The head of one of the Mount Athos monasteries led religious services at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra together with representatives of the OCU

Religious services were held at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to mark the 975th anniversary of the monastery’s founding and the feast day of St. Anthony of Pechersk according to the New Style. A delegation of monks from Mount Athos took part in the events. This was reported by the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.

The religious services at the Cathedral of the Dormition were led by Archimandrite Bartholomew (Patriarchate of Constantinople), the igumen of the Esfigmen Monastery on Mount Athos. The arrival of the Mount Athos monks at the Lavra marked the first such visit since the monastery came under the control of the state and the OCU.

As a reminder, we previously reported that a group of Mount Athos monks published a joint statement in which they expressed strong protest against the visit of OCU head Epiphany Dumenko to the Holy Mountain of Athos. The monks called his presence uncanonical, stating that it caused spiritual harm and deep sorrow within the monastic community.