Belarusian Christian Democracy

The Belarusian Christian democratic movement was created in the early 20th century mostly by Belarusian theology students and seminarians. The Christian democratic circle in Vilna was publishing the weekly newspaper Biełarus.

In 1917 Belarusian political activists in St. Petersburg created the first Belarusian Christian democratic political organization - the Belarusian Christian Democratic Union (Belarusian: Беларуская хрысьціянска-дэмакратычная злучнасьць). Among the founders of the BCDU were the priests Adam Stankievič and Vincent Hadleŭski.

Christian democrats participated in the First All-Belarusian Congress in December 1917 and took an active part in preparation for the establishment of the independent Democratic Republic of Belarus in 1918.

On November 6, 1927, on the basis of the BCDU a new political party was created in Wilno under the name The Belarusian Christian Democracy. Since then the party was active in West Belarus. While most of the other West Belarusian political parties were leftist or even pro-Soviet, the BCD was center-right.

After the unification of West Belarus with the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, many leaders and members of the BCD became victims to Soviet repressions or were killed by Nazis during the later Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. Practically, the party ceased all activities in 1939. During the Soviet times, information about the BCD as well as all other non-communist political organizations were kept in secret, with only state-approved historians having access to relevant archives.

The first attempt to re-establish the BCD took place in 1991. All relevant documents for re-establishment were prepared, but the movement was never registered then.[3]

In 2005 a group of democratic activists created an initiative group to revive the Christian democratic party under the name Belarusian Christian Democracy. It opposes the policies of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Modern BCD sees the promotion of Christian values and Belarusian patriotism in the country as its primary goal. The party opposes Russian having the status of an official language in Belarus.

BCD has active contacts with religious groups. Unlike its predominantly Catholic predecessor in the early 20th century, the current BCD positions itself as a party uniting also Orthodox and Protestant Christians.

As of 2007, the Belarusian Ministry of Justice has declined to register the political party.[4] Party leadership outlined the religious and geopolitical orientation of its party. Co-leader Vital Rymašeŭski stated, " we believe that the laws of the Republic of Belarus should not be contrary to biblical law, and vice versa".[5] Regarding geo-political orientation Co-leader Pavał Sieviaryniec stated that the party was not seeking pro-Europeans but rather Christians wanting a moral revival. "In Western Europe, there are a set of traditions almost without regard to the Bible and Christianity. It is not [Christian] believers who make up the bulk of the people who vote for the Christian Democrats. But Eastern Europe has recently seen a strong Christian renaissance, and that biblical principles are the basis of Christian Democratic policy."[5]

The BCD nominated its candidate Vital Rymašeŭski at the 2010 Belarusian presidential election.

On June 4, 2016, party leader Paval Sieviaryniec gave an interview to Radio Free Europe stating that homosexuality as a social norm would destroy the Belarusian nation, the idea of gender was just as dangerous as racist propaganda or provoking class warfare and that gay Belarusians dishonored the memory of those died fighting against the USSR and Nazi Germany.[6]

Paval Sieviaryniec presented his candidacy for the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.[7] However, on June 7, 2020, he was arrested for his participation in earliert protests and later sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of organizing mass unrest.[8] Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience.[9]