Of the 16 Greek Catholic (Uniate) parishes previously registered in Belarus, four failed to complete the mandatory re-registration process. These include communities in Brest, Baranavichy, Ivatsevichy, all located in Brest Region, and in Orsha.
This was reported by Radio Svaboda.
The Belarusian authorities launched a large-scale re-registration of religious communities following the signing, at the end of 2023, of the law “On Amendments to Laws Governing the Activities of Religious Organizations.” All religious communities in Belarus were required to submit documents for re-registration by July 1, 2025. Among the new requirements imposed on believers are a complete ban on any political activity, mandatory Belarusian citizenship for the head of a religious association, and the requirement to provide updated information on believers, with at least 20 members for each parish or other religious association. Not all communities were able to meet these requirements for various reasons.
At present, registered communities remain in eight Belarusian cities: Minsk (four parishes), Maladzechna, Vitsebsk (two parishes), Polatsk, Hrodna, Lida, Homel, and Mahilyou. The situation has effectively returned to the state of affairs that existed in 1996, when 11 Uniate parishes operated in the country.
There are no official data on the current number of Greek Catholics in Belarus. During the most recent population census, Belarusians were not asked about their religious affiliation.
Earlier, we reported that the authorities in Brest Region had dissolved all parishes of the Greek Catholic Church. The court ruling referred to an alleged “threat to national interests.”
As LF previously reported, three Catholic priests who are citizens of Poland and had served in Belarus for many years were forced to leave the country. The authorities refused to extend their permits for continued ministry. All three served in the Diocese of Vitsebsk.
As LF previously reported, Catholic priest Anatolii Parakhnevich, rector of the parish in Olkovichi in Vileyka District, was detained.
State propaganda media had previously mentioned the priest in a negative context after his participation in a reception marking Poland’s Constitution Day held at the Embassy of Ukraine in Minsk, attempting to portray the event as something suspicious.
It later became known that Anatolii Parakhnevich had suffered a heart attack. The 65-year-old clergyman remains in a pre-trial detention center in serious condition. According to information available to Belarusian believers, Parakhnevich is accused of “treason against the state.” No details of the allegations have been disclosed. It is believed that the priest is being held in the KGB detention facility.
Earlier, a Catholic priest and two Evangelical presbyters were detained in Belarus.
As LF previously reported, two Polish Catholic priests who had served for many years in Brest Region were forced to leave Belarus.
As LF previously reported, the authorities in Belarus, acting on a KGB decision, have seized and sold the property of Catholic priest Henrikh Akalatovich. The clergyman was convicted of “treason against the state” and released two years later following a petition from the Vatican.
Earlier, we reported that the number of religious communities in Belarus declined following re-registration under the new legislation. In Mahilyou Region, half of the Catholic parishes ceased operating after re-registration. In Vitsebsk Region, 85 Roman Catholic communities remained compared with 94 previously, while in Brest Region the number fell to 60 from 66.
As LF previously reported, the authorities did not permit Father Uladzislau Zavalski, the former rector of the Red Church parish in Minsk, to conduct a service at the sarcophagus of the church’s founder, Edward Vaynilovich.
