Minsk, 14 March (BelTA) – The society needs pastoral guidance that touches the heart and soul, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting with the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in Minsk on 14 March, BelTA has learned.
The head of state stressed that the difficult foreign policy context, fortunately, did not affect the traditions of good neighborliness and religious tolerance of Belarusians. Ethnic and religious relations in the country are stable and steady.
At the same time, the Belarusian society is experiencing unprecedented pressure at the level of ideas and values, the president said.
"On the one hand, this is due to the unprecedented pace of technology development (I mean, first of all, artificial intelligence, modern means of communication, etc.)," Aleksandr Lukashenko explained. “On the other hand, they are pushing the ideas of permissiveness, consumerism, child-free, LGBT and other ideas that are deliberately destructive and ruinous for society and the state."
Society is struggling to develop generally accepted norms of behavior. It is more difficult for a person to make the right moral choice, the head of state noted. "Many people are looking for and do not find answers to the eternal questions: who I am, why I am, what my purpose is in general. Unfortunately, people go to church for the answers less and less," the president said.
"The Church expects people to come to God on their own. But I think that this is a reciprocal process, and the church should take a step towards them. It is important to learn to preach word of God in the way that it is understandable to everyone. The society needs pastoral guidance that touches the heart and soul, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “The state highly appreciates the universally recognized authority of our Orthodox hierarchs. Millions of our compatriots listen and heed to you."
The head of state stressed that the difficult foreign policy context, fortunately, did not affect the traditions of good neighborliness and religious tolerance of Belarusians. Ethnic and religious relations in the country are stable and steady.
At the same time, the Belarusian society is experiencing unprecedented pressure at the level of ideas and values, the president said.
"On the one hand, this is due to the unprecedented pace of technology development (I mean, first of all, artificial intelligence, modern means of communication, etc.)," Aleksandr Lukashenko explained. “On the other hand, they are pushing the ideas of permissiveness, consumerism, child-free, LGBT and other ideas that are deliberately destructive and ruinous for society and the state."
Society is struggling to develop generally accepted norms of behavior. It is more difficult for a person to make the right moral choice, the head of state noted. "Many people are looking for and do not find answers to the eternal questions: who I am, why I am, what my purpose is in general. Unfortunately, people go to church for the answers less and less," the president said.
"The Church expects people to come to God on their own. But I think that this is a reciprocal process, and the church should take a step towards them. It is important to learn to preach word of God in the way that it is understandable to everyone. The society needs pastoral guidance that touches the heart and soul, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “The state highly appreciates the universally recognized authority of our Orthodox hierarchs. Millions of our compatriots listen and heed to you."
