Head of OCU invades Far Caves of Kyiv Cave Monastery

on February 17, 2026, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, held religious events in the underground church of the Nativity of Christ, located in the Far Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The events took place against the backdrop of the seizure of two churches on the territory of the monastery by the employees of the National Reserve Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, to which monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church previously had access.

According to the press service of the OCU, the religious event took place “on an important day for the monastery, dedicated to one of the revered saints of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.” Together with Dumenko, it was attended by the head of the Zhytomyr Diocese of the OCU, Vladimir Shlapak, and an employee of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, Abraham Lotysh.

It is noteworthy that at the same time, the Holy Cross and Warm Church in honor of St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, to which the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had previously had access, was being seized on the territory of the Lower Lavra. Thus, the monks of the UOC have practically no churches left on the territory of the Lavra that they could use for their own needs.

Earlier, we reported that the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine transferred the first two buildings on the territory of the Lower Lavra to the representatives of the OCU for free use. We are talking about the 49th and 70th buildings – the residences of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine and the Chancellery of the Kyiv Metropolis.