Minsk, September 16, 2022
oroik.by
Thanks to the efforts of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, a special Orthodox sign language school was held in Minsk, drawing students not only from all across Belarus, but also Russia and Lithuania.
The school, held from August 29 to September 7, was organized by the Church’s Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechesis and the Brotherhood of St. John the Theologian of the Minsk Diocese, the Belarusian Church reports.
The Sign Language Summer School was initially launched last year with two trial courses. This year, the program was expanded, and was also offered in an online format in addition to in-person participation.
minsknews.by
The Church brought in advanced sign language interpreters to train participants in the basics, with an added focus on ecclesiastical terms. They also had the opportunity to attend the Divine Liturgy with simultaneous sign language translation, which many students witnessed for the first time.
They also had the chance to put their training to the test—the Church of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem where the Liturgy was served has had an active community of the deaf and hearing impaired for more than 20 years now.
The liturgical vocabulary for Belarusian sign language was developed by a special commission over the course of 25 years. Each word or phrase was meticulously compared to the ancient Greek language, and the specialists referred to how particular words are signed in Ukrainian, Polish, and other languages.
So far, there is one church in Minsk that offers a complete sign language translation of the Divine Liturgy, but volunteer interpreters can be assigned to more parishes by invitation.
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