The seminar took place on the evening of April 28, 2026, at the General House of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was organized as part of the academic and pastoral program “MARTYRIA: Believers and Martyrs.” Some researchers of Eastern Christian spirituality joined the meeting online. The event was attended by Archimandrite Sergius Gajek, MIC, Apostolic Administrator of the Byzantine Rite faithful in Belarus.

“Belarusian Greek Catholics venerate the figure and legacy of St. Cyril of Turov as one of the fathers of their Church and of the Christian tradition in our lands,” Archimandrite Gajek noted in an interview with Vatican News. “St. Cyril of Turov lived in the 12th century, when the division of Christianity into East and West was not yet so palpable in our lands. That is why he is a very valuable spiritual teacher for us,” added the pastor of the Greek Catholic Church.

Archimandrite Sergiusz recalled that the tradition of venerating the saint among Belarusian Christians of various denominations remains alive. This is evidenced by the numerous churches founded by Belarusians in the diaspora and named in his honor. Another example of the special veneration of the bishop of Turov is the existence in postwar London of a Belarusian boarding school for boys. The institution, run by the Belarusian Mission under the leadership of Bishop Czesław Sipowicz, MIC, was also named after St. Cyril.

The scholarly interest in the saint’s legacy is also significant. Archimandrite Sergius emphasized that research into his life and work was undertaken not only by representatives of the Eastern Christian tradition but also by those of the Latin tradition. One of them was Father Piotr Tatarynowicz, also a native of Polesia, who in 1949 defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Saint Cyril of Turov, Bishop, and His Spiritual Teaching” at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

“Father Tatarynowicz was one of the first to introduce St. Cyril of Turow to church circles in Western Europe. A typescript of his doctoral dissertation is held in the archives of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, though a short monograph in Italian based on it was published as early as 1950,” noted Archimandrite Sergius.

“Prelate Tatarynovich’s work not only introduced the figure of St. Cyril to many scholars and enthusiasts of Eastern Christian spirituality, but also served as the basis for the saint’s biography, written in 1968 by Fr. Alexander Nadson,” explained the Greek Catholic hierarch.

The international meeting at the Marian Fathers’ General House in Rome was another step in promoting the legacy of St. Cyril of Turow. The date of the seminar was not chosen at random—his liturgical commemoration is celebrated on April 28.

“For us, this feast is very precious, especially since it usually falls during the Easter season, when we read St. Cyril’s Easter homilies with particular attention,” concluded Archimandrite Sergius, emphasizing that the saint’s works are filled with Paschal hope and encourage Christians to a new life, renewed by the Paschal Mystery.

Alexander Panchanka – Vatican News