Dumenko promises a “real church” in Pochaiv Lavra

The head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, promised that the Pochaiv Lavra would belong to "a true, autocephalous and independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church." He said this during his visit to Ternopil, Suspilne reports.

"It is a matter of time. We are still at the stage of dealing with relevant legal documents, and then we will claim our presence in this all-Ukrainian shrine,” Dumenko said.

He noted that the Verkhovna Rada should adopt a law banning the UOC in order to "accelerate the transition of priests and parishioners to the OCU."

Dumenko also believes that after outlawing the UOC, the priests of the Church who “want to serve God and the Ukrainian people” should move to the OCU.

“Whoever unwilling will be renamed into the Russian Orthodox Church, so as not to deceive Orthodox Ukrainians,” added the head of the OCU.

As reported by the UOJ, Dumenko said that the OCU must first gain a foothold in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, after which it will target the Pochaiv Lavra.