Belarusian Orthodox Church official. Orthodox news from Belarus

18/06/2019

The organizers of the international photo competition "Colors of Orthodoxy. Albania" invite all photographers whose work is dedicated to the life of the Albanian Orthodox Church to participate. Pictures that reflect the diversity and beauty of the Orthodox tradition in this Balkan country - churches, events of church life, services and portraits of the clergy and laity, history and revival of Orthodoxy in all its manifestations are accepted until July 15. All conditions of the competition can be found on the website www.albania.orthphoto.net. A few more...

The results of the X international photography competition “4383 days of childhood” were summed up in Minsk. VIDEO

18/06/2019

On the Feast of the Holy Spirit, the Patriarchal Exarch led the Liturgy at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk

18/06/2019

On June 17, on the feast of the Holy Spirit, Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, led the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. The Patriarchal Exarch was concelebrated by: Bishop Veniamin of Borisov and Maryinogorsk, Bishop Pavel of Molodechno and Stolbtsy, Bishop Ignatius of Borovlya, vicar of the Minsk diocese. Concelebrating with the archpastors were: the first vice-rector of the Institute of Theology of the BSU, Archpriest Sergius Gordun, the secretary of the Minsk diocese, Archpriest Andrei Volkov, ...

An Orthodox priest gave a farewell message to graduates of the Specialized Lyceum of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

18/06/2019

On June 8, on the square in front of the National Library of Belarus, the solemn ritual of presenting certificates to graduates of the Specialized Lyceum of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took place. Parting words to the graduates were given by Priest John Kovalev, rector of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village. New Yard. After a short thanksgiving prayer, Father John sprinkled holy water on the students and graduates of the lyceum. On behalf of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Deputy Minister, Major General Mil...

July 7 in Grodno - religious procession in honor of the Council of All Belarusian Saints

17/06/2019

On July 7, the annual religious procession to the temple in honor of the Cathedral of All Belarusian Saints (Ya. Kupala Ave., 90) will take place in Grodno. Starts at 8:45 - from the Kolozha Church, from the Holy Intercession Cathedral and other churches. At 10:00 - Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of the Council of All Belarusian Saints. The festive service will be led by Archbishop of Grodno and Volkovysk Artemy. The Grodno diocese invites you and your loved ones to take part in the procession!/ sobor.by/ orthos.org ...

Today Orthodox believers celebrate the Day of the Holy Spirit

17/06/2019

The Monday following Pentecost is a holiday in honor of the Holy Spirit. This holiday was established by the Church “for the sake of the greatness of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, for He is one (of) the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity,” in opposition to the teaching of heretics who rejected the Divinity of the Holy Spirit and His consubstantiality with God the Father and the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is one with the Father and Son in everything, therefore He does everything with Them, being autocratic, omnipotent and good. Through Him all wisdom, life,...

On June 23, the Ministry of Education and Science invites you to a lecture "Religion: the problem of definition and theory of origin"

17/06/2019

On Sunday, June 23, educational courses “The Light of Orthodoxy” at the Minsk Theological Academy invite students to a lecture “Religion: the problem of definition and theory of origin.” Starts at 11:00. Lecture abstracts: the complexity of defining the concept of “religion,” historical attempts and the modern approach. The essence and necessary components of religion. Why is it fundamentally important for each of us what the origin of religion is? Theories of its origin: enlightenment, Feuerbach's theory, mar...

Day of the Holy Trinity. Sermon by Archpriest Igor Korostelev

17/06/2019

Sermon by the rector of the Minsk parish of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Archpriest Igor Korostelev on the 8th week of Easter. Day of the Holy Trinity. Pentecost. Gospel reading of the day: On the last, great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. These things he said. It is about the Spirit, which those who believed on Him were to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet upon them, because Jesus...

Day of the Holy Trinity. Sermon by Archpriest Igor Korostelev

17/06/2019

On June 16, the Ministry of Education and Science invites you to a lecture “Iconography of the Ascension and Trinity”

14/06/2019

On June 16, educational courses “The Light of Orthodoxy” at the Minsk Theological Academy invite students to a lecture “Iconography of the Ascension and Trinity.” Starts at 12.00. Lecture abstracts: development of the iconography of the Ascension of the Lord and its symbolism. Historical and allegorical icons of the Ascension. What do the images of the Most Holy Theotokos and the apostles on these icons say? Icons of the Holy Trinity “Old Testament” and “New Testament” and the controversy surrounding them. Icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Influence of Rev. Sergius of Radonezh. ...

