"Provocative order”: Pochaev Lavra explains the situation around monastery

Pochaev Lavra

The brethren of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra issued an official address in which they called the situation around the monastery "another provocative put-up job."

“After the meeting of the episcopate of our Church with the President failed to take place, the whole UOC, and the Pochaev Monastery in particular, immediately suffered the informational pressure,” notes the document published on the site of the monastery. “Correspondents of various media have repeatedly tried to find and discover something incendiary. If they cannot find it, they come up with something of their own and disseminate it as truth.”

The Pochaev Lavra’s brethren emphasize that today the attitude of the authorities towards the Church, which was common in Soviet times, is coming back.

“Media representatives speak about the illegally exploited facilities, incorrect registration of the contract and rights to buildings and property, they don’t like the guards, who ensure the public order in the monastery,” the monks say. “In response to these claims, we want to inform you that in Soviet times and during the independence of Ukraine, until 2000, the Lavra used to rent the premises for a fee. In 2002, the monastery was handed over to the Kremenets-Pochaev GIAZ, and in 2003 – thanks God – it stopped being a museum on legal grounds. It was then that an agreement was concluded with the State Construction Committee on the free use of monastery buildings, which are architectural monuments, till 2052."

The Lavra explained that according to the current legislation, the building of the monastery has been registered several times, and now it is illegally deprived of registration. Also, the monks note that local self-governments do not want to transfer the land under buildings.

“The authorities are unwilling to protect the rights of the shrine, while the current legislation providing for the return of land to the user is not being implemented,” the statement says. “The city council for the 13th time has refused to make a decision, “thanks to” the radical activists from Svoboda (“Freedom”), who disrupt sessions and threaten local deputies. The Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor’s Office began to put pressure on the district and local services that provided legal services to the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra.”

As the UOJ reported, on November 23, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine canceled the re-registration of the buildings of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. In turn, Protopriest Alexander Bakhov, Chairman of the Legal Department of the UOC, said that the Pochaev Monastery continues to be in the lawful and legitimate use by the monastery's brethren, despite the decision of the Ministry of Justice.

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