According to the Christian tradition, on the 40th day after a funeral, people pray for the dead. President Alexander Lukashenko attended the Holy Spirit Cathedral to light a candle to honour the memory of the victims of the tragedy of the evening of April 11th. The whole country remembers this bloody, terrorist act and sympathises with the relatives of those killed. Flowers continue to be laid at the metro entrance in Nezavisimosti Avenue; their number even increased on Friday. All Belarusians accepted this tragedy as their common grief.
The Belarusian President thanked Metropolitan Filaret and the whole Belarusian Orthodox Church for their help given to people during these sad and sorrowful days, serving as an example to all confessions. “You have been with the people. Please, convey my sincere gratitude to the clergy for their colossal support given to the Belarusian people over those days,” said Mr. Lukashenko.
The Head of State continued, “This horrendous event has become possible in Belarus. The reason lies in the shortcomings and vices of our society, which the Church has repeatedly highlighted. This evil doesn’t originate in our land and is very difficult to counteract in this time of globalisation, but we must. We’ll be doing our utmost to ensure nothing similar ever occurs in our country again. Fortunately, this isn’t a systematic issue. We know that now and thank God for the fact. However, there is no room for complacency. The world is in turmoil, economically and morally, with human dignity defied and God’s Commandments violated. The world is now in turmoil, up in arms; each day, thousands of innocent people die. In this economic, political, social and military whirl, we must keep the country together. We should stay to the last ditch, firmly clenching our teeth.”
The terrorist act has been disclosed, but those killed will never return. As a result of this awful crime, 14 people died and over 200 were sent to hospital. According to the latest data, 28 patients remain. Bodies and lives are broken. This is understood by everyone and no one can set aside their feelings; donations from citizens continue to pour in. The state has much to do to help people recover from the wounds left by the terrorist act.