The meeting of the clergy of the 2nd Minsk city deanery took place in the parish of the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow”

14/06/2019

On June 12, with the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, a meeting of the clergy of the 2nd Minsk city (Joy of Sorrow) deanery was held in the capital parish of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” The meeting was headed by Dean Archpriest Igor Korostelev. Archpriest Igor Korostelev informed the clergy of the deanery about the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church that took place on May 30, 2019 and the decisions taken at it. The clergy of the deanery familiarized...

The results of the X international photography competition “4,383 days of childhood” were summed up in Minsk

12/06/2019

On June 12, at the library No. 14 named after F. Bogushevich in Minsk, an exhibition based on the results of the X international photography competition “4,383 DAYS OF CHILDHOOD” was opened, which presented more than 80 of the best photographs about children and childhood. There was also an award ceremony for the winners of the photo competition. Traditionally, the rector of the Minsk parish of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, spiritual director of the festivals “Blagovest”, “Wings of an Angel”, “My Joy”, Archpriest Igor Korostelev, took part in the award ceremony. Father hello...

The theater-studio “Under the Domes” under the Ministry of Culture and Arts showed the play “Myrrh-Bearers” to Minsk residents

12/06/2019

It’s possible to act in a play without being an actor. On the stage of the assembly hall of the Minsk Theological Academy they showed scenes from the gospel story - the play "Myrrh-Bearers". The theater-studio "Under the Domes" at the Minsk Theological Academy has been working with non-professional actors for the past seven years, which does not prevent them from collecting full houses at their performances. The 40 minutes that the play “Myrrh-Bearers” lasts, according to audience reviews, passes in one breath. And this despite the fact that some of the actors on stage are amateurs. Sp...

A memorial plaque in honor of the defender of Orthodoxy, Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky, was consecrated in Lublin

12/06/2019

Believers and archpastors of the Polish Orthodox Church express hope that the defender of the Orthodox faith from the times of the first Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince Constantine Basil of Ostrog, can be canonized. Recently in Lublin, during the festival "East Slavic Cultural Heritage of Lublin", a memorial plaque with a bas-relief of Prince Constantine Vasily was unveiled. The Transfiguration Cathedral of Lublin - the main temple of the Lublin-Holm diocese, revived 30 years ago, was built four centuries ago...

Belarusian schoolchildren are invited to take part in the School of Youth Ministry in Lithuania

11/06/2019

From July 1 to July 4, the “School of Youth Ministry” will be held in Vilnius. Organizers are the Youth Affairs Department of the Vilna-Lithuanian Diocese together with the “Church and Environmental Protection” direction of the Center for Environmental Solutions. This year the School is dedicated to environmental topics and is called “Ecostart”. During the classes, specialists from the Center for Environmental Solutions will talk about the environmental crisis in the modern world, climate change, plastic pollution of reservoirs and seas, and also explain...

Belarusian schoolchildren are invited to take part in the School of Youth Ministry in Lithuania

11/06/2019

Representatives of American and Belarusian Orthodox youth met in Soltanovshchina

11/06/2019

At the base of the "Holy Rus'" camp, on the territory of the parish of the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in the agricultural town of Soltanovshchina, Nesvizh deanery, a meeting of American Orthodox youth with the Nesvizh Brotherhood of the Transfiguration of the Lord took place. Young people from the United States arrived in Nesvizh in the number of thirteen people, accompanied by the deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Work with the youth of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Archpriest Andrei Sommer and the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs...

Representatives of American and Belarusian Orthodox youth met in Soltanovshchina

11/06/2019

At the base of the “Holy Rus'” camp, on the territory of the parish of the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in the agricultural town of Soltanovshchina, Nesvizh deanery, a meeting of American Orthodox youth with the Nesvizh Brotherhood of the Transfiguration of the Lord took place. Young people from the United States arrived in Nesvizh in the number of thirteen people, accompanied by the deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Work with the youth of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Archpriest Andrei Sommer and the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs...

