The delegation of the Metropolitan District visited the places of spiritual exploits of Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) and venerated the miraculous Belynichi Icon of the Holy Mother of God

August 6, 2024. The city of Belynichi, Belarus. Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and members of the delegation of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District visited the church in honor of the miraculous Belynichi Icon of the Mother of God.

The guests were accompanied by the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, and Bishop Seraphim of Babruisk and Bykhov.

Belynichi is the place of spiritual exploits of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov) of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, a confessor of faith and an ascetic of piety. In 1910, the future saint was accepted into the Belynichi Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery, where he served for some time. The bishop especially revered the Belynichi icon of the Holy Mother of God, which sanctified his childhood and youth. The icon, which belonged to Metropolitan Joseph, is now kept in the funds of the house-museum of the elder-saint, the opening of which is planned in Alma-Ata in 2025 - for the 50th anniversary of the hierarch's death in the Lord.

At the gates of the church, the guests were met by the head of the Belynichi District Executive Committee - O.V. Pristromskaya. On the church grounds, Olga Vasilyevna conducted a short tour of the exhibition, telling about the history of Orthodoxy in the Belynichi land, local attractions and famous people.

After this, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan and Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl performed a prayer service before the miraculous Belynichi Icon of the Mother of God. The head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District sprinkled the believers with holy water and blessed everyone.

The archpastor thanked Metropolitan Veniamin for the hospitality shown to the Kazakhstan delegation, and also expressed sincere joy in connection with his stay in the city of Belynichi, where the ever-memorable Metropolitan Joseph (Chernov), revered by millions of people around the world, lived and prayed.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexander, two copies of the Belynichi Icon of the Mother of God were brought from Kazakhstan and attached to the miraculous prototype. One of the icons, upon the pilgrims' return to Alma-Ata, will be installed on the tomb of Bishop Joseph in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Iversko-Seraphimovsky Convent of the Southern Capital.

In memory of the visit to the great shrine, the rector of the church, Archpriest Sergiy Maslov, presented Metropolitan Alexander and Archbishop Amphilochius with icons of the Mother of God, as well as book editions with an akathist to the miraculous icon and the history of Orthodoxy in the city of Belynichi.