Political activity of the Belarusian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in 1950–1982

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the political activity of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC) in 1950–1982. For several decades, the named religious organization carried out the functions of consolidating the post-war Belarusian Diaspora, focused on supporting the Council of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BNR). What happened in the second half 1950s the change in the strategy of American foreign policy associated with the adoption of the doctrine of “rolling back communism” entailed the involvement of the BAOC in carrying out events of a pronounced anti-Soviet character. In 1957, the tradition of annual visits to the US Congress by the hierarchs and clerics of the BAOC on the days of celebrating the next anniversaries of the proclamation of the BNR’s independence was established. During these visits, Belarusian clergy opened parliamentary sessions with prayers for an early fall of the communist system and positioned the Council of the BNR as the only legitimate body of Belarusian state power. Since 1960, representatives of the BAOC have taken an active part in events dedicated to the “Captive Nations Weeks”, initiated by the US Congress and aimed at demonstrating widespread condemnation of the Soviet political system. The regular participation of the clergy of the BAOC in these events testifies to the involvement of the religious organization in question in active political activity, which followed the mainstream of the US foreign policy strategy and had a pronounced anti-Soviet character.