Parish of St. Nikolai Yaponsky organized a music festival and invites Minsk residents to the "Traetski Fest"

11/06/2019

The parish of St. Nicholas of Japan in Minsk invites residents of the Belarusian capital to the Traetski Fest 2019 festival, which will open at 13.00 on June 16, the Feast of the Trinity, at the temple site in the Kamennaya Gorka microdistrict on Lidskaya Street. Guests will enjoy a rich musical program, which will feature performances from both church groups and soloists of the Bolshoi Theater of the Republic of Belarus, famous Belarusian groups and performers. And most recently the parish of St. Nicholas of Japan together with the administrator...

Members of the Minsk brotherhood of Uladzimir Hiraska with pallets from Dzitsyachaga house No. 5 held a two-day march

11/06/2019

8-9 cherven members of the brotherhood of the holy martyr Uladzimir of Khiraska of the Minsk passage of the icon of Our Lady of the “Joy of All the Troubled” started a walking trek with their people starting from the building No. 5th city of Minsk. Dadzen's two-dzen march became the anniversary, the fifth one. The seleta of the festival became magical only because of the attractions of the tourist club "Aleut" at the Minsk pilgrimage of St. Anastasia the Vuzarashalnitsa. The club was founded by the elder of the brotherhood, Ivan Ananchyka. Work out, get some rest and go back...

Moscow Patriarchate, formed in October. 1989 in accordance with the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church 9 October 11. 1989 B.E. canonically constitute dioceses with their deaneries, parishes, monasteries, religious educational institutions, which are located in ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

- (from the Greek ἔξαρχος external power) in Byzantium at the end of the 6th–7th centuries, an administrative territorial unit, a viceroyalty outside the metropolis, similar to a colonial possession or an “overseas state.” In modern Orthodoxy and... ... Wikipedia

WESTERN EUROPEAN EXARCHATE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH- formed in Sept. 1945 in connection with the return to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate of communities that had previously been in the Western European Exarchate of Russian parishes of the Polish Patriarchate; included parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of a number of Western European countries. state in, a... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

BELARUS- [Republic of Belarus, Belarus], state in the East. Europe. Territory: 207.6 thousand square meters. km. Capital: Minsk. Geography. It borders in the northwest with Lithuania, in the north with Latvia, in the northeast and east with Russia, in the south with Ukraine, in the west with... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Belarusian Orthodox Church ... Wikipedia

The largest religious denomination in Belarus is Orthodoxy. Contents 1 Number of believers 2 Confessions in Belarus 2.1 Number ... Wikipedia

The Russian Orthodox Church includes dioceses of direct subordination in Russia, the Near Abroad, America and Europe, the Chinese and Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Churches, the self-governing Ukrainian, Moldavian, Latvian, Estonian and Russian... ... Wikipedia

Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate (also Belarusian Orthodox Church) exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church covering the territory of Belarus; “canonical division of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian Orthodox... ... Wikipedia

Archbishop Dimitri Archbishop of Vitebsk and Orsha until February 18, 1999 bishop since July 7, 1992 ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Belarus (meanings), also see Belarus (meanings) Belarus Belor. Belarus ... Wikipedia

Books

Sketches on Reasonable Faith , The book examines the religious origins of Kant’s “reasonable faith” and its perception by Western philosophers and Russian theologians; The theme of “theology and science” is unusually developed, understood in... Publisher: Belarusian Exarchate,
The Church calls for unity. Word of the Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, Gavryushin Nikolai Konstantinovich, This publication presents excerpts from speeches, sermons, conversations and interviews of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, calling for the preservation of unity within the Russian... Publisher:

Date of creation: October 9-11, 1989 Description:

The Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, dedicated to the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate and held on October 9-11, 1989, adopted a resolution on the formation of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate, approving the decision of the Holy Synod on the formation of the Mogilev, Pinsk and Polotsk dioceses.

On October 16, 1989, at the next meeting, members of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, in fulfillment of the definitions of the Council of Bishops, decided: the exarch of Belarus will henceforth have the title Metropolitan of Minsk and Grodno, Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus; His Eminence Philaret, Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus, is to be appointed Exarch of Belarus.

