BELARUS: Jehovah’s Witnesses reregistered as a religious organization
HRWF (28.08.2025) – On 5 July 2025, the government of Belarus officially recognized Jehovah’s Witnesses as a religious organization for the second time, according to a press release issued by this religious denomination.
Belarus initially granted them legal registration in 1994. However, a new law enacted in 2024 required all religious organizations to reregister under updated regulations.
“Legal recognition is one of the crucial steps on the path toward freedom of worship,” said Pavel Yadlouski, a spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belarus. “For example, it allows us to hold meetings at Kingdom Halls or at rented facilities, have assemblies, and import literature. We have been active in Belarus since 1924. Legal recognition reaffirms our decades-long reputation as peaceful, law-abiding citizens who contribute positively to our communities.”
A total of 3,592 religious organisations had to be reregistered, according to the Office of the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs. Of these, 3,419 were local religious communities and 173 were hierarchical bodies, associations, monastic communities and religious educational establishments.
Of the registered religious organisations identified by the Plenipotentiary’s office, 1,819 were Orthodox, 1,086 from various Protestant communities, about 530 Roman Catholic, 16 Greek Catholic, 54 Jewish in three separate organisations, 34 Old Believers, 23 Sunni Muslim, 1 Shia Muslim and 1 Buddhist. Others included Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i, Hare Krishna and Armenian Apostolic registered religious organisations.
Photo:Leonid Trofimovich (left) and Pavel Yadlouski (right) displaying the Certificate of Registration outside the office of the Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs in Minsk, Belarus
