Petition on seizure of Pochaiv Lavra from UOC appears on Cabinet’s website

Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra. Photo: fotokto.ru

On October 21, 2020, , petition №41 / 003727-20 ep appeared on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the seizure of the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The author of the petition, Vasyl Boyko, is convinced that the monastery, which "for a thousand years has been one of the greatest shrines of the Ukrainian people," should be transferred to the use of the OCU.

“The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) is an autocephalous Orthodox church on the territory of Ukraine, the fifteenth in the diptych,” Boyko explained. “The Church of Constantinople considers the OCU to be the only canonical successor to the Kyiv Metropolis. The OCU was formed as a result of the unification of three Ukrainian Orthodox Churches: the UOC-KP, the UAOC and the UOC-MP. It is quite fair that the spiritual shrine should be used by the Orthodox confession, which is recognized by the Orthodox world as the Autocephalous Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine."

He also claims that the UOC "is not an autocephalous Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine."

“In addition, high church hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate have been repeatedly heard making statements and performing actions directed against the Ukrainian people,” the author of the petition points out and cites a number of “proofs”, such as “keeping weapons at the Holy Dormition Sviatogorsk Lavra”, "tourist and pilgrimage trips to the occupied Crimea", "grand opening of a bust to the Russian Emperor Nicholas II", etc.

Recall, on April 15, 2020, a petition was posted on the website of the President of Ukraine for the transfer of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the OCU. In response, the believers organized a collection of signatures for the shrine to remain in the use of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Having considered both petitions, Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra remains with the UOC.

The UOJ also wrote that on September 1, 2020, there was a publication on the website of the official newspaper of the Verkhovna Rada, the Voice of Ukraine, called "Pochaiv Lavra – an outpost of the 'Russian world'", built on accusations against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as "the main striking force of the aggressor" in the country’s western region. A few days later, the scandalous publication was removed from the site, and criminal proceedings were opened against the officials of the publication on the fact of inciting religious hatred and humiliation of religious feelings of the UOC believers.

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