Belarusian Orthodox Church

History

The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC) was established on October 16, 1989 on the foundation of the Minsk Eparchy. This occurred following decisions made at the 1989 Bishop's Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which appointed Metropolitan Philaret as the Exarch of Belarus.

In 1990, Philaret and three other clergymen were elected to the Supreme Soviet, serving until 1995. Following the conclusion of their terms and a request from the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church for clergy to refrain from seeking election, no priests or hierarchs ran for public office.

Upon Belarus's declaration of independence on August 25, 1991, and its subsequent recognition by more than 50 states by late December, Metropolitan Philaret commented: Between 1988 and 2003, the BOC obtained 709 buildings through the transfer of former Soviet property to the Church.

The Orthodox Church's prominent role in Belarus was formally recognized in the 2002 Law on Religion, which acknowledged the "determining role of the Orthodox Church in... development of... state traditions of the Belarusian people." This recognition was further solidified when the Church and the Belarusian state signed a cooperation agreement in 2003.

The BOC's lobbying efforts during the 2000s, targeting issues like abortions, religious teachings in schools, and the recognition of theological degrees by the Ministry of Education, met with mixed results. While they did not fully succeed, parents were granted the option of choosing elective courses on religious education. In 2011, the Ministry of Education prohibited the display of religious symbols in educational institutions.

The BOC reiterated its ban on political activity by its clergy in 2011. A new Exarch, Paul, was appointed in 2013. Less than a year later, in 2014, he oversaw the creation of four new eparchies. Paul served until 2020, when Benjamin was appointed as the new Exarch.

Structure

The Belarusian Exarchate serves as the national territorial organization of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its head, the Exarch, is elected by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Exarch proposes the appointment of bishops, which requires approval of the Holy Synod, and the establishment of new eparchies, which requires approval of the Bishops' Council.

As of 2024, the Belarusian Orthodox Church includes 1,737 Orthodox parishes, organized into 15 eparchies. It also oversees 6 theological educational institutions, 36 monasteries, 15 brotherhoods, 9 sisterhoods, and 1 mission. In terms of places of worship, 1,878 Orthodox churches are active, with another 147 currently under construction. The BOC's episcopate includes 17 bishops, of whom one is retired and two are Vicar Bishops. Metropolitan Benjamin oversees two eparchies.

As of 2020, the Belarusian Orthodox Church was organized into 15 eparchies:

Belarusian law establishes three tiers for registered religious groups. A religious community needs at least 20 adults from the same or adjacent areas. Religious associations require at least 10 communities, one of which must have been active for 20 years. National religious associations are recognized if they encompass active communities in at least four of Belarus's six oblasts.

Exarchs

Polling

The percentage of the population identifying as Orthodox in Belarus rose from 22% in 1989 to 43.5% in 1993, then continued to increase to 67.4% in 2002 and 78.8% in 2010.

In 2010 8.2% of Orthodox attended Church weekly compared to 34.9% of Catholics in Belarus and 63.6% of Protestants.

According to a 2017 Pew Research, 73% of Belarus's population identifies as Orthodox, and 71% express pride in their religious identity. Among Orthodox adherents, 17% consider religion very important in their lives, 12% attend church weekly, 22% pray daily, and 88% believe in God.

On the role of religion in public life, 44% support public funding for churches. While 42% believe the government should promote religious values, 50% disagree with this stance. Only 45% of Belarusians deem religion important for their national identity, the lowest among surveyed countries, compared to 57% in Russia and 64% in Poland.

According to a 2021 poll supported by Chatham House, the Orthodox Church ranked among the most trusted institutions in Belarus.

Criticism and controversies

In a statement from 2023, the exiled Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic accused the Belarusian Orthodox Church of failing to condemn violence in Belarus following the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests and of interfering in the affairs of other Christian churches and thereby being "the main source of inter-religious tension in Belarus".

In 2022 and 2023, the Orthodox St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk has been holding public events supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine and raised funds to support Russian troops. The convent has also been involved in promoting homophobia, and other controversies.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

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3. (27 August 2003). "Contemporary Belarus: Between Democracy and Dictatorship". Routledge.
4. [http://church.by/mitropolit-veniamin/mitropolit-minskij-i-sluckij-veniamin-patriarshij-ekzarh-vseja-belarusi ВЕНИАМИН, МИТРОПОЛИТ МИНСКИЙ И ЗАСЛАВСКИЙ, ПАТРИАРШИЙ ЭКЗАРХ ВСЕЯ БЕЛАРУСИ] - "Решением Священного Синода от 25 августа 2020 г. (журнал № 46) назначен Патриаршим Экзархом всея Беларуси, митрополитом Минским и Заславским, с сохранением временного управления Борисовской епархией.
   Возведен в сан митрополита Святейшим Патриархом Московским и всея Руси Кириллом 6 сентября 2020 г. за Божественной литургией в кафедральном соборном Храме Христа Спасителя в городе Москве."
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27. "Путь служения. Биография митрополита Филарета (Вахромеева)".
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37. "Доверие гражданскому обществу снижается".
38. (2008). "Между церковью и партией".
39. (2009). "Доверяем, но не надеемся".
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42. (24 March 2022). "Belarusians’ views on the political crisis".
43. The Rada characterised the church as "a Russian colonial institution" and "one of the ideological pillars of A. Lukashenka's regime".[https://www.radabnr.org/en/the-russian-orthodox-church-is-the-main-source-of-interreligious-tension-in-belarus-statement-of-bnr-rada/ THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF INTERRELIGIOUS TENSION IN BELARUS - STATEMENT OF BNR RADA] - BNR Rada official website, 7 July 2023
44. [https://nashaniva.com/319447 У Свята-Елізавецінскім манастыры правялі Z-канцэрт. На сцэне былі партрэты «Матаролы», Захарчанкі, Пушыліна] [A Z-concert held in the St Elisabeth Convent. Portraits of [[Arsen Pavlov. Motorola]], [[Alexander Zakharchenko. Zakharchenko]] and [[Denis Pushilin. Pushilin]] were on the stage] - [[Nasha Niva]], 18 June 2023
45. [https://www.racyja.com/sumezhzha/u-polshchy-pratsyagvaetstsa-zbor-galasou-s/ У Польшчы працягваецца збор галасоў супраць гандлю менскага Свята-Елізавецінскага манастыра] [Signatures are being collected in Poland against St Elisabeth Convent participation in trade fairs] - [[Radio Racyja]]
46. [https://www.svaboda.org/a/32551132.html «Хрысьціянская візія»: З красавіка Сьвята-Лізавецінскі манастыр мог паўдзельнічаць у набыцьці 7 аўтамабіляў для расейскіх вайскоўцаў] [St Elisabeth Convent may possibly participated in acquiring seven vehicles for Russian troops] - [[Radio Svaboda]], 16 August 2023
47. Galkovskaya, Anna. (10 March 2020). ""Гэта крык сэрца і душы бацькоў". Подведены итоги сбора подписей против ЛГБТ-пропаганды". Пролайф Беларусь.
48. Vaitovich, Maryia. (27 March 2020). "Over 52K signatures under controversial appeal for 'LGBT propaganda ban'".