Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2)

Our convent bearing the name of St Martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth was founded in the settlement of Novinki on the outskirts of Minsk in 1999. The convent originated in an Orthodox Sisterhood of the same name. Since 1996, the Sisterhood has served many care centers, including the National Psychiatric Hospital and Municipal Hospital as well as boarding homes for children and adults with special needs, a TB clinic and a home care facility for mentally challenged children.

The mission of our convent is to provide spiritual and social help to the sick and the suffering. The Convent runs a homestead located 19 miles from Minsk. It helps drug and alcohol addicts as well as socially vulnerable persons tackle their problems and provides the homeless with shelter and care.

To support and develop the above ministries numerous workshops and studios operate within the frameworks of the Sisterhood. These include an icon-painting studio, sewing and embroidery shops, candle workshop, wood-carving and blacksmith workshops. The Sisterhood activities also include religious education and publishing.

The convent and sisterhood have always worked together in serving God and people.

Sisters and brothers of the convent pray for each other daily. On Sundays, after singing the akathist hymn to the St Elisabeth, the brothers and sisters share their experiences in serving people and discuss spiritual issues. All decisions regarding the activities of the convent and the sisterhood are made with the blessing of the convent’s spiritual father, Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok. Full cycle of divine services is held in the churches of the convent and the Psalter is read continuously.

Recent Stories

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  Friends and Helpers
  
  An interview with Nun Irina (Gelman)
  
  Nun Irina: Hippotherapy classes for children with special needs are to start at the metochion of our Convent on June 1. We also offer classes of horseback riding for adults. These classes will be held by an expert in horseback riding. Even those who have never sat on horseback in their entire lives will be able to learn it on Lysaya Gora. Hippotherapy is too solemn a word, however. A better expression would be “trying to help people using animals.”
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  May 18: The Patron Saint's Day at the Metochion of St Elisabeth Convent
  
  Xenia Vesnova
  
  The feast of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon of the Mother of God is the one that is the source of special joy. This is the day when the multitude of saved souls rejoice. Much has already been said about the brothers who live at the metochion: there is a book and several films about them... However, all this will never describe the suffering they have been through even up to the present day.
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  Look Into The Children's Hearts
  
  Maxim Karbanovich
  
  Sincerity and open kindness. Where can we find it nowadays? Practically every adult who has adapted himself to this world follows its rules and has to trample on his honesty, values and principles sometimes. We excuse ourselves by saying that we are tired, offended, ignored or just lazy, and because of all that we consider it to be impossible for us to express our sincere feelings, to tell the truth, to do good, and to love our neighbours genuinely.
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  “Minsk Is In Our Midst!”
  
  Recollections About the Blissfully Reposed Archimandrite Luke
  
  Jadranka Uskoković
  
  “Blessed is he who deserves the eternal life. His birth was not in vain.” This is a quotation from a poem by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, the ruler of Montenegro in the 19th century... These are the words I would like to use as I begin my story about our Father Luke of Cetinje, Dajbabe and Belarus.
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  Truly Thou Hast Chosen The Good and Blessed Path...
  
  On April 13, eight sisters of our Convent became nuns. Each time, this event is very special and it feels as if it were for the first time. It was the first time that the Right Reverend Benjamen, bp. of Borisov, performed tonsure in our Convent. This is a historic event also because it was the first time that two of our sisters were given the names of the heavenly patrons of the Convent, Grand Princess Elisabeth and Nun Barbara.
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  What Does It Take to Forgive?
  
  Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok
  (Fragment of the meeting of the Sisterhood on March 10, 2013)
  
  This is the death for our old man. I have to speak about repentance but what I say is beyond my own measure. This is why I have to trample my own dead self in order to be able to say something. Is it easy? No, it is not, and this is always a miracle. Each time when I come to talk with people, I feel I am about to die; and I am serious because I do not have anything to share, not even a thought, and sometimes I desperately need to sleep but I have to go and talk.
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  The Secrets of Ceramics Made in St Elisabeth Convent
  
  By Maxim Karbanovich
  
  Ceramics is one of the most ancient crafts, the authenticity and beauty of which is truly fascinating. Artefacts made from clay have always been very popular. They are especially nourishing for the soul if they are made with love and prayer, just as it is the case with the ceramic products of the ceramic workshop of St Elisabeth Convent.
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  Films from Belarus Successful at Vstrecha Film Festival
  
  By Vadim Yanchuk
  
  The VIII International Orthodox Film Festival “Vstrecha” finished on February 25 in Obninsk, Russia. Cinematographers from eleven countries demonstrated over two hundred works during the festival. The organisers of the festival singled out Belarusian films from the very beginning of the festival. The main competition of the festival consisted of seventy films; seven of these films were from Belarus. As a result, our works won four prizes.
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  Let's build the church together!
  
  The construction of the church in honour of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco has started on the territory of the National Mental Health Centre in Novinki. This church is very important for those who undergo treatment in the psychiatric clinic. As soon as the new church is opened, the patients will get the opportunity to confess and take communion. They will receive both spiritual and physical healing by participating in the Mysteries and the prayers of the Church. Your support and prayers for the successful implementation of this building project are greatly appreciated.
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  Creativity for Life
  
  Helena Gulidova
  
  The Lord endows each person with a certain talent; one should figure it out and begin to develop it. The preformance and the works of the young patients of the boarding home for mentally challenged children prove that the limitations of their physical abilities do not mean limitations of their creativity.
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  “She Had a Caring Heart”
  
  In Remembrance of Novice Tamara. Part Two
  
  It has been nine days since the repose of Novice Tamara (Gvozdovich) already. Nowadays, our sisters of mercy and everyone who used to know Sister Tamara are recalling the moments they spent with her.
  
  This is what Zinaida Lobosova, the head sister of the Sisterhood in honour of the holy martyr Grand Princess Elisabeth, told us:
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  The Slavyane in Britain: Charitable Concerts in Support of St Elisabeth Convent
  
  The Slavyane male vocal group, the award winner of international contests, gives charitable concerts in the UK on February 28 – March 10, 2013. The concerts will include Orthodox liturgical chants as well as Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian folk songs. The donations will support the charitable activities of St Elisabeth Convent.
  
  The sisters wholeheartedly invite you to these concerts! The schedule of the tour please see below.
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