On June 7, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Diplomatic Advisor, Dzianis Kuchynski, attended the Divine Liturgy led in Vilnius by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Following the service, Mr. Kuchynski conveyed greetings from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Belarusian Orthodox believers in Lithuania and presented a letter from Ms. Tsikhanouskaya to His All-Holiness.
The Belarusian leader thanked the Patriarch for blessing the establishment of the Belarusian Orthodox parish in Vilnius and for supporting Belarusian Orthodox believers in exile:
“On behalf of Belarusians in Lithuania, I would like to express my deep gratitude for your care for the Belarusian Orthodox community, for your support of the parish in Vilnius, and for the pastoral guidance that the Ecumenical Patriarchate provides to Belarusians around the world. For many of our compatriots, this has become a sign of hope and proof that, in these difficult times, Belarusians have not been left alone with their hardships”.
In her letter, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have been forced into exile and are seeking both safety and spiritual support. For this reason, the opportunity to receive pastoral care under the omophorion of the Mother Church of Constantinople carries particular significance.
She also highlighted the historical ties between Belarusian lands and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, dating back to the era of the Kyivan Metropolis and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, when Orthodox life in Belarus developed in communion with the Constantinopolitan tradition.
As a commemorative gift, Dzianis Kuchynski presented His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a Slutsk sash, one of Belarus’s most renowned national symbols.
Photo: BELSAT
