R.P.Ts.
RISKS LOSING
BELORUSSIA BECAUSE OF ATTITUDE TOWARD ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
Patriarch
Kirill
recognized victory of long-serving head of state; local clerics
dispute it
by
Milena Faustova
Nezavisimaia
Gazeta,
11 August 2020
Patriarch
of Moscow
and all-Rus Kirill congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his
victory in the
presidential election, which was held in Belorussia on 9 August.
At the same
time, a portion of the clergy of the Belorussian Orthodox Church
(BPTs)
declared that the election were falsified and called them "an
insult to
human dignity." Because of the disagreements within the RPTs,
representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PTsU)
expressed a conviction
that soon there will appear in the republic a new church
structure, independent
from the Moscow patriarchate.
"You
unfailingly
give attention to questions of the spiritual and moral state of
people, which
is attested in particular in the fruitful cooperation of
agencies of the
government with the Belorussian exarchate," Patriarch Kirill's
congratulatory letter says. The head of the Moscow patriarchate
also expressed
the hope for a continuation of cooperation "in order to
facilitate the
consolidation of the nation and accomplishment of socially
significant projects
and initiatives, the enlightenment and patriotic education of
the young
generation, and the establishment in society of the enduring
ideals of
kindness, peace, welfare, and justice."
"Now any
statement on the part of the RPTs is viewed only through the
prism of the
aggravation of the political situation in Belorussia. Many have
hastened to
declare that Patriarch Kirill's congratulation on the reelection
of Alexander
Lukashenko to a new term is a false start and should not have
been done so
quickly, the more so regarding praise for Lukashenko's moral
qualities. But
since the Central Election Commission of Belorussia has already
declared the
results of the voting, the patriarch, by virtue of his office,
was obliged to
congratulate the president of that country where such a
substantial portion of
the Russian Orthodox Church as the Belorussian exarchate is
located,"
Roman Lunkin, the director of the Center for the Study of
Religion and Society
of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
noted in a
conversation with NG. However, the expert added, "one could
expect from
the patriarch more words that would give a nod toward
Belorussian
society."
Official
church
structures of the republic itself are still not making haste
with the
congratulations. Back on 8 August, more than 30 Orthodox
clergymen from various
cities of Belorussia joined in a flash mob against
falsifications during the
election. Its initiator was a deacon from Grodno, Dmitry
Pavliukevich, who
published on his Facebook page a poster in which, with the aid
of a biblical
quotation, explained why it is necessary for Orthodox believers
to speak out
against falsifications in the election of the president of the
country. We
recall that back in mid-July, residents of Minsk and Gomel
launched an action "A
Catholic does not falsify."
Immediately
after the
announcement of the results of the election and of protest
actions in the
country, representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
(PTsU) were
noticeably more active. They were confident that Belorussia is
moving along the
path of creating its own autocephalous church, independent of
the RPTs and of
Moscow, and they recalled the Ukrainian events of 2014. "The
Orthodox Church
of Belarus is already a reality, although it still is not
conscious and not
organized," Georgy Kovalenko, a former cleric of the Ukrainian
Orthodox
Church (UPTsMP) who now is a priest of the PTsU, wrote on his
Facebook page,
for example. His colleague priest Alexander Dediukhin even urged
fellow
believers not only to pray for "Belarusan brethren" but to go to
Minsk and to support protests so that the "prayer would be
fervent."
"As
regards an
Orthodox alternative to the RPTs in Belorussia, it is completely
natural that
this topic should arise just as soon as authority in Minsk was
shaken,"
Roman Lunkin continues. "Back when the PTsU was created, the
question of
the creation of something similar to the PTsU on Belorussian
territory arose.
Moreover, there already is such a jurisdiction in the republic,
but it consists
of a few believers and one priest. That is, it is a microscopic
formation and
therefore there still are no grounds for a large schism and
intra-Orthodox
conflict in Belorussia yet," the religious studies scholar
noted.
However,
we recall
that the modern Belorussian lands were never a part of the Kiev
metropolia. It
was the overturning by (Ecumenical) Patriarch of Constantinople
Bartholomew of
the decision concerning the transfer of Kiev into the
jurisdiction of the
Moscow patriarchate that became the basis for the creation of
the PTsU in late
2018. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 August 2020)
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