The Sixteenth Century

Monday, October 22, 2007 – 11:36AM EST– somewhere in the air between Minsk, Belarus and Vienna, Austria (6:36PM)

You might remember from previous blog entries on my other trips that our teams always make a point of visiting some historical sites of cultural and/or religious significance in the nation we’re visiting. Our time in Minsk on other trips has always been so packed that we’ve not had much of an opportunity to do that outside of Minsk itself while driving from one place to the next. In 2005 when we visited, we did get to go to a place called Niasvizh, but it was a very out-and-back trip and it was dark shortly after we arrived. We ran quickly past a couple of sites and then hoofed it back to Minsk for a meeting of some sort. This time, we specifically set aside a full morning and part of an afternoon to see some sites.

Since our commitments on Sunday were not until the afternoon, we planned a good tour of some historic cites. Part of the impetus for the reformation movement in Belarus is the reconnection with the Christians there to their “Golden Age,” that time in the 1500s when the Protestant Reformation reached Belarus, and its leaders embraced Protestantism and Calvinism and saw tremendous improvements in their society as a result. It was to a few notable sites from that period that we went. Our tour guides were A. and Y. (no names for security sake), history professors, A. (pastor and doctoral student), and O. (a student). All are active in the New Reformation Movement and have attended our seminars. We left first thing in the morning. The temperature had dropped considerably overnight, but the 33 degree temperature outside was quickly forgotten as we climbed into the van and talked about history and laughed about funny translations and jokes. We even had historical Belarusian folk music playing for part of the time!

We traveled first to a small town where a Calvinist church has stood since the 1600s. It’s in pretty bad disrepair since no one has taken care of it for years, but it was remarkable to hear of the history of that town and its one-time embrace of Protestantism. From there, we went to Niasvizh to see the statue of Simon Budny, the first publisher of Protestant literature in what is now Belarus, and a large church there. This was the site that we visited in 2005.

One quick aside on the drive to Niasvizh. We started down a down road that was a supposed shortcut. After a while, the road was deteriorating to the point where it was not passable. We turned around, but as we did, we hit a pothole and the back end of the van lurched and made an awful moaning sound like something had seriously broken or we had hit a large animal or something. Several of us looked at each other startled and then cracked up as we realized that the awful noise was simply the beginning of another folk song—timed perfectly with our jolt! Hilarious!

From Niasvizh, we drove to a real historical highlight and one we’ve waited quite a while to see. We made it out to Mir Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but better yet a jewel of the reformation history of Belarus. The castle is relatively small as medieval fortresses go, but it dates from the 15th century and is in remarkably great shape. It was home to the Protestant branch of the Radziwil family that ruled Belarus at the time of construction and brought the reformation to the land. We had a great time climbing the incredibly steep stairs from level to level and enjoying the pictures from all around Belarus that were mounting inside. Some pictures later.

After a tremendous historical tour, we made our way back to downtown Minsk and ate at the Lido cafeteria, a popular eatery. Nine of us ate a two or three course afternoon meal for $25. Can’t beat that! More to come…