Svi︠a︡to-Uspenskiĭ Pustynskiĭ monastyrʹ, Eastern Orthodox monastery in Mstsislaŭ, Belarus.
The Holy Assumption Hermitage Monastery is a monastic complex in the village of Pustynki near Mstsislaŭ, consisting of stone buildings and several chapels. The site is surrounded by thick stone walls and forest, with a sacred spring located within the grounds that is accessible to visitors.
Founded in 1380 by Mstsislaŭ prince Lingwen, according to legend in thanks for a cure from an eye ailment through the water of a nearby spring. Destroyed in 1563 during the Lithuanian-Russian war, it was revived as a Uniate monastery in 1605, then returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1839. Closed in 1918 and blown up by German troops in 1943, it was reopened by the Belarusian Exarchate in 2003.
The monastery's name comes from the Pustynki tract, and its main church is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. A wonder-working icon of the Mother of God was once venerated here; it was taken away after the 1918 closure and its later fate is unknown. Since 2003 five monks have lived permanently in the rebuilt complex.
The site is remote and is best reached from Mogilev by taking regional buses to Mstsislaŭ. From there, local transport is needed to reach the village of Pustynki and the grounds can be explored on foot.
During restoration of the abbot's building, an image of Jesus Christ was found on its wall and is regarded as not made by human hands. The monastery also keeps a spring church, and its churches stand in one line from the bell tower to the spring: the Dormition, the Intercession and the Nativity of the Theotokos.
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