Belarusian Church involved in updating constitution

This was reported by the Belarusian news agency Belta.

Earlier this month, the Council of the Republic chairman, Natalya Kochanova, thanked the clergy for their work, saying that she is grateful for the “valuable proposals” to the draft. “You work a lot with people; your knowledge and understanding of what is happening in society are valuable”, said Kochanova during a meeting with some clergy members.

Kochanova wanted to thank the BOC for “working together to resolve problems of drunkenness, drug addiction and foul language.” According to Kochanova, these problems worry citizens.

According to the chairman of the synodal information department of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, Igor Vasko, the clergy worked out about 10 proposals to enshrine them in the constitution. “Everything was developed based on requests from citizens.” According to Vasko, the protection of family values is a red line.

The clergy also proposed to include an article on the protection of a person’s life from the moment of his conception in the future constitution. Furthermore, they proposed adding a clause that says that the Belarusian people are aware of their responsibility to God and protection from the destructive manifestations of information technology.

Belta reported that in the end of January the finalised draft of the updated Constitution of Belarus will be submitted to the head of state Alexander Lukashenko. It is expected that a referendum on the adoption of an updated Constitution will be held in February.