Groups preparing for the Basel meeting

In the capital Minsk, young people from various churches are preparing to live the next stage of the pilgrimage of trust on earth. Since Switzerland does not have a consulate in Belarus, the brothers visited the Hungarian Embassy, ​​which will issue visas.

For several years, the cities of Pinsk and Brest had not had a visit from Taizé. In both places, groups attended the Riga meeting in late 2016 and the brothers were welcomed by the local Catholic communities to present the Basel meeting and invite the young people.

This presence of Belarusian youth in the Taizé meetings was at the center of exchanges with several church leaders, such as the priests met at the headquarters of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, the Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus, Bishop Gabor Pinter, the Catholic Bishop of Grodno, Monsignor Aleksander, or the apostolic visitor of the Greco-Catholics, Archimandrite Sergiusz.

Over the years, a true friendship deepened with several local communities

The first Belarusian Orthodox group that came to Taizé in the 1990s was one from the parish of "Joy of all the Afflicted" in Minsk. As with every visit of the brothers, a meeting with the Orthodox youth was organized in this parish in the presence of several priests. Echoes were given of life in Taizé by the participants in this summer’s meetings . In the capital, the brothers also participated in a prayer in the Latin Catholic cathedral and in one of the country’s Greco-Catholic churches.

Another meeting with Orthodox youth took place in Gomel, the second city of the country. A young deacon is in charge of the activities proposed by the Church for the youth of the city. After a visit to the St Mikolai Orthodox monastery, a meeting was prepared with young people at the cathedral, in a specially prepared place where young people can meet regularly. In this city as in others, the hospitality offered by a family of the city was outstanding.

In the town of Grodno, in the west of the country, a long friendship unites Taizé with the local Catholic community. A prayer for peace and then a meeting until late into the night brought together a large number of young people, some of whom had already participated in the European meetings, with others preparing for the first time. The brother also visited the synagogue with a small group of young people - Grodno is a city where the Jewish community is present and active.

Several cities visited for the first time

This visit by the brothers was also an opportunity to visit four cities for the first time. At Mahilioŭ, on the banks of the Dnieper River, a small group of young people gathered in the cathedral to talk about Taizé. Elderly grandmothers were also present - it was an opportunity to see how different generations come together in the Church.

In Polotsk, a group of young people regularly gather in the parish of St. Andrew Bobola. During the meeting with the brother, young people from the neighboring town of Braslaw were also present. The evening began with common prayer and then the young people exchanged about their preparations for the next meeting in Basel. The Orthodox monastery, where the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk was visited during this short visit, as well as St. Sophia’s Cathedral (Полацкі Сафійскі сабор) where a remarkable organ concert took place.

In the small town of Derechin, near Slonym, the young people gathered for common prayer and a moment of exchanges. Proximity to one of the most important sites of the Orthodox Church, the Holy Dormition Monastery in Zhirovichy, was also an opportunity to visit and revere the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovichy.

Finally, in the town of Slutsk, Orthodox Bishop Anthony wished to invite a brother to exchange with the leaders of the youth ministry of the diocese. In this diocese, many projects are run by the Church, from youth camps to visits to a boarding school for the disabled. The weekly meetings of their "fraternity" allow young people to feel very involved in the life of the local Church. In the evening, the small team left for the nearby town of Soligorsk to visit the new cathedral, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the country, which will be inaugurated at the end of November in the presence of the Belarusian Orthodox bishops. Two icons were presented to the community of Taizé, representing two great saints particularly revered in these two cities, St. Sophia and St. John of Soligorsk, who was executed in 1937 by Stalin’s decision.

This visit was the occasion to note a kind of small springtime in relations between the churches in Belarus, lately. During a visit by about forty Catholic bishops from all over Europe for the COMECE General Assembly in Minsk and also for the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Apostolic Nunciature, the presence of the metropolitan Pavel was very much noted. It is hoped that the participation of Belarusian youth in the Taizé meetings will also contribute, at a humble level, to the establishment of bridges between the various Christian communities in this country.