Orthodoxy in the land of Belarus: pages of history

This article describes the historical path of Orthodoxy in the lands of contemporary Belarus, which has taken more than athousand years and which can be distinguished by a great peculiarity. The states, including the Western Russian lands, have had a decisive influence on the church life of the local population. Orthodoxy came to the lands of present-day Byelarus together with the baptism of all Rus at the late 10^th century. It was the beginning of a complex and long-term process of the Christianization of the vast Old Russian state and the political unification of the East Slavic tribes. The second period in the history of Orthodoxy in ancient Russian lands was connected with the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and lasted until the proclamation of the Brest Church Union (the second half of the 13^th — the late 16^th century). It was characterized by a gradual loss of the position of the Orthodox Church as a result of the religious indifference policy pursued by the pagan authorities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, since 1387, open support of the Roman-Catholic Church, which ended with the adoption of the Brest Church Union. The third period, the 17^th — late 18^th centuries, was the time of struggle for survival in an environment of dominating Catholicism and anti-Orthodox legislation, which led the Orthodox Church to the brink of extinction. The late of 18^th — early 20^th century is characterized by the inclusion of White Russia territories into the Russian Empire. It was a time of Orthodoxy revival and reunification of the Belarusian people divided by the Brest Church Unity into Orthodox and Uniates. The Soviet years in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus are connected with the hard trials, which the Orthodox Church experienced during the Soviet time. The contemporary period in history of Orthodox Church in Byelarus begins with the foundation of the Belarusian Exarchate of Moscow Patriarchate in 1989 and proceeds up to now. It is characterized by not simple process of spiritual revival of the society and fast restoration of Orthodoxy’s positions in the sovereign Republic of Byelarus.

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