Very Rev. Fr. Vladimir Herasimenko, Rector of the Parish of the Church of the Theophany

Dear friends!
Welcome to the website of the Parish of the Church of the Theophany!

Our Parish was founded in 2001. It became possible to start construction of a church complex just after 10 years.

In November 2013, vicar of Minsk Diocese, bishop Veniamin, visited the construction site and served a thanksgiving prayer at this place.

The bishop put a memorial letter blessed by Metropolitan Philaret in the Altar section for the prosperous construction.

Since then the Church of the Theophany is being built higher and higher, step by step.

While the main Church is under construction, the Parish is located in a temporary church at the address: 4, Chizhevskikh Str, Minsk (Loshitsa micro-district).

The whole life of the Parish is concentrated here. All worship services are held here.
We hold various discussions in the Parish and a lot of children study at our Sunday school.

After the Great Patriotic War, this building housed a maternity hospital and later there was a nursery school. That is why, probably, the location of the Parish of the Church of the Theophany in this building is quite symbolic. The thing is, the Parish has had a glory of a “baby’s parish” for a long period of time.
Most parishioners of our Parish have multi-child families.

About 170 children go to our Sunday School.

14 teachers conduct classes in eight subjects (handicrafts, air modeling, tourism, etc.).

They also organize hiking trips and produce holiday concerts.

PHOTO: Father Vladimir is a ship captain.

There is a theater studio on the basis of the Sunday School.

The repertoire is various, from comedies to performances connected with military topics. Every performance has a spiritual significance.

Children perform along the whole Belarus. The main audience of such concerts, except for our parishioners, live in boarding schools, shelters for homeless children, State institution «Board and care home for veterans, disabled and elderly people» and Minsk Center for day habilitation of disabled people.

The Parish extensively works with young people and is engaged in social activities.

A social team of the Parish provides assistance to lonely old people, families with many children and people with disabilities. This includes financial support, food, organization of pilgrimage tours, excursions and congratulations on holidays.

The Parish also provides mercy services. Its daughters of mercy provide care to patients of the Department of Neurology at the 9th hospital in Minsk. They visit wards and look after seriously ill patients, talk with them about God and Christian life and prepare them, at their wish, to confess and receive Holy Communion. The sisters also work at Orthodox exhibitions and in church kiosks.

It is possible to participate in different social activities in our Parish. A priest and volunteers regularly visit elderly people and people with musculoskeletal disorders, with cerebral palsy and other illnesses.

Collection of donations, clothes and toys has been organized to support some families with disabilities and also large, low-income and disadvantaged families.
Every week, parishioners take families with a disabled person for therapeutic horse riding.

2011 was one of the brightest years in the life of our Parish. Belarus accepted relics of saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom.
With blessing of Metropolitan Philaret, the holy relics were left in the Theophany Parish, the main value for which is a family.

Since then, a prayer service with the Acathist to the saints (a hymn of praise) is performed near the relics of saints Peter and Fevronia every Tuesday at 07:00 p.m. These saints pray about family happiness, love and fidelity in marriage.

PHOTO: Shrine with relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom

During such prayer service, we honor the Murom wonderworkers’ act of moral courage and ask them to pray for us before the Lord for well-being in families, lonely people, giving a child to a childless couple and health.

The Parish especially concerns about family well-being and preservation of families in case they have some disharmony in relations. The clergy of the Parish try to help people who want to take advice for right decisions in difficult family circumstances.
An Orthodox psychologist also sometimes meets with our parishioners.

She conducts public lectures on family topics and provides individual consultation.
We intend to develop this social direction. We developed a project on finding specialists experienced in family consultation. We also have a project which will give an opportunity to such experienced psychologists and clergymen to work more extensively with married couples to preserve their integrity in case of disharmony in the family and help many people to get a difficult life situation resolved.
The work of such specialists will be held in the Parish House. We will start construction of the Parish House when we almost finish construction of the main church. Today the building of the Church of the Theophany is still under construction. Construction is carried out only with the help of donations.

According to the design, the architectural ensemble of the Parish of the Epiphany consists of three buildings: Church of the Epiphany, Bell Tower and Parish House.

Construction of the Bell Tower is almost completed. Construction design for the Parish House is being developed now.

What concerns the Church, thanks to God, it is growing higher and higher, step by step. In general, it will be completed soon. The construction of the Church is fulfilled by almost 50% (without interior design).

