Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on the delegation from Mount Athos not to support the OCU’s actions regarding the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) issued an open letter to the delegation from the Mount Athos monastery “New Esfigmen,” which arrived in Kyiv to participate in the solemn events of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The authors of the appeal expressed concern over the monks’ visit, viewing it as support for church raiding and the persecution of believers.

The text of the appeal emphasizes that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was restored from ruins solely by the efforts of the monastic community and parishioners of the UOC, who had been working on its renovation for decades. Community representatives stated that transferring control of the monastery’s buildings to the OCU and the Ministry of Culture has only led to a deterioration in the condition of the structures, as well as to threats of forcible eviction of the monks, as voiced by the reserve’s administration.

“You are participating in the crime of persecution against Christians and in the desecration of the holy Lavra,” the authors of the letter note, calling on the guests of Mount Athos to refuse to be complicit in what is happening. The believers emphasized that the OCU’s statements about building a “spiritual bridge” between Mount Athos and Ukraine do not correspond to reality and are misleading the delegation.

It should be noted that the position of Mount Athos representatives remains ambiguous: while believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) insist that the seizure of the holy site is unjust, the abbot of the New Esfigmen Monastery previously publicly described the creation of the OCU as a “return to the truth,” which sparked active dialogue and criticism from the Lavra community.