The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld a lower court’s decision to liquidate three Eastern Catholic parishes.
“The three parishes first gained state registration in the 1990s,” Forum 18 reported. “Like all religious communities that wanted to continue to exist under the new Religion Law that came into force in July 2024, they were forced to seek re-registration. Officials of Brest Regional Executive Committee rejected their applications in 2025 and lodged the liquidation suits to court.”
The Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map) is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic). An autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, has led the nation since 1994.