The Synod also instructed His Eminence Kirill, Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman (currently His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'), to make a report on the exarchates of the Moscow Patriarchate at the upcoming Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on January 30-31, 1990 and to present the draft “Regulations about the exarchates of the Moscow Patriarchate."

The Council of Bishops, at its meetings on January 30-31, 1990, heard the report of His Grace Archbishop Kirill and decided to adopt the “Regulations on the Exarchates”, introduce it into the current Charter on the governance of the Russian Orthodox Church in the form of Section VII, making appropriate amendments to Sections I, V and XII, with subsequent approval at the Local Council.

The decisions of this Council of Bishops were approved by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, held on June 7-8, 1990.

The chair of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus is located in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. The second department is Slutsk, where the St. Michael's Cathedral is located.

By the Resolution of the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate of February 6, 1992 (Journal No. 15), approved by the Resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of February 18-19, 1992 (Journal No. 13), adopted at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Minsk Diocese was reorganized and territorially limited to the Minsk region.

The title of the ruling bishop is Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.

magazine No. 16) the Spiritual and Administrative Center was formed - the Minsk Exarchate of the Belarusian Exarchate, which included:

Administration of the Minsk Exarchate;
Administrative Secretariat of the Minsk Exarchate;
Office Management Service of the Minsk Exarchy;
Synodal departments of the Belarusian Exarchate;
Press service of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus;
Secretariat of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus;
Publishing Council of the Belarusian Exarchate;
Legal Service of the Minsk Exarchy;
Financial and economic service (accounting);
Spiritual and educational center.

Currently, the following Synodal departments and commissions operate within the structure of the Belarusian Exarchate:

Management of the affairs of the Minsk Exarchy (with the rights of a Synodal institution);
Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society;
Synodal Information Department;
Synodal Department for Youth Affairs;
Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis;
Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service;
Synodal Missionary Department;
Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints;
Synodal Audit Commission;
Church Court of the Belarusian Exarchate;
Synodal Pilgrimage Department;
Synodal Department for Interaction with the Cossacks;
Award Commission of the Belarusian Exarchate (with the rights of a Synodal institution);
Synodal Department for interaction with the Armed Forces and other military formations of the Republic of Belarus;
Synodal Department for Church Art, Architecture and Restoration;
Synodal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood.

By the decision of the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate of December 1, 2015 (magazine No. 63), the “Religious Mission “BLAGOG” of the Belarusian Orthodox Church” was established, which is entrusted with the responsibilities of centrally providing the canonical divisions of the Belarusian Orthodox Church with religious objects and religious literature.

By the decision of the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate of March 24, 2016 (journal No. 12), the Synodal Center for Sect Studies named after St. Joseph of Volotsk of the Belarusian Orthodox Church was formed.

By the decision of the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate of December 13, 2016 (magazine No. 56), the Council on Family Values under the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church was transformed into the Synodal Commission on Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood.

The Belarusian Exarchate (as of January 2012) included: 1,555 parishes, 34 monasteries, 1,485 priests and 166 deacons, 46 Orthodox media bodies. Including:

— 392 parishes, 7 monasteries, 401 priests and 56 deacons, 167 Sunday schools, 17 Orthodox media organs;
— 45 parishes, 2 monasteries, 38 priests and 3 deacons, 17 Sunday schools, 1 Orthodox media organ;
— 194 parishes, 4 monasteries, 190 priests and 14 deacons, 120 Sunday schools, 2 Orthodox media organs;
— 168 parishes, 5 monasteries, 130 priests and 33 deacons, 50 Sunday schools, 14 Orthodox media organs;
— 135 parishes, 4 monasteries, 166 priests and 24 deacons, 54 Sunday schools, 2 Orthodox media organs;
— 94 parishes, 104 priests and 8 deacons, 67 Sunday schools, 1 Orthodox media organ;
- 75 parishes, 2 monasteries, 69 priests and 6 deacons, 27 Sunday schools;
— 96 parishes, 3 monasteries, 105 priests and 7 deacons, 69 Sunday schools, 5 Orthodox media organs;
— 176 parishes, a monastery, 166 priests and 8 deacons, 42 Sunday schools, 2 Orthodox media organs;
— 100 parishes, 4 monasteries, 57 priests and 4 deacons, 16 Sunday schools, 1 Orthodox media organ;
- 80 parishes, 2 monasteries, 59 priests and 3 deacons, 25 Sunday schools, 1 Orthodox media organ.

By the decision of the BOC Synod of February 26, 2014 (magazine No. 7 Patriarchal Exarch:

Christianity came to the lands of White Rus' long before the baptism of 998. The spirit of Christianity was brought to us, according to the lot that fell to it, by the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. From him were the first who believed and were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ began to come to the Principality of Polotsk from direct connections with Scandinavia and Byzantium. After the adoption of the Christian faith by Prince Vladimir, the Polotsk residents were also baptized - slaves of Prince Izyaslav (son of Vladimir), who reigned in Polotsk since 992. At this time, the Polotsk diocese and the Orthodox Church in Belarus began to exist.

With the adoption of Christianity, all of Rus' came to life.

Spiritual life of White Rus' in the 12th century. rested on such pillars of the Orthodox faith as the Venerable Abbess Euphrosyne, founder of the Spassky Monastery in Polotsk (1173 in Jerusalem), Saints of Polotsk Mina (1116), Dionysius (1182), Simeon (1280), Saint Cyril Turovsky (1182) - the most educated man of that time, elected for wisdom and piety to the episcopal see and honored during his lifetime with the title “Goldener.”

In the middle of the 12th century, Rus' suffered the first great test of faith: the invasion of Batu’s hordes. Until the 14th century, the Kiev Metropolitan See was united for Orthodox Christians throughout Rus'. Under the influence of political circumstances, the united Church in Rus' in the 15th century was divided into two metropolises, each of which considered itself the successor of the ancient Kyiv See. In 1316, the Patriarchate of Constantinople established an independent Metropolis of Lithuania. But already in 1328, the Moscow Metropolitan of All Rus' Theognost asked the Patriarch not to appoint a special ruling bishop to the Lithuanian Metropolis, for the Moscow Bishop, together with the Grand Duke Ivan Kalita, wanted to unite Rus' under one hierarchal omophorion and a single authority. During this period, three courtiers of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd (Antony, Eustathius and John) suffered martyrdom on his orders for confessing the Orthodox faith. In many ways, this event testifies to the difficult relationship between the Orthodox people and the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For the ruling elite, faith and belonging to Orthodoxy for a long time remained only a tool in the struggle for power.

In 1364, Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow established in the Russian Church the celebration of the memory of the holy Vilna martyrs, whose relics are still incorruptible. After the death of Metropolitan Theognost in 1353, Grand Duke Olgerd achieved the opening of the Lithuanian metropolitanate a year later. The Patriarch of Constantinople agreed to this to prevent a war between the Lithuanian and Moscow princes.

CATHOLIC IMPLEMENTATION

In 1382, Olgerd's son Jagiello, having married a Polish princess, assumed the throne of the Polish kings. The Pope, in turn, blessed this marriage on the condition that Jagiello, together with his subjects, would accept Catholicism. Jagiello did not hesitate and accepted this condition, declaring the Catholic religion to be the state religion, and depriving the Orthodox Church of its patronage. With this decision, Jagiello marked the beginning of the spiritual division of the people, which continues in our time. However, the mercy of God, by special providence, did not abandon the Orthodox inhabitants of the Belarusian lands, and anticipating the sorrows that befell the Orthodox Church in the 16th - 17th centuries, two miraculous icons of the Mother of God appeared on our land. In 1470, a stone icon of the Mother of God, called Zhirovitskaya, was found in the branches of a wild pear tree, and in 1500, residents of Minsk found the image of the Ever-Virgin Mary on the waters of the Svisloch. Having appeared, these images continue to bless and strengthen the Orthodox residents of Belarus and Orthodox pilgrims from other countries.

Since the introduction of the dynastic union in 1386, the position of the Orthodox has constantly deteriorated due to the purposeful activities of the secular and spiritual authorities to please the papacy. Major government positions were held only by Catholics. By right of patronage, Polish kings distributed Orthodox metropolitan and episcopal sees to their proteges. As a rule, these were people far from Christianity, but while “working out” their position, they often pursued the goal of union at any cost. Abuses in filling vacant Orthodox cathedras led to the gradual destruction of the Orthodox Church, the squandering of its property and the spiritual impoverishment of pastors and their flock. This was exactly what the Polish kings sought under the leadership of the Vatican elite.

