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Photographer, Lavra.UA
The Ukrainian state institution – the National Reserve “Kiev-Pechersk Lavra” – decided to finally expel the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Lavra, which is traditionally associated with the Moscow Patriarchate, by the end of March.
The letter of the director of the reserve, published on Friday on the website of the institution, states that the UOC monastery must leave the Lower Lavra from March 29.
Previously, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (which removed the mention of the Moscow Patriarchate from its official name after the outbreak of war, but retained its canonical connection with it) was banned from using the temples of the Upper Lavra, but now they are being expelled from the entire territory of the ancient Kiev monastery.
On what grounds is this being done, and why is it now that few people in Ukraine will be outraged?
There will be no more outrage in Ukraine
Svyatoslav Khomenko, BBC correspondent in Ukraine
The content of the letter received this morning by the governor of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra can be summarized briefly: Lavra is being expelled from the Lavra. The monks have less than three weeks to pack up and move… anywhere.
From a formal point of view, everything is more or less clear. The monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (until recently the “Moscow Patriarchate” was added to its name, but now any link to Moscow is deeply offensive to its representatives) uses the ancient premises of the Lavra on the basis of a lease agreement concluded under President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013.
Under the current president, Volodymyr Zelensky, it turned out that the monastery violates the terms of this agreement. And this means that the state has the right to break it.
But, of course, the reality is much more complicated. The UOC – despite all its efforts to distance itself from the Russian Church – is still associated by many Ukrainians with Moscow. And most importantly, this association clearly works in Zelensky’s head. And here you need to understand: over the past year, Vladimir Zelensky and all of Ukraine have come a long way when it comes to their attitude towards Russia, Russians, everything Russian, everything that looks like Russian.
Let’s remember: a year ago, Vladimir Zelensky used to write down his addresses in Russian. He appealed to the Russians, urging them to protest against the war started by their state. He said that “good Russians” should not be turned away. He was ready to discuss with Russia an agreement on the fate of the Russian language in post-war Ukraine.
Today – after tens of thousands of victims, after Mariupol, after the bombing of schools and hospitals, after a cold and dark winter – the mood is different. The expulsion of the UOC monastery from the Lavra, unthinkable a year ago (why the Lavra? Doesn’t it smell like a violation of religious rights and freedoms? Wouldn’t Putin escalate because of this?) from the analysis of the rubble of another residential building destroyed by a Russian missile.
Therefore, the fate of the UOC in the Lavra looks predetermined.
Whether she delegates her representatives to the commission for the transfer of the Lavra for the acceptance and transfer of state property or not (they will transfer without them), whether she organizes a prayer stand or procession against the decision of the government or not (especially considering that mass actions are prohibited during martial law), whether he will appeal to Western human rights institutions or not (an appeal to Moscow will only aggravate the position of the church), – in three weeks, most likely, the UOC will leave the Lavra.
And another question will be put on the agenda – about the future of this church in general.
What they say in the UOC
Photographer, Getty Images
A representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church told the BBC that he considers the decision of the state reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” to finally evict the UOC from the Lavra an official initiative, contrary to the law.
The head of the synodal information and educational department of the UOC, Metropolitan Kliment (Vescherya), noted that in a letter demanding the monastery to release the Lavra by the end of March, the director of the reserve does not provide any justification.
“Obviously, such statements have nothing to do with the legal field of the Ukrainian state, and, accordingly, we consider this as a certain provocation on the part of officials who, for the sake of someone, are trying to create a certain sensation that contradicts all elementary norms, regulations and legislative acts that regulate state-church relations,” Metropolitan Kliment told a BBC correspondent.
The Moscow Patriarchate called the decision to evict the monastery of the church, which is in its canonical subordination, “the apogee of lawlessness” in relation to the Ukrainian parishioners of the church.
