INDEPENDENT VERSION
Byelorussian
Orthodox Church (of Russian Orthodox Church)
Considerable
changes in the life of the Orthodox Church in Belarus followed the celebration
of 1.000th anniversary of the Baptism of the Rus in 1989.
The Polotsk eparchy, and eparchies
in Mogilev and Pinsk were restored in October 1989. The Gomel eparchy was
restored, and a new Brest eparchy was established in January 1990. In May
1992 eparchies in Turov and Vitebsk were established. There were 609 parishes
in the republic by the end of 1991. According to canon law, the ten eparchies
on the territory of Belarus make the Belarusian Exarchate of Russian Orthodox
Church, established in 1990. The Exarchate is independent in administrative
matters, and is accountable before the Synod, headed by His Grace Philaret,
the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of all Belarus
who assumed the Minsk See in 1978. Another name of the Belarusian Exarchate
is Belarusian Orthodox Church.
Minsk Theological College (closed
in 1963) started its work again in 1989; further on, Belarusian Theological
Academy was set up in accordance with the 1993 resolution of the Synod.
By July 1, 1994, Belarusian Orthodox Church comprised 850 parishes and
8 monasteries, and by the time of the second visit of His Holiness the
Patriarch of Moscow Aleksiy II to White Russia, there were already 918
parishes, 3 monasteries and 6 convents. The monasteries are situated in
the following places: the Holi Assumption Stavropigial monastery is in
the town of Jirovichi, Grodno region, the Holi Epiphany Kuteinski monastery
is in Orsha, Vitebsk region, and The Holi Annunciation Stavropigial monastery
is in the village of Lyady, Minsk region.
Among the convents are: the Saviour-Ephrosinia
convent in Polotsk, the Holi Virgin Nativity convent in Grodno, St Nicholas
convent in Mogilev, the St Barbara convent in Pinsk, the Holi Protective
Veil convent in Khoiniki, Gomel region, and a convent in honour of the
Tikhvin Icon of Virgin Mary, situated in Gomel. By July 22, 1995, there
were 38 monks and 14 lay brothers in the monasteries mentioned.
As for the convents, there were
57 nuns, 33 lay sisters, and 3 nuns that had taken vows of schema. 14 Orthodox
friaries and 15 sisterhoods exist now at parishes and Eparchial Administrations.
By the beginning of 1995, the Exarchate’s
publications included 8 church newspapers, 3 magazines and an information
bulletin.
There were 54 church libraries
registered.
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