Belarusian Orthodox Church
The Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC; Belarusian: Беларуская праваслаўная царква, romanized: Bielaruskaja pravaslaŭnaja carkva, Russian: Белорусская православная церква, romanized: Belorusskaya pravoslavnaya tserkva) is the official name of the exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus. It represents the union of Russian Orthodox eparchies in the territory of Belarus and is the largest religious organization in the country, uniting the predominant majority of its Eastern Orthodox Christians.
| Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate | |
|---|---|
| Беларускі Экзархат Маскоўскага Патрыярхата Белорусский Экзархат Московского Патриархата | |
The Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk | |
| Type | Eastern Orthodox |
| Scripture | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Theology | Eastern Orthodox theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Metropolitan | Vienijamin |
| Bishops | 17 (2020) |
| Parishes | 1,612 (2015) |
| Priests | 1,676 (2019) |
| Dioceses | 15 (2019) |
| Monasteries | 35 (2019) |
| Language |
|
| Headquarters | Holy Spirit Cathedral, Minsk |
| Territory | Belarus |
| Origin | 11 October 1989 (autonomy granted by the Moscow Patriarchate) |
| Recognition | Recognised as part of the Russian Orthodox Church |
| Members | 81% of the Belarusian Christian population, according to own claims |
| Official website | church |
Bishop Vienijamin (Vital Tupieka) became the Patriarchal Exarch of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in 2020.
The church enjoys a much lower degree of autonomy than the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which is a semi-autonomous entity associated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Belarusian Orthodox Church strongly opposes the minor and largely emigration-based Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.