In 1591, at a secret meeting, four bishops decided to secretly prepare for the annexation of Orthodox dioceses to the Catholic Church. Without informing the public, they turned to the king for assistance in traveling to Rome to approve the union. In December 1595, a solemn meeting of the Sacred College took place in the papal castle, during which these two Uniates swore an oath on their own behalf and on behalf of the rest of the Western Russian bishops to the eternal accession of the Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland to the Catholic Church. In 1596, the Uniates and the Orthodox gathered in different places in Brest, but on the same day: the Uniates in the cathedral, and the Orthodox in a private house. After all, by decree of the authorities, all churches in Brest were closed! From that time on, the difficult way of the cross of the Orthodox Church in Belarus began, which brought humiliation and enslavement of the Orthodox by the Polish Catholic authorities. This went on for 243 years. The only Orthodox diocese in the period from 1633 to 1793 was the Mogilev diocese. The ferocity of the Uniates during this period is difficult to describe. In terms of cruelty and fanaticism, it can be called the spiritual genocide of the Orthodox: they were not allowed to pray even in huts. In some cities, participation of residents in religious processions was punishable by death. Churches were looted, burned or rebuilt. Orthodox Christians were officially allowed to bury their dead only “without any church ceremony, secretly in the night,” as the Bishop of Vilna wrote in response to a complaint from residents.

The complete defeat of the Orthodox in all civil rights was complemented by criminal prosecution, which was initiated and encouraged by the authorities. The steadfastness of the Orthodox and their steadfastness in the faith forced the authorities not to wait, but to forcibly transfer parishes into the union under the threat of physical violence. During this terrible time, Saint Righteous Sophia, Princess of Slutsk (1617), Martyr Athanasius, Abbot of Brest (1648) became famous for their feats of faith and defense of Orthodoxy.

During persecution, the only protection of Orthodoxy are monasteries and brotherhoods. They did charity work; opened schools, printing houses, colleges. This period is glorified by the selfless labor of thousands of Orthodox residents of White Rus', by whom Orthodoxy was preserved and revived. In 1632, Muscovy went to war against Poland. The strength of the Ukrainian Cossacks also jointly declared itself, and Orthodox figures - the clergy, gentry, brotherhoods, guilds - came forward with decisive demands for a change in state policy towards them. The newly elected king Vladislav the fourth was forced to recognize the right of Orthodox citizens to have their own episcopate. Vladislav the fourth submitted for approval to the Sejm “articles of calming the Greek religion” and swore an oath to protect the Orthodox faith. The wave of cruelty and repression subsided somewhat, but the Catholic gentry and clergy continued to rage. The king had to create a special one. A commission that limited the arbitrariness of Catholics, but then the free niche was occupied by the most violent Uniates.

ORTHODOXY TRIUMPHES

In 1775, Archimandrite Georgy Konissky, rector of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, was ordained to the Mogilev department. He opened a Theological Seminary in Mogilev and set up a printing house in the Bishop's House.
The saint collected a huge archive on the history of parishes, churches and monasteries, compiled a register of cases of violence against Orthodox Christians, he also defended court cases and worked tirelessly to raise the spiritual level of pastors and flocks. The titanic work and exploits of this theologian, diplomat, historian and lawyer, learned archpastor in the defense and revival of Orthodoxy in Belarus prompted in 1992 the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate to canonize Archbishop Georgiy of Mogilev and Belarus as locally revered saints. One of the features was hatred of the union of those who were involved in violence and suffered in one way or another. Having bowed their heads to power, they did not bow in spirit. After the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772 - 1795), the reason for which, to a certain extent, was the incessant violence of Catholics against the Orthodox, as well as the constant prayers of the Orthodox to the Russian tsars for salvation, the reverse process of returning the Uniates to the Orthodox Church began. In February 1839, in Polotsk, the Uniate bishops drew up a conciliar resolution on the union of the Uniates with the Orthodox Church. The triumph of Orthodoxy for Belarusians took place on March 25, 1839.

