Orthodox monk who served as a deputy of the 12th convocation of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus dies in Russia

Archimandrite Vitaliy (Viktor Radomyslsky)

Archimandrite Vitaliy, in secular life Viktor Alexandrovich Radomyslsky, was born on April 13, 1953, in Leningrad. His early years were difficult: for the first five years, he was raised in an orphanage.

In 1974, he graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinematography, obtaining the profession of a dramatic theater and film actor. Later, his life became connected with the Orthodox Church. In 1978, he became a novice and reader at the Holy Lazarus Church in Vologda, and from 1979 to 1980, he worked as a secretary for the famous Russian writer Dmitry Balashov.

On September 27, 1981, Metropolitan Filaret ordained Viktor Radomyslsky as a deacon at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. Soon after, he received the rank of priest and was appointed rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the town of Porazava, Hrodna region. There, he managed to defend the church house from confiscation through court.

From 1986, Radomyslsky served in a church in the Vitsebsk region, and from 1986 to 1988, he was on a church mission in Australia. In 1988, he appeared in the documentary film "Pain," dedicated to the fate of Afghan war veterans.

In 1990, Viktor Radomyslsky became the first Orthodox priest elected as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR throughout the entire Soviet period. In parliament, he worked on commissions addressing the problems of the Chernobyl accident's consequences, as well as investigating cases of the use of psychiatry for political and repressive purposes. In August 1991, he participated in a rally in Minsk against the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP) coup attempt.

On March 28, 1991, he took monastic vows with the name Vitaliy. During the 1994 presidential elections, he supported Vyacheslav Kebich and spoke out against the BPF (Belarusian Popular Front) candidate Zianon Pazniak.

Alexander Shramko recalls Viktor Radomyslsky's (monk Vitaliy's) activities in those times:

"Now, this name means little to most Belarusians. Meanwhile, he was one of the most unusual and key political figures in the process of forming an independent Belarusian state in the early 90s. And, surprisingly, despite belonging to the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was one of the most prominent representatives of the democratic opposition in the pivotal Supreme Soviet of the XII convocation.

Older people should remember this unusual speaker at opposition rallies: in a cassock and with a skufia (monastic cap), which he often clutched in his hand during emotional speeches, much like Lenin did with his cap. He was one of the best opposition speakers, articulate, convincing, and even, one might say, passionate. He was not a nationalist; his dominant principles were anti-communism and democratism.

The composition of the Supreme Soviet of the XII convocation (1990-1995), despite its election still under the USSR and the rule of the CPSU, was distinguished by the greatest political diversity and went down in the country's history as an apotheosis of democracy, later suppressed by the Lukashenka regime. In addition to the Declaration of State Sovereignty, this Supreme Soviet also adopted the white-red-white flag and the "Pahonia" (Pursuit) coat of arms as state symbols.

Since at that time there was no requirement in the Russian Orthodox Church for clergy not to participate in elected bodies of power, the XII convocation of the Supreme Soviet proved unique in that among its deputies were three priests of the Belarusian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Filaret (Vakhromeev), Archpriest Alexander Dzichkouski from Baranavichy, and Father Viktor (later, upon taking monastic vows, Vitaliy) Radomyslsky from Orsha. Moreover, they were on different, even opposite, flanks of the political spectrum of this assembly. Archpriest Dzichkouski fully followed the course of the ruling government majority, Father Radomyslsky was close to the BPF faction. And somewhere in the middle was Metropolitan Filaret. But all of them went down in history as the "fathers of independence."

And no one was surprised in those glorious times by the political activity of the priests and the extreme divergence in their political orientations. I myself witnessed how, during a break between sessions, Metropolitan Filaret and Father Vitaliy Radomyslsky would come together for lunch at the diocesan administration.

Opposition leader Zianon Pazniak, it was said, was very fond of this priest-deputy. Often, they would speak one after another at rallies. However, the end of this political career turned out to be unexpected and even shocking for many — suddenly, at a critical moment during the presidential election campaign, he appeared on television in support of Kebich, the candidate of the nomenklatura authorities."

In 1998, Vitaliy received the rank of hegumen, and in 2001, he was awarded the right to wear an ornamented cross. For some time, he served in the Minsk Church of St. Mary Magdalene.

From 2011, Archimandrite Vitaliy became the confessor of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, and in 2012, he was elevated to the highest monastic rank — archimandrite.

Alexander Shramko also writes about this period of his biography:

"After the elections, Father Vitaliy sharply disappeared from the political arena. It seems he simply lost himself in this regard: he broke with the opposition, and his bet on Kebich did not pay off.

Then he served for some time in the Church of Mary Magdalene in Minsk, and already then, reports began to circulate about some incredible ideological reversal of literally 180 degrees: from a Belarusian-national-oriented democrat, he transformed into the most extreme monarchist of Russian imperial-chauvinistic persuasion. Why this happened is a mystery. Something, apparently, broke in his soul after those elections.

Afterward, Father Vitaliy moved to Russia, to St. Petersburg, where he was originally from, and where he was involved with the Lavra, ending his life as its confessor. Now, in connection with his passing, I looked at what kind of sermons he gave there. It seems they were already completely devoid of political character, all deeply spiritual in an elder's style."

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