Attempts to restore the church unity of the Belarusian diaspora in 1963-1967

The competitive struggle for influence on the Belarusian diaspora, which began in the late 1940s between the Belarusian People’s Republic and the Belarusian Central Rada, was one of the most important prerequisites for the division of Orthodox Belarusians according to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The main direction of the confessional policy of the BNR was the all-round assistance to the development of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which was formed in the non-canonical manner in 1948-1949. Since the 1950s, the leadership of the BCR has contributed to the opening of Belarusian parishes to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Over the years, the relations between the Belarusian clergy of both Orthodox jurisdictions have been complicated by sharp contradictions not only of the church, but also of a political nature. In 1963, tendencies toward rapprochement between the supporters of the two political centers of the Belarusian émigrés were outlined, suggesting the beginning of overcoming mutual alienation between representatives of the BAOC and the Belarusian parishes of the Constantinople Patriarchate...