The Educational, cultural and religious centre of Baruny as a “place of memory”

Abstract

The article reveals the contribution of Baruny village (Grodno region) to the history of Belarusian education, Eastern European art and Christian religion of the 17th–20th centuries, as well as the modern representation of Baruny heritage in the historical memory of Belarus. It is traced how the appearance of the icon and the expansion of the cult of the Baruny Mother of God, as well as the construction of the temple in the 17th–18th centuries, determined the founding and development of the village, its current historical prestige and sacred status. The foundation in 1617 and the educational tradition of Baruny is described, in particular, the bright phenomenon of the secular Basilian school of the Enlightenment era. Baruny is shown as one of the centers of the historical Church Union in Belarus, which still exists today. The result was a justification for applying the definition of “place of memory” to Baruny, the list of actors “promoting” this memory, and the indication of the forms of its expression.