Catholic priest from Vileyka region spent Easter behind bars. What is known about him?

Father Anatol Parakhnevich

For more than two weeks now, the priest has been behind bars, and it is unknown why he was detained and what he is accused of. No official statements from the Church on this matter have appeared. Among the clergy, the faithful are given no information about the fate of their brother; some note that there is indeed no information about the parish priest in Alkovichy. Perhaps something is known to the bishops, but they are not sharing this information.

Father Anatol Parakhnevich is 65 years old. He has no relatives or close family, so there is no one to learn anything about him from, apart from the bishops themselves. The priest has served in Alkovichy since 2007; before that, he served in Rakaw and Zaslaŭje and studied in Białystok, Poland. Last year, he celebrated the 30th anniversary of his priestly ordination — as did Archbishop Józef Staniewski.

Father Anatol created a small museum at the church in Alkovichy. Here he kept 18th-century silk-embroidered chasubles, decorated with ancestral Slutsk sashes, a unique collection of Belarusian towels, and ancient books.

In the local district newspaper, the priest was called "a shepherd of human souls, a historian, and a collector of antiquities"; they noted his skill in decorating the altar and the entire church with unique floral compositions. He grew flowers in his own garden, also had his own apiary, and baked pies and cakes.

The parish in Alkovichy is very small, and there, as far as the faithful know, they also have no information about the parish priest. It was only learned that the church was closed for some time after a search, but then the keys were returned — now another priest comes to serve in the parish. The parish priest's house remains closed.

The faithful believe that the priest is being held in the KGB pre-trial detention center. If this is indeed the case, he could be accused of "treason" or other criminal offenses against the state. But there is no precise information on this matter yet.

Another detention of a Catholic priest in Belarus occurred just four months after the release, mediated by the Vatican, of two previously imprisoned priests — Father Henrich Akalotovich and Father Andrzej Juchniewicz. They are still located in Rome, cannot return to Belarus, and cannot participate in public activities.

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