MINSK, 17 April (BelTA) – Ivye, known as the town of four religions, has gained yet another symbol of interfaith harmony – a mural on the wall of a building next to the district museum of national cultures, BelTA learned from the museum.
An Orthodox church, a Catholic church, a mosque and a synagogue have come together in a single image that now greets visitors to the Ivye Museum of National Cultures. The mural embodies the idea of interfaith harmony among the residents of the town, which has historically been home to followers of Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Islam and Judaism. The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) made its bloody mark on this national tapestry: the Nazis brutally exterminated the Jews who remained here.
The mural builds on the concept of the commemorative sign In Honor of Friendship and Harmony of the Faiths of Ivye Region, which was placed on the central square of the town in 2012 and has since become one of its symbols. Each side of the sign points toward houses of worship: Orthodox church, Catholic church, mosque, and the building of the former synagogue.
The idea for the mural came from the museum staff.
“The houses of worship are depicted in the four seasons of the year,” director of the Ivye Museum of National Cultures Alena Viktorova explained. “The mosque is depicted in spring, St. Peter and St. Paul Church (the Catholic church) – in summer, the synagogue – in autumn, and the Church of St. Gabriel of Bialystok (the Orthodox church) – in winter. Our visitors have already appreciated the new art piece and note that it highlights the national and religious diversity of the town, draws them into the atmosphere of the museum, which tells the story of the four faiths of the Ivye region and its residents.”
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