GRODNO, 24 April (BelTA) - Belarus is an example of confessional peace and harmony, Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak told the media before the meeting of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee, BelTA has learned.
The meeting considered the confessional situation in Grodno Oblast and the re-registration of religious communities in accordance with the updated law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”.
“The confessional situation is one of the stabilizing factors in our society, and depending on its state it influences the situation in our country. Belarus is an example of confessional peace and harmony. Grodno Oblast differs in our confessional palette by the fact that here, along with the Belarusian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church has a great influence, as well,” Aleksandr Rumak said.
According to the commissioner for religious and ethnic affairs, re-registration of religious organizations is underway. “Grodno Oblast is leading in this work throughout the country and this is the area where most of religious organizations have been re-registered. The region took the issue very seriously to help its religious organizations re-register and preserve their activities. After all, times are changing, and religious organizations, especially in small communities, due to the decreasing number [of residents] do not always meet the requirements,” said Aleksandr Rumak, adding that the specialists of the oblast executive committee find solutions by uniting several communities so that the residents could visit both Orthodox and Catholic churches.
“We always say that it is necessary to give an opportunity to elderly people, and most often they are parishioners of churches, to attend services. As the president says, every person should be able to find the way to their temple in our country,” the commissioner for religious and ethnic affairs said.
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