MINSK, 4 May (BelTA) – Metropolitan Filaret is an outstanding contemporary of the Belarusians, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he attended the ceremony to unveil the monument to the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Metropolitan Filaret at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
“I am glad that we have unveiled a monument to the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, our Metropolitan Filaret on Radunitsa, a day when we commemorate our dearest people who are no longer with us. Without exaggeration, Metropolitan Filaret is our outstanding contemporary, Hero of Belarus, a man who was not only a spiritual father, but also the conscience of the nation. He would always say: Your Motherland is where you serve. And he proved by everything he did that our Belarus was his destiny, his Fatherland, and we were his huge beloved family,” the Belarusian leader noted.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Metropolitan Filaret devoted much effort to the revival of churches, parishes, monasteries and convents, and to theological education. It was with his blessing that Holy Scripture was translated into the Belarusian language and a feast was established in honor of All Saints' Church.
Aleksandr Lukashenko highlighted peacemaking efforts of Metropolitan Filaret. Back in the times of the Cold War, he spoke about patriotism, anti-fascism, unacceptability of the use of nuclear weapons and called to end the arms race.
“Using international platforms and the press, he sent a clear-cut message that the price paid by the Soviet people for victory in the Great Patriotic War was too high, and therefore peace is the greatest value for us. I am convinced that being in heaven, next to the patron saints of Belarus, he asks for peace and harmony in our beautiful land,” the president said.
