The lands of Belarus during the Middle Ages became part of Kievan Rus' and were split between different principalities, including Polotsk, Turov, Vitebsk, and others. Following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later was merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century.
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sources to describe all Eastern Slavs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as an exonym for people of the former Kievan Rus', thus including ancestors of the modern Belarusians, Rusyns and Ukrainians. The use of Ruthenian and related exonyms continued through the early modern period, developing several distinctive meanings, both in terms of their regional scopes and additional religious connotations.
Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk was the granddaughter of a prince of Polotsk, Vseslav, and daughter of Prince Svyatoslav of Polotsk. She has long been a popular saint among Orthodox devotees, particularly those in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia with a traditional feast day of May 23. In addition, since 1984, she has been one of the 15 patron saints of Belarus, whose lives are celebrated in the Belarusian Orthodox Church, on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Radasłaŭ Kazimiravič Astroŭski was a Byelorussian collaborator with Nazi Germany who served as president of the Belarusian Central Council, a puppet Belarusian administration under German hegemony from 1943–1944, and in exile from 1948-1976.
John Joseph Loftus, is an American author, former high level U.S. government prosecutor and former Army intelligence officer. He is the president of The Intelligence Summit and of the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg.
The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America (ACROD) is a diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with 78 parishes in the United States and Canada. Though the diocese is directly responsible to the Patriarchate, it is under the spiritual supervision of the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The diocese was led by Metropolitan Nicholas Smisko of Amissos (1936–2011). The current leader is the Metropolitan of Nyssa, Gregory Tatsis, who was consecrated on November 27, 2012.
The Belarusian Central Council was a puppet administrative body in German-occupied Belarus during World War II. It was established by Nazi Germany within Reichskommissariat Ostland in 1943–44, following requests by collaborationist Belarusian politicians hoping to create a Belarusian state with German support.
Metropolitan Iziasłaŭ was the primate of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
The timeline of Eastern Orthodoxy in North America represents a timeline of the historical development of religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in North America.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate in America comprises eight separate jurisdictions, along with a number of stavropegial institutions, and includes roughly two-thirds of all Eastern Orthodox Christians in America. The archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, by far the largest of Constantinopolitan jurisdictions in the US, is considered the local primate and may convene a Holy Synod of all the hierarchs of the Ecumenical throne in America.
The Belarusian Council of Orthodox Churches in North America was a group of five parishes in the United States and Canada under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. They did not have their own bishop, but were rather administered by Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese (EP), who then reported to the primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. After several years under the Ecumenical Patriarchate the parishes returned to the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Stephen Varzaly was a leading priest, journalist, and cultural activist for Rusyns in the United States.
St. Theodosius Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox church located on Starkweather Avenue in the West Side neighborhood of Tremont in Cleveland, Ohio. Considered one of the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Theodosius was the first Eastern Orthodox parish in Cleveland and is currently under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America. The cathedral is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1978 Best Picture-winning film, The Deer Hunter, with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. It is also seen in the opening credits of Major League.
Christianity is the main religion in Belarus, with Eastern Orthodoxy being the largest denomination. The legacy of the state atheism of the Soviet era is evident in the fact that a part of the Belarusians are not religious. Moreover, other non-traditional and new religions have sprung up in the country after the end of the Soviet Union.
The Cross of Saint Euphrosyne or Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk was a revered relic of the Orthodox Church in Belarus, which was made in 1161 by Lazar Bohsha on the order of Saint Euphrosyne of Polotsk and is regarded as a national treasure of Belarus.
During World War II, some Belarusians collaborated with the invading Axis powers. Until the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the territory of Belarus was under control of the Soviet Union, as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. However, memories of Soviet repressions in Belarus and collectivization, as well as of the polonization and discrimination against Belarusians under the Second Polish Republic were still fresh.
The Diocese of Northeast America is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. The diocese has jurisdiction over eastern parts of the United States and eastern parts of Canada. The diocese is headquartered at Muttontown, New York.
Saint-Euphrosyne Monastery is a women's Orthodox monastery in Polotsk, one of the oldest and largest centers of Orthodoxy in Belarus.