Brief historical sketch

As a result of the change in state borders that followed the end of the First World War, the entire western part of Belarus was included in the Polish state, and more than one and a half thousand Orthodox church parishes found themselves under the jurisdiction of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Poland.

After well-known historical upheavals and catastrophes, Soviet power was established by 1918 in Mogilev, Smolensk, Vitebsk and a significant part of Minsk provinces. In the period before 1941, the struggle against religion in general and the Orthodox Church in particular did not cease for a moment, taking on greater or lesser degrees of intensity. Resolution of Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod in Moscow of November 7/20, 1920? 362 on granting diocesan bishops greater powers and rights in organizing church life in their dioceses served as the basis for the declaration of the Belarusian Orthodox Metropolis on June 23, 1922. It was headed by Bishop Melchizedek of Minsk, who was elected Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus. But the repressions of the Soviet authorities did not make it possible to establish normal church life. After numerous arrests and exiles, Metropolitan Melchizedek died suddenly in the late 1920s in Moscow while serving the Divine Liturgy. Following him, almost all Orthodox priests and bishops of Soviet Belarus ended their earthly journey in prisons and camps. Their places were occupied by renovationists for some time, but they too soon disappeared. Church and religious life in this part of Belarus froze... By the beginning of the Second World War, only two churches remained in the eastern borders of Belarus, where services were periodically held.

There were five dioceses within the borders of the Polish Republic - Warsaw-Kholm, Volyn, Polesie, Grodno and Vilna. They cared for up to five million native Orthodox inhabitants of all Poland and constituted the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which received autocephaly from the Patriarch of Constantinople Gregory III in 1924 at the request of the episcopate and the government. But the only document of legal significance that supposedly normalized the position of the Orthodox Church in this republic were the so-called “Temporary Rules on the Government’s Relationship to the Orthodox Church in Poland,” signed by the Minister of Education and Religion in 1922. The significance of this document can be judged by the fact that it did not at all prevent the slow destruction in Warsaw of a unique temple, comparable only to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow - the Cathedral in the name of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, donated by Russia to the Orthodox residents of Poland and its capital.

After the signing of a concordat by the Polish government and the Pope in 1925, which declared Catholicism the dominant religion in Poland, an orgy of destruction of everything Orthodox began: of the one and a half thousand churches of the Orthodox Church in Poland, a third of them were taken away from believers; during 1938 alone, 140 churches were destroyed, and before the outbreak of World War II - 150 temples and houses of worship.

At the same time, Belarusian and Ukrainian national schools were almost completely liquidated. According to the government program, in 1934 the general Polonization of Belarusians began. Teaching the Law of God and preaching by priests could henceforth be carried out only in Polish.

Moreover, only on November 18, 1938, the President of the Polish Republic, the Chairman of the Ministers and the Minister of Religions signed the “Internal Charter of the Holy Polish Autocephalous Church,” and on December 30, a presidential decree was issued on the legal existence of the Orthodox Church in the state.

After the Soviet occupation of Western Belarus on September 1, 1939, new changes followed in the church structure of the Orthodox. Vilna was given to the Lithuanian Republic, and in 1940 Metropolitan Sergius of the Resurrection was appointed there from Moscow with the title Metropolitan of Vilna and Lithuania, Exarch of the Baltic States.

Metropolitan Nikolai Yaroshevich was appointed to the department of the Volyn diocese by Metropolitan Sergius of Stragorod with the title of Exarch of Western Ukraine and Belarus.

The newly created Grodno-Vilei diocese was headed by Archbishop Panteleimon Rozhnovsky, who had Venedikt Bobkovsky as vicar bishop of Brest since 1941.

Archimandrite Veniamin Novitsky of the Pochaev Lavra was appointed Bishop of Polesie in Pinsk in the first half of June 1941.

The fascist German troops who occupied Belarus saw the picture of the almost complete destruction of the Orthodox Church.

There were no clergy and monks, the churches were destroyed or closed; in the capital of Minsk, of the nine that survived, only one St. Alexander Nevsky Church operated in the ancient Military Cemetery. However, there were a huge number of believers, and, wanting to gain the sympathy of the population, the occupation authorities did not interfere with the revival of church life.

