Adventures in Belarus - Churches (and very small rocks)

I started this post about 2 months ago when I got back, and just never finished it.  I think this covers my favorite part of my trip and the most cultural filled portion of it, so I thought it was important to go back and finish it.  Most especially, some of these stories I still haven't told anyone and wanted to get down on paper/online before I forget.

On the only Sunday I was in Belarus, we had an opportunity to visit the branch in Minsk.  I was thinking it would be about 5-10 members with senior missionaries (the LDS church is not officially recognized in Belarus, but they have welfare/service missionaries there) as the branch President, etc.  I was extremely surprised that they had enough people packed in the little building they met in to form a full ward.  I think it was at least double the size of the university branch back in Topeka, with enough Elders to definitely form a ward.  It was general conference that weekend, but because they were on such a time delay, they were going to watch it the next week.  Someone sat behind us during each meeting and translated for us the entire time.  We actually sat next to a senior missionary couple from Idaho, the Johns, who were there serving a welfare mission.  They didn't speak much Russian either, so I think they have someone translate for them every week.  We ended up eating dinner with them afterwards, and it was awesome seeing the missionary efforts that are going on in Belarus even though the Johns cannot proselyte unless approached first by natives.  I would say that their baptismal font was well used and will be used even more in the near future.


On the 11th of May, now almost a month past, they were going to meet together for a special party celebrating 20 years that the LDS church was formed in Belarus.  I didn't think much of it except as an excuse to eat food, but later the Johns explained the significance of it.  After the Iron Curtain fell in eastern Europe, a president was elected in Belarus.  While at first it seemed that he was going to establish more a democracy (after all, he was the president), it soon turned to more communist rule.  The end result was that there was a small window of opportunity where religions were welcomed into the country, and then shortly thereafter all new ones were barred.  The church was fortunate enough to get its foot in the doors (so to speak) during this time, but the communist laws established just after prevented it from being officially recognized and true missionary efforts beginning there.  The laws said that no religion would be recognized until it had been present in the country for at least 20 years.  Maybe now you can see why it was so significant that they were celebrating 20 years of the LDS church in Belarus.  They are hoping that this year or the next, the church can be officially recognized, missionaries would be welcomed in, and the people could be taught the gospel more openly.

While at the building used for church, Trev (my traveling companion) pointed out a piece of paper that had a list of names with numbers next to it.  The names were transliterated names of the 12 tribes of Israel, and the numbers were the totals of men and women identified as being from those tribes that have been given their Patriarchal blessing in Belarus/Minsk.  It was very interesting to see that while most of them were from Ephraim, there were a LOT from other tribes as well.  It was very different than what you would see in the states I believe.  Also, we were told a story of one of the members in the branch and how he converted while he was working for the KGB.  I don't really want to put that story only, but ask about it sometime if you see me, it's really fascinating what some had to go through to come into the church.

Trev travels all over for work, and I mean all over the world, all the time.  He said that probably more in Minsk than in any other city he's seen, the people were kind and extremely religious.  While many other countries have many little chapels and cathedrals, he said that the ones he had been in in Minsk were the most filled he had ever seen.  I got a chance to witness it for myself, and I'll talk about it in just a minute, but I had the distinct impression while I was there that if the gospel could be taught openly in Minsk, it would just explode there.  The branch would quickly turn into a ward which would quickly turn into a stake, and then multiple stakes.  The people there are ready for it, they are looking to the Lord.  Their government may be oppressive, but they are still hopeful and wonderful and are looking up for answers instead of being beaten down.

During one of the weeknights, we did a little sightseeing and saw a couple of amazing churches.  The first was a little wooden church.  It was Greek Orthodox (I believe, most churches there are).

Apparently we came in the middle of Vespers.  I don't actually know what Vespers means (except for some Christmas concert we went to when we were little at Washburn University), but the people stood in this relatively large room while a few people chanted behind this set of doors where the doors and wall depicted murals and paintings of New Testament events/people.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of the inside, but it definitely was not the time or the place as the room was crammed with people, no one said a word (except for the chanting people), and some were even kneeling in prayer.  It was very somber and very - spiritual is the only word for it I think.  While I couldn't understand a word they were saying, I felt the faith of this people and again had the thought that the Gospel was ready to be preached there.  We actually skipped out before the end, but we did see the minister (preacher, father, bishop?) come out in his fancy robes, chanting and swinging a jar of burning incense.  He came through all of the people, including right by us, and swung the incense at us and probably pronounced prayers on us.  It was very interesting and sobering actually.

This is just outside the church and must be the baptismal font.  You can see the statue (pictured below) near the top right of the picture, and I guess water flows down from it into the font, and then they walk down those steps to be baptized.  I was surprised how similar this is to an LDS baptismal font, but then again, how many ways can you do a big pool of water you walk into?

I don't know why this was Moses, but the area in front of him (including down to the waters and beyond) was depicted as splitting apart like he was parting the Red Sea.  It was awesome to look at, and you can see this fish in the foreground here.

This church was MUCH bigger and right next to the other wooden one.  We didn't go inside since it seemed to be under construction.

The stairs leading up to the church.  This doesn't give a good indication of scale.

But this picture does. That's me in front - yeah, it's huge.

A churchly figure in front of the white church.  I don't know who it was, although it might have said it in front but I couldn't read it.

Another view of him.

This is my last post about Belarus.  All in all, the trip to Belarus was very "interesting".  That's what I keep calling it when people ask me about it.  It was definitely an experience - I don't think I'll be running back there anytime soon, but mostly for the food and feeling of being watched.  The people there were all incredibly friendly, happy, and very faithful.  I look forward to going back someday after the church is opened officially there.