Вторник, Март 19

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“Owl Nestbox” begins monitoring

“Owl Nestbox” begins monitoring

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The Owl Nestbox project has been operating for 10 months and has reached the stage when it is possible to draw preliminary results. During this time, the team of the Man and Creation program has installed artificial nestboxes for the barn owl, a species of owl which is in the Red Book of Belarus, on 9 Orthodox churches and 11 Catholic churches (or on bell towers) in the Hrodna and Brest dioceses. Already this spring, the houses can be populated by owls. Read here how the church is connected with the preservation of owls and how man and an owl can be useful to each other, and also how the Owl Nestbox project will develop further. Maybe some nestboxes have already been occupied by owls? Nestboxes began to appear only in the spring last year, just at this time the owl is looking for ...
Walking route «The Way of Silence» is opened for everyone!

Walking route «The Way of Silence» is opened for everyone!

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On September 4, in Ivenets village, on the territory of the church of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the presentation and official opening of the walking ecological path "The Way of Silence"  took place. Its is one of the projects of Church and Environment program in Belarus, aimed to support religious communities in working with environmental issues. The Way of Silence is a route where nature and history, people and cultural monuments created by them are harmoniously mixed. Here you can get acquainted with the history of Western and Central Belarus, see the preserved and disappearing architectural heritage. The Way of Silence is also a real opportunity to take a break from the noise of big cities, to be in nature alone or with relatives and loved ones! The Way of Silence consists
Ecological trail “Kiselevichi” is opened

Ecological trail “Kiselevichi” is opened

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One more ecological trail is opened. This time in Bobruisk. The trail is located in the Kiselevichi microdistrict and divided into two parts: first one with informational stands located on the territory of the Holy Iversky Church, and second one on the territory of the park located near the parish. It should be noted that there are very active clergy in Bobruisk, and we have held several events there dedicated to the day of prayer for God's creation. As a result of this friendship, it became possible to organize a trail within the city. Creation of the trail was possible thanks to active participation in this project of the local orthodox parish, of the working group on the implementation of the Program of Cooperation between the Belarusian Orthodox Church and the Min...
Liquidation of Center for Environmental Solutions (CES)

Liquidation of Center for Environmental Solutions (CES)

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Center for Environmental Solutions (CES) whom Church and Environment program belong is in the process of liquidation. Everything what Church and the Environment program have done in Belarus in environmental sphere was real thanks to support of CES. The Church and the Environment program is simply a unique program, which has almost no analogues in other countries: its activity is to support religious organizations in Belarus in working with environmental issues. Here we made ecological paths at churches, a traveling exhibition "Man and Creation", and manuals for Sunday schools. We supported parishes that wanted to reduce single-use plastic, helped organize environmental events (for example, the creation of artificial nests for rare species of owls at temples, "Days of Prayer for God's Cr...
A new ecological trail «The Road of Life» appeared along the southern bank of the river Mukhavets in Brest

A new ecological trail «The Road of Life» appeared along the southern bank of the river Mukhavets in Brest

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All Brest citizens are used to the Mukhavets River flowing through their city but not everyone can answer the question of where the river falls. Mukhavets falls into the Western Bug which flows further through Poland where it falls into the Vistula. In turn, the Vistula falls into the Baltic Sea near Gdansk. Therefore, it is quite possible to say that “the Baltic starts here”, i.e. in Belarus, and "The Road of Life" trail indicates to all visitors that the environmental problems of Belarus and the Baltic Sea are linked: what falls into rivers in our country also ends up in the Baltic Sea. So, the ecological purity of the sea itself also depends on whether the region around the Baltic Sea is ecologically clean. About 30 information stands have been installed along 5 km of the ecologi
«If I am a Christian, I take good care of my surroundings including nature». Conversation on the Day of Prayer about God’s creation

«If I am a Christian, I take good care of my surroundings including nature». Conversation on the Day of Prayer about God’s creation

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On the first Sunday of September, the day determined by the Church for intense prayer for God's creation, we talk with the director of the Center for Environmental Solutions, head of the Working Group on Cooperation between the Belarusian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Belarus Eugeniy Lobanov. Eugeniy discusses how environmental initiatives are applicable in the Church, what the annual prayer for the Earth gives and what each of us can do. "An increasing number of Christians began to understand that ecology is their area of responsibility". The Day of Prayer for God's Creation was officially established in Russian Orthodox Church on the first Sunday of September not so long ago - in 2015. However, this day within the framework of the youth movement began to
«Ecological Saturday» was held in the parish of the church of the Holy Spirit in Bobruisk

«Ecological Saturday» was held in the parish of the church of the Holy Spirit in Bobruisk

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On the 26th of September a seminar dedicated to the day of prayer for God's creation was held on the basis of the church of the Holy Spirit in Bobruisk. The organizers were the Department of Youth Affairs of the Bobruisk Diocese and the Center for Environmental Solutions within the framework of the program “Church and Environment”. “In the tradition of the Church Saturday is a day of rest and special prayer for the creation of God, it is on this day that we invite you to take part in an ecological meeting - to talk and do something useful for our Earth,” proclaimed the announcement of the event, which was attended by about 20 people: youth and parishioners of the church of the Holy Spirit in Bobruisk, teachers of Sunday schools, including those from neighboring towns, teachers and student
A new ecological trail «Through creation to the Creator» was opened on the territory of the Lauryshava Monastery

A new ecological trail «Through creation to the Creator» was opened on the territory of the Lauryshava Monastery

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On the 19th of September, 2020 an ecological trail "Through the creation to the Creator" was opened on the territory of the Monastery of St. Eliseus of Lauryshava. The trail was created thanks to the joint efforts of the monastery and the direction "Church and Environment" of the Center for Environmental Solutions and with the support of the working group of the Belarusian Orthodox Church on cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and within the framework of the Program of Cooperation between the Belarusian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. The presentation of the trail was timed to celebrating of the period of prayer for God's creation, which in the Orthodox Church falls on the September days. The...
The parish of St. Nicholas of Japan celebrated the day of prayer for God’s creation

The parish of St. Nicholas of Japan celebrated the day of prayer for God’s creation

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With the blessing of Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavl Venjamin on the 6th of September at the parish in honor of St. Nicholas of Japan in Minsk a prayer service dedicated to the Day of Prayer for God's Creation was held. Traditionally it is held by the Orthodox Church on the first Sunday of September. After the prayer service, the Archpriest Pavel Serdyuk drew the attention of the parishioners to the fact that “today, with the blessing of the Church, a prayer is being performed for the creation of God. We hear the words of apostle Paul that the whole world around us suffers, waiting for the revelation of humans. The world was created for us, humans, and handed over to us and we all now see this measure of the disorder of the world, of the disorder of man and society. Creation groans
The idea of creating “The Way of Silence” walking route was approved at the seminar of the interreligious working group

The idea of creating “The Way of Silence” walking route was approved at the seminar of the interreligious working group

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On February, 26, IBB Minsk hosted an educational seminar “The Spiritual Development of Belarusian Society in the Context of Social Justice”. The seminar was organized as a part of an interreligious working group at the Minsk International Educational Center in the name of Johanes Rau (IBB Minsk). In addition to discussing the social work experience in religious communities, participants outlined the topic of the next seminar, which will be held in May 2020 and will be devoted to the contribution of Belarusian religious communities to solving environmental problems within the framework of sustainable development. Sergey Yushkevich, the head of the “Church and Environment” department of the Center for environmental solutions, told the participants about the idea of creating a walking ecol