Lukashenko on religious centres: we should help everyone out a little to preserve peace and tranquillity in Belarus
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko signals state assistance for developing religious centres of various denominations to preserve peace and tranquillity on Belarusian land as he visits the agro-town of Zhirovichi, home to one of the largest Orthodox centres — the Holy Dormition Zhirovichi Monastery, BelTA reports
“We must assist everyone to some extent to maintain religious peace and harmony in Belarus,” the Belarusian leader emphasised. “Helping only one religious denomination could offend others and cause conflict. Do we need this? No, we don’t. Therefore, we need to begin by determining what is truly necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in our society. Religious peace is an essential part of our overall peace.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko highlighted that the Orthodox faith received significant support in Zhirovichi, and similar assistance was provided to the Catholics at the Budslav Church, which the President also intends to visit. Similarly, followers of Islam and Judaism, as well as other smaller religious communities, seek to put their religious centres in order and encourage their development.
However, as Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out, it is necessary to focus on the most urgent tasks, since the state also has social responsibilities, such as housing development and other sectors. “We have a lot of nationwide issues. Housing is one of them. There are numerous problems with the roads. People raise concerns about healthcare, housing and public utilities. Many issues require attention. But I have not heard anyone complain about lacking a place to go to the church to pray,” the President stated.
The Head of State also mentioned that sometimes certain churches of different faiths are completely empty. In other words, people do have places to go to pray. “Let's determine the place we should go to relieve our souls or hearts, where we should worship,” Aleksandr Lukashenko urged. “But what about housing? People won’t live in religious buildings, no matter how unpleasant that may sound to me. Housing is essential and necessary. Regarding the second child [referring to additional support for families having a second child], young people are already raising this issue. There are many demands everywhere. I have frankly said that we are not yet ready to provide financial support for having a second child. Similarly, we probably aren’t ready to restore all the churches and chapels that once existed. Secondly, is it really necessary?”
Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed similar views when speaking with clergy members, including Metropolitan Veniamin. He underlined that the Orthodox Church is the largest and most widespread denomination in Belarus, but it is also important to support other faiths. “If we have money, let’s build churches. If not, we will assist in other ways,” he said. “However, housing must come first. We will allocate funding for this. As for roads, there are still areas that remain inaccessible or impassable. Farmers lack sufficient equipment — not everywhere, but in certain areas. We need to assist because it is essential to provide food for people, and so on and so forth.”
