Minsk, March 12, 2026
Photo: stots.edu
The Synodal Information Department of the Belarusian Exarchate has issued a statement cautioning clergy, monastics, and laypeople about the spread of false accounts and videos created using artificial intelligence.
The appeal notes that certain social media pages are posing as official Belarusian Church resources, publishing distorted footage from church services, attempting to discredit clergy and parishioners, and posting misleading statements. Some videos, the statement says, verge on sacrilege.
The statement also flags the danger of AI-generated virtual “clergymen” whose words may bear little resemblance to authentic Christian teaching.
The department lists a number of signs by which false pages and videos may be identified: questionable account ownership, implausible content, unnatural movement, optical distortions, and mismatches between the action and its audio accompaniment.
The appeal urges the faithful to approach their choice of spiritual content responsibly, particularly during the ongoing Great Lent, to observe basic standards of information hygiene, and to ignore unworthy content.
“We invite you to take part wholeheartedly in Church services, where you can see everything with your own eyes, feel it in your heart, and acquire true treasure for your soul in communion with God.”
The warning comes amid similar concerns in other Orthodox churches. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church recently had to denounce AI-generated videos depicting His Holiness Patriarch Daniil apparently promoting commercial goods and services.
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