Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium attends commemorative event at the Embassy of Belarus on 40th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster

DECR Communication Service, 28/04/2026

On 24^th April 2026, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Brussels hosted a memorial meeting that marked the 40^th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. Among those in attendance was Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium, diocesan website reports. The hierarch was accompanied by Archpriest Pavel Nedosekin, Secretary of the Diocese.

Mr S.K. Panyasyuk, Chargé d'Affaires of the Republic of Belarus in Brussels, opened the meeting. In his speech, he dwelt on the tragic history of the Chernobyl accident and its aftermaths that affected a huge number of people, as twenty-five percent of the territory of Belarus received radioactive contamination. He also spoke about denuclearization programmes implemented in Belarus over the past 40 years, giving tangible results, such as sickness rate reduction, soil decontamination and development of new medical technologies.

Mr D.V. Gonchar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Belgium, also addressed the meeting. He spoke about the large-scale work that had begun in the Soviet Union and continued in the modern-day Russia to overcome the disaster’s consequences, mentioning the assistance provided to the allied state of Belarus in that regard.

Among other speakers were representatives of the Belgian non-governmental organizations that helped rehabilitate children fr om Belarus evacuated from the contamination zone and monitored quality of Belarusian foodstuffs.

During the memorial meeting, a documentary was shown, dedicated to the heroic Chernobyl liquidators. To commemorate them, a memorial church had been built in Minsk, wh ere eyewitnesses of the tragedy gather every year. In the church, there is an icon that tells the story of the Chernobyl disaster. The documentary also showed a memorial stone installed in on church grounds with the blessing of Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeyev) of Minsk and Zaslavl to commemorate the liquidators.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a reception was given.

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Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium attends commemorative event at the Embassy of Belarus on 40th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons