Dynamics of the development of the orthodox-catholic institutional dialogue in the Republic of Belarus (1990–2022)

Abstract

The period of the second half of the XX – beginning of the XXI centuries is marked by the creation of new forms of dialogue between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches. The conceptual basis for the communication of confessions is openness, the desire to know the “Other”, overcoming the difficulties of dialogue, mutual respect, and the desire for unity. In the religious space of the Republic of Belarus, the Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations form the core of the religious structure of society. The interaction of the Churches lies in several planes: social, theological, cultural and educational. The purpose of this study is to identify the main manifestations and features of the institutional Orthodox-Catholic dialogue in the Republic of Belarus. The study is based on material from the official media of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. The author comes to the conclusion that a significant role in the development of communications between confessions belongs to the Orthodox hierarch – Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeev), the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus and the Hero of Belarus. The thirty-year period under consideration (the period of existence of sovereign Belarus) is divided by the author into two stages: 1990–2015 – centralization of dialogue, conditionally since 2016 – decentralization of communications.