The dramatic events in Belarus, where more than one person has died during peaceful protests against election fraud, continue to reveal the true face of certain religious leaders and structures.
Previously we wrote about the support of Alexander Lukashenko by the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (ROC MP), which contrasts with the neutral and conciliatory position of the Belarusian Catholic Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=39073). We also wrote about the absurd policy of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, which first expressed support for Lukashenko and then called for dialogue between the (usurper) authorities and the protesters (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=39084).
Yesterday this story developed further. The Holy Synod of the ROC MP replaced the head of the Belarusian Exarchate, Pavel, making him the Metropolitan of Yekaterinodar and Kuban, and appointed in his place the Bishop of Borisov and Maryinogorsk, Veniamin.
What is the essence of this decision? In the ROC, they are trying to present it as if they are meeting the Belarusians halfway by appointing a local priest and ethnic Belarusian at the head of the Belarusian Exarchate instead of a Russian. However, the fact is that the Russian Pavel did not exert much pressure on the Belarusian priests and parishioners, nor did he try to pursue a compromising policy because he lacked authority among them.
Following the example of Belarusian Catholics and Protestants, Pavel also called on the authorities to stop the violence. «I ask Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, who is our guarantor, to do everything possible to stop the violence. I think it is possible. At the same time, I ask our citizens not to incite. I ask for prayer. We cannot give advice, but we can ask. We ask the leadership of the country to stop the violence. Because violence only breeds more violence. Let’s do everything so that peace will reign in our country,» said the former exarch Pavel.
However, some priests of the Belarusian Exarchate of the ROC went further and openly spoke out against the authorities. Archbishop Artemy of Grodno and Volkovysk called for an end to neo-Bolshevism, clearly referring to the existing government. Although the Belarusian Exarchate under Pavel’s leadership distanced itself from this statement, it did so hesitantly, stating only that the archbishop was expressing his personal point of view.
Such a position of religious leaders in Belarus of different faiths, who essentially sided with society, angered the usurper of power, Lukashenko. «I am surprised by the position of our religious communities. My dear clergymen, calm down and mind your own business,» he said, threatening that otherwise the state would «react».
In this situation, the ROC deputy makes the decision to remove the former leader of the Belarusian Exarchate, who tries to maintain at least some neutrality between the authorities and the people, and appoints a leader who unswervingly follows the «party and government line», in this case Kirill Gundyaev and Alexander Lukashenko. Thus, the KGB, the organization that nurtured them, once again demonstrates that support for the authorities is more important to them than the trust of the people, which in this case was prioritized by Belarusian Catholics and Protestants.
Moreover, we can see that some Orthodox priests in Belarus also acted in a similar way, which angered the leadership of the ROC MP. No less disturbing is the presence of such Orthodox dissenters in Russia itself, whom the ROC deputy will now try even harder to silence.
During the same Holy Synod of the ROC MP, a decision was made to prohibit priests and novices of ROC church institutions from disclosing information about church events to third parties, including the media, without special permission from their leadership, under threat of expulsion from service and communion. Observers note that this decision is primarily aimed not at protecting the ROC from external attacks, but at countering internal dissent and opposition. And today these dissenters include people as diverse as the suspended liberal deacon Andrey Kurayev and the black-hooded Schema monk Sergei Romanov, as well as the information platforms «Tserkovich,» «Portal-Credo,» etc.
In general, the leadership of the ROC, through its increasing alignment with the authorities, not only further opposes society, but also attempts to silence the voices within it that are dissatisfied with this policy.