ST. BERNARD'S CHURCH AND MONASTERY IN MSTISLAV

The monks of the Bernardine Order appeared in Mstislavl at the beginning of the 18th century, but the monastery of the order in the city was founded only in 1727 thanks to the help of the local gentry. The original church and the monas-tery building were wooden, and the wooden church existed until 1821, when it was replaced by a new stone one, built somewhat apart from the original one. The original church is known thanks to visitations, and the church built in the early 19th century is known not only because of written descriptions and pre-served plans, but also because of archeological investigation of its ruins. The residential monastery complex was always in one place, although it was also reconstructed at the end of the 18th century. Not only do its visitations and archaeological research give an idea of it, but some of its basements can still be accessed today. After the suppression of the uprising of 1830-1831, the church and monastery of the Bernardine Order in Mstislavl were closed and stood unattended for a long time, although both the Orthodox Church and the military claimed their buildings. During the fire of Mstislavl in 1858, the Ber-nardine church was severely damaged, was taken away by the Orthodox Church and a project was developed to convert it into an Orthodox church. But in the late 60s - early 70s of the 19th century, a new Orthodox church was built on the site of the residential building of the Bernardine monastery, and the church was dismantled at the request of the Orthodox Church.