Father Ihar From Brest: Our Country Must Take a Democratic Path

The Greek Catholic priest believes that the church should call things by their proper names.

Father Ihar, a minister of a small Greek Catholic community in Brest, is now a very recognizable figure. During the days of protests, he took to the streets many times, communicated with girls and women in chains of solidarity. He listened to them, consoled them, and prayed with them.

He visits almost all rallies, even spoke at one of them. He sought the release of the detainees from the pre-trial detention center. The priest himself says that it is his duty as a citizen and Christian pastor to be close to his people. However, someone in power may not like it.

"I believe that all these lies and falsifications are a war against God," the priest noted in an interview with "Salidarnasc". - And after all these arrests of candidates and ordinary citizens, even before the elections, I decided to state my civic position. I suppose that Sviatlana Cikhanouskaja, this sweet, beautiful woman, was left among the presidential candidates only because they did not take her seriously.

During the first week after the elections, a priest in a black cassock walked every day along the central streets of Brest, met various people here, including policemen, riot police, and tried to talk to them. At the same time, according to his own stories, he did not feel that the interlocutors from the power structures adequately reacted to his words.

- In the first days, they did not answer anything at all; they just looked at me with disbelief. There were, however, several policemen who said that they were ashamed, - the priest recalls.

Father Ihar says that he feels sorry for the riot police, who brutally treated people. He believes that this is not their nature, that they received an order to intimidate, to show such transcendental cruelty to make people hide and no longer stick out.

At the largest rally in the history of Brest on August 16 (more than 30 thousand people gathered on the square then), in the presence of the mayor, prosecutor, and head of the regional police department, Father Ihar made a bright, fiery speech.

He says about it this way:

- I demanded that the chairman of the city executive committee go with me to the pre-trial detention center and release the detainees during the protests. And Aliaksandr Rahachuk actually went. Not with his feet, but he actually went. Having gone to his office, he began to call Minsk, the heads of the power structures, to resolve the detainees' issue. When I was convinced that the chairman was dealing with this issue, I went to the isolation ward with other protesters. We were there until three in the morning when the last of the detainees were released.

In general, Father Ihar speaks well of the Brest mayor, considers him a man of goodwill. At the same time, he reminds: everyone who is in power - priests, heads of enterprises, cities, and presidents - should be servants of the people.

- They are hired managers. Unfortunately, many people do not understand this, they believe that they are almost above God. This, of course, should not be so - the church minister is confident.

In his opinion, many speculate with a quotation from the Bible, saying that "all power is from God."

- In fact, power is a gift from God. But, just as money can be spent on something good or bad, so this gift can be misused. The gift of power is needed so that the one whom people have chosen, and the one whom God has put in place, serve these people, take care of them, protect and, of course, love. If a person who has power uses it in his own interests, all the more so if he terrorizes someone, intimidates, arranges repression, he becomes a usurper.

In this case, someone should tell the ruler that he is wrong, someone should correct him, the priest believes.

- If this is not possible, the people should fire him. Any authority is really from God. And the gift of power is a huge responsibility that not every person can bear. Therefore, it must be divided, consulted. And a very dangerous thing is the vertical, when everyone is just appointed. This just led to what we have now... You know, I really sympathize with Aliaksandr Lukashenka, because he actually has no friends who could give him honest, sincere advice, say that it's time to leave, says father Ihar.

And he admits that he agrees with Churchill: in the sense that democracy is not an ideal form of government, but humanity has not yet come up with anything better.

- I think that our country should take a democratic path of development and take a worthy place among civilized countries. Mentally, judging by the latest events, we are absolutely ready for this, - the interlocutor says.

And he adds about the national symbols and the unity of Christians in Belarus:

- My soul rejoices when I see white-red-white flags waving. This is a Christian sign, Christian colors. At the same rally on August 16, when people greeted each other with the words "Long live Belarus!" One person answered: "Long live with God!". This had pleased me a lot. I think that this position could be shared by representatives of all Christian denominations in Belarus - Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants.

Father Ihar is sure that the future of Belarus will become bright since the absolute majority of the country's citizens are bright and very kind people who sincerely want changes.

- If we want our state to be legal, as written in the Constitution, it is necessary that any opinion has the right to exist. In general, different opinions enrich us. I don't want everyone to march in formation," says the 65-year-old priest.

He believes that he will live to see the moment when Belarus gains a just and honest government.

- Because people felt that they are free, smart, talented, deserving to live better, and, most importantly, that, as the classic said, "to be called people."

When asked if you are afraid that you, as Archbishop Kandrusievich, may not be allowed into Belarus if you travel abroad, he only smiles:

- I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not planning to go any time soon.

Father Ihar is much more concerned about two warnings - from the prosecutor's office and the regional executive committee - for organizing unauthorized events. They hint that the court may suspend the registration of the parish.

- However, I am convinced: the church should call everything by its proper name. Even when it's unsafe," says Father Ihar.