The Vitsyebsk Regional Court on Aug. 26 ordered the dissolution of the Religious Association of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belarus, “Vitsyebskaya Viasna” reports. The application for dissolution was filed by the commissioner for religious and ethnic affairs because the organization had failed to undergo re-registration.
The case was considered in writing. Representatives of the parties asked the court to consider it in their absence. According to one parishioner who attended the hearing, the judge read out only the statement by the representative of the state authorities. The written objections submitted in Belarusian by the leaders of the religious association were not read out by the judge.
The court’s decision has not yet entered into force. Representatives of the association intend to obtain the reasoning for the decision and then determine their further course of action.
The religious association was registered on Jan. 8, 2001.
Kanstantsin Mardzvintsau, acting bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belarus, said the organization had not refused legal status, but that following legislative amendments adopted in late 2023, the requirements for religious organizations had become significantly stricter.
“The problem arose not because the religious organization decided to give up its legal status, but as a result of the new conditions that it and the communities that are part of it must meet in order to retain this status. Many religious communities were unable to ensure the required number of founders, obtain premises for a registered legal address, or persuade citizens to disclose their personal data on religious beliefs to the authorities,” he said.
