The opening of the 6th Belarusian Christmas Readings took place at the National Library of Belarus, on November 26.
The theme of this year is "The historical memory of the people: the 550th anniversary of the appearance of the Zhirovichi Icon of the Mother of God, the 500th anniversary of the Zhirovichi monastery, the 800th anniversary of the holy blessed prince Alexander Nevsky."
The plenary session was attended by Veniamin Zaslavsky, Metropolitan of Minsk Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Roman Motulsky, Director General of the National Library of Belarus, representatives of ministries and departments, clergy.
Today's conference has become a good platform for considering topical issues of fruitful cooperation between church and state, the moral sphere and historical and cultural heritage.
The scientific and practical forum discussed the importance of anniversaries for every Orthodox Christian. The participants paid due attention to the invaluable property of Belarusians - the 550th anniversary of the appearance of the Zhirovichi Icon of the Mother of God, the history and significance of the holy monastery - the 500-year-old Zhirovichi monastery. Alexander Susha, Deputy Director General - Director for Research and Publishing Activities of the National Library of Belarus, made a presentation on this topic "The Zhirovichi Gospel: History and Modernity". A significant date is the 800th anniversary of the holy blessed prince Alexander Nevsky, who remained in memory as a great example of humility for the sake of saving his people.
An important event of the event was the solemn ceremony of handing over the reconstructed altarpiece Turov cross of the 12th – 13th centuries to the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The relic is made of cypress wood, covered with gold plates and precious stones, like a cross, created by order of the Monk Efrosinya of Polotsk. The jewel is one of the signs of the revival of the spirituality of our country.
The National Library of Belarus organized a thematic exhibition, especially for the VI Belarusian Christmas Readings. It presents the library's projects on facsimile reprinting of monuments of Belarusian culture: the Barkolabovskaya Chronicle, the Turov Gospel, the Life of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the Slutsk Gospel, the Polotsk Gospel, and the book heritage of Francysk Skaryna.
Other events and breakout sessions of the 6th Belarusian Christmas Readings will be held at various venues and in a distance format.
Watch also "ONT" and "Belarus 1" news coverages.
Public Relations Department