Builders have already erected a monolithic roof of the first level and now they are building side brick walls and a tholobate of the main dome.

The main altar of the Church is named Theophany and it will be dedicated to the event of the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan. The lower church will be dedicated to the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, who came to the tomb in the morning seeking to anoint the body of Jesus with chrism, but instead they were delighted by the angel’s message that Christ was not in the tomb. He has risen from the dead!

PHOTO: The Myrrhophores

The Church Complex will also include a separate Church of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom. It will be located in the Parish House.

PHOTO: Necessary concrete works are shown in orange colour

To complete construction of the Church, except for important concrete works for construction of eaves and roof of the upper level (the cost of materials and work is about 64242 USD), 32 machines full of bricks are very necessary.
One machine can carry 10 pallets of bricks and costs about 530 USD.
Cost of one pallet of bricks is about 53 USD.
It is very important now to lay bricks!
We will heartily accept your intention to take part in the construction of the Church. Today, the Lord gives everyone an opportunity to do an act of kindness and participate in this construction.
You can help the Parish financially, with building materials, with your professional skills and hard work and, of course, with your warm praying.
Any your sacrifice is dear to us. As for the Lord, even the smallest contributions brought from the heart will not remain without a reward. Praying for all benefactors will forever be said within the walls of the future Church!
If you are going to transfer donations from abroad in foreign currency, please contact priest Valery (e-mail: valery.tr_priest@mail.ru, cell-phone, viber, WhatsApp +375 29 604-0514) in order to get information about bank data for transfer.
We kindly ask you to assist in construction of the Church of the Theophany. The Clergy and the Parish Community are very friendly and active. It is necessary to open a new Church as soon as possible!
Thank you from all our hearts!

About the schedule for the week.
As it has already been mentioned above, the Parish operates now in a temporary church at 4 Chizhevskikh Str. (Loshitsa micro-district).

We are pleased to invite you to visit the Church of the Theophany!

Divine Liturgy is held here every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 09:00 a.m.
On Sundays and on great feasts, there are traditionally two Liturgies — at 07:00 a.m. and at 10:00 a.m., and on the eve of great feasts — night service (Virgil). Two Liturgies are celebrated on all great feasts.
The panihida (the funeral prayer for the dead) is served on Monday at 08:15 a.m., and on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., at the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia, the wonderworkers of Murom, prayer service about family happiness, love and fidelity is performed. We invite everyone to join the common prayer!
On Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. — prayer service for recovery of sick people, with special fervent request.
On Sundays at 3:00 p.m. — thanksgiving prayer service to the Lord and the Mother of God.

Dear friends!
The priests of the Church of the Theophany will be glad to devote the necessary time and give sympathetic attention to every person.
You may talk and pray in the Church, or, in case of need, in a hospital or at home.
Priests of the Parish who speak English:

Rev. Alexander + 375 29 758-7935

Rev. Vladislav + 375 44 745-5626

Rev. Valery +375 29 604-0514

We want you to find support, peace and spiritual relief in the Parish of the Theophany.
The Church is open every day from 09:00 a.m. to 08:00 p.m. During this time you may pray and have some silent minutes in a calm atmosphere of the Church.
The Parish organizes weekly meetings of a priest with parishioners, with everyone who wants to talk about the Orthodox faith, the Gospel, life of the Church and its traditions, to get answers to their questions. Meetings (in the Russian language) take place every Sunday at the end of the second Divine Liturgy (about 12:00 a.m.).
We are glad to welcome you within the walls of our Parish!

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE CHURCH OF THE THEOPHANY
Cosmonaut Georgy Grechko and traveler Fedor Konyukhov have left their remarkable trace in the history of the Parish in Loshitsa.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union cosmonaut Georgy Grechko visited the Parish in August 2012.

The purpose of his visit was to talk with children of the Sunday School and our parishioners.

Georgy told about an astronaut’s feelings during the first seconds of the flight, why he was almost kicked out of the team of the Soviet cosmonauts and why it is impossible to oppose science and religion.
It is impossible to oppose science and religion. Science studies the world of things, and religion deals with the soul. Every scientist should be religious, because a believer will never harm people with the help of his or her invention, while a person without faith can do anything for money. We must have a scientific mind and a religious soul.

PHOTO: These are words by Grechko: ‘ I was in outer space, I believe in God’

Speaking about faith, the astronaut drew attention to the fact that God should not be searched in the sky. He should be searched in your soul.

