Minsk, February 12, 2026
Photo: church.by
The Belarusian Orthodox Church has been implementing several major projects aimed at integrating people with hearing impairments into Church life and providing them with spiritual education and support.
At the initiative of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, the Synodal Department for Catechesis is running three key programs:
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Sign Language School—a project aimed at training parish specialists in the basics of sign language
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About God Without Extraneous Words—a project aimed at the spiritual education of deaf and hard-of-hearing people, run online;
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Inclusive Pilgrimage Service—a project aimed at catechizing people with disabilities, including hearing impairments, and introducing them to the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Orthodox Church
As the Belarusian Church reports, it has also initiated the establishment of the parish of the Church of the Meeting of the Lord in Minsk, whose activities are directed toward the spiritual care and social support of people with hearing impairments. Similar activities are beginning to develop in other regions.
Yesterday, these efforts were further formalized when the Belarusian Church and the Belarusian Society of the Deaf signed a cooperation agreement at the Minsk Diocesan administration. The agreement was signed by His Eminence Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and Zaslavl and Sergei Skuranovich, chairman of the Central Board of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf.
The cooperation agreement aims to develop activities for the integration and spiritual-moral education of people with hearing impairments. Today, more than 10,000 people with hearing impairments live in the Republic of Belarus. They face difficulties in communication, and their integration into church life presents a particular challenge.
The Belarusian Orthodox Church, together with the Belarusian Society of the Deaf, has been implementing these integration projects for several years to overcome barriers related to the health characteristics of people with hearing disabilities.
The About God Without Extraneous Words project was launched on February 3, 2024, organized by the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechesis together with the N.F. Sharko Republican Palace of Culture of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf. The opening event featured a video with sign language translation titled Why Godparents Are Necessary, which generated interest among participants. Representatives of the Belarusian Society of the Deaf expressed wishes for future project activities, including organizing pilgrimage trips, arts and crafts master classes, and participation in cultural and educational events of the Belarusian Church.
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