"We have a list of 140 people." Ostapenko tells about the number of monks and novices of the UOC in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The head of the National Historical and Architectural Reserve «Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra» Maksym Ostapenko spoke about the number of monks and novices of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who continue to stay in the monastery that was taken away from the Church. According to him, today it is 140 people, for whose eviction a special legislative framework is being developed. The official said this in an interview with Glavkom.

«We have a list of 140 people who are on the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery and are part of the UOC-MP community. These are monks, novices, and technical staff. Not all of them live here permanently, but they have access to the territory until the trial is over. The fact that the UOC monks are being expelled from the Kyiv Cave Monastery is absolutely untrue, their civil rights are preserved,» Ostapenko said.

At the same time, the official claims that the eviction of the UOC from the Lavra remains one of the key tasks of the «reserve.» According to him, the judicial authorities are involved in this and special legal procedures are being developed.

«The court procedure must be completed. The state must return these objects in full and then determine how these objects will be used in the future and which community will live here. There is a clearly defined procedure for providing state and municipal property that is religious for use by religious communities. It is within the framework of this resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of July 7, 2025, No. 854, that such issues will be resolved,» the head of the «reserve» added.

Earlier, Maksim Ostapenko spoke about the main problems of the OCU in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The official is convinced that the OCU has too few monks to «revive Ukrainian Orthodox life» in the monastery. Ostapenko cited as an example the times when the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was under the control of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and had from 200 to 500 monks.