Monks and parishioners continue to defend Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

” Mister President ! I tell you and your pack that our tears will not fall to the ground, they will fall on your head. Do you think that having come to power on our backs, you can do that? forgive you or your family “Because today you threw 220 brothers in the street. Because you could not receive Metropolitan Onuphrius of Kiev with the synod. You could not stop the minister of Culture, possessed by rage, malice and hatred, which means that he does everything with your permission. Woe to you. Be afraid! – with such a call on Thursday evening, the Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl Pavel, the Governor of the Lavra, addressed Zelensky. And with this, it seems, he answered both Zelensky himself and the Minister of Culture Tkachenko, who beguiled the locals with the bright prospects to move into the schismatic OCU.Only one person among the brothers was seduced by them – a certain sexton Abraham, who was immediately appointed to of governor of the OCU. “We live in a world where there is a place for exploits and betrayal. Even among the closest disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ there was a traitor Judas Iscariot. It is obvious that the former sexton of the Lavra, however beautiful the words he used, preferred the earthly to the heavenly and joined the ranks of the traitors,” commented Metropolitan Antoine, who manages the affairs of the UOC, on this news, presented by the Ukrainian media almost as a mass departure of monks towards schism.The Orthodox faithful, several hundred, meanwhile, continue to stay in the territory of the Lavra, literally spend the night on the ground in the churches and pray with the head of the UOC, Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev, who also resides in the monastery. Yesterday they foiled the first attempt by the “inventory commission” acting without a court order to inspect and seal the Lavra objects, mainly churches. The parishioners surrounded the strangers in a dense circle and in this way, although slowly, they forced them out of the holy place.Soon after, several policemen with machine guns showed up in the Lavra territory, and paddy wagons parked under the walls. And for the first time in many years, an alarm bell rang in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin – the tocsin.The alarm may also have sounded due to the fact that dozens of local “journalists” burst into the monastery in an organized crowd, inciting parishioners and monks to speak of their “support for the aggression” and otherwise unbalancing them. The impression was that they were collecting “evidence” for the security forces and further incitement to hatred on sectarian and national grounds. One cannot but marvel with what calm and dignity the Orthodox responded to these peddlers. And one, the most stubborn cameraman, achieved his goal – a mount fell from his camera on the territory of the monastery, and a statement about “obstructing journalistic activity” was sent to the police.
In the meantime, the Kiev Economic Court has opened proceedings on the UOC’s complaint about the illegality of the termination of the Lavra rental agreement by the historical and architectural reserve. But the first introductory meeting is scheduled only for April 26, and only then can interim measures be taken in the form of a ban on any actions that will interfere with the usual life of the monastery. .Zelensky obviously doesn’t want to wait that long. Despite the apparent calm around the monastery, barring minor provocations, there are signs of preparations for a forced takeover. Thus, correspondence from police chats surfaced on social networks, where orders were given to check all vehicles entering the Lavra “for theft, as well as the presence of explosive objects, ammunition and ‘weapons’. Police have also been ordered to check parishioners themselves “on all bases and whether they have any documents”. “It is necessary to carry out the work in such a way that they no longer want to go or leave! Immediately report all cases related to the movement of believers to this group”, police officers from Kiev discuss their actions on Telegram. There are also rumors that the seizure will be preceded by provocations – the “discovery” of drugs, weapons, explosives and “plans to seize Kiev” by security forces, and “radical militants” under the direction of the OCU will directly carry out the forced entry. They have already perfected the practice of seizing churches in the west of the country, or, in Zelensky’s words, in “the territory of the greatest religious freedom.”