The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; be, Беларуская праваслаўная царква, russian: Белорусская православная церковь) is the official name of the Belarusian Exarchate ( be, Беларускі экзархат, russian: Белорусский экзархат) of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. It represents the union of Russian Orthodox eparchies in the territory of the

Republic of Belarus A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

and is the largest religious organization in the country, uniting the predominant majority of its

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

Christians. Bishop Beniamin Brikov III (Vitaly Ivanovich Tupieko) became the

Patriarchal Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in 2020.ВЕНИАМИН, МИТРОПОЛИТ МИНСКИЙ И ЗАСЛАВСКИЙ, ПАТРИАРШИЙ ЭКЗАРХ ВСЕЯ БЕЛАРУСИ
- "Решением Священного Синода от 25 августа 2020 г. (журнал № 46) назначен Патриаршим Экзархом всея Беларуси, митрополитом Минским и Заславским, с сохранением временного управления Борисовской епархией.
Возведен в сан митрополита Святейшим Патриархом Московским и всея Руси Кириллом 6 сентября 2020 г. за Божественной литургией в кафедральном соборном Храме Христа Спасителя в городе Москве." The church enjoys a much lower degree of autonomy than the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is a semi-autonomous entity associated with the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. The Belarusian Orthodox Church strongly opposes the minor and largely emigration-based

Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( be, Беларуская аўтакефальная праваслаўная царква, ''Bielaruskaja aŭtakiefaĺnaja pravaslaŭnaja carkva'' BAPC; russian: Белорусская автокеф ...

Structure

Structurally, the Belarusian Orthodox Church consists of 15

eparchies Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

: * Eparchy of Babruysk and Bykhau * Eparchy of Barysaw * Eparchy of Brest and Kobryn * Eparchy of Hrodna and Vaukavysk * Eparchy of Homel and Zhlobin * Eparchy of Lida * Eparchy of Minsk * Eparchy of Mahiliou and Mstsislau * Eparchy of Maladzyechna * Eparchy of Navahrudak * Eparchy of Pinsk and Luninets * Eparchy of Polatsk and Hlybokaye * Eparchy of Slutsk * Eparchy of Turau and Mazyr * Eparchy of Vitsebsk and Orsha

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

The Growing Power Of The Belarusian Orthodox Church - Belarus Photo Digest
Eastern Orthodoxy in Belarus Exarchates of the Russian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox Church bodies in Europe