By Kostas Onisenko
The Akathist Hymn will be sung and a prayer will be said for the people of Belarus in the afternoon, at 5.00 pm, in all the churches and monasteries in the country.
It is an initiative of the new head of the Church of Belarus, Bishop Venimian. Bishop Venimian of Borisov and Maryinogorsk has taken the reins of the Church, which belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate, replacing Metropolitan Pavel, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 25th of August.
“We are all full of ambition to calm the unrest among our people, to create blessed peace and tranquillity. This requires united prayer by the whole Belarusian Orthodox Church. “Prayer and unity in faith, hope for God’s help and love for Christ – This is our witness to the truth: strength and hope,” Bishop Venimian said in a statement.
Two weeks after the end of the presidential election, the protests and demonstrations against the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko have not stopped. Thousands of people have been arrested, dozens are missing and at least five people have been killed in clashes between protesters and the police.
