The Ukrainian government expels the non-autocephalous Orthodox church her Ukrainian from the world famous monastery Lavra of the Caves of Kiev, due to violations of its contractual obligations, according to a document made public yesterday Friday (10/3).
The Ukrainian state’s contract with the Orthodox church under the Moscow Patriarchate, which was signed in 2013, will end on March 29, according to a letter from the state-run body of the site, which has also housed a museum since the 1920s..
The decision follows a decree issued by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2022, after invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine. Mr Zelensky has repeatedly complained that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate is full of “spies”.
In November, Ukraine’s counterintelligence service searched the monastery, which is also the residence of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whom it called suspected of ties to Russia..
The expulsion of the church concerns the area of ​​the lower part of the monastery, where the entrances to the natural and carved caves are located.
The Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow reacted strongly to the news that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was being expelled from the monastery, a decision which it saw as the “culmination of lawlessness” in Ukraine.
This “lawlessness” has been affecting “millions of faithful Ukrainians for years”, complained a representative of the Patriarchate in Moscow. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is under increasing pressure, he continued, citing “violent occupations, arson and arrests of churches, attacks on priests” and “various threats.” The whole world will remember these “relentless” actions “forever”added the representative of the Patriarchate.
The Kiev Caves Lavra is located in the southern sector of the center of the Ukrainian capital. It was built in the middle of the 11th century and is considered the oldest monastery in Ukraine. Since 1990 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Ukraine is important to the Russian Orthodox Church, as some of its main monasteries are located there. However, in late May 2022, the wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate announced that it was severing relations with Russia due to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. In May 2019, amid diplomatic tensions, part of the Ukrainian church represented by the Kyiv Patriarchate severed ties with Moscow and declared allegiance to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
In January, access to the churches at the top of the hill where the monastery is located was cut off and the Christmas service on January 7 was held in Ascension Cathedral.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
