Christian Vision is a working group of the Coordination Council of Belarus for formulating and supporting Christians’ contribution to the council's aims: overcoming the political crisis and securing reconciliation.
The group was established on 9 September 2020 as an informal interdenominational association open to the Coordination Council members to join.[1] The statement announcing the group's establishment was initially signed by 24 lay and ordained persons from the main Christian denominations of Belarus.[2]
Christian Vision monitors and publicises the facts of persecution of the people of faith based on their believes or political views,[3][4] and of violence[5] and infringement of their rights in the place of detention.[6] Those reports form the basis of the ongoing Monitoring of the Persecution in Belarus of People on Religious Grounds During the Political Crisis[6] published in Russian and English. The reports have been used by the national and international media outlets for their own reporting.[7][8]
The group mobilised and reported on the words and works of the laity and clergy in support of nonviolence, restoring the rule of law and releasing political prisoners.[9][10]
The group encouraged theologians,[11] ordained ministers[12] and others in Belarus and abroad to develop a theological reflective perspective on the protests and persecutions in Belarus. An unprecedented for Belarus example of such a reflection was Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's letter to the Pope Francis.[13]
It organised and supported campaigns for political prisoners, persecuted believers and religious communities in Belarus.[14]
The group publicises its work on its website and the channels in Telegram and Facebook.[15]
In September 2023, a court in Belarus designated the group's Telegram channel as an 'extremist material'.[16]
