Žyrovičy Monastery, one of the oldest and most renowned of Belarusian monasteries, built in the 16th century in the village of Žyrovičy after the appearance of St. Mary to a group of children in its environs in 1470. An Orthodox church was built there by the local landlord, A. Soltan. His descendants founded a monastery in the 16th century. The icon of the Mother of God of Žyrovičy is one of the most revered in Belarus. In 1609, the monastery passed into the hands of the Uniates and in time, expanded its buildings and churches, as well as land holdings, and became an educational center. In 1839, when the Uniate Church was abolished, the monastery, stripped of most of its lands, was returned to the Orthodox Church and made a center of religious instruction. A part of its rich library and archives was transferred to Vilnia and St. Petersburg. Between the 1960s and 1989, it was a closed place, with few monks and nuns living in it. In 1989, the Miensk Theological Seminary of the Belarusian Orthodox Church began functioning there.
