Church life of the Belarusian emigration in Belgium in 1950 - early 1970s

The post-war life of the Belarusian emigration was characterized by a sharp confrontation between two political centers, which were the Rada of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) and the Belarusian Central Rada (BCR). Competing for influence on Belarusian refugees, the organizations proposed their own scenarios for resolving the Church-jurisdictional issue. Initially, the leadership of the BCR called on Belarusians to move to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and since 1950 it was reoriented to promote the opening of Belarusian parishes as part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In turn, the Rada of the BPR contributed to the formation of the non-canonical Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC) in 1948-1949. The establishment of close contacts with the Catholic University of Leuven by representatives of the BPR allowed many Belarusians to obtain higher education in Belgium. This circumstance not only significantly strengthened the position of the BPR among the Belgian Belarusians, but also allowed to form the Church structure of the BAOC in Belgium. This article is devoted to the history of the organization of the Church life of the Belarusian Diaspora in Belgium from the opening of the first Belarusian parish in 1950 to the complete cessation of the activities of the Belarusian church structures in the country in the early 1970s.