UOC was neither legal nor historical owner of Lavra - Center for Strategic Communications

The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security at the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine commented on the seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv Cave Monastery by representatives of the Ministry of Culture. The organization claims that the so-called audit of the relics of the Kyiv-Pechersk monks, which members of a special commission plan to conduct, is an “inventory,” and the UOC has never had the right to own the monastery, so any claims by the Church are unfounded. This was reported by Channel 33.

“The Lavra, as state property, belongs to the entire Ukrainian people. As a historical monument, the Kyiv Cave Monastery is an outstanding national treasure, one of the symbols of Ukrainian culture and history. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The state acts strictly within the law and the legal framework. There is no question of any “religious persecution”. The stay of the Moscow Patriarchate monastery in the reserve was regulated by contractual relations with the state. This religious organization was neither the legal nor the historical owner of the Lavra. The decision of the state to terminate the contractual relationship with the Moscow Patriarchate monastery is related to the established facts of violations of the terms of the contract, as well as the transformation of the monastery into a center for propaganda of the “Russian world” in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine,” – the organization noted.

In addition, the organization accused the monks of the Kyiv Cave Monastery of the UOC of illegally staying in the monastery, and called the seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Kyiv Cave Monastery and other blasphemous acts against the shrines of the monastery “an inventory of property.”

“There are still monks in the monastery, whose conditions and status will be regulated. The state is not going to use force to evict them. Some of the monks decided to join the OCU. Currently, the main task is to take an inventory of state property in the monastery and return it to state use. However, there are attempts by representatives of the UOC to obstruct the work of the ICIP commission. Moscow’s protests and accusations against Ukraine are groundless and cynical in light of the facts of the harsh persecution of pro-Ukrainian religious communities in the temporarily occupied territories,” – the Center for Strategic Communications summarized.

As reported, the National Police of Kyiv, which took part in the actual seizure of the Near and Far Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, issued a statement denying the incident. The police called their activities on the territory of the monastery “ensuring public order” and the intervention of the National Reserve “a planned inspection,” “neglecting at the same time the fact that the monks of the Kyiv Cave Monastery, in connection with the event, were left without access to the Caves and the relics of the Kyiv Cave Monks, which they had been taking care of all along.