Metropolitan Pavel celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Assumption Cathedral in Vitebsk
The Metropolitan's visit is of great importance for the believers of our region. In addition to the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church seeing firsthand the results of many years of work on the revival of the diocese, he also communicated with the flock and learned about their concerns.
In the Holy Assumption Cathedral in the regional center, the Metropolitan participated in the Divine Liturgy and also attended the festival of bell ringing.
By the way, the bell ringers demonstrated their skills and conducted master classes in all churches of the diocese. Congratulating those present on the holiday, the Patriarchal Exarch noted that in reviving the Vitebsk Diocese, the clergy had to face considerable difficulties. First and foremost, this was, of course, the absence of churches after many years of Soviet rule, which destroyed everything related to religion.
“People tried to build paradise on earth without God,” said the Vladyka, “but this is impossible to achieve, because we are God’s creations. And as soon as the very thought of the Lord’s existence disappears, life on earth turns into a real hell, for it is a place where darkness reigns, where there is no God.”
The military hardships also significantly affected the preservation of churches. Many churches were rebuilt from scratch, some were restored, and this process was long and difficult.
Today, the diocese has over 200 parishes and more than 190 clergy, 6 monasteries (4 female and 2 male), and 3 theological schools (Vitebsk Theological Seminary, Orsha Theological School, and Vitebsk Women's Theological School).
Almost every church has Sunday schools, and every summer about 300 boys and girls attend the Orthodox children's health camp "Druzhba", which has been operating under the Vitebsk Diocese since 2002.
In addition, the clergy provide all possible support to orphans, large families, and families raising children with disabilities. Fundraising campaigns for those in need are an important resource in solving many social problems, and also unite all segments of the population in a common desire to help their neighbor.
Youth Orthodox festivals are held, pilgrimage trips, religious processions, and spiritual readings are organized. All significant events can be found on the diocese website and in the monthly newspaper "Our Orthodoxy".
This year is also significant because believers celebrate the centenary of the revival of the patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church, the centenary of the election of Tikhon as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
And, as Metropolitan Pavel said, we rejoice that the Lord has deemed us worthy to live in such a time when we are building, building together with the whole world, a common house of God.
The long-term cooperation between the church and the regional and city authorities contributes to the spiritual and moral enlightenment of the people. During the festive events, the Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Petr Podgursky, presented Archbishop of Vitebsk and Orsha Dmitry with a Letter of Gratitude from the City Executive Committee and the City Council of Deputies.
The head of the Vitebsk Diocese noted the cultural figures who have made a significant contribution to education and presented jubilee certificates to the director of the regional philharmonic society Elena Podolyak, the head of the Vitebsk city youth choir Vitaly Rauzo, and the director Igor Boyarintsev, a teacher at the Vitebsk State College of Culture and Arts.
Summarizing today, we can confidently say that people's striving for light and faith is the result of the efforts of both clergy and parishioners. As Archbishop Dmitry emphasized, God is love, and love is joy. And we share this joy with each other.
