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On the 18th of October, 2010 we opened our 2nd photography exhibition – Monasticism.
The opening took place in Orthodox Culture Center in Białystok, Poland. We started the official part of the event with a prayer. Subsequently, coordinators of the website- Pawel Zelezniakowicz (the 1st coordinator) and Aleksander Wasyluk (the current coordinator) told us about orthphoto.net. They also told us about the origins of the idea for the 2nd exhibition.
Because the theme of our 2nd exhibition is Monasticism, we asked Father Ihumen Andrzej from Suprasl monastery to tell us a few words about the idea of monasticism, its role in the life of the Orthodox church, and its role in lives of the Orthodox believers.
Then, we listened to orthodox chants sang by sisters form Monastery in Wojnowo. Next, Grzegorz Nazaruk briefly told us how the exhibition was organized with the help of orthphoto users, their families and the Orthodox Students’ Fraternity. Finally, a piece of film was cut as a symbol of the official opening of the exhibition.

The exhibition shows 200 photographs which present monasticism in 25 countries. Pictures show architecture of the monasteries, portraits of monks and nuns as well as life inside a monastery, that is, prayer and work for the monastic community and believers. We also played a CD with Orthodox chants sang by Monks and Nuns from Polish monasteries. In addition, we played a slideshow with all of the photographs sent to us by the users, those that we had not been able to print as well.

Thanks to the beautifully presented photographs, a great company and delicious snacks prepared by a team of volunteers, the atmosphere during the opening was very warm (despite the cold weather outsider). The opening was a great success and attracted about 400 visitors!

Of course, the opening would never have been prepared if it hadn’t been for the help of our sponsors and volunteers. We would like to thank them for their kindness and support. We were supported by:
The city council of Białystok
Fraternity of Saints Cyryl and Metody
Dialogue of the Nations Foundation
Oikonomos Foundation
And a team of volunteers and members of Orthodox Students’ Fraternity

We would like to encourage you to organize an opening of our exhibition in your town or country. We would happily help you with the organization and provide all the necessary materials. You can contact us via e-mail:
Aleksander Wasyluk (the main coordinator)- aleksander.wasyluk@ortphoto.net
Anna Bondaruk (Polish language version coordinator)- a.bondaruk@orthphoto.net

You can see photographs from the exhibition on the website of our exhibitions :
http://exhibition.orthphoto.net/index.php?id_n=70

Editorial team