Сьвятыня над Іслаччу

The Shrine by the Islach Yazep Yanushkevich A collection of documents compiled by Yazep Yanushkevich tells 21st century people the 100-year history of one building, the Mother of Jesus Church in Rakau. What is it about this Catholic church that makes it so special? It does not stand out for its architecture or age. However, its history helps understand complicated history of Catholic churches in the Russian Empire, where the trinity of “Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality” left no room for Catholics who did not abandon their faith one hundred years after the division of Rzeczpospolita. The few records discovered by Yanushkevich provide valuable information about the bureaucratic machine that functioned in the late 19th and the early 20th century. (Z.K.)