Belarus
 Belarus |
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 Reflection meeting in Belarus, 2010's.
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| Location of Belarus
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| National Assembly | Belarus | |
| Statistics: | ||
| Total Population | ||
| - | UN 2021[1] | 9,578,167 |
| Bahá'í pop. | ||
| - | Bahá'í source | |
| - | Non-Bahá'í source | 98 |
| History: Firsts |
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| - | Pioneers | 1978, Helmut Winkelbach |
| - | Local Assembly | 1991, Minsk |
| - | National Assembly | 1995 |
| Official Website | http://www.bahai.by | |
 Related media
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| Categories: Belarus • People | ||
The Republic of Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe. Belarusian and Russian are the official languages and Christianity is the predominant religion.
The area was part of several different nations throughout the Middle Ages and was often referred to as White Russia. It became part of the Russian Empire in the late 18th century and remained part of the Empire until 1918 when it became a Republic. It became part of the Soviet Union in 1920 and remained so until becoming independent in 1991.
The Bahá’í Faith was first present in Belarus in 1978 however a community was not established until the early 1990s.
History[edit]
When Shoghi Effendi launched the Ten Year Crusade teaching plan in 1953 White Russia was designated a goal territory for establishing a Bahá’í community. It remained unopened until German Bahá’í Helmut Winkelbach was able to move to the country in 1978 having been employed as an electrical engineer to construct a factory.[2] In 1981 he married a Belarusian woman, Olga, however he was forced to leave the country by the authorities later the same year. In 1986 Winkelbach was able to return to Belarus with his wife for a year and a half.[3]
Religious restrictions within the Soviet Union began to relax in the late 1980's and in 1990 the Winkelbach's returned to Belarus settling in Minsk. They were able to actively teach the Faith and their efforts lead to the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Minsk in October, 1991.[3] A National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet Union was established in 1991 but was succeeded by a National Spiritual Assembly of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova the following year due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[4]
In 1992 the Belarus Bahá’í community secured a Bahá’í Centre and in 1993 Rúḥíyyih Khánum visited the country.[3] In August 1993 an International Bahá’í Youth Conference was held in Brest and in April 1994 a Bahá’í women's conference was held in Brest. Also in 1994 a teaching project named Neman 94 was undertaken with the countries Bahá’í community having approximately one hundred and thirty members in eleven cities by the end of the year.[5] The growth of the community allowed for the National Spiritual Assembly of Belarus to be formed in 1995.[6]
In 1996 a Local Spiritual Assembly was established in Mogilov with many Cameroonian students studying in the city having declared,[7] and in 1997 a Bahá’í Winter School was held in Minsk.[8] In 2000 another International Youth Conference was held in Belarus this time in Minsk.[9] and the National Assembly was officially registered with the government.[10] In 2003 the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in Belarus was celebrated in Minsk.[11]
References[edit]
- ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 400
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 401
- ↑ Graham Hassall (2000). "National Spiritual Assemblies: Lists and years of formation".
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 49. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 50. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 58. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 60. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 88. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2002). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 29 (2000-2001), Pg(s) 75. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2005). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 32 (2003-2004), Pg(s) 90. View as PDF.
