‘Let soil spit your bones out’. Grave photos of Belarusian village


Scattered human bones and an abandoned Roman Catholic church. Belsat Tv journalists have visited the village of Benitsa in Minsk region.

In Soviet times, the Communists massively demolished and damaged holy places of Belarus. Most of which were never restored. Some churches were re-erected by believers, but lots of ruins vestiges are still ruthlessly destroyed by wind, rain and time. But seeing human bones in the middle of an abandoned church comes as a shock.

Bones

“Do you know the Belarusians’ worst curse? ‘Let soil spit your bones out!’” historian Alyaksandr Smalyanchuk says.

Alyaksandr buried the bones underneath the building of the former baroque church. He flatly refused to leave them lying near debris and bird droppings.

Church in Benitsa

We see graffitis on the walls. There are also swallows’s nests in the church; the dome is inhabited by gray pigeons. As the church is regarded as a historical and cultural value by the Belarusian authorities, we cannot believe our eyes.

Fig sign to Communists

According to a resident of the neighboring village Zaskovichi, the former chairman of a collective farm was trying to renovate the building in the Soviet times. He even managed to have crosses placed on the towers saying that the building would be a museum in the future.

A Communist party inspection came and accused the chairman of believing in God, but he just showed them a fig sign. The man was not punished, because perestroika had been already launched in the USSR. But the church remained deserted.

The Kociel family

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The church is 317 years old. It was built by Vitsebsk kastellan Michal Kazimir Kociel. According to legend, not far from this place his horses went mad and bolted with a carriage where Kociel’s daughter was. The nobleman could only pray to God for a miracle. After the prayer, the horse suddenly stopped and daughter was saved. As an expression of his gratitude, Kociel put up money for erecting a church and monastery for Bernandine monks.

In 1939, Benitsa became part of the BSSR. In 1948 the Soviet authorities closed the church and turned it into a warehouse. The family tomb of the Kociels was plundered, unknown persons destroyed graves and tombstones. The bones of former Benitsa owners were just piled.

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