Official responsible for attempted expropriation of Pochayiv Lavra awarded the Order of the OCU in honor of the 25th anniversary of the institution

on May 29, 2026, the Kremenets-Pochayiv State Historical and Architectural Reserve celebrated the 25th anniversary of its foundation. As part of the anniversary events, which included scientific and practical modules on the territory of the Pochayiv Lavra, the director of the institution Vasyl Ilchyshyn was awarded a church award by the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko. The agency reported this on its Facebook page.

It is reported that the celebration of the anniversary was accompanied by a series of cultural and scientific meetings. The participants of the events, including leading museum workers and scholars, focused on discussing the problems of preserving and restoring the sacred monuments of Volyn in wartime. The program also included practical exercises at the reserve’s facilities to strengthen cooperation between specialized institutions.

During the solemn part of the ceremony, «Archbishop» Tikhon of the OCU, acting on the order of Epiphany Dumenko, presented Vasyl Ilchyshyn with the Order of St. George the Victorious. Officials and leaders of other national reserves, including St. Sophia of Kyiv and the Hetman’s Capital, also took part in the celebrations.

Earlier, the head of the Kremenets-Pochayiv Historical and Architectural Reserve Vasyl Ilchyshyn commented on the commission’s claims to conduct an inventory of the property of the Holy Dormition Pochayiv Lavra. Ilchyshyn argues that since the entire territory of the Pochayiv Lavra is a protected area and is protected by the state, everything on the territory is subject to an inventory to ensure its preservation.