Awaiting Communion, feast of Saints Peter and Paul, church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Staryja Vasilishki 2012. Пятра й Паўла, Старыя Васілішкі 2012 год.
This scene recalled for me the moment I decided to work as a photographic chronicler of our faith. In 2001 some friends in Mjensk suggested that we attend the dedication of new doors, made by the noted Belarusian sculptor Valjerijan Yanushkjevich (Валерыян Янушкевіч), for the church of St. Andrew Bobola (Сьв. Андрей Баболя) in Polatsak in the northern Belarusian diocese of Vitebsk. This was also the day I had the honor to meet Bishop of Vitebsk Uladzislau Blin, who presided at the Mass. During the distribution of Communion, and from an angle similar to the one in this photo, I noticed a mother and son awaiting the wafer and the look of intense wonder and devotion in the boy’s eyes. Before I could raise my camera the moment was gone. But the moment has stayed etched in my memory as an inspiration to photograph the new birth of faith in Belarus.
