The Ukrainian authorities have made another attempt to seize the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The Commission of the Ministry of Culture sealed one of the buildings of the monastery, and together with the monks of the canonical UOC, who were inside. At the same time, officials arrived at the scene, accompanied by police special forces.
The sounds of prayer are interrupted by piercing cries. A crowd of believers tries to break into the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra building. The police try to push them away. Comes to melee.
In the morning, officials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, accompanied by police, opened the locks, broke into the Lavra premises and blocked the entrances from inside. In one of the buildings, priests and parishioners were locked and the doors sealed. In fact, the police and representatives of the national reserve, on whose territory the monastery is located, took hostages.
The situation worsens even more, special police forces armed with machine guns are drawn to the Lavra. The confrontation around the shrine began in March, when the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture unilaterally terminated the lease. The monks had to leave the monastery before the beginning of April. However, there is still no court decision to terminate the rental agreement. Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) describe today’s events as an attempt to seize power by force.
“The police broke the law. They exceeded their authority. Because the police had no right to do so. The employees of the monastery filed a criminal complaint against the employees of the national reserve. We registered this application. We have filed a complaint against the police officers who contributed to this crime,” said Kiev-Pechersk Lavra lawyer Nikita Chekman.
The outlook for the trial is bleak. Previously, the schismatics had already received two Lavra temples, including the main Cathedral of the Assumption. The monks were offered to stay on the condition of transferring to the Ukrainian Orthodox Schismatic Church. The current situation in the country with persecutions for linguistic and religious reasons is monitored in the Kremlin. Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary to the President of the Russian Federation, commented on today’s attack.
“Our position is well known, it is consistent. We strongly condemn these actions,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
The Kiev regime does not hide the fact that the situation with the Lavra is not a dispute between two economic entities, it is an attack on the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“There are already local legislative assemblies in eight regions, we have such assemblies in each region, and therefore in 8 regions the UOC has been banned by decision of the local legislative assemblies. I think this process will expand. As you know, the processes of decay, if not stopped, are gaining such speed that they cannot be stopped,” said Russian church historian Sergei Bychkov.
To achieve its objective, Kiev does not hesitate to prosecute priests criminally. The monastery’s abbot, Metropolitan Pavel, has been accused of inciting inter-religious hatred and supporting Russia. The priest has been placed under house arrest for the time being.
Earlier, the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported that security forces entered the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, they blocked the entrances to the premises. It is alleged that representatives of the commission of the Ministry of Culture entered some premises of the Lavra, cutting the locks with a grinder. Meanwhile, the faithful of the canonical UOC continue to pray on the territory of the monastery.
Read the Russia Ukraine News on The Eastern Herald.
