Head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church comments on his appointment

“The main task, I think, for all times is for the clergy to proclaim the Word of God, for all people.

Then everything will fall into place, and then all tensions will subside, and the right solutions will be found.

Another thing is how to proclaim the Word of God, how to convey it to as many people as possible, ”he said.

Answering the question, how important is the Belarusian origin of the metropolitan, he stressed that "this is not the most important thing."

“To what extent a person professionally carries out his work, in our sphere, in the sphere of church professionalism lies in following the teachings of the church in every detail, in every precision ... And there is a request in our society that there is more Belarusian language, more our consciousness developed nationally, ”said the Metropolitan.

At the same time, he pointed out that this issue is “not so great” as to put it “at the forefront”.

“And it seems that the prospect of the church will not be very good, if only the nationality will prevail,” the metropolitan noted.

Earlier, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church accepted the petition of Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavsky to release him from the post of Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus.

Bishop Benjamin of Borisov and Maryingorsk was appointed in his place, retaining his temporary administration of the Borisov diocese.