The outline of the history of the Orthodox Parish of the Annunciations of the Mother of God and St. John Theologian in Supraśl

Abstract

The Orthodox parish in Supraśl exists together with the Supraśl Monastery and is inseparably connected with it. Although the history of the monastery dates back to the 90s of the 15th century, the parish was created in 1800. In 1839, the monastic community returned to the Orthodox Church, after two hundred years of being under the “occupation” of the union. The outbreak of the First World War caused the evacuation of monks into the depths of Russia. In 1918, the Polish government took over church property. Parishioners were allowed to use only a small cemetery church - the care of the faithful was taken by by the Wasilków parish, from which in 1931 a branch parish of Supraśl was separated. During the Second World War, the Nazi army blown up the main monastery church. The post-war period is the time of struggles for regaining the church and buildings, as well as the constant development of parish life. In the early 1980s, Bishop of Białystok Sawa began to make efforts to revive the monastery. In 1984, Fr. Miron came to Supraśl and became the rector of the parish and the head of the monastery. Monastic life began to develop, and along with it, the spiritual life of parishioners deepened. In 1993, the state finally returned the monastery to the Orthodox Church. Currently, the Supraśl parish conducts its active activities outside the walls of the Monastery, which was evidenced e.g. by the consecration of the church in honor of St. Luke the Surgeon in the village Łaźnie in 2019.