UOC Synod to address the situation with Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

Press conference of the hierarchs of the UOC. Photo: Screenshot of the video of the Politika Strany Telegram channel

On March 20, a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be held, at which the issue of the actions of the UOC in response to the demand of the authorities to leave the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra will be decided. This was announced at a press conference by the Chancellor of the UOC, Metropolitan Anthony, the abbot of the Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel, and the head of the Information and Education Department of the Church, Metropolitan Clement, writes strana.today.

In particular, the hierarchs of the UOC noted that they had not seen documents with the conclusions of the state commission that worked in the Lavra, and none of the members of this commission had contacted or communicated with representatives of the monastery.

Speaking to journalists, Metropolitan Anthony underscored that it is necessary to avoid confrontations between people who feel aggressive towards the UOC and believers who are ready to defend the Lavra.

“We do not know what will happen, but we know the mood of our believers who will defend their shrines. We are told that people who are very hostile to us, even people who are fighting at the front, can come here. I would like to say there are a lot of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church among those who are fighting at the front, and I would not want the Ministry of Culture, the state to bring the situation to the point that fellow brothers, who defend our Ukraine, would end up here, on the territory of the Lavra, being on the opposite sides of the confrontation. For now, we still believe in common sense and justice, and that the Lord will talk some sense into our powers that be in order to prevent confrontation,” the bishop said.

He also noted that the situation around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra "worries not only Ukrainian society, it has caused resonance in other European states, other continents."

As the UOJ reported, earlier MP from the Servant of the People Nikita Poturayev said that on March 29, “patriotic-minded public, in particular war veterans, could come to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to support its deliverance from representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate.”

According to the Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko, if the hierarchy of the UOC refuses to leave the territory of the Lavra, they can be ejected with the help of law enforcement officers.

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