Pastor Graham at "Chizhovka Arena" asked to pray for Lukashenka and Putin. And he himself prayed for Trump

Franklin Graham (right). Here and below, photos from the Telegram channel "Minsk Festival of Hope"

Today, the first day of the Protestant "Festival of Hope" is taking place at "Chizhovka Arena". More than 7,500 people gathered there. For the first time, two Protestant denominations united to hold this forum: Evangelical Christians and Baptists.

The well-known Baptist preacher Franklin Graham flew from the USA to the event.

At the beginning of his speech, Franklin Graham thanked everyone who helped organize the festival in Minsk. And he fulfilled what he promised Lukashenka yesterday — to pray for the authorities.

"The Bible tells us to pray for authorities. In the first epistle to Timothy (chapter 2), verses one and two say that we should pray. We must pray for leadership. Yesterday I told your president, President Lukashenka, that tonight we will all stand. I will ask all of you to stand. I will ask you to say a prayer for your president, for those who lead.

Those from Russia, pray for President Putin, for those in power in your country. And I will pray for my president — President Trump. Let's pray aloud now."

Here's how the appearance of Franklin Graham on stage was commented on in the Telegram channel "Minsk Festival of Hope": "A moment of truth. Franklin Graham is on stage. Right here and now, words about the most important things are being spoken — about peace and the hope that cannot be taken away. This is the culmination for which we have all gathered here. Every word — straight to the heart. We see thousands of eyes full of light. God speaks to Belarus today."

The "Voice of Hope" choir and a symphony orchestra performed at the festival.

Among those who unexpectedly found themselves in the stands was blogger Hanna Bond. She was satisfied:

"I went for the impression. I got it. It's my first time at such an event, it's massive. Excellent organization. I sat in the parterre, though, for that I had to arrive 1.5 hours before the start."

Павялічыць

The event started at 17:00, people were recommended to arrive an hour earlier. Videos taken near "Chizhovka Arena" show that quite a lot of people gathered.

There were more people wanting to see the festival than there were seats. Those who couldn't get in complain on social media about poor organization. Previously, the event's advertising everywhere emphasized that anyone could come and listen to the Protestant pastor Franklin Graham: no tickets were needed for this.

But only those with invitations could see Graham's performance live. Others were offered to watch the broadcast on screens in the small arena. For context: the large arena is designed for approximately 8.8 thousand spectators, and the small one for less than 500 people.

In comments on Threads, some say that a certain number of people who arrived much earlier than 16:00 were able to get into the main hall in side seats without invitations.

In one video, a law enforcement officer is seen apologizing through a loudspeaker to angry people who could not get into the festival. He says that there are physically no more seats: people were even allowed to stand in the corridors.

For tomorrow, it is recommended to arrive 3-4 hours before the start of the festival.

Along with Graham, the wife of Trump's representative John Kough, Greta van Susteren, also came to the festival; she has long collaborated with Samaritan's Purse, the foundation led by Graham.

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