Minsk, October 11, 2024
The 1989 Bishops’ Council that established the Belarusian Exarchate. Photo: church.by
This year month marks the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Exarchate was founded during the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church held in Moscow under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia on October 9 to 11, 1989. At the same time, the ancient dioceses of Mogilev, Pinsk, and Polotsk were revived. Before that, there was only one diocese covering the whole country, with 369 active churches and one monastery, the Belarusian Church reports.
Today, the Belarusian Church includes 15 dioceses, more than 1,700 parishes, 7 spiritual educational institutions, 36 monasteries, 15 brotherhoods, and 9 sisterhoods. There are about 1,900 active Orthodox churches, with about 150 more under construction.
Holy Dormition Cathedral in Vitebsk. Photo: church.by
The spiritual revival of Belarus in its recent history is inseparably linked with the personality of Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeev), the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus and Hero of Belarus. During the years of his ministry, in addition to a considerable increase in the number of parishes and monastic communities, the Church’s publishing activities were resumed, the translation of Holy Scripture into modern Belarusian began, many locally venerated saints were glorified by the Belarusian Church, and celebrations of the Synaxis of Belarusian Saints and the Synaxis of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Belarusian Land were established.
Having experience in leading Moscow theological schools, Metropolitan Philaret re-established the Minsk and Vitebsk theological seminaries, and on his initiative, theological schools were opened in Minsk, Vitebsk, Orsha, and Slonim. He also revived the Minsk Theological Academy, and the Institute of Theology began its work as part of the country’s leading university, the Belarusian State University.
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