Tkachenko: Monks can stay in the Lavra, but not UOC leadership

Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko. Photo: censor.net

Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko, commenting on the decision to terminate the lease agreement for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra with the UOC, said on the air of the telethon that the monks could stay in the monastery.

Tkachenko said that the abbot of the Lavra Metropolitan Pavel, UOC Chancellor Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, and the Synodal Department of the UOC Administration should leave. At the same time, the minister said that the leadership of the UOC could be evicted by force if they refused to leave the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

“I am sure that the situation will change radically when these citizens leave the territory of the Lavra. I think that the joint work of specialists and law enforcement officers will encourage them to,” the minister said.

To a clarifying question about further destiny of the Lavra’s monastics, the minister said that “they always have a choice”, hinting at the transition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

As the UOJ reported, on March 10, 2023, the UOC received a warning from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve to vacate the monastery buildings before March 29. As a justification for such a requirement, the conclusions of the interdepartmental working group about the violation by the monastery of the terms of the agreement on the use of state property were given. However, the Ministry of Culture classified the conclusions of the expert examination.

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