The Petro-Pavlivskyi Svityaz Monastery stands on the shore of Lake Svityaz, in the village of Svityaz, Shatsk community. Its main attraction is the masonry Petro-Pavlivska Church from 1846, an architectural monument of national significance. The white rotunda with columns against the backdrop of the lake is one of the most recognizable places of the Shatsk Lakes. The monastery itself was founded in 2002 and operates at the ancient church.
Parish since 1531
The church and parish in Svityaz are first mentioned in documents from 1531 — at that time it belonged to the Liuboml protopope. In 1533, the Svityaz church paid a tax of 16 groszy. At the beginning of the 19th century, the parish had about 700 believers. On January 22, 1834, the wooden church burned down due to a candle ember: only books and metric records from 1799 were saved. The following year, the people of Svityaz built a wooden chapel with a bell tower.
The Branicki Church
In the early 1840s, the masonry church was begun by Count Vladyslav Branicki, and completed by his wife, Countess Roza Potocka, after her husband's death. The Branickis also built churches in Shatsk and Holovne. In 1846, the church was consecrated. At that time, Svityaz had 140 households and about 1,150 inhabitants.
The church has a single dome: the central part is circular in plan, with a narthex to the west, an altar to the east, and four-column Tuscan porticos to the south and north. Above the rotunda is a dome with a drum and an onion-shaped cupola.
Rotunda above the lake
Round-plan churches are rare for Volyn villages, where cross-shaped churches were mostly built. The Branicki rotunda with Tuscan porticos is an echo of classicism, fashionable among magnates in the first half of the 19th century. Built right above the water, it became a symbol of Svityaz: it is photographed from boats, from the beach, and from the road to the lake. Nearby, already in the 21st century, new monastery churches were built in honor of the icon “Bread Giver” and Alexius, the Man of God.
Tip
The church is open daily from morning till evening, and in summer guided tours are offered for those interested. The best photos are from the lake shore at sunset. The monastery is active; appropriate clothing is required.
Also read
How to get there
The village of Svityaz is on the lake shore, a few kilometers from Shatsk. More in the articles Svityaz and Shatsk.
