Legal Department: OCU has no right to claim Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The Legal Department of the UOC said that the OCU has neither legal nor historical and moral right to claim the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, reports law.church.ua.

On 23 June 2022, Epifaniy Dumenko sent a letter to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal asking for one of the churches on the territory of the Upper Lavra.

"This appeal is built on the principle: we are good – they are bad, we formed a monastery, give us the Lavra," the Legal Department’s message says.

"Focusing only on the territory of the Upper Lavra is only a tactical move to mislead the authorities and Ukrainian society. As it follows from the letter, the "OCU" rhetoric towards the UOC monastery located in the Lavra is untrue, negative, offensive in places and far from the spirit of Christian love," the commentary reads.

The Legal Department noted that since the beginning of military actions in Ukraine, the OCU has become more aggressive towards the UOC, with the participation of local authorities the number of raids on UOC religious communities, which OCU representatives call "transfers", has increased. 

"And now we are talking about more than one temple, so it is quite obvious that a similar raiding scheme wants to be used in order to take over the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and form a source of religious enmity there," the commentary stressed.

It was added that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is in legal possession of the UOC, and a large number of churches and cells of the Lavra have been restored by the efforts of monks since 1988. Today there are 220 brethren of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, while there are only 233 members in the 79 monasteries of the OCU. 

"There are almost no people in the OCU who want to live the monastic life. In turn, this means that the premises they claim will not be used for their intended purpose and their presence in the Lavra will only increase the degree of religious hostility," the message said.

"The provocative question deserves separate attention: 'Why is one of the leading spiritual and historical shrines of the Ukrainian people being used exclusively by the Moscow Patriarchate?’ Therefore, we emphasise that the "monopoly" use of the property is protected by state laws. This right is inviolable, stable and self-sufficient, and in case of its violation, it is punishable by law. The Kyiv Pechersk-Lavra is in legal possession of the UOC, not the Moscow Patriarchate. As we can see, besides the lack of monastic potential, the "OCU" has neither legal, nor historical, nor moral right to claim the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra," the UOC Legal Department concluded.

As reported, Dumenko asked the Prime Minister to hand over one of the Lavra's churches to the OCU.

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