Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl arrived on an archpastoral visit to the ancient city of Turov on May 11, 2026. Here he led the celebrations dedicated to the memorial day of St. Cyril, Bishop of Turov.
The primate of the Belarusian Orthodox Church was greeted by Bishop Leonid of Turov and Mozyr, representatives of regional and district authorities, clergy, pilgrims and guests of the holiday. Before the start of the celebrations, the participants laid flowers at the monument to the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, after which the procession headed to Castle Hill.
The festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated in a special historical place — in the pavilion above the foundation of the ancient Cathedral of the Bishops of Turov, destroyed by an earthquake in the 13th century. Metropolitan Veniamin led the divine service. The liturgical hymns were performed by the bishop's male choir of the Turov diocese under the direction of Protodeacon Georgy Tyvonyuk.
One of the important moments of the service was the overshadowing of the worshippers with the altar cross of Turov. This cross was recreated on the model of the votive crosses of Byzantine and ancient Russian temples on the basis of archaeological finds of the XII–XIII centuries at the Turov settlement. On Easter Day, it was donated to the Turov Cathedral by President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
At the end of the Liturgy, the participants of the celebrations proceeded to the monument to St. Cyril of Turov, where the saint was glorified. Bishop Leonid of Turov and Mozyr addressed the audience with a welcoming speech. He thanked Metropolitan Veniamin for his archpastoral visit and joint prayer on a festive day for the diocese.
Metropolitan Veniamin congratulated the clergy, pilgrims and guests on the feast day of St. Cyril of Turov, thanked everyone for participating in the divine service and addressed the audience with a word of edification.
At the end of the holiday, according to the tradition established by the ever—memorable Metropolitan Filaret, the first Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Veniamin presented aiguillettes to cadets of military faculties - graduates of cadet and law classes of the secondary school No. 15 of the city of Mozyr named after General E. S. Borodunov.