Minsk, June 6, 2022
Divine Liturgy at the Savior-St. Euphrosyne Monastery in Polotsk. Photo: patriarchia.ru
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia is visiting Belarus for the celebration of the 1,030th anniversary of Orthodoxy in the Belarusian lands and the establishment of the Polotsk Diocese.
The Patriarch and the Russian Church delegation arrived at the Minsk airport on Saturday, June 4, where they were greeted by His Eminence Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and All Belarus and clergy of the Belarusian Church, reports patriarchia.ru.
From the airport, they traveled to Victory Square in central Minsk to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Victory Monument. “Memory eternal” was sung to all Belarusian leaders and soldiers who have died for the faith, their homeland, and the people.
His Holiness then traveled to the Patriarchal representation in Minsk, where he celebrated the rite of the small consecration of the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
He offered a word on the unity of the Russian Church and the fallen defenders of Belarus:
I am touched that this church and representation have been built on Belarusian soil, in the center of Minsk, where the Patriarch can stay… The very fact of the existence of this courtyard has great spiritual and symbolic significance. Because through this church, through this place, our unity, the unity of Holy Rus’, is visibly demonstrated. The very unity that formed the psychology of the Russian man.
When I say “Russian,” I mean Belarusians, Ukrainians, all those who came out of the Kiev Baptismal font. Moreover, through this unity, a system of values was formed, which contributed to the fact that our people, historically a single people, were able to overcome enormous historical trials. And probably the most terrible test in history for our people was the Great Patriotic War. And Belarus became the place where this struggle was especially fiercely waged...
All of this—our heroic history, the blood shed together, a single system of values formed primarily by moral postulates and moral sermons, the moral feat of Orthodoxy—really created the character of our man and the strength of spirit that was able to break the terrible enemy, and at the same time to accomplish the great feat of restoring a large country...
Therefore, of course, whenever I visit Minsk, I am glad that I have the opportunity to lay a wreath at the monument in honor of the fallen defenders of the Fatherland, and I remember this historical and heroic history of Minsk, Belarus and our entire land.
May the Lord help us, first of all, to preserve unanimity. Because the enemy of the human race is now acting very strongly, trying to destroy the spiritual unity of Holy Rus’. But it’s the relations of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Belarusian Church that, in a sense, guarantee the spiritual unity of our peoples.
Therefore, it was with special joy that I consecrated today the church in honor of Sts. Cyril and Methodius of the Patriarchal residence in the city of Minsk.
The delegation then traveled to the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk, where the Patriarch laid a wreath at the newly installed monument to His Eminence Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk, who reposed in January 2021 after heading the Belarusian Church for 35 years.
Pat. Kirill addressed the Belarusian clergy:
I would like to thank you for your efforts to strengthen Orthodoxy in the Belarusian land, for your loyalty to the canonical order.
It’s very important to maintain unity in order to be effective in carrying out the mission in our turbulent modern world. I wish each of you spiritual and physical strength, to remain faithful to the canonical order and, most importantly, to have a pastoral heart open to human pain, to human sorrows. In response to this openness, there will be love and support from the people.
The Patriarch then attended Vigil at the cathedral, serving the Matins portion.
The next morning, Pat. Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council and the feast of St. Euphrosyne, Abbess of Polotsk (+1173) at the Savior-St. Euphrosnye Monastery in Polotsk.
The Patriarchal Liturgy was the central celebration of the 1,030th anniversary of the founding of the Polotsk Diocese, the oldest in the Belarusian lands. His Holiness venerated the precious relics of St. Euphrosyne before the service in the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral.
Divine Liturgy at the Savior-St. Euphrosyne Monastery in Polotsk. Photo: patriarchia.ru
During the service, Archimandrite Eusebius (Tyukhlov) was consecrated Bishop of Slutsk and Soligorsk. His Holiness was concelebrated by a number of Belarusian hierarchs and clerics.
Following the service, Abbess Evdokia (Levshuk) presented the Patriarch with a hand-painted icon of St. Euphrosyne.
Pat. Kirill then offered a primatial word:
I heartily congratulate all of you on this wonderful feast. This is a feast not only of this land, one of the first to adopt Christianity in the vastness of Rus’, but also a feast of the whole of Rus’. That is why I am with you today, because the adoption of Christianity here, in this place, served as a very strong impetus to the spread of the faith of Christ…
This great gift of the Orthodox faith must be strengthened, especially in the hearts of young people. Because young people are under the strong influence of the modern information flow, and most haven’t yet developed a clear criterion, or the ability to assess what reaches their vision, hearing, consciousness. That’s why working with young people is so important, and God grant that we make full use of the new opportunities that have opened up, so that the grace of God through the word of the Church, through the transmission of the holy Mysteries to our people would truly strengthens faith, piety, love for the Fatherland, and love for each other. To really overcome the discord of this world, human sins, untruth, lawlessness and crimes.
His Holiness also emphasized the need to acquire purity of heart, with which we can see God, and of which St. Euphrosyne is a shining example.
The Patriarch is scheduled to meet with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko today.
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