NINTH DAY OF CELEBRATIONS IN MINSK, BELARUS
The festive events organized by the Russian Patriarchate on the occasion of the 1025th anniversary of the Christianization of the Russians, which began in Moscow and continued in Ukraine, were sealed in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, in the manner they have been described, either along general lines or in detail, on the webpage of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
At the conclusion of the celebrations, the Heads and Delegates of the Local Orthodox Churches left for their respective countries.
The delegation of the Church of Jerusalem remained in Minsk until Tuesday, the 17th/30th of July 2013. In the morning of that day they had the opportunity to visit the Ecclesiastical Center of the Metropolis of Minsk, which runs on the financial aid of the Metropolis and the state.
Operating in the Center is a well-organized hospital unit which includes an Ophthalmological Clinic, a wing intended for the stay and treatment of the gravely ill, a Hematological Lab, a Hemodialysis unit, an Ultrasound department, a Dental Clinic, a Pharmacy providing low-priced medicines and other departments of medical treatment.
Subsequently, His Beatitude visited the marvelous Church of the Holy Trinity, built entirely of wood, as well as the great and marvelous church of All-Saints. In an area beneath the Holy Bema of this church, he admired icons of wonderful embroidery of the ancient and new Church of Belarus.
In the evening of the same day, the Delegates of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, led by His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, boarded a BELAVIA BELARUSIAN AIRLINES plane which took off from Minsk airport at 20:00 pm, and with God’s help arrived at the Jerusalem See at midnight, praising God for their participation in this important event for the Russian Church and Orthodoxy as a whole, and for their safe return.
From the Secretariat-General