AUCCRO: The authorities want a monastery to operate in the Lavra

AUCCRO in the Verkhovna Rada. Photo: AUCCRO

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations published on its website a statement following the meeting with the head of the Rada R. Stefanchuk, the head of the State Ethnic Policy V. Yelensky, the Minister of the Interior I. Klymenko and the deputy head of the SBU S. Andrushchenko.

The statement refers to the position of the AUCCRO on “the inadmissibility of the activity in Ukraine of any organizations, including religious ones, whose centers and leadership are located in the Russian Federation”, as well as “the inevitability of punishment for all persons involved in assisting the enemy and treason regardless the denomination and church they belong to and the rank they have."

Regarding the situation around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the members of the AUCCRO stated that “the state, first of all, protects the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, which consists in the fact that the Lavra functions exactly as an Orthodox monastery open to Ukrainian believers.” However, the AUCCRO did not specify how the expulsion of the monastery from the Lavra contributes to the functioning of the Lavra as a monastery.

The members of the AUCCRO also expressed their conviction that “a high level of freedom of religion is maintained in Ukraine, there are no persecutions on religious grounds, and democratic institutions and procedures remain in effect.”

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the authorities and the AUCCRO agreed to destroy the UOC.

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