Mezhirich Holy Trinity Monastery

Mezhirich Holy Trinity Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Ukraine.

Mezhirich Holy Trinity Monastery story is full of violent events, associates with the princes Ostrogski family. Namely with Prince Feodor Ostrogski - Lutsk starost. Although one local legend says that the Orthodox Church in the village Mezhirich (Rivne region, Ostrozkiy district) had existed long before the settlements were granted to Feodor Ostrogski. The first monks came here from Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the XIII century.

Prince Feodor Ostrogski built in Mezhirich a wooden castle with palisades and earth mounds. His son Wasyl and grandson Ivan continued to build a monastery. The central part of the monastery was decorated with wooden Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, which was destroyed by fire in the fifteenth century. In the middle of this same century, a Trinity Church was built at this place. Because of using sandstone in the construction, the church has reached our days.

In the seventeenth century Mezhirich gets a new owner - Ivan Ostrogski. For his own reasons, Ivan Ostrogski adopted Catholicism and, accordingly, a new name - Janusz. Of course, there could be no question about the development of the Holy Trinity Monastery as an Orthodox cloister. The Franciscans (monks) settled here. XVII century was the century of numerous attacks by the Tatars and the troubles between the feudal lords. That's why Janusz Ostrogski made a lot of effort to strengthen the monastery. The territory of the monastery was also changed. Two-storey buildings, which housed cells, were built to the Holy Trinity Church. Each building had three-tiered towers with loopholes in the outer corners. This was a kind of defence.

In the result of all modifications and completions the monastery became not just a cloister, a temple of faith, but a powerful fortress. However, it has not helped the monastery during the wars of national liberation that erupted in Ukraine in XVII century. The rebels had almost completely destroyed Mezhirich, without touching the monastery. But all the monks - Franciscans were driven away. Values and church plate were not touched. And monastery library which numbered more than two thousand books had survived (although it has not reached to this day. In 1820 it was burned in the fire).

Holy Trinity Monastery returned to the fold of orthodoxy only in the late XIX century. The cloister managed to avoid desecration in the Soviet period. True, the monastery was neglected. However, at that time the Holy Trinity Church was open to the faithful. In 1991 the Mezhirich monastery was conveyed to the Orthodox Church. From that moment a new stage in its history began.