Metropolitan Iziaslau (Ioann Brutskiy) was born January 22, 1926 in the village of Belavusha, Brest Province (under Poland then, now Stolinski region, Belarus) in the wealthy farmer’s family in Western Belarus. Ioann was the third son in the family, after him his two sisters and a brother (who died as a child) were born.

In 1933 Ioann went to polish elementary school. After Belarus was united with the Soviet Union in 1939, in 1940, Ioann Brutskiy’s father was exiled to Kazakhstan.

  In 1943 the young Ioann Brutskiy shared the destiny of being an «ostarbeiter». Having avoided repatriation in 1947, Ioann Brutskiy graduated from the gymnasium in Hanover. He immigrated to Canada and participated in emigrant public affairs and in parish life of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

  In 1949 Ioann met his father after being separated from him for long nine years. Ioann worked in Toronto, Canada till 1962, and then he immigrated to the U.S. and became an active member in different political and religious organizations in Cleveland and Detroit.
 
In 1969 his father died and Ioann moved to Ohio. The spring of the 1971 brought him great happiness: he met his mother and sisters in Poland whom he didn’t see for about 28 years.
 
 As a member of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and an active member of the community, he was delegated to the Church Council (Sobor) of this jurisdiction which took place in May of 1972 in Highland Park, New Jersey.
 
 In 1979, he was ordained to the diaconate and later that same year to the priesthood.
 
He graduated from the St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1981. Then, by the hierarchs of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church he was consecrated to the rank of bishop.

 Shortly after that, he become archbishop and in 1984, Archbishop Iziaslau was elevated to the rank of metropolitan and elected to be the Primate of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

 
By 2003 metropolitan Iziaslau has been the head of one of the two branches of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Then in 2003 he became the leader of them both. 

Forever in our hearts rest in peace!

Funeral service 5 p.m. Saturday November, 30 and 9 a.m. December, 1   in St. Mary Icon of Zhirovichi Church, Highland Park, New Jersey:
9 River Road
Highland Park New Jersey 08904,
Phone: (609) 635-1717 / fax: (732) 940-6523.

Burial 12 p.m. December 1, 2007 in the Belarusian
cemetery in New Brunswick, NJ. 

Belaoc.org