The Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan honors the memory of the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeev)

On August 5, 2024, in Belarus, after the Divine Liturgy in the main church of the Assumption Zhyrovichy Monastery, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan visited the burial place of the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeev), and performed a memorial service for the ever-memorable archpastor.

Praying with the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan were: Archbishop Guriy of Novogrudok and Slonim, Abbot of the Assumption Zhyrovichy Monastery, and Honorary Patron of the Minsk Theological Seminary; Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk; Bishop Auxentius of Nesvizh, Vicar of the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Protopriest Viktor Vasilevich, Rector of the Minsk Theological Seminary; and staff members of the departments and commissions of the Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan, led by O.N. Ovchinnikov, Honored Artist of Russia.

At the conclusion of the memorial service, Metropolitan Alexander laid flowers on the hierarch's grave, after which those gathered sang "Memory Eternal."

By 1978, when Metropolitan Philaret assumed the leadership of the Minsk and Belarusian Diocese, believers in the BSSR had lost hundreds of churches, seminaries, monasteries, and pastoral care. In Minsk, services were conducted in only two churches, and the country had only one functioning monastery in Zhyrovichy. The main concern of the hierarch and his associates was the revival of Orthodoxy in White Russia and the tireless efforts to open and establish parishes, revive monastic life, provide spiritual education for clergy and laity, and enlighten the faithful.

The result of these labors was the establishment of the Belarusian Exarchate in 1989, granting it administrative independence and its own governance by a Synod headed by the Patriarchal Exarch. During Metropolitan Philaret's 35-year leadership of the Belarusian Exarchate, 24 women's and 10 men's monasteries were opened, the number of Orthodox parishes increased several times, and hundreds of new churches were built and many destroyed ones were restored.

The Belarusian Orthodox Church glorified many locally venerated saints, established the Feast of the Synaxis of Belarusian Saints (later including the names of 14 more saints who labored on Belarusian soil), and the Feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Belarus.

The spiritual revival was aided by the reopening of the Minsk Theological Seminary and the founding of the Minsk Theological Academy. Spiritual schools were established in Minsk, Slonim, and Orsha, along with the Bell-Ringers School at the Minsk Diocesan Administration and the Catechist School of the Minsk Diocese. A seminary was opened in Vitebsk, and a theological faculty was established, which later became the Institute of Theology at the Belarusian State University.

A tradition of holding annual forums and conferences with the participation of theologians, creative and scientific intelligentsia, religious leaders from near and far abroad, and representatives of government bodies was established.

Metropolitan Philaret actively participated in the drafting of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," which in its new version enshrined the defining role of the Orthodox Church in the development of the spiritual, state, and cultural traditions of the Belarusian people.

The agreement on cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Belarusian Orthodox Church, concluded in 2003, laid the foundation for church-state relations in Belarus and was unparalleled in the post-Soviet space. This agreement serves as the basis for cooperation agreements and programs signed in recent decades.

Further information on the life and work of the archpastor can be found here.