Фото: catholic.by
Celebrations in honor of Our Lady of Budslau were held in Budslau from July 2 to 4. The main service at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Budslau was attended by the heads of the Jewish and Muslim communities in Belarus, government officials, representatives of pro-government organizations, and several foreign ambassadors, including a representative of Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov.
The list of honored guests was announced in a welcoming address by Minsk-Mahiliou Metropolitan Archbishop Iosif Staneuski. Among those he mentioned were Deputy Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Siarhei Herasimienia, Chairman of the Miadzel District Executive Committee Aliaksandr Pranovich, as well as representatives of the Belarusian Women’s Union and the Peace Foundation.
As notes Christian Vision, in his homily during the main service at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Budslau, Iosif Staneuski emphasized that, starting this year, Budslau has become a “spiritual center” and stressed that this status had been granted at the initiative of Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
According to him, the restoration of the church and the establishment of the spiritual center in Budslau are being financed jointly by the state and the Catholic Church on a “50-50” basis. Staneuski also said that a museum has already opened at the church and that a Pilgrims’ House is planned for construction in the future.
Information on state funding has so far been confirmed only in part. Lukashenka recently signed a decree supporting the Orthodox and Catholic “spiritual centers.” Under the decree, 3.4 million Belarusian rubles have been allocated for the restoration of the cathedral in Zhyrovichy, while approximately 260,000 rubles have been earmarked for work at the church in Budslau.
Update:
It was previously reported that the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Veniamin, had attended the event. However, Christian Vision later clarified that the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church did not personally attend the Catholic festival. Another Orthodox priest, a “representative” of the metropolitan, was present in the tent reserved for honored guests.
“The confusion arose because the honored guests were not presented entirely accurately during Archbishop Iosif Staneuski’s welcoming address. Of the heads of religious communities, only Mufti Abu Bekir Shabanovich attended the festival. Instead of Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, his representative was also present at the festival,” the outlet explained.