{"id":73731,"date":"2024-03-18T12:14:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T09:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/73731\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"tsar-god-and-commander-lukasenka-wants-everyone-to-pray-for-him","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/73731\/","title":{"rendered":"Tsar, god and commander: \u0141uka\u0161enka wants everyone to pray for him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the run-up to the 2025 presidential election, the Belarusian ruler is concerned about the loyalty of all institutions, including religious ones.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n \u0141uka\u0161enka speaking at the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Minsk on Orthodox Christmas on January 7, 2021\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (\u0141uka\u0161enka's website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka met with Orthodox clerics on March 14 to warn priests against involvement in politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some priests, unfortunately, including some Orthodox priests, got involved in politics, to put it mildly,” he said about the 2020 unrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public polarized, but not on religious grounds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka emphasized that “inter-denominational peace is the main achievement of Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is not his achievement. Belarus has been known for religious toleration for centuries despite the extremely unfavorable historical context. However, the nation\u2019s reputation for religious broad-mindedness has been tarnished by the \u0141uka\u0161enka government\u2019s persistent attacks on religious communities and leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent polls show that the public is polarized, but not on religious grounds. The staunch supporters and opponents of the regime literally hate each other so much that some political scientists even see signs of a cold civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the government that is responsible for the polarization. After the 2020 unrest, Minsk declared 2021 a year of national unity, established a national unity day and set up a commission to facilitate the return of political exiles. However, these efforts have proved halfhearted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government does not want to change and can only hold on through fear and reprisals, so national reconciliation seems to be impossible. The top brass continues to avenge brutally the 2020 humiliation to stem new unrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In public speeches, \u0141uka\u0161enka and his cronies call dissenters “scumbags,” portray them as subhuman and degenerated and strip them of their civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has stopped providing passport services and setting up polling stations for voting abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under a law adopted last year, those convicted of extremism can be stripped of their citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political prisoners are said to be ill-treated and denied meetings, correspondence, medical care and other basic services guaranteed to other inmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Orthodox priests do not risk raising their voices in defense of the abused people, including mothers of young children and the seriously ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repercussions of 2020<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, priests of various denominations spoke out against the government’s use of violence to suppress mass protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka responded by persecuting clerics. In 2020, his government prevented the leader of Belarusian Roman Catholics, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, from returning to Belarus for several months after a visit to Poland, forcing him to resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metropolitan Pavel, head of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, who called for an end to violence in August 2020, was soon transferred to Russia, apparently at Minsk’s insistence. He was replaced by Metropolitan Veniamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Christian Vision group, since September 2020, 19 Orthodox, 25 Roman Catholic and five Greek Catholic priests and 25 Protestant pastors and ministers have been searched, detained, tried, arrested, prosecuted, fined, ill-treated and threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Minsk court last week sentenced U\u0142adzis\u0142a\u016d Bie\u0142adzied, a Catholic believer with a degree in theology, to three years in prison. During the peaceful protests in 2020, Bie\u0142adzied took part in Christian prayers for an end to violence and lawlessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 2020, the church received a clear message: you can only pray for the government and its leader. He is the tsar, god and commander in chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orthodox Church seen as branch of ideological department<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka sees the Russian Orthodox Church as a branch of his ideological department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Belarusian society is experiencing unprecedented pressure at the level of ideas and values,” he told the Orthodox leaders, urging them to “concentrate on preventing strangers with evil thoughts from entering Belarusian temples, undermining foundations and telling us how to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n
\n\n Orthodox priests and senior government officials at meeting with \u0141uka\u0161enka in Minsk on March 14\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (\u0141uka\u0161enka's website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Metropolitan Veniamin, for his part, made it clear that he can tell friends from foes. \u201cThe confrontation in the spiritual sphere is a struggle on the invisible front,” he said, adding that “it is necessary to be proactive” to protect society from emerging threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized the need to instill “loyalty, devotion and sacrifice . . . a true selfless love for the Motherland” in young people, stressing that the approach of the government and church to education “is fundamentally different from the patriotism promoted by nationalist leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, he spoke of bureaucratic patriotism, when the government demands unquestioning obedience and denies the right of people to influence public politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2020 protests, despite white-red-white banners, were by no means nationalistic. Belarusians to demanded political and civil rights, first of all, the right to elect the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka campaigning to ensure smooth reelection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Opponents have come to realize that political change in the country hinges on its independence, from Russia in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Belarusian Exarchate supports the Kremlin’s imperial policy, including its assault on Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although \u0141uka\u0161enka is not interested in sending his troops to Ukraine, he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin and justifies his claim to Ukrainian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several years ago, \u0141uka\u0161enka hinted that he wanted more autonomy for the Belarusian Exarchate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has never brought up the matter after 2020. On the contrary, last year he publicly supported the St. Elizabeth Monastery’s initiative to collect aid for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January, \u0141uka\u0161enka signed a law requiring religious organizations to reregister within a year. His government had used a similar tactic to outlaw opposition political parties, so disloyal religious communities are likely to be banned too. It is battling on all fronts, including the religious one, to prepare \u0141uka\u0161enka’s smooth re-election next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the run-up to the 2025 presidential election, the Belarusian ruler is concerned about the loyalty of all institutions, including religious ones. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka met with Orthodox clerics on March 14 to warn priests against involvement in politics. “Some priests, unfortunately, including some Orthodox priests, got involved in politics, to put it mildly,” he said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":73049,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-73731","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTsar, god and commander: \u0141uka\u0161enka wants everyone to pray for him | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the run-up to the 2025 presidential election, the Belarusian ruler is concerned about the loyalty of all institutions, including religious ones.\" \/>\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\/73731\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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