THE Russian Orthodox Church has moved to reinforce its presence among Orthodox leaders in neighbouring Belarus, with a warning that they must continue to assert their ecclesiastical links with Moscow.

“Consideration has been given to the names of canonical parts of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the governing Holy Synod, which is chaired by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, said during a session in Moscow in late July.

“We remind the hierarchy of the Belarusan Exarchate and its metropolitan districts that the official names of their canonical structures, posted on websites and documents . . . must contain the phrases ‘Russian Orthodox Church’ or ‘Moscow Patriarchate’.”

The reprimand was made after a three-day visit by Patriarch Kirill to Belarus in June. Its Patriarchal Exarch, Metropolitan Venjamin, was appointed in 2020 by the Russian synod, which reserves the right to approve the nomination of Belarusian bishops and other important church decisions.

Natallia Vasilevich, the head of the opposition organisation Christian Vision, told Radio Svaboda that the Patriarch had travelled to Belarus, a close Russian ally, knowing that “no one will protest at his arrival or shout ‘murderer’ at him” owing to his close alliance with President Putin.

She commented that people in Belarus had “significantly turned away from the Church” because of Russian Orthodox support for the war against Ukraine, while local Orthodox priests were no longer required to recite a prayer for Moscow’s victory, which is obligatory for clergy in Russia.

About half of Belarus’s nine million citizens declare membership of its autonomous Exarchate, which was founded in 1989 and maintains close ties with Alexander Lukashenka’s autocratic regime. Its “determining role” is recognised under national law.

The Church referred to itself as the “Belarusan Orthodox Church” at Synod meetings on 13 March and 1 July, while at least four of its 15 dioceses now make no mention of Moscow or Russia on their websites and news channels.