Belarusian Orthodox Church calls USSR “a family of peoples”

The Belarusian Orthodox Church considers the Soviet Union “a family of peoples”. It is said in the appeal of the Synod of the BOC dated for the 1020th anniversary of the christening of Russia.
The appeal signed by the Belarusian Exarch, metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Philaret, archbishops and bishops of Belarus reminds about the events of the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. It is said: “The united family of peoples broke up at the end of 1991”.

It is worth mentioning that the church was out of social life in the Soviet Union.  Thousands of priests were repressed and active believers could not hope for any civil or scientific, not to mention political, career.