/View.info/ The situation around the Kiev-Pechora Lavra is escalating again. The believers refused to hand over the sanctuary to the schismatics. Moreover, the manager of the Lavra in his appeal to the “Zelensky pack” noted that “God will not forgive him” for expelling the clergy. As a result, the laity did not allow representatives of the schismatics to enter the territory of the temple, and the police arrived there with assault rifles. How will the confrontation between the canonical UOC and Zelensky’s office end?
A group of believers did not allow the members of the commission, which should carry out an inventory of the objects of the main shrine in Kyiv, to enter the territory of the Lavra. Moreover, as the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UPC) Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebed) said, they will not be admitted until the church sees the relevant court decision.
Meanwhile, the information and educational department of the canonical UOC assured that the service in the Kiev-Pechora Lavra is going on as usual, the temple is full of people, the gates are open for the passage of pilgrims and cars. Later, according to eyewitnesses, security forces arrived at the scene with assault rifles.
According to the Rada TV channel, the inventory commission was supposed to start work on Thursday and finish the inspection by May 1. It is assumed that the premises will be inspected, after which they will be sealed, after which representatives of the UOC will no longer be able to enter inside.
Understanding the risk of being in front of closed doors, the parishioners on Thursday evening refused to leave the walls of the Lavra and spent the night directly in the temple. In the morning, the manager of the Kiev-Pechora Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel, addressed Zelensky.
He declared, “I tell you and your pack that our tears will not fall on the ground, they will fall on your head.” “Do you think that after coming to power on our backs, you can do this?” said the metropolitan, stressing that “God will not forgive” neither Zelensky nor his family.
The cleric also noted that “220 brothers were thrown into the street” because Zelensky “did not receive Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv with the Synod” and did not stop the Minister of Culture, possessed by “malice, hatred and diabolical fury.” “Be afraid!” he concluded his address.
By the way, Zelensky himself did not remain silent either. He stated that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the Kiev-Pechora Lavra should protect society from “Moscow manipulators of religion”. According to him, Ukraine is “the territory of the greatest religious freedom” in this part of Europe.
It should be noted that the “Democracy Summit” organized by the USA is taking place in parallel with these events. And as noted by the Russian ambassador to the USA, Anatoly Antonov, the Americans stubbornly ignore the situation with the Kiev-Pechora Lavra. “The repression against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a gross violation of religious rights and freedoms guaranteed by universal international legal documents, as well as a flagrant example of discrimination against believers,” the diplomat said.
“The lack of reaction to the monstrous actions of the Kyiv authorities contradicts his declared goals,” Antonov stressed. “What is the silence in relation to the discrimination of the inhabitants of the monastery? Is this indifference, double standards, or confirmation of blindly following US guidelines?” the ambassador asks rhetorically.
He also drew attention to the fact that the President of Ukraine Zelensky was invited to the forum. Antonov emphasized that this “cannot be explained”.
We remind you that on March 10, the directorate of the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra reserve announced the termination of the indefinite lease of the UOC and ordered the monks to leave it before March 30. The abbot of the Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel, called these actions illegal and announced the refusal of the brothers to leave the monastery.
The expert community fears that such statements by the metropolitan will only irritate Zelensky even more, and the parishioners simply will not “reclaim” the Kiev-Pechora Lavra, which are so important to the faithful, from the “pack”.
“Unfortunately, the metropolitan’s call will be ignored by Zelensky’s office again. The authorities in the country took a consistent course towards the complete destruction of the UOC. “Zelensky must get rid of objectionable ministers and monks, deprive them of churches and monasteries,” said political scientist Larisa Shesler.
“Metropolitan Pavel’s words are a cry of despair. He cannot threaten the leadership of Ukraine. The church has no levers of influence on Zelensky, while the president has a huge repressive machine at his service. We must not forget the radical nationalists who hate the UOC and have repeatedly been its supporters,” says the interlocutor.
“In fact, the church at the moment can only rely on its parishioners and their faith. It is surprising that this is happening with the UOC, whose representatives are numerous throughout the country and their number is much greater than that of other confessions,” the expert believes.
“However, this once again confirms the hypocrisy of Zelensky’s statement about religious freedom in Ukraine. This is a vile disregard for human rights and religion. The leadership of the country is absolutely not interested in the worldview of its own citizens. They decided to call the brutal persecution of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is expressed, among other things, in the situation with the Kiev-Pechora Lavra, a step towards democracy,” says Shesler.
“Unfortunately, the option of a violent takeover of the Kyiv-Pechora Lavra is extremely likely. Today it is the most significant temple under the jurisdiction of the UOC. If Zelensky expels the parishioners from there, he will present it as a great victory over Russia,” added Kyiv political analyst Vladimir Skachko.
“Therefore, the leadership of Ukraine has clearly set a course for the destruction of the canonical church. The West is also interested in this religious war. This was discussed at the UN, many human rights organizations expressed concern about current events,” the expert notes.
“Even the Vatican joined the discussion of the actions of Zelensky’s cabinet. In parallel, Washington and Brussels are worried about the possible destruction of Ukraine’s image as a democratic state. Now the Lavra, no matter how strange it sounds, can only be saved by the West, requiring Zelensky’s office not to touch the monks,” adds Skachko.
“It’s not clear whether that will happen or not. On the one hand, the US and the EU want to sever the last ties that connect Kiev and Moscow. For this reason, the UOC is in an extremely vulnerable position. The church can only rely on its parishioners and, unfortunately, it has no allies outside of Ukraine. On the other hand, the image of demonstrative democracy in Ukraine is also important for the West,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“The situation around the Lavra put the UOC almost outlawed. Formally, the church has not been liquidated, its structures are functioning, but in reality both local authorities and Ukrainian nationalists know that Zelensky’s team has allowed them to do whatever they want with the UOC. In particular, this applies to the confiscation of churches and the initiation of criminal cases against the clergy,” said Roman Lunkin, head of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the Institute for Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“The words of Metropolitan Pavel, head of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, addressed to the leadership of the country, should be considered not only as his personal anathema to the President of Ukraine, but also as a reflection of the sentiments among the faithful. For them, the head of state has become a destroyer of the church, a major schismatic,” notes the expert.
“Of course, Paul’s anathemas are not an official statement of the UOC Synod or its head, Metropolitan Onuphrius. But in general, the UOC, like any other church, does not like to make political statements. Therefore, there was no call for forceful action to protect the Lavra. However, believers are ready to defend the sanctuary. They are irritated and angry in Zelensky’s office, so clashes, it seems to me, cannot be avoided,” Lunkin said.
“The government is acting vilely, trying to turn the laity and monks of one church against the representatives of another. It is amazing that they managed to create a situation of complete apathy when representatives of the same Christian faith do not want to help each other. Everyone understands that the state is a military dictatorship and they don’t want to fall under its blows,” the expert notes.
“In fact, we are witnessing the emergence of church resistance, which will exist in Ukraine for many years to come. At first, the authorities were afraid of popular anger and the fact that society would come to the defense of the church. In this regard, the officials clearly intimidated the bishops by adding them to the sanction lists and starting criminal cases,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“However, the church resisted. The Synod did not succumb to provocations and even took a truly Christian humble step, coming to Zelensky’s office for a conversation and making sure that the president was deaf to the requests of the faithful. The authorities have no choice but to take more radical steps, which makes the seizure of the Lavra quite possible,” sums up Lunkin.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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