Bishop Porfiry led the work of the round table at the Elisabeth Convent in Minsktranslated

On August 16, 2026, with the blessing of Metropolitan Benjamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, a round table meeting was held at the Elisabeth Convent of Minsk on the topic: “The practical fulfillment of monastic vows in modern conditions.”

The event was prepared by the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism of the Belarusian Orthodox Church (Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate). The participants in the meeting were the governors, abbots and abbesses of the metropolitan and diocesan monasteries of the Exarchate. The work of the round table was headed by the chairman of the Synodal Department, Bishop Porfiry of Lida and Smorgon.

The work of the monastic meeting was preceded by the Divine Liturgy, which Bishop Porfiry performed in the monastery church in honor of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God. His Eminence was co-served by the confessor of the Elisabeth Monastery, Archpriest Andrei Lemeshonok, and guests of the monastery in holy orders. At the end of the Liturgy, the meeting participants moved to the meeting room of the monastery Spiritual and Educational Center “Kovcheg”.

Bishop Porfiry of Lida and Smorgon addressed the audience with an opening speech. The Bishop noted that...