Patriarch Kirill consecrates Memorial Church of All Saints in Minsk

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill consecrated the Memorial Church of All Saints and performed Divine Liturgy in the new temple on 14 October. His Holiness led the consecration service and was assisted by Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavl Pavel, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, as well as by the archpastors of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, some members of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and superiors of the Minsk churches.

Patriarch Kirill noted that he was here during the construction of the temple and it was with a special feeling that he crossed its threshold. “Back then it was hard to imagine the magnificence of the church we see today. It is a good memorial church dedicated to all saints and those who died defending our fatherland, Belarusian land. We know how terrible the war was here. We know about the courage that civilians showed resisting the invasion of foreigners. We remember about the huge role that the partisan movement played in bringing the Victory closer and how many people died,” he said.

“The temple should not be just a memorial place. It should be a place of spiritual life for the Christian community of the local parish. I would like to thank Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for his great support in building and decorating this holy site. Without this support it would have been impossible to make such a beautiful monument celebrating the heroes who fought for the freedom of our Fatherland,” added Patriarch Kirill. The Patriarch gave the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir in memory of his visit to the church and the Divine Liturgy.

Metropolitan Pavel gave the Gospel to the Patriarch as a remembrance of the joint prayer. "It is very important that we consecrated the church together with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. It is very symbolic and important that we met this Sunday to pray to all the saints asking them to stand up for our protection and prevent the enemy of mankind from dividing and destroying our godly Orthodox peoples,” he said.

After the consecration, the Memorial Church of All Saints opened its doors to the parish. Now anyone can pray here to their patron saints and thank them for their intercession.

After the service dedicated to the consecration of the church, the participants of the event could have a rest on its territory.

In 2015 the Prayer for Belarus was held at the Memorial Church of All Saints for the first time. This event brought together representatives of different faiths peacefully living on the Belarusian land. The centerpiece of the event was a unique project to commemorate Belarusian soldiers who died outside the Motherland. A capsule with land brought from burial places of seven European countries was solemnly laid into the crypt of the church. That was done to pay tribute to the glorious sons and daughters of the Fatherland who gave their lives for peace on the planet. Taking part in the event were Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, heads and representatives of government agencies, political parties, NGOs, religious organizations, national culture associations and the general public.