Russian patriarch visits Vitsyebsk

Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church visited Vitsyebsk on September 27.

The patriarch, who arrived in Belarus on Friday on a four-day visit, his first trip to the country in the capacity of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, visited Vitsyebsk’s Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral.

Hundreds people lined the two streets near the church’s entrance to greet the patriarch, who traveled to the city in northern Belarus in company with Metropolitan Filaret, head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Belarusian Exarchate.

Speaking at a ceremony in the cathedral, the patriarch stressed that Vitsyebsk had changed much since his previous visit to the city. “I remember Vitsyebsk in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was impossible to find a functioning temple in the city. The city has now altered beyond recognition, its appearance has improved and differs much from the one embedded in my memory,” he said.

Patriarch Kirill expressed gratitude to the Vitsyebsk authorities for helping reconstruct the city’s Holy Assumption Church.

Vitsyebsk was visited by Patriarch Kirill’s predecessor, Alexy II, in September 1998. //BelaPAN