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In November 2012, a well-known traveler and priest Fedor Konyukhov visited the Parish of the Theophany.

PHOTO: Traveler Fedor Konyukhov

PHOTO: Photo of travelling along Ephiopia.

The famous navigator and the Parish of the Church of the Theophany have a long term strong friendship.

PHOTO: Priests Vladimir and Valery are at Fedor’s creative workshop, Moscow

PHOTO: Opening of a memorial board to traveler Georgy Sedov

The traveler decided to visit the Belarusian capital city and dedicate this visit to a good mission – to help to raise funds for the construction of the Church in Loshitsa.
First of all, upon arrival in Minsk, Father Fedor went to the Church of the Theophany, where a prayer service for start of the construction was being performed.

Fedor found out about stages of fulfillment of the work at the construction site.

PHOTO: At construction site of Church of Theophany

To spread the news about construction of a new church in Loshitsa, Fedor responded to numerous offers from representatives of national media and took part in news programs on TV, gave interviews to journalists, met with representatives of Belarusian business leaders.

PHOTO: Fedor’s participation in various TV programs, where he tells that he arrived in Minsk to take part in construction of the Church in Loshitsa.

Moreover, he held a long term charity art exhibition of his pictures at the Republican Art Gallery.

PHOTO: Opening of excibition

The proceeds from sale of the paintings were donated for the construction of the Church.

Before his travels Fedor Konyukhov was sometimes blessed by a Holy Cross from the Church in Loshitsa.

PHOTO: Priests Vladimir and Fedor before travelling in a boat along the Pacific Ocean.

Archpriest of the Theophany Church, Vladimir Gerasimenko, is a professional in wood carving.

In February 2013, he carved a cross for Fedor and the traveler took him to the place of intersection of all meridians of the planet — the Geographic North Pole.

In gratitude, Fedor Konyukhov gave the image of Saint Nicholas to the Parish of the Theophany.

So, the icon of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the Wonderworker, and an exact replica of the cross given to Fedor for the polar expedition, found permanent shelter within the walls of the Theophany Church.
In 2014, Fedor Konyukhov set a unique record. He crossed the Pacific Ocean, its longest distance, from South America to Australia (17,408 kilometers), in a rowing boat within 160 days.

In his boat, Fedor Konyukhov carefully kept two crosses taken from the Parish of the Theophany.

PHOTO: Cross made in Loshitsa Church in boat

The crosses were also carved by archpriest Vladimir. In his free time, the archpriest worked on them in the Church.

PHOTO: Father Vladimir at work

During this dangerous voyage in the ocean, the parishioners worried a lot about the traveler. In the Church, there was an information board with a map where everybody could see the traveler’s current location.

The believers prayed for the navigator’s safe return every day of his journey, and were very happy when he safely reached the finish line.
When Konyukhov returned to Moscow, he thanked and confessed that while praying in the waves of the ocean depths during his dangerous voyage he often remembered about the Loshitsa Parish.

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In summer of 2015, the Parish had a unique opportunity to meet the New World and share the information about its life with American believers.
Priest of the Theophany Church Valery Trukhan, at the invitation and support of American colleagues, visited the Orthodox Trinity Church in the city of Santa Fe.

In this Church, which belongs to the Patriarchate of Antioch, far to the south of the country, Father Valery told grateful American listeners about Belarus, its unique nature, national parks, its rich cultural heritage and famous Belarusians. And, of course, the story was dedicated to the history and modern life of the Orthodox Church in Belarus. You can’t imagine how Americans listened to the story about our homeland, with keen and lively interest!

Most of all it was pleasant to find out that parishioners of the Parish of the city of Santa Fe venerate our Belarusian Saint Euphrosinia of Polotsk and the wonderworkers of Murom, Saints Peter and Fevronia. Translation of the Acaphistus to the saints (a hymn of praise) into English was fulfilled, and icons of the saints found an honorable place in the Church of distant New Mexico.

PHOTO: Icons of the Belarusian saint Euphrosynya of Polotsk and her cross, one of the most revered icons in Belarus — Zhirovitsy icon of Mother of God, and also icon of the wonderworkers of Murom, Peter and Fevronia, placed in Holy Trinity Church in Santa Fe

The Orthodox community of the city of Santa Fe donated over 7.000 bricks for the construction of the Church in Loshitsa.

PHOTO: Father John, archpriest of the church in Santa Fe and Father Valery from the Church in Minsk. Father John is one of the kindest people in the world!