FILE - Protesters hold a ribbon in a symbol of protest in front of the Sts. Simon and Helena Catholic Church during a protest in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. About 100 people took refuge from police in the landmark known as the “Red Church” for the color of its bricks. Authorities later said the church could not hold services. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - An Orthodox priest blesses drivers of combine harvesters during in the village of Lenino, some 60 kilometers ( 37,5 miles) southwest of Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for nearly 30 years and describes himself as an "Orthodox atheist," lashed out at dissident clergy during the 2020 protests, accusing them of fueling the unrest that was sparked by his reelection in a vote that was widely seen at home and abroad as rigged. He urged them to "do their jobs" and stay out of politics. (AP Photo, File)
In this photo taken and released by the Viasna Human Rights Center, bulldozers raze the Pentecostal New Life Church on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus, in the summer of 2023. The church, founded in 2002 and housed in a converted cowshed, had become one of Belarus' most prominent venues for interfaith dialogue. Its pastor, the Rev. Viachaslau Hancharenka, was repeatedly fined and detained after officials deemed the church's social media platforms to carry "extremist" content. (Viasna Human Rights Center via AP)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, center, his son, Nikolai, second right, and Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, attend Christmas services in the Church of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist outside Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Lukashenko has signed into law a measure requiring all religious organizations in the country of 9.5 million to re-register with authorities or face being outlawed. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
The Rev. Viachaslau Barok, a Catholic priest from Belarus, conducts a service in the Church of St. Alexander in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. Barok was a familiar face in Rasony, a town in northern Belarus near the Russian border, overseeing construction of its Roman Catholic church and celebrating Mass daily for two decades before he fled the country as the Belarusian government cracked down on dissent. (Validated UGC via AP)
FILE - Catholic faithful from Belarus and neighboring countries carry candles at a festival honoring an icon known as the Mother of God of Budslav in the Belarus village of Budslav, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Minsk, Belarus, on Friday, July 2, 2010. Dozens of clergymen in Belarus — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant alike — have been jailed, silenced or forced into exile amid a crackdown by authorities following the disputed 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term. (AP Photo, File)
FILE – The Rev. Uladislau Zavalnyuk greets people as he walks around Sts. Simon and Helena Catholic Church in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Amid anti-government demonstrations in 2020 against the election that gave Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term, about 100 people took refuge from police in the landmark “Red Church,” as it was known for the color of its bricks. Authorities later halted services at the church. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Riot police block an entrance of Sts. Simon and Helena Catholic Church, also known as the “Red Church” for the color of its bricks, during an anti-government protest in Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - People pray inside the Sts. Simon and Helena Catholic Church in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. Amid anti-government demonstrations, protesters took refuge from riot police inside the landmark known as the “Red Church” for the color of its bricks. Authorities later halted services at the church. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - The sun rises above Orthodox Church, left, and Catholic Church in the town of Novogrudok, Belarus, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the capital of Minsk, on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. Dozens of clergymen in Belarus — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant alike — have been jailed, silenced or forced into exile for supporting protests of the 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Riot police block protesters in front of the Sts. Simon and Helena Catholic Church in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. In a famous incident amid anti-government protests, about 100 people took refuge from police inside the landmark known as the “Red Church” because of the color of its bricks. (AP Photo, File)