With God for Belarus. Exhibition Dedicated to Outstanding Catholic Priests of the First Half of the 20th Century is Held in Minsk
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On April 3, the Christian Social Center in Minsk opened an exhibition dedicated to outstanding Catholic priests of the 20th century. The purpose of the exhibition is to remember people who at one time made great efforts to make the word of God sound in Belarus in their native language.
At the beginning, priest Alaksandr Šamrycki, the spiritual guardian of the social center, addressed the gathering. Welcoming those present, he specially greeted the chairman of the Conference of Bishops in Belarus, Bishop Aleh Butkievič Archbishop Emeritus Tadevuš Kandrusievič and the Apostolic Administrator for Greek Catholics in Belarus, Archimandrite Siarhiej Hajek.
In order for the exhibition to bring many spiritual fruits and contribute to the expansion of knowledge about our heritage, the opening began with a blessing, which was given by Bishop Butkievič together with the present hierarchs of the Church.
“Almighty, eternal God, please send your blessing to this place, the place of testimony of those people who in their lives professed faith in you and dedicated their lives to this faith. Make those who will visit this exhibition and look at an example of the holy life of priests, felt their patronage and discovered for themselves the greatness and beauty of the Christian faith, which gives birth to such great people for the Kingdom of God,” said the hierarch.
Addressing those present after the blessing, the bishop noted that the testimony given by this exhibition also speaks of how much people valued the presence of priests among them: the opportunity to be in the church every Sunday.
Recalling his own childhood, the hierarch noted how great was the spirituality and power of those priests who, in those very difficult conditions, were able to gather people, celebrate the Eucharist, and conduct pastoral care. “Looking at the photos from that time, one can be surprised at the crowd present, the children at the First Communion, even despite all the later persecutions in connection with this,” said Bishop Butkievič.
“It is wonderful that there is this exhibition – a very small part of that heritage: the testimony of those, maybe not so many, but courageous challengers of the faith of that time. And for us, let it serve as an example, let it awaken the consciousness of our belonging to Christ. The awareness of how important God’s witnesses are on this earth, the signs of His presence among us, and even more so those people whom He calls and who are lacking in our time. Therefore, let this exhibition awaken us to prayer for holy vocations. So that those whom God calls are now worthy descendants of those who worthily passed through difficult times of trials, in order to further build God’s Kingdom,” said Bishop Aleh Butkievič.
Afterwards, archbishop emeritus Tadevuš Kandrusievič also addressed the audience, who, speaking about his own work experience in Russia, spoke of “witnesses of the faith” who testified to their faith not only while serving among believers, but also while in prison or exiled to Siberia . Even in very difficult, inhuman conditions of prisons, they continued their pastoral activities. They celebrated Holy Masses, confessed, they felt needed.
“Everyone who comes here will be touched by this testimony of people who in very difficult conditions did not betray their faith, testified about their faith and passed it on to other people so that they could live with God. When it seemed that everything was lost, that there was no hope, these priests brought them hope,” said the honored hierarch.
The apostolic administrator for Greek Catholics in Belarus, Archimadrite Siarhiej Hajek, noted that “looking with respect at the persons presented at this exhibition, we understand that we are their heirs. That these are not some artifacts of a dead museum, but a living river of interfaith testimony,” said the priest.
The organizers cordially invite everyone to visit the exhibition at:
Minsk, str. Serafimovich, 19
You can find out about working hours by calling the phone number of the Christian Social Center:
+375 (17) 343 99 17
+375 (17) 242 53 99
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