{"id":59480,"date":"2024-01-06T16:37:32","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T13:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=longreads&p=59480"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"orthodox-atheist-lukasenka-to-purge-religious-communities","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOrthodox atheist” \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other restrictions. Last year, Minsk used re-registration to purge the political landscape of opposition parties.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka at a Minsk church on Orthodox Christmas in 2020\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Belarusian leader's website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Minsk rooting out religious dissent<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The re-registration of religious organizations is likely to be conducted in a similarly brutal manner, raising the bar of requirements. The law sets a higher minimum threshold for religious communities needed to form a national association, and at least one of them must have been active for at least 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many religious communities will be outlawed, warned Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija (Christian Vision) experts. Operating without registration will be a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The communities that pass the registration will be under strict control. The campaign is intended to warn religious groups against sticking their noses in politics and opposing the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation forbids the use of any symbols other than religious ones in places of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious organizations are prohibited from engaging in activities “directed against the sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus, its constitutional order and civil consensus,” as well as in political activities in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious education and literature must conform to the ideology of the Belarusian state. This is strange for two reasons: no one knows what that ideology is and Belarus is officially a secular state. \u0141uka\u0161enka has repeatedly admitted that a state ideology has not yet been put together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A religious organization can now be closed in a flash, for example, under the pretext that its activities run counter “domestic and foreign policy.” Priests and parishioners must watch their mouths to steer clear of trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious figures condemned 2020 crackdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka, who once called himself an “orthodox atheist,” has been particularly friendly toward the Russian Orthodox Church. He tried to make it one of the pillars of his state ideology, which ultimately failed. The legislation adopted decades ago put the Russian Orthodox Church in a privileged position in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2020 postelection protests, both Orthodox and Catholic believers and priests, as well as members of other denominations, spoke out against injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the Belarusian Catholic leader at the time, criticized police violence. He was later denied entry to Belarus while traveling from Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head of Hrodna\u2019s Orthodox diocese, Archbishop Artemiy, also criticized the law enforcers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Lawlessness is being committed. Our people have turned into beasts and are torturing their own brothers. . . . And there will be no forgiveness for you! And your cause will never stand!” he said during a sermon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four days after the election, on August 13, Christians of various denominations prayed together in central Minsk for an end to violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Patriarchal Exarch Pavel appealed to \u0141uka\u0161enka to “stop violence” and visited wounded demonstrators in a hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a pro-government rally in Hrodna on August 22, the indignant Belarusian ruler said, “I am surprised by the position of our denominations. My dear priests, calm down and mind your own business. The people should come to the temples to pray! The churches are not for politics.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words of condemnation spoken by priests are not politicking – it was their moral position. They simply could not remain silent. “Stop! You are not acting according to the Gospel Book!” Archbishop Atemiy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repercussions: revenge, reprisals, tightening of screws<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 2020 protests scared \u0141uka\u0161enka and led to revenge, reprisals and the tightening of all screws, including in the sphere of religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patriarchal Exarch Pavel was sent out of Belarus and replaced by the ultra-loyal and conservative Veniamin, who began purges in the exarchate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archbishop Kondrusiewicz was forced to resign, while the Red Church in Minsk was taken away from the Catholics. Orthodox Archbishop Artemiy was sent into retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many believers were imprisoned and labeled extremists. Authorities have fined and imprisoned priests who had previously managed to stay out of harm’s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protestants may be targeted<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The draconian law is aimed at keeping all segments of society, including believers and religious leaders, in fear and submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can spell big trouble for Protestants. The regime has long held a grudge against them for their stubbornness. Protestant congregations grew vigorously, outnumbering Catholic communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October, the government’s long-running battle against the Minsk Protestant church New Life ended in its liquidation. In June, in a pure Bolshevik style, the authorities demolished the temple, which parishioners had converted from a former cowshed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n The demolished building of the New Life Church\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Association of Congregations of Full Gospel Christians in Belarus)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new law gives officials a free hand for even more ruthless weeding of the religious field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Orthodox atheists” are determined to persecute churches and believers for their political views as part of the general trend toward totalitarianism and the eradication of dissent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other restrictions. Last year, Minsk used re-registration to purge the political landscape of opposition parties. Minsk rooting out religious dissent The re-registration of religious organizations is likely to be conducted in a similarly brutal manner, raising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":59221,"template":"","rubric":[15,24],"class_list":["post-59480","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cOrthodox atheist" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cOrthodox atheist" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cOrthodox atheist” \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-06T13:37:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\"},\"wordCount\":778,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cOrthodox atheist\\\" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-06T13:37:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cOrthodox atheist” \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cOrthodox atheist\" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk","description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cOrthodox atheist\" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk","og_description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/"},"headline":"\u201cOrthodox atheist” \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities","datePublished":"2024-01-06T13:37:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/"},"wordCount":778,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/","name":"\u201cOrthodox atheist\" \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-06T13:37:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32+00:00","description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has signed into law a new religion bill providing for the re-registration of religious communities and introducing other","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/lukashenko_hram_1128_president.gov_.by_20200107.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/59480\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cOrthodox atheist” \u0141uka\u0161enka to purge religious communities"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/59480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=59480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}