/ world today news/ A new round of persecution of the canonical Orthodox Church has begun in Ukraine. The authorities see it as a “fortress of all things Russian” that must be removed. For this they are ready for anything. What could this lead to?
An easy task
Increased police presence and document checks for everyone entering – this is now the case at the main gate of the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra.
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine signed an agreement with law enforcement agencies. The goal is to “ensure the protection of the entire territory of the architectural monument”. But the faithful of the canonical UOC still come here in any weather to protect their sanctuary.
The Lavra, which formally belongs to the state as a historical and cultural reserve, is divided into two parts. The upper one is a museum. For many years, the lower one was for the free use of the church. Here is the residence of its head, a monastery, a theological seminary and an academy.
However, the Ministry of Culture unilaterally terminated the lease and demanded that the brothers leave the premises by March 30. The UOC called this “an ultimatum that has no legal basis.” And already for the second week, the believers gather for prayer – as a sign of protest.
The Vicar, Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, Pavel said that a court decision is needed to cancel the contract. The UOC filed a corresponding claim, but it was rejected. And the SBU accused the bishop of “inciting inter-religious hatred” and “justifying Russia’s armed aggression.” He was placed under house arrest for 60 days.
The current maneuver of the officials with the police is perceived by the clergy as another way of pressure. The fact is that the parishioners have already twice prevented the commission from entering the Lavra, which is supposed to deal with the “return of property to the state.”
Developed scheme
The situation is similar in the Ternopil Region with the Pochaev Lavra. This monastery is the largest in the western part of Ukraine and the second most important after Kievo-Pechorsky. They have equal status. From 2018 it is at the disposal of the local state reserve, and the religious buildings are rented by the UOC.
This year the term has expired. On this occasion, Metropolitan Vladimir Pochaevski filed a lawsuit and refused to let museum workers into the monastery. Culture Minister Alexander Tkachenko said that a criminal case would be opened against the priest.
At the end of March, the police prevented several busloads of pilgrims from entering the monastery. And soon the Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law to terminate the lease agreement of the temple complex with the UOC.
“Npit yes it be”
The persecution of the canonical church in the western regions has already acquired the character of repression. The clergy were held in a vise. On the one hand are the aggressive radicals. On the other hand, secular authorities.
In Khmelnytskyi, a crowd of activists tried to take over the Intercession Church. The priests were led out of the grounds. After that, those who stormed it gathered and by a majority vote decided to switch to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), established in 2018. with the assistance of the then President Petro Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
The keys to the temple have been handed over to a certain “commission”, which begins an inventory of the property. And on April 4, the Khmelnytskyi regional council simply banned the UOC in the region.
In the region of Chernivtsi, the attackers broke into the church, where at that moment they were burying a fallen soldier from the Ukrainian Armed Forces
“They beat the Orthodox. The police never came. In front of the church, the clowns of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church hang a red and black flag of the “Right Sector” on the altar,” reports the UOC website.
In the village of Novi Korets (Rovno region), schismatics cut the locks on the church doors and expelled the parishioners. The police did not intervene.
The local government supports this. Thus, the mayor of Lviv Andrey Sadovoi boasted that in just two days he managed to “finish the history of the Moscow Patriarchate” in the city. The UOC temple was demolished with a bulldozer. Later, Sadovoy posted a photo of the destroyed building on the social network.
The remaining temples, the mayor specified, will be handed over to the schismatics. They started from the Cathedral “St. George the Victorious”. The fact that he was resubordinated was reported by the deputy head of the Lviv Regional Council, Yuri Kholod. The ecclesiastical community has not made any decisions on this matter.
The local diocese of the UOC reported that on the morning of April 5, about 50 people came to the territory of the temple and blocked the entrance. Unknown persons, chaired by Holod, held a meeting and voted for the transfer to the PCU. A fight broke out, and the police intervened.
“fatal error”
The general mood of the politicians was expressed by the mayor of Ternopil, Sergey Nadal: “The Moscow Church must disappear once and for all from Ukraine.”
At the end of March in Ivano-Frankivsk, the last UOC church was captured. Activists used tear gas to expel parishioners and clergy.
Experts say: Kyiv does not hide its real goal – to destroy the church.
“The fact is that in spirit it is completely different – born in the common Orthodox tradition of Ancient Rus. This is exactly what the politicians don’t like,” explains Vladislav Petrushko, a professor at the Saint Tikhon Orthodox Humanitarian University.
Ukrainian political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko considers the unfolding persecution a fatal mistake of the regime and of Volodymyr Zelensky personally.
“From the point of view of political technology, the authorities have already lost this battle, he is convinced. They brought under the laurel such people who discredit everyone.”
Religious scholar Roman Lunkin called the state’s logic “suicidal.” We decided to find an internal enemy – the embodiment of Russian influence in Ukraine. UOC. But, concludes the expert, how to destroy the largest religious organization in the country with millions of followers? Negative consequences are inevitable. Above all, for the government itself.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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