On December 15-16, 2003 the International conference “Religious Dialogue and Reconciliation Through the Arts” took place in the Minsk Diocesan Department organized by the Institute of Religious Dialogue and Interconfessional Communications under the Belarusian Exarchate supported by the International Voluntary Association Saints' Methodius and Cyrill Christian Educational Centre within the framework of the International programme “The European Bridges”. The representatives of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, Jewish and Muslim communities, state authorities and institutions connected with religious activities took part in the Forum. During two-day sessions the reports of the leading theologians, specialists in religious studies and philosophers from Belarus, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Russia and other European and CIS states. The principal topic of the discussion was one of the main problems that the Christians faced in Europe – exclusion of the clause on the Christian values from the EU Constitution. The secularization spirit got into all spheres of human life leading to lower attention to spiritual matters. However, today the age of dialogue between the Church and modern society is coming to take the era of confrontation’s place. The points of meeting and interpenetration of religion and the present, common features have the art and the Christian tradition, possibility of the art enriching the dialogue between the Christian Churches and the religions in general, many other issues put forward to the participants of the Conference whose main aim was in assisting mutual spiritual and cultural enrichment of the East and West. In this case, one means not mainly theology plane but art perspective: theatre, literature, music and fine arts. The art could become means of overcoming disrupt between the technological intellect and religious consciousness, prevent religious hatred towards secular world, inter-religious and interconfessional intolerance.

 The representatives of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, baptist communities, Muslim and Jewish associations participated in the Conference. The Conference was opened by the Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Philaret, the Exarch of all Belarus. In his opening address he substantiated the necessity of these meetings and revealed the content of the coming international forum. The Metropolitan stated that only at the formation of the correct religious concepts the culture could become really constructive and carry out spiritual tasks. The Christian world feels alert in the connection with the coming attack against religious human rights to please pseudo values of the secular world. Namely due to that fact the European Christians and also the representatives of other religious traditions feel special need and even necessity in the religious dialogue through the art and culture permeating daily life. Split in the Christian world becomes more and more tragic. Therefore, these meetings should be “one of the paths in the way that leads to unity in Jesus Christ”, the Exarch emphasized.

 After the opening address of the Metropolitan Philaret the conference started its work with the participants’ oral presentations. Doctor Albert Rauch (Institute of Eastern Churches, Regensburgh) stated that the dialogue of the West with Eastern Churches has been carried on for a long time not only on theological and philosophical spheres, but also in the religious art. The example is fresco studies realized by the Institute of Eastern Churches. The speech of Giovanne Paravaccini (Christian Russia Foundation) was devoted to the revelation of beauty and truth in the arts. Modern people consider the notions of beauty and truth to be totally different – truth seems to be vague, beauty is viewed only as esthetic concept. Other perception of beauty and truth as interconnected attributes of the divine and human being has Jewish-Christian world outlook. Emphasizing specific role of an icon in religious art, G. Paravaccini marked that modern art should gain the integrity knowledge in the attempt to return to the art of “iconicity”. Icon painting was also explored in Yu.V. Piskun report “Examples of the Mother of God in Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Russia and Italy”.

Deep scientific debates – integral attributes of such events were balanced by theatre premiere of Paul Claudel drama “L’announce faite a Marie” which became the main event of the conference. The drama was staged in the M. Gorky National Academic Drama Theatre due to joint efforts of the Institute of Religious Dialogue, Saints’ Methodius and Cyrill Christian Educational Centre, “Renovabis” charity Catholic organization (Germany), nunciature of the Catholic Church in Belarus and French embassy in the Republic of Belarus with support of Belgian foundation «Entraide d’Eglises». Heroes of Paul Claudel live, struggle, love and suffer in extraordinary life circumstances. France of the early XV century, done to the world, deprived of the king in Paris and the Pope in Rome becomes historical background scenery of eternal drama of the good and the evil in human soul. Heroism and Christian sacrifice, earthy passions and vices are twisted in critical dramatic collisions. Human urge to the divine and forgiving mercy of God is the main moral imperative of the work by Paul Claudel.  Its staging is vital for us: again people living in the beginning of the III millennium face these problems on the same level - finding and losing faith, search of spiritual path and inner guidelines. The crisis situation that originated after the collapse of big country, devaluation and loss of goals that seemed to be eternal  - all this makes this drama so topical here, in the Post-soviet area though it was written almost half a century ago in a different country in a foreign language.

This text written by engaged Catholic Paul Claudel found its second wind in the translation of well-known Orthodox poetess from Moscow who was invited to the conference and opening night. The aim of staging “L’announce faite a Marie” lied in the effort of creation new area for the dialogue and spiritual empathy between the Orthodox and Catholic people. As it has been said by prof. A.V. Danilov and Grigori Dovguyallo, “it is symbolic that the opening night was on the Christmas eve since Christmas is also culmination of the drama itself where the miracle of revival of souls happens. Like God the Son apprehends human nature in the material daily life, Christians do not reject cultural variety of the modern world but try to reveal shine of eternal Beauty and Truth in diversity of earthy colours and sounds”.

 The events were realized within the presentation of the International Programme “The European Bridges” introduced by the leading specialists of the International Voluntary Association Saints' Methodius and Cyrill Christian Educational Centre - prof. A.V. Danilov and director of the Christian Educational Centre G.A. Dovgiallo. “The European Bridges” mean here that the European civilization was based on humanitarian values which, in their turn, are based on Christian values. European unity nowadays is possible in spiritual and cultural spheres rather than in political sphere. The programme is mainly oriented on the implementation of the cultural self-determination of Belarus as European state, its local specific features being preserved. Integration into European cultural space requires universal means of communication and dialogue to achieve reconciliation, cooperation and voluntary unification. European parts should remain unique, not lose their cultural and historic identity, but enrich and complement each other. Through the system of cultural, scientific, inter-church and even inter-religious events, the “European Bridges” programme is called upon to assist in the organization of cooperation and interaction between Churches in Western and Eastern and has the tasks to accelerate practical dialogue between the Church and the society, actualization of demand in various European traditions, creation of social areas where the interaction of religion, culture, arts will be supported with necessary resources.