Representatives of the Gomel diocese took part in the family forum in Polotsktranslated

On October 13, 2026, the fourth republican family forum was held in Polotsk. Talk about the important: A happy family is a strong state. This year it received international status. The organizers were the Belarusian Orthodox Church and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

Parliamentarians from Russia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan arrived at the forum. The participants exchanged experiences of family support, motherhood and childhood.

The work of the forum was headed by Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, and Chairman of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova. The Gomel diocese was represented by the chairman of the department for family issues, protection of motherhood and childhood, Archpriest Artemy Krivitsky, and department coordinator Olga Anatolyevna Krivitskaya.

In his welcoming speech, Metropolitan Benjamin spoke about the joint work of the Church and the state and presented a number of initiatives of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. In particular, the Church petitions the Ministry of Health to create, with its assistance, a unified republican system of psychological assistance rooms for Life. It was also proposed to encourage medical...