💠The government of Ukraine has ordered that all Ukrainian Orthodox monks must leave the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra 1,000-year-old Orthodox Christian monastery, one of the most preeminent monasteries in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the most prominent monastery in Ukraine, because they are under the Moscow Patriarchate and not under the Kiev Patriarchate. Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information Policy, declared:
“The agreement for the free use of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra by the UOC will be terminated on 29 March 2023. This applies to all Lavra premises rented by the UOC.
Today, on 10 March 2023, the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve gave notice to the UOC’s Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (the men’s monastery) to terminate the agreement on the free use of religious buildings and other state property.
This notice is based on the conclusions of the Interagency Working Group, which, in the course of its work, found that the monastery had violated the terms of the agreement on the use of state property. A number of violations of the terms of use of state property have been established. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has set out its position in a letter.”
The monks have refused to leave, arguing that there are no legal grounds for the demand to leave the monastery. The order goes back to a commission established under President Vladimir Zelensky’s decree.
âť– Kiev Pechersk Lavra Monastery
Kiev Pechersk Lavra also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kyiv.
Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051,[5] the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery complex is considered a separate national historic-cultural preserve (sanctuary), the national status to which was granted on 13 March 1996. The Lavra is not only located in another part of the city but is part of a different national sanctuary than Saint Sophia Cathedral. While being a cultural attraction, the monastery is once again active, with over 100 monks in residence. It was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine on 21 August 2007, based on voting by experts and the internet community.
Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve,[9] and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Onufrius, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.
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