Solemn service dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ
On 7 January 2001, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended a solemn service dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ in Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk.
On occasion of the anniversary, the head of state gave the Icon of the Nativity of Christ to Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk and wished that Orthodox churches were always full of parishioners. In memory of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity, the Metropolitan gifted a small copy of the Minsk Icon of the Mother of God to the president.