Belarusian

THE BAHA'I FAITH IN BELARUS

Russian     

 

Official website of the Baha’i Community in Vitebsk

Historical Information
Starting point for the Baha’i Faith in the city of Vitebsk was year 1993 when after a teaching project that had resulted in first Baha’i declarations. In 1994 the number of Baha’is reached 10 people which enabled election of the Local Spiritual Assembly in that city for the first time. Continuous collaboration with city authorities resulted in 1996 in the official registration of the Vitebsk Baha’i community at the City Council.

In the last years Vitebsk community has been carrying out a wide range of activities, such as:

• public presentations of the Faith with participation of people of skill (artists, singers, musicians)

• arts exhibitions, seminars

• summer schools

• bike tours

• creative workshops

• youth meetings and poetry evenings

• dance workshop projects

• seminars and conferences on promoting women’s movement

• cooperation with and aid to orphanage

• distribution of donated books to the libraries throughout the country

• inviting foreign guests and hosting them

• development of the English Cultural Center

• gatherings of a group on helping families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend (Al-Anone Family Group)
   

Current Activities
The following activities take place in our community:

• Regular prayer meetings - the so-called moments of tranquility, harmony, peace, and spiritual relaxation

• Feasts and the Holy Days, dedicated to special events in the Faith, which are the occasion for community reunions in a spiritual, festive atmosphere, where community members and guests share news and ideas and discuss the vital issues and events.

• Sessions on planning our future activity.

• Study circles on spiritual education and self-development using a unique approach, which does not insist on having a professional teacher with command of specific knowledge, but rather enables the group by means of consultation to consider various aspects of some particular subject, to express their opinions, to share experiences on matters discussed. The approach is based on materials containing quotations from the Holy Writings, as well as questions and exercises, which are for convenience logically arranged in consecutive sections, but may, however, be creatively adapted and used according to specific wishes and needs. There are materials on such topics as, for instance, the purpose of life, life and death, nature of the soul, prayer as food for the soul, educating and training children, events from the history of the Faith, etc.

• Children's classes (on spiritual and moral education) where children are trained according to the programs on developing virtues (kindness, helpfulness, tolerance, forgiveness, etc.) and creative skills (singing, dancing, drawing, embroidering, handicrafts) as well as training communicative abilities, i. e. the abilities to the associate with other people, to work together. Such skills are trained through special games that encourage cooperation and team spirit.

• English language study course.

• Participation in establishing and conducting a talk-show on “hot issues” of modern young people
   

At present our community has 50 members who have diverse professional, social and ethnical backgrounds.

"The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. "

Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 215