Mahutny Bozha
"Mahutny Boža" is a famous Belarusian hymn, based on a poem by Natallia Arsiennieva and music by Mikola Ravienski. It was translated into English by Vera Rich.
The hymn has given its name to a festival of ecclesiastical music in Mahilioŭ and became one of the protest songs during the 2020-21 Belarusian protests.
History
In 1947 composer Mikola Ravienski wrote music for the poem "Prayer" written by Natallia Arsiennieva four years earlier. Soon it became widely used by Belarusian communities in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.Since the late 1980s, the hymn has gained popularity in post-Soviet Belarus. In 1993 the Catholic Church in Belarus initiated a festival of ecclesiastical music in Mahilioŭ which was named after the hymn.
In 1995 the hymn was proposed as one of the candidates for the national anthem of Belarus. However, the government of Alexander Lukashenka instead adopted the old anthem of Soviet Belarus with some variation to the lyrics.
In 2005 Mahutny Boža was translated into English by Vera Rich.
During the 2020-21 Belarusian protests the hymn became one of the protest songs and its performance was banned within the Belarusian parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In spring 2021, the hymn was recognised as "one of the most popular Belarusian music pieces".