Metropolitan Panteleimon and Bishop Benedict received the following conditions under which the authorities agreed to allow church development:

1) The Orthodox Church in Belarus is guided by its holy canons, and the German authorities do not interfere in its internal life;

2) The Orthodox Church in Belarus should be called the “Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox National Church;

3) preaching, teaching the Law of God and church writing must be conducted in the Belarusian language;

4) the appointment of bishops, deans and priests should not be made without the knowledge of the German authorities;

5) the statute of the “Belarusian Orthodox Autocephalous National Church” must be presented;

6) divine services must be performed in Church Slavonic.

At a specially arranged church meeting convened by Metropolitan Panteleimon, it was decided:

1) accept for guidance and implementation the conditions presented in the letter of the General Commissariat of Belarus;

2) move the residence of the metropolitan from the Zhirovitsky monastery to the capital of Belarus - the city of Minsk;

3) open a theological seminary;

4) assign the title “Metropolitan of Minsk and All Belarus” to Metropolitan Panteleimon.

However, soon Belarusian political figures achieved the removal of Metropolitan Panteleimon from the administration of the Church for his strictly Russian and monarchist beliefs and henceforth did not cease to interfere in the affairs of the church dispensation in Belarus, which soon reached a dead end.

To resolve the main issues, Metropolitan Panteleimon convened a council of bishops. The council decided to open six dioceses - Vitebsk, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, Novogrudok and Smolensk - and ordain bishops to them.

A Synod consisting of two bishops was elected, chaired by a metropolitan.

Continuing to interfere in the affairs of church administration, Belarusian political figures, with the support of the occupation authorities, aggravated their disastrous influence, seeking German decrees to remove bishops they did not like and change the decisions made. Their conflict with Metropolitan Panteleimon ended with the removal of the ruling bishop from affairs by the German authorities and his exile to Vileika, where he lived under supervision. The Metropolitan was replaced by Bishop Philotheus, but soon he too became disliked by Belarusian leaders, because he did not declare the required autocephaly. By rudeness and threats on behalf of the occupation authorities, they achieved the convening of a general Church Council on August 29, 1942. However, the German authorities did not take into account either the opinion of the Church or the opinion of Belarusian leaders, and demonstrated their own program of relations towards the Orthodox Church and people, subject to complete liquidation in the future. At the council it was clear that a canonical declaration of autocephaly was impossible, and therefore the statute of the “Orthodox Belarusian Autocephalous Church” was considered without a formal declaration of autocephaly.

There was a temporary lull, but six months later the Belarusian leaders began the unrest again. It continued until the Soviet troops broke through the front line between Vitebsk and Orsha and the hasty evacuation of the Belarusian hierarchs from Grodno to Germany, along with the Belarusian politicians who were so disturbing them, whose political ambitions brought the death of many thousands of Orthodox Christians. The priests who remained in the parishes continued to share the fate of their parishioners, and all the decrees and works of the episcopate on the creation of the Belarusian Orthodox Church turned into nothing and passed into the realm of history.

Gradually, especially during the sixties, the few surviving churches were closed and destroyed. The number of parishes decreased sharply and reached 369.

The Theological Seminary and monasteries in Polotsk and Grodno were closed.

Significant changes in the life of the Orthodox Church in Belarus began in 1989 after the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'.

In October of this year, the Polotsk, Mogilev and Pinsk dioceses were revived, in January 1990 the Gomel see was restored and the Brest see was established, in October 1991 the Novogrudok and Grodno dioceses were established, and in May 1992 the Turov and Vitebsk dioceses.

By the beginning of 1991, there were 609 parishes in the republic. Canonically, all ten dioceses on the territory of Belarus are part of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church established in 1990, which has administrative independence and is governed by the Synod headed by the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, who is His Eminence Philaret, who accepted the See of Minsk in 1978 .

The second official name of the Belarusian Exarchate is the Belarusian Orthodox Church. In 1989 (after closing in 1963), the Minsk Theological Seminary resumed its activities; in 1993 - by decision of the Synod the Belarusian Theological Academy was established.

As of July 1, 1994, the Belarusian Orthodox Church numbered 850 parishes and 8 monasteries, and by the time of the second visit of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow to White Rus', there were already 918 parishes, 3 men’s and 6 women’s monasteries.