Filaret died of coronavirus
His Eminence Metropolitan Filaret, Honorary Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, died on January 12 at the age of 86.
This was reported on the official portal of the Belarusian Orthodox Church.
Vladyka was 85 years old. In December, he suffered from a coronavirus infection. From 1990 to 2013, Metropolitan Filaret led the Belarusian Orthodox Church.
Bishop Filaret was one of the most beloved Orthodox hierarchs among the people. Under him, the number of Orthodox dioceses increased from 1 to 10, hundreds of churches were rebuilt and an Agreement on Cooperation between the State and the Church was signed.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko called Metropolitan Philaret one of the most authoritative hierarchs in the Orthodox world and treated him very warmly: every year he congratulated him on his birthday, sometimes personally. They often talked about worldly and spiritual things.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.