A possible explanation has emerged for the detention of 65-year-old Catholic priest from the Vileyka District, Anatol Parakhnevich. As writes Katolik.life, the theory was put forward by believers familiar with the situation.
According to them, the priest may have been accused of helping preserve the memory of Polish citizens who died on the territory of present-day Belarus in the first half of the 20th century. Throughout his ministry, Parakhnevich deeply studied the history and culture of the region and worked to preserve it. Believers are not yet prepared to disclose specific details out of concern that the information could be used against the priest. However, they believe it is important to make the information public in the hope that publicity may contribute to his swift release.
Believers also say that Parakhnevich openly opposed Russia’s war against Ukraine and called for peace. In the first days of the war, on Ash Wednesday in 2022, he wrote: “We sprinkle ashes on our heads, asking God for forgiveness… God is merciful, He will forgive… But will our own conscience forgive us?”
It should be recalled that after the priest’s detention on March 16 in the village of Alkovichy, security forces searched his home and the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, sealed the house, and confiscated the keys to the church. The keys were returned only a week later, and the Sunday service on March 22 was canceled. The priest’s whereabouts remain unknown — he is believed to be held in the KGB detention center in Minsk. Parakhnevich has no relatives, which further complicates obtaining information about him.
Anatol Parakhnevich was born on June 16, 1960, in the Zhlobin District. He grew up an orphan, was raised in an orphanage, and received his religious education in Białystok, Poland. He was ordained as a priest in 1995. Since 2007, he has served in Alkovichy, where he founded a small museum at the church.
