Ministry of Culture of Ukraine hands over first buildings of Lower Lavra to OCU

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has transferred the first two buildings on the territory of the Lower Lavra to the OCU for free use. We are talking about the 49th and 70th buildings — the residences of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine and the Office of the Kyiv Metropolis.

According to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna emphasized that this is «an important step in the formation of responsible and transparent church-state interaction. We are creating legal conditions for the activities of religious communities that contribute to the preservation of the national cultural heritage and support Ukraine.»

The Ministry of Culture added that the Decree of the President of Ukraine and the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of 2022 marked the beginning of legal and political processes «to rethink the role of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as an important security and spiritual factor.» According to the institution, «there is a clear demand in society for the establishment of the Lavra as a center of Ukrainian spirituality.»

In his turn, the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, emphasized that «the transfer of the first buildings of the Lavra to the full use of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a joyful and significant event for our Church. The Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a thousand-year-old Orthodox shrine of the Ukrainian people, which was originally created as a monastery, prayer center and center of spiritual life, so it should remain so in our time.»

Maksym Ostapenko, Director General of the Kyiv Cave Monastery National Conservation Area, emphasized that the administration of the Conservation Area faces the task of proper preservation, research and popularization of cultural heritage monuments of national importance in times of war. «Some of these challenges can be effectively addressed through the state’s partnership with religious communities that are not affiliated with the aggressor country. Since the monastic community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has been operating on the territory of the Lavra since 2023, it was decided to provide this community with buildings for use,» Ostapenko said.

As reported, on January 20, a working meeting was held in Kyiv to prepare for the celebration of the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which will take place in 2026. The event was attended by officials from various government agencies and the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko.