POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF THE CLERGY OF THE BELARUSIAN PARISHES OF THE CONSTANTINOPLE PATRIARCHATE IN 1950–1991

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the specifics of the political activity of the clergy of the Belarusian parishes of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which united around themselves a significant part of the Belarusian post-war diaspora. The direct participation of the Belarusian Central Rada in the formation of Orthodox communities and church governance bodies of this church jurisdiction led to their involvement in activities of a political nature. A manifestation of this was the direct participation of Belarusian clergy in the work of the administrative divisions of the Belarusian Central Rada. At the same time, clergy were allowed to discuss issues of a church nature (the ordination of a Belarusian bishop, the approval of candidates for entry into the clergy, etc.) and to make political decisions (conducting plenums and sessions of the rada, developing anti-Soviet resolutions, etc.). A notable component of the activities of the clergy of the named jurisdiction was the support of the Belarusian Regional Defense anti-Soviet paramilitary formation of the Belarusian Central Rada, created during the years of the German occupation of Belarus. An important component of the clergy’s support for this organisation was the acceptance of officer ranks and awards. In addition, Belarusian clerics regularly represented the anti-Soviet position of the Belarusian diaspora before the highest federal authorities of the USA through interaction with the Select Committee on Communist Aggression of the House of Representatives of the USA and visiting Congress of the USA on the occasion of the next anniversaries of the declaration of independence of the Belarusian People’s Republic. The identified areas of political activity of the Belarusian clergy of the Constantinople jurisdiction indicate their political engagement and departure from the principle of apoliticality in religious life.