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“Memory connects generations”: the priest took part in the celebrations on the occasion of City Day in Oshmyanytranslated

September 13, 2026 · 1 min read

On September 12, the city of Oshmyany celebrated its 685th anniversary. In a series of festive events, a special place was occupied by the celebrations dedicated to City Day, to which the dean of the Oshmyany church district, Archpriest Georgy Mukha, was invited.

On the day of such a significant anniversary, those gathered could not help but remember those who gave their lives for a peaceful future and a happy today. The district leadership, headed by the chairman of the district executive committee Andrei Klyshevsky and the chairman of the district Council of Deputies Yuri Karpovich, came to honor the memory of the heroes.

Among the guests of honor were member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Zakharchuk, deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Vitaly Rakovets, representatives of law enforcement agencies, public organizations, as well as heads of enterprises and organizations of the region.

The National Anthem of the Republic of Belarus was played to the accompaniment of the brass band of the Smorgon Border Band. Those gathered honored the memory of the victims with a minute of silence, after which fresh flowers were laid at the foot of the monument.

As Father George noted, our memory connects generations with an invisible thread, being...

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James Evans

Father George is right — that memory really does tie the generations together. Nice to see the whole district leadership and the border guards' orchestra there at the monument in Oshmyany. Our parish choir sang at a similar wreath-laying last year; those minutes of silence always hit harder than any speech.

Κατερίνα Λαμπροπούλου

Father George said it very well, memory is that invisible thread that binds the generations. I am glad that the president of the executive Klyszewski was there with Karpovich, and that they heard the border orchestra from Smorgon. At our memorial services here in Larissa we do the same, always with flowers and silence.

Πέτρος Λαμπρόπουλος

I agree, Katerina, memory does bind generations as father George said. And at our memorial services here in Patras we always put flowers and silence, except that we usually add a candle for each fallen person. Do you in Larissa have a special custom with the orchestra?

Тамара Семёнова

Father George said exactly about the invisible thread that connects generations. In Moscow, on such memorable days, there is also always a minute of silence and flowers, and the brass band adds a special solemnity. I wonder how often border guards from Smorgon are invited to Oshmyany?

Štefan Šimko

I like how father Juraj said that memory is an invisible thread that connects generations. Here in Michalovce, we also always give flowers and stand in silence at similar commemorations at the monument, only the orchestra is rarely present. I wonder if they often invite border guards from Smorgon to Ošmiany.

Lenka Nováková

Yes, the invisible thread is a nice comparison, Father Juraj nailed it. Here in Michalovce, we also always lay flowers and stand in silence for a while by the Dukla monument, especially in May. The border guards from Smorgone are probably called there more often because of the proximity to the border, in our country it would be more like the local army or fire brigade.

Timothy Baker

Father George put it well with that "unseen thread" image. Our choir did the same thing at the Boston memorial last Memorial Day — the silence after the bugle always feels heavier than the speeches too. Did your group sing anything specific at the wreath-laying?

Sophia Scott

Father George’s line about the unseen thread tying the generations really stuck with me. Our parish choir sang at the wreath-laying in Portland last Veterans Day and that same minute of silence after the orchestra finishes always feels heavier than any speech. I wonder how often the Smorgon border guards’ band gets invited to these things in Oshmyany.