory.