President of Republic of Belarus awarded with the highest order of the Serbian Church.

 The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church awarded His Excellency Mr. Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, with the highest medal of the Serbian Orthodox Church – the Order of Saint Sava of the First Degree.

President Lukashenko received the Order during his visit to the Republic of Serbia, at the solemn Patriarchal Hall in Belgrade, on 12 June 2014.

The delegation which accompanied Belarusian President Lukashenko consisted of Ambassador of Belarus to Serbia Mr. Vladimir Chushev, Honorary Consul of Belarus in Belgrade Mr. Dragomir Karic, as well as Ambassador of Serbia in Minsk Mr. Veljko Kovacevic, some Belarus ministers, etc.

The high dignitaries were welcomed in front of the Patriarchate Palace by Bishop Andrej (Cilerdzic) of Austria-Switzerland; deacon Aleksandar Sekulic, Secretary at the Office of His Holiness; and protodeacon Radomir Rakic, Editor in Chief of the Information Service of the Serbian Patriarchate.

This high acknowledgement to President of Belarus was handed over to Mr. Lukashenko  by His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, “for fruitful love towards the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian people, particularly shown by his persisting efforts to preserve the integrity of the state of Serbia, as well as by providing the necessary humanitarian assistance to victims in Serbia after the NATO bombing in 1999, as well as by rescuing the aflicted and providing necessary help during the catastrophic floods of this year".