The lovely parish Orthodox church in Augustów near Bielsk Podlaski is dedicated to him. The church was built for 6 years in the seventh decade of the 19th century. It was consecrated in 1878 and the materials for its construction were obtained from another place of worship: the refectory church of the former St Nicholas monastery in Bielsk Podlaski. Why was it done this way?

The history of the monastery dates back to the 16th century and according to the sources it could have existed even earlier. This rich centre gained importance in the time of the 1st Republic of Poland and the Union of Brest. The monastery was not handed over to the Uniate Church and this led many Eastern Orthodox Church clergymen to move from other monasteries and parishes to this place. During the Partitions of Poland, the monastery was incorporated into Prussia. Until 1825 it was in a good condition, but due to a small number of new monks and to decisions to dissolve other monasteries made by Russia (which, in the meantime, managed to annex this territory), it was closed down. A few decades later, this monastery became the building material for the St John the Evangelist Orthodox Church in Augustów in the Podlasie Region.

When arriving at the church, we will immediately see its blue colour. This is a symbolic reference to the Mother of God. Some Orthodox churches are sometimes painted green as a reference to the Holy Spirit. The blue is the symbol of heaven, chastity and kindness, whereas green refers to eternal life, rebirth and the force of nature.

Inside the church, it is worth paying attention to the baroque iconostasis. It was moved here from the Dormition Orthodox Church. Next to the icon of St John the Evangelist, we will also find here the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, also called the icon of Uspienije Bogarodzicy. Art historians often stress that it is difficult to find a similar iconostasis in the whole Podlasie Region.

The church was entered into the register of monuments in July 2009.

We would like to recall to all the pilgrims who will visit this beautiful church that it is not the only gem in this parish. There are other churches : the St Onuphrius Orthodox Church in Stryki and the St Pantaleon Chapel in the Borowiska forest area. They are both cemetery chapels. The blue Orthodox church hidden between the trees was built in the first half of the 19th century. It is surrounded by an old cemetery. The St Pantaleon chapel looks like a poor relation of the other two, however its small size favours prayer intimacy.