The territory of the Lavra should be left by its governor Pavel, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary and the synodal administration. Those who wish to stay may be offered to go to the OCU or leave for Russia, experts say.
Monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) may continue to live on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra after its revision. This was stated by the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko on the air of a single telethon.
“No one says that the life of the monks in the Lavra will stop. But this is a reason for the monks to decide how they can stay in the Lavra,” the official said.
Sub-sanctioned clergy should leave the Lavra, says Tkachenko
Tkachenko is sure that the monks are aware of all options for further stay in the Lavra, and some of the priests have already moved from the UOC-MP to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
Those who want to go to the OCU and do not leave the territory of the Lavra by the end of March will not be forcibly evicted, the minister promised.
“There will be no violent actions. We are a democratic state, but we will act within the law,” he said.
Who should leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra?
The sanctioned clergy must leave the Lavra – the Lavra’s abbot Pavel, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, and the Synodal Department of Administration, the head of the Ministry of Information Policy said.
Tkachenko recalled that the transfer of the Lavra to the perpetual use of the UOC-MP was organized under the rule of the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych.
“The agreement was concluded indefinitely, which in itself raises questions. It was agreed in 2013 by people who belonged to the UOC-MP – Yanukovych, Azarov,” he said.
According to the head of the ministry, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra will remain a place of worship and religious rites.
The monks of the UOC-MP have 3 options to stay in the Lavra
Photo: Getty Images
“We must be convinced that the state controls the preservation of all values, restores and revitalizes the life of the Upper and Lower Lavra, which have been running for many years,” he concluded.
The monks of the UOC-MP have 3 options for action – the opinion of a religious scholar
Doctor of Philosophical Sciences of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, religious scholar Lyudmila Filippovich added that the monks of the UOC-MP have 3 options – go to the OCU, create their own monastery subordinate to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, or leave for Russia.
Filippovich is sure that the clergy will not make a corporate, but an important Christian decision.
“There is such an option that they choose their own rector and can ask for stavropegy (this status makes monasteries, laurels and brotherhoods independent of the local diocesan authorities, they will be directly subordinate to the patriarch or synod – ed.) from the Ecumenical Patriarchate if they do not want to join to the OCU,” the specialist explained.
The monastery of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was registered on the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, she recalled.
“For those who don’t like all the options, there is an excellent formula -“ suitcase-station-Russia. ”Many priests did not accept our model of democratic development, Tomos and the OCU. Nobody keeps you in Ukraine,” the religious scholar summed up.
Recall that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained to UN Secretary General António Guterres about the “persecution” of priests of the UOC-MP. The Russian minister spoke of “flagrant violations of the universal and constitutional rights of the Orthodox.”
According to a poll by Active Group, more than 60% of Ukrainians support a ban on the activities of the UOC-MP in the country.
