Mõniste-Ritsiku Ristija Johannese kirik

 temple, church, orthodox christianity, interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage, historical building, place of worship, 19th century construction, tourist attraction, Orthodox church

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Mõniste-Ritsik is an Orthodox church in the Varstu hamlet of Rõuge parish, Võru county. It has been declared a national cultural monument. The sanctuary is used by the Mõniste-Ritsik Parish of St. John the Baptist. The church was built in 1855 on the lands of the Mõniste manor and therefore was originally called the Mõniste Church. Next to the church is the Ritsik cemetery. Since the church was not actually located in Mõniste, it later began to be called the Mõniste-Ritsik Church. On September 17, 2016, a memorial stone was unveiled near the church to the Estonian saints Theodor Petai (who was a teacher-curator and also a school principal at several Orthodox schools) and Anna Petai (who was a school teacher); they were deported during the June deportations. Theodor was shot in 1942 in the Sosva prison camp, Anna died in 1948 in the Tomsk region. In 2012, the Holy Synod of Constantinople canonized them as new martyrs. The memorial stone was consecrated by Metropolitan Stefanus together with the high priests Andreas Põllu and Aleksander Sarapik and the priest Justinus Kiviloo. The opening of the memorial stone was attended by the guard of honor of the Võru district of the Estonian Defence League, female home guards, young eagles and home daughters.