/ world today news/ The Ukrainian authorities intend to take away from the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church the main shrine – the Kiev-Pechora Lavra. The same fate may befall other monasteries. What will this lead to?
Without explaining the reason
A few days ago, the Ukrainian media actively discussed the topic of the suddenly blackened crosses of the Kiev-Pechora Lavra. Some wrote it off as an optical illusion. Others said the crosses had been there for ten years. And others saw something mystical in it.
One way or another, but there was reason to look for bad omens. The Kyiv-Pechora Lavra National Reserve obliged the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave the monastery buildings by March 29.
Formally, the entire monastery is state-owned as a historical and cultural reserve. Part of it – the lower laurel – from 2000. is in free use of the canonical temple. There is a monastery and the residence of the head of the UOC.
And in the upper Lavra – the museum part – are the refectory church and the Assumption Cathedral, in which the clergy perform services on weekends and holidays. On the other days, you can enter there with paid tickets.
But at the end of December, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture did not renew the contract, and from January 1, priests could no longer cross the threshold of these churches. However, this was done illegally. The ministry announced the decision not two months in advance (as is the law), but a few days before the lease expired.
Now the monks are expelled from the entire territory of the Lavra.
Acting director of the reserve Alexander Rudnik refers to the conclusions of the interdepartmental working group created by President Zelensky to “study the issue of the use of state property” transferred to the UOC.
As a result, the control body revealed a number of economic violations committed by the monastery. It is true that no confirmation has been published.
“We will be slaughtered soon”
The Canonical Church stated that the request to leave the Lavra could not be fulfilled. There is no legal basis for this.
“The management of the reserve sent an ultimatum in which, without any explanation, they announced the termination of the lease agreement. Such requests have nothing to do with the legislation of Ukraine,” explained the chairman of the Information and Education Department of the UOC, Metropolitan Nezhensky and Priluchki Kliment.
He drew attention to the fact that the authorities have not determined the procedure for the transfer of cultural values located in the monastery. It is about icons and relics.
“On what grounds should it be handed over to people who have nothing to do with the monastery. They were only destroying it all the previous years, and now they want to take it away from us”, the clergyman is outraged.
This is how he hints: since the beginning of the 90s, the monastery has been renovated entirely at the expense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Moreover, the main burden of maintenance costs of the monastery, as well as the museum part, are also borne by the religious organization.
The only reason for the emigration of the monks in the Kyiv Metropolitanate is “a whim of the employees of the Ministry of Culture”. The monks also recorded a video message to the authorities and the people of Ukraine. They asked not to interfere in church affairs and to let them stay.
In addition, the abbot of the monastery -. Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl mentioned the threats received against the clergy.
“Other organizations are already coming to the territory – C14 and other organizations. They say that they will soon slaughter us and drive us out of this sanctuary,” he explained.
However, the bishop said, the brothers are not afraid of reprisals and will remain in the monastery until the end. The authorities still do not know how to act.
For example, the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from “Servant of the People” Nikita Poturaev scares the black-shirts with “patriotic youth” who will come to the Lavra on March 29 “to support their liberation from representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate.” He also announced possible “Russian provocations” that day.
In turn, the head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, pointed out that law enforcement “can stimulate” the exodus. It is true that, according to him, it is about the leadership of the UOC, and not about ordinary monks, who are offered to switch to the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The schismatic structure, a competitor of the canonical UOC, was created in 2018. with the support of former President Petro Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
And the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Service, Alexei Danilov, even stated that no one would be touched. True, he did not specify how the state would act, but only noted that it “will do what it has to do, taking into account those legal acts that are on our territory.”
Trigger
The events in Kyiv caused a stir. Pope Francis, during a sermon in St. Peter’s Square, called for respect for religious sanctuaries. “People who have devoted themselves to prayer are the backbone of God’s people, regardless of their denomination,” he said. The same was said in the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Patriarch Kirill also addressed the world community. The Russian Orthodox Church fears that all shrines and monasteries of the Ukrainian Church will be under threat.
There are already precedents. A situation similar to that in Kyiv is developing in the Ternopil region around the Pochaev Lavra. This monastery is the largest in the western part of the country and the second most important after the Kiev-Pechora Lavra.
They have equal status. From 2018 The Pochaev Lavra is at the disposal of the local state reserve, and the religious buildings are rented by the UOC.
The contract expired this year. On this occasion, the vicar, Metropolitan Vladimir of Pochaev, filed a lawsuit. He also refused to let museum employees onto the monastery grounds. In the near future, as the Minister of Culture Alexander Tkachenko said, a criminal case will be opened against the bishop.
“But in the Ternopil region, the situation is complicated by the religious composition. Here there are many more schismatics and Uniates than UOC believers. Therefore, the Pochaev Lavra is literally a besieged fortress,” explains religious scientist Roman Lunkin.
According to him, the current events can be seen as a “point of no return”: searches of priests and monasteries, sanctions and criminal cases against the clergy are considered by the authorities to be ineffective measures.
“That’s why they switched to radical methods. – And they decided to cut to the root: to take away the heart of Ukrainian Orthodoxy – the Kyiv and Pochaev Lavra. This tactic, if successful, can be applied to other spiritual centers as well,” he continues.
The expert believes that a civil conflict is not excluded. The UOC is the largest not only religious, but also social structure. She has many followers in various social groups, including in the ranks of VSU. Of course, the people will stand up for the church. Using force, according to Lunkin, the country’s leadership discredits itself.
There is also a second option. The incident with the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra can be used by those who are dissatisfied with the policies of Zelenskyi’s cabinet, an ally of the president, Alexei Arestovich, hinted recently. And the head of state has many opponents. In this case, the religious conflict will become a harbinger of a major political confrontation.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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