UOC hierarch: Use of force by authorities in Lavra is immoral and illegal

Head of the Information and Education Department of the UOC, Metropolitan Clement (Vecheria) of Nizhyn and Pryluky. Photo: news.liga.net

Until the final decision in the courts of the issue of the legality of the eviction of the UOC from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, any forceful actions of the authorities on the territory of the monastery are not only immoral, but also illegal. This was stated in a comment to tsn.ua by the Chairman of the Information and Education Department of the UOC, Metropolitan Clement.

“I would draw attention to the fact that this (attempts to evict monks from the Lavra - Ed.) occurs without any legal grounds,” said the bishop. “We are told that the court satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Culture, but at the same time the society is not informed that the final text of the court ruling was not handed over to the lawyers, so its decision has not yet entered into force. Secondly, our Lavra is filing an appeal against this decision. Until this issue is resolved in the legal field, all forceful actions, especially the ongoing brutal ones, are not only immoral, but also illegal. Why do officials commit such actions and are not afraid not only of sin, but also of legal, criminal liability – I think society will definitely get a real answer to this question over time. Then all this conspiracy against the Church will be revealed.”

According to the metropolitan, the monks have every legal reason to live in the Lavra, some of them have been living there for more than 30 years, and their expulsion from the monastery "will be on the conscience of those people who commit illegal resettlement."

Vladyka also noted that after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, many IDPs live in the Lavra buildings, and in the event of eviction, they will be left without housing alongside the monastery’s brethren.

“If we evaluate the actions of the Ministry of Culture and, in particular, the reserve in the legal plane, then they lie outside the Constitution of Ukraine and legislation. If we evaluate these actions in relation to believers, to monks in the context of morality, then they, these actions, are beyond the concept of morality. If we, as believers, analyze all the intentions and actions of officials in relation to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and compare them with what the Bible says, then for many people it is obvious that there is something demonic in this. Therefore, of course, we place all our hopes on God,” the bishop said.

He emphasized that “for the believers, for the monks, the clergy who restored the Lavra, who are now staying in it, who lift up their prayers, including for those who want to harm them – God’s truth is behind these people, and all speculation, fake sentences, slander – all this will be on the conscience of those people who are doing this today for the sake of political benefits.

As the UOJ reported, on the morning of August 15, representatives of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra reserve, using a grinder, a sledgehammer and a crowbar, broke down the doors to Building 57 of the monastery, where pilgrims and several monks live. In addition, acting general director of the reserve, Maksym Ostapenko, told the monks and believers in Building 58 that there would be “guards” there, since all the buildings of the Lavra are “state-owned property”.

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