Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been carrying on a rapprochement with the Vatican and has even been pushing for Pope Francis to visit Minsk (Interfax, May 23, August 19). Such efforts, along with discussions in the Belarusian media about the possibility of having the Belarusian Orthodox Church become autocephalous, are intended to “balance” the enormous “spiritual influence” the Russian government has in his country. Indeed, according to Belarusian experts, Lukashenka fears that Moscow may use this kind of influence against Belarus in the same way it did against Ukraine.
Religious issues in Belarus have rarely attracted much notice in the past. …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation
