The resulting press release
of the National Organizational Committee
of the Year of Reformation

On the 18th of December, 2003 the National Public Organizational Committee on the celebration of the 450th date of the Reformation in Belarus summed up its activities:


The Reformation became one of the reasons of the impetuous develop of the Belarusian culture in XVIth century - of the philosophy, architecture, book-printing, educational institutions. In 2003 450 years have passed from the beginning of the wide spreading of the reformation ideas in Belarus. The Belarusian community did not pass by this considerable event of Belarusian history.

On the 13th of November there was the constituent meeting of National Organizational Committee on the celebration of the 450th date of the Reformation in Belarus. The aim of the Organizational Committee's activities was engaging attention of broad circles of Belarusian and International public to the spiritual, historical and cultural inheritance of the Reformation in Belarus.

"THE YEAR OF THE REFORMATION" came to its completion and the Organizational Committee has to sum out its activities. Public figures, scientists and artists took part in the educational, scientific and festive measures. The Working group held the direct work on the realization of the measures, planned by the Organizational Committee.

Among the measures, held by the Organizational Committee, there were:

• on the eve of 2003 wall calendars and small calendars with the images of the figures of the Reformation and architectural monuments of the XVIth century came out;
• the cite www.belreform.org., devoted to the jubilee of the Reformation, has been created, the cite shows all the activities of the Organizational Committee;
• series of articles from the history of Belarus, interview with the friends of the Organizational Committee ("Zviazda", "Kultura", "Viacherni Minsk", "Viacherni Brest", "Narodnaja Volia", "Novy Chas", ets.) came out;
• the scientific competition "Reformation and Renaissance in Belarus. The XVIth century" among the students and lecturers of the Belarusian high schools have been held;
• ancient music concerts, devoted to the Reformation, took place in Minsk, Lepel, Vitsebsk, Maryina Horka and Luninets;
• the disk of the music of the Renaissance epoch played by the group "Stary Olsa" have been issued;
• the organizational work with the placing of the memorial in Kojdanava, on the place where Calvinistic church was ruined, is going on;
• International round table "Traditions of the tolerance in the Great Duchy of Lithuania. The culturally philosophic aspect" with a participation of scientists and public persons has been held;
• the literary artistic competition "Belarus. Historical travels" for pupils of Belarus took place, at the result if the competition the book of children's works came out (August, 2003), from the 17th of September to the 16th of October in the Museum of M.Bahdanovich there was an exhibition of the children's historical picture;
• there were three quizzes on the historical theme, the questions to those were placed in carriages of Minsk metropolitan;
• the meeting of citizens with the writer U.Arlow took place in Lepel;
• the translation of the Catechism of Symon Budny to the modern Belarusian is coming to the end; the book will come out in 2004;
• the book about Radzivil the Black is getting ready, Anatol Hrytskevich is an author;
• with the co-operation of the Organizational Committee the festival of Belarusian music of the XVIth - XVIIIth centuries "Renaissance of Belarusian Chapel" has been held on with the participation of the State Chamber Chorus and ensemble "Classic-Vanguard" (December, 2003);
• a number of the magazine "Spadchyna", devoted to the Reformation, is getting ready;
• special numbers of magazines "Krynitsa zhyccia" and "Hryscijanskaja kultura", devoted to the Reformation, came out;
• the scientific analytical seminar, devoted to the anniversary of the Reformation, took place in Berasce.

The Organizational Committee satisfactorily appreciates the number of organized and carried out measures, all its work during the year. Over national educational enlightening company, devoted to the great anniversary of the national history, has been successfully held on with the efforts of social structures.