Nationalists call on the Ministry of Culture to "decolonize" the UOC church near Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

The head of the radical right-wing extremist organization Brotherhood, Dmytro Korchynskyy, has launched an initiative to “decolonize” the church in honour of St. Serhiy Radonezhskyy, which belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The radical appealed to the Ministry of Culture and the Institute of National Memory with a demand to eliminate the presence of the UOC in this shrine, located near the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. About this he wrote on his page on Facebook.

In his publication in the social network Korchinsky described the temple as an “island of the Russian world”, which, in his opinion, is mistakenly ignored in the process of nationwide decolonization. He expressed bewilderment at the fact that secular institutions are being actively reformed while the religious communities of the canonical Church remain outside the process. According to the nationalist, government agencies should pay attention to church buildings that have “squatted on state structures.”

Korchinsky paid special attention in his address to the harsh criticism of the veneration of Orthodox saints whose images are represented in the church. Using historical manipulations, he called St. Sergius of Radonezh a supporter of “Horde power,” and St. Seraphim of Sarov a “constructed cult” created in the 19th century to propagandize and strengthen church influence.

In addition, the radical figure criticized other saints. In particular, he compared St. Righteous John of Kronstadt to modern military figures of the Russian Federation, and called St. John of Shanghai a native of Ukraine who “decided to be a good Russian.” These statements caused a wide resonance and were regarded as an attempt to further pressure on the UOC congregations.