Abbess Seraphima: Believers will protect UOC shrines until the last breath

Hegumeness Seraphima, abbess of the Odessa St. Michael's Convent, chairman of the Synodal Committee of the UOC "Church and Culture"

Hegumeness Seraphima, the abbess of the Odessa St. Michael's Convent, the chairman of the Synodal Committee of the UOC "Church and Culture" commented on the resonant statement of the head of the UOC-KP Filaret that if the Church in Ukraine is granted the Tomos, the Lavra will be taken away from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, reports a UOJ correspondent.

"Knowing the mood of each of us, the monks-brethren of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and the hierarchy, we can only be carried out in coffins from the Pochaev, Sviatogorsk and Kiev-Pechersk Lavras, we will not go away on our own, we will defend our shrines until the last breath," emphasized Mother Seraphima.

She made a parallel with the historical events of the 17th century when various states tried to influence the religious picture of the then Ukrainian society.

"Let's remember: the three huge powers claimed the then Ukraine – Rzeczpospolita, the kingdom of Moscow and Turkey, and Ukraine was divided then into three zones of influence. Moreover, there was another fourth island of independence – the Zaporozhye Sich, which conducted an absolutely independent policy. That is, Ukraine was divided into four fragments," she explained.

The abbess recalled that in the 1660s and 1670s there were four hetmans in Ukraine: "One was from Zaporozhye Sich, one was appointed by the Moscow kingdom, the third was oriented to Poland and the fourth – Peter Doroshenko – was under Turkey's protectorate. There were four hetmans and four Kiev Metropolitans, each of whom had the title of holy archimandrite of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra."

"Let's do everything to prevent this from happening again," stressed the chairman of the Synodal Committee of the UOC.

As reported by the UOJ, the other day the journalist and founder of the Internet edition "Gordon" noted that an attempt to redistribute the property of the Church would cause a civil war. According to him, the statement of the head of the UOC KP Filaret about the transfer of the Lavras after receiving the Tomos is a mistake and can have tragic consequences.

The head of the UOC KP Philaret has repeatedly stressed that he sees his mission in the growth of the UOC KP structure and explained that he sees in it God's intervention, which permitted the war in the Donbass. Filaret stated that the Kiev-Pechersk and Pochaev Lavras, which belong to the UOC, must be transferred to the new Local Church, which Filaret himself intends to